Haunted Investigations of Tn.

The Stones River National Battlefield may well be the most haunted place in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It was on this land that one of the most bloodiest battles took place during the Civil War. Stones River has been a source of many bizarre events over the years, dating back to the Civil War battle fought there in December, 1862. The Union forces now had control of Forts Henry and Donelson, as well as Nashville, and they were ready to take control of the Mississippi River and Dixie's railroads. The Battle of Stones River was a major step towards the latter.
The Union forces were led by General William Rosecrans, and the Confederates were led by General Braxton Bragg. Rosecran's chief of staff was Colonel Julius Garesche. Garesche was an interesting fellow. He had been having premonitions of death, and he believed it was his destiny to die in Tennessee, a martyr to the Union cause. Col. Garesche would fulfill his destiny when he was decapitated by munitions meant for Rosecrans. He became the martyr he had always believed he would.

Early in the fighting, the Confederates had the Union on the run. They had taken the advantage by striking first, and had succeeded in driving the boys in blue back to Nashville Pike. Union Generals Philip Sheridan and James S. Negley continued to fight hard and stubbornly, thus prevented what would have been a devastating loss to the Confederates. Outnumbered by the Union forces, however, the Confederates began to wear down.

As the Confederate offense began to fade, General Bragg decided to send in Major General John C. Breckinridge's brigade to attack the Union center. Unfortunately, his troops arrived to late, and had little effect. The next day was January 1, 1863, but no one celebrated the New Year.

Today, Stones River Battlefield appears to be a peaceful national park, and is well worth a visit. On quiet nights, it is claimed, you can still hear the distant gunshots and marching of the soldiers who fought so bravely here almost a century and a half ago. Occasionally, the ghosts of soldiers can be seen walking around the park. It's enough to give you chills.

The most haunted spot in the park, or so they say, is Stop Number Two, the Slaughter Pen. To reach the Slaughter Pen, you must walk through a rocky cedar grove which Confederate General William Preston said was ideal for a "banquet of ghouls." May visitors to the Slaughter Pen report feelings of paranoia, and of not being alone. People also feel as though they are being followed. Cold spots are also reported here, and also at the Wilder Watch Tower.

Perhaps these are only tall tales, but who can say? Perhaps there is still some spiritual residue left behind from the battle fought here so many years ago.

In the 10 years or so Clarence Elkins has served as a tour guide at the historic Sam Davis Home he has born witness to incidences or happenings, if you will, that can’t logically be explained.

One of them, which occurred in December two years ago, was particularly frightening for the retiree who regularly escorts school children and other guests through the Civil War hero’s home.

On this day, Elkins remembers unlocking the outside doors of the home and turning off the alarm in preparation for a day of tours.

When he unlocked the front door, Elkins suddenly realized there was a noise coming from inside the house.

“I stopped to listen,” he said. “It was unmistakable. It sounded like someone weeping.”

Then he began walking towards the formal parlor in the front of the house, where he expected the noise was coming from. When he was just outside the door to the room, the noise stopped. There was no one in the room.

“I couldn’t figure it out at all,” Elkins said.

Many of these mysterious happenings take place in December, he explained, which is the month in which Davis’ body lied in wake in the front parlor of the home before he was buried in the family cemetery.

Elkins provided one possible explanation for the weeping sounds.

Sam’s sister, Andromedia, lived to be 90 years old. She was interviewed as the last of the siblings, when she was 60 years old. Andromedia told the interviewer that after Sam was killed, her mother and grandmother would often take out a trunk that contained a school uniform Sam used to wear and would weep over it.

Elkins also suspects several of Davis’ relatives including his parents and siblings died in the home. Slaves also likely died on the property.

Often, he said, children will become frightened on tours after looking into rooms especially those on the second floor. Visitors, also often children, will comment about seeing persons on the property who aren’t really there.

Elkins said there are often sightings of a person who resembles Oscar, Sam’s brother, looming around the graveyard on the property.

These stories and numerous others experienced by employees and volunteers of the Sam Davis Home are being shared at special Halloween events that continue Oct. 26 and 27.

Tours will include a haunted hayride of the property and a walk through the house.

The Sam Davis Home was built on 160 acres along the banks of Stewarts Creek in 1820. Davis was hanged by Union troops on Nov. 7, 1863.

“There is at least one story for every room, sometimes more,” said Meredith (Lane) Toporzysek, office and event coordinator,

She has experienced several spooky happenings since joining the staff a year ago.

On one particular occasion, she and Anita Teague, executive director of the Sam Davis Home, were plotting the grounds near the education center to indicate where a tent should be placed for a special event.

They looked at the building realizing that they tent could go a little closer. The lights in the building were off. When they turned their heads to look at the building again, the lights were on.

“It freaked us out a little bit,” Toporzysek said. “Neither one of us wanted to be the one that went in to turn off the lights.”
 

In 1846, New Hope Baptist Church was established. Of course Tennessee has always been known as a very religious state, and Middle Tennessee especially. The first preacher was Rev. A. J. McNabb, who was a fire and brimstone type who gave very good sermons. For the first thirty-five or so years, nothing of real note happened. In the 1880s, however, a revival was held that is considered by some to be the greatest revival in history. What actually happened is not clear, but legend has it that the preacher summoned fire from Heaven. Much to everyone presents surprise, the fires actually appeared. In the midst of it all, a giant barrel fell from the sky. Naturally, everyone was terrified, and most ran or hid. Many horses and other animals ran as fast as they could to escape. Some of the members ran toward the cemetary, and mysteriously disappeared, and were never seen or heard from again.
For years following this event, everyone debated on what it could possibly mean. One theory was that the Wrath of God had been brought upon the church. According to legend, one of the early members of the church had killed a drifter and stole his money.  Afterwards, he felt guilty, and donated the money to the church, which it used to construct the building. The ill-gotten "blood money" of course was a sin in God's eyes, so He decided to reveal to the people that their church was cursed.

For years following this event, mysterious things happened at the church. Strange lights emulated from the church. One night the "stars from the sky fell" just following a Wednesday night meeting. The sounds of a baby crying was heard, and some people even reported encountering a headless ghost! According to legend, if you venture into the cemetery and touch a tombstone, the crying will cease.

In 1901, a new church was built and the old one removed. The supernatural occurrences are thought to have stopped, though many in the community remain leery, and some refuse to pass by at night.

The Chapel Hill Ghost Lights are probably the most well known ghost lights in Tennessee, and perhaps second in the South only to the Brown Mountain Lights of North Carolina. They appear along the rail road tracks of Chapel Hill, TN which is located south of Nashville, and is also noted as the burial place of Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Many of the residence of Chapel Hill have seen them, and no one really knows what causes this bizarre phenomena
The legend is that long ago an aging signal man along the tracks was killed during a dark and rainy night. He had carried a bright lantern which could be seen for miles up the tracks. As he walked the tracks, he accidently tripped. His head hit the rail, and he was knocked uncouncious. He lay on the track for a few minutes, until along came a train. Unable to stop in time, the train ran over the man, decapitating him.

When they found his body, they say, it was still mostly intact. Except for one part, that is: his head. It was never found. To this day, according to legend, he still walks the tracks, carrying his lantern, as he searches for his lost head.

Some facts though suggest that there may be more at work here than simply this. Some people have reported UFOs in the sky, and others have seen "phantom trains," which roar up and down the tracks at night. No one knows exactly what causes these.

There have been so many accidents caused by this story at this location that it is now illegal for people to wait around to see the headless man. It is advised that you should not visit Chapel Hill to investigate, which could result in a fine, or even jail!

This spirit terrorized the Bell family, eventually running off Betsy Bell's fiance and killing the patriarch of the family!
John Bell was an affluent settler in rural Robertson County, TN. He owned a farm and had several children and slaves. In 1817 the Bell Witch made her first appearance. Many people linked the Bell Witch to a local eccentric named Kate Batts, whom many in Adams believed to be a witch. She was very strange in her manner. John Bell had some business dealings with her in which he sold her a slave. She then accused him of overcharging her interest and he was tried for this offense. Shortly thereafter, he was excommunicated from the Red River Baptist Church, and she claimed to have placed a curse on him.

Shortly thereafter, the haunting began. It began when John Bell saw a bizarre animal in his garden. He fired a shot at it, but it disappeared. The Bell children were also seeing strange  animals in the woods near their home. The Bell household began to experience loud noises such as the rattling of windows, and the house shook. At first they believed they were earthquakes, but when no one else reported these strange occurrences, this theory was put to rest.

John Bell was a private man, and so he decided to keep these occurrences a secret. He was also ostracized by some in the community stemming from his expulsion from church. Many people might think that God was "gunning for him," and thus make his situation in the community worse. However, about one year after the noises began, John Bell became ill. At this point he was forced to tell his friend James Johnson about the problem. Johnson and his wife agreed to stay at the Bell house for a night, and they too reported the same things the Bells had experienced.

It was only a matter of time before word got around Adams about the situation on the Bell farm. People came from  miles around to investigate and almost all reported mysterious circumstances. Even future President Andrew Jackson came to investigate. He was later quoted as saying "I would rather fight the entire English Army then to have to face the Bell Witch again." It wasn't long before the witch began to talk. Once she started, she never stopped. She would state how much she hated John Bell, and even threatened to kill him. She was also mean to John's daughter Betsy, who was seeing a local man named Joshua Gardner. She tormented Betsy, but also did nice things for her at times too, such as bring fruit from the Caribbean, which had never been seen before in rural Adams. It was as if she actual cared from Betsy, but abused her only to prevent her from marrying Joshua for Betsy's own protection. She never said why she did not want them to marry, but she said she had good reason.

Betsy Bell was finally forced to break off her engagement to Joshua. She did this on the banks of the Red River, a haunt of the Witch. The Witch was overjoyed by this news. Betsy would eventually marry her former teacher  Richard Powell, who had fallen in love with her when she was his student and wanted to marry her when she got old enough. He was about ten years her senior and many say he was a student of the occult.

In 1820 the Bell Witch made good on her threats to kill John Bell. On December 20, John Bell became sick after ingesting a strange liquid. When some of the liquid was given to a cat, the cat died almost immediately. The witch bragged about her deed, saying that she was glad to have done it, and sang loud, obscene songs at John's funeral.

Despite the cruelty the witch bestowed on John Bell, she was actually nice to his wife. She had a deep admiration of her, and treated her well. She also respected John Bell, Jr., who told her in no uncertain terms how he felt about her. This earned him her respect, and she did not torment him.

 The Witch left the home in 1821, saying she would return again in seven years. True to her word, she did, but this time she did little to torment anyone. She only stayed a short amount of time before leaving again, stating she would return again in 107 years (1935). Did she return? No one knows. Some people believe she never left Adams at all, and is still there today. Indeed, there are many strange things that occur in the town even today.

In the town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on the new Lasscassass highway is a small cemetary that we call Two Hills cemetary. Two Hills Baptist Church is next to the cemetary. I know the pastor there well. He has been a friend of mine for many years. The story behind the hauntings started back in the 1940's when a man by the name of Joseph Stewber was thought to be dead. The town doctor had a falling out with Stewber some months before. It is believed that Stewber was in love with the doctor's only daughter, and intended to marry her, and take her out of state. While Stewber layed on the doctor's bed in his small infermery, the doctor decided to dispose of Steuber that day. Even though the doctor had seen a tear drop from his eye, he called for his workers to bury Stewber's body as quickly as possible because of an unknown disease. So, immediately, the workers took the body to Two Hills cemetary, dug the grave, and buried Joseph Stewber as quickly as possible. Later that evening, Stewber's mother was kneeling at the grave when she heard a tapping sound coming from beneath the fresh earth. She immediately called for help. The grave was uncovered, and the coffin lid torn away to find the body of Joseph Stewber lifeless. The people at the cemetary also discovered fingernail marks on the lid of the coffin. Later that year, the doctor admitted that he thought Stewber to still be alive when he ordered his burial. He also stated that he believed a blood clot had ran through Stewber's brain, causing him to have a stroke. The doctor was excommunicated from the town of Murfreesboro, and resumed practice in North Carolina until his death. Beginning in the 1960's, people began seeing a man in the cemetary walking around as if confused. One man whom I knew well said that one evening while he was walking Lascassass highway as he did every day for health reasons, saw the man in the cemetary. He walked up the small hill to the cemetary to the man and asked if he needed any help. As the man turned and looked at my friend, "I will call him Bill", Bill recognized the face...It was the face of Joseph Stewber! Bill told me he didn't say a word, but just turned, and walked away. The pastor of the church next to the cemetary told me that his children are in fear to stay there at the pastor's home, which is on the church property. They claim to hear moaning and weeping from the church continuously. The pastor also told me that there is a red cloud that hovers over the graves of the cemetary sometimes. Many people that have lived in the community there have seen strange paranormal activity in the cemetary since the 1960's. I myself plan to continue investigating this cemetary until I discover the reason why these occurrences are taking place.