Haunted Tennessee: The 25 Most Haunted Places to Visit
From the Bell Witch’s cave to the stone cell blocks of Brushy Mountain and the haunted rooms of the Thomas House Hotel, these are the 25 most haunted places in Tennessee you can actually visit, with what is true and how to go.
Tennessee has America’s most famous poltergeist legend, two of its bloodiest Civil War battlefields, and prisons and hospitals that now open their doors after dark. We have checked every place against current sources, so you know which you can tour, which let you ghost hunt and which you can only see from the road. Haunted Rooms runs its own ghost hunts at the Thomas House Hotel in Red Boiling Springs and the Old Moore County Jail in Lynchburg.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 9182 Hwy 116, Petros, TN 37845
Where to look The Hole, D Block, the cell blocks, the mess hall, the hospital and Cell 28
Reported ghosts Footsteps, voices, growls, touches and shoves; sightings blamed on James Earl Ray
Visiting Prison museum with self-guided and guided tours
Tours Self-guided tours, guided group tours, paranormal investigations, overnights
Hours and season Seasonal, April to November; paranormal tours run all year
Ghost hunting Yes: public and private paranormal investigations and overnights, 18+ (16 with a parent)
Tennessee built Brushy Mountain in 1896 after the Coal Creek War ended convict leasing, and its first inmates mined coal in the hills of Morgan County. Prisoners later quarried the stone for the castle-like building that still stands. James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassin, escaped over the wall in 1977 and was caught within 58 hours. The End of the Line closed on June 11, 2009, after 113 years.
It reopened in 2018 as an attraction with tours led by former guards and inmates, a distillery and a restaurant. Disease, mine beatings and violence took many lives here, and visitors report being touched, shoved and growled at. The prison runs its own after-hours paranormal investigations and overnight hunts, with The Hole and Cell 28 among the most active spots.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a private overnight investigation (9 PM to 4 AM, one group a night) and dress warmly: inside can be 10 degrees cooler.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 1265 Hales Bar Rd, Guild, TN 37340
Where to look The powerhouse, the tunnels beneath it and the old control room
Reported ghosts Workers who died building the dam; children; a young woman on the second floor; Native American voices
Visiting Private powerhouse with reservation-only tours; marina and distillery on site
Tours Distillery and history tours of the powerhouse; seasonal haunted attraction
Ghost hunting The powerhouse has hosted ghost tours and paranormal investigations; check what is running before you go
Work on the Tennessee River’s first multipurpose dam began on October 17, 1905, and dragged on until November 1913 as soft limestone defeated contractor after contractor. It leaked almost from the day it opened, TVA bought it in 1939, and it was replaced by Nickajack Dam and dismantled in 1968. Only the Classical Revival powerhouse survives, on the National Register since 2008.
Records confirm deaths in construction: a boiler explosion, a falling derrick, a worker drowned in a rope. Legend adds a curse, said to have been laid in 1775 by Cherokee leader Dragging Canoe, who warned the land would be dark and bloody. Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures have both investigated the powerhouse, where visitors report shadow figures, voices and touches.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the Dam Whiskey distillery and history tour to get into the powerhouse tunnels, and check what ghost tours or investigations are running that season.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 430 Keysburg Rd, Adams, TN 37010
Where to look The cave passages and Eagle Rock, the replica John Bell cabin and the burial hill
Reported ghosts The Bell Witch, said to be Kate Batts's spirit; thrown rocks, voices, lights
Visiting Privately owned; guided cave and cabin tours
Tours Cave and cabin tours, lantern tours, haunted hayrides, public investigations
Hours and season Seasonal; open Friday to Sunday in October; check the official site for current hours
Tickets Cave tours about $15 to $23 (2022 prices)
Ghost hunting Yes: public paranormal investigations with Black Wolf Paranormal, booked about a month ahead
America’s most famous poltergeist story began in 1817 on John Bell’s farm near Adams, where the family reported knocking, scratching and a voice that spoke, sang and tormented young Betsy Bell. John Bell died in December 1820, and the voice claimed responsibility. The story was first written up at length in M.V. Ingram’s 1894 book, and Andrew Jackson’s famous visit comes from that book rather than any record of Jackson’s.
The 490-foot cave on the old Bell land is on the National Register, and many believe the spirit retreated into it, though skeptics point out it plays no part in the earliest accounts. Today the owners run cave and cabin tours, lantern tours and haunted hayrides in October, and public investigations with Black Wolf Paranormal. Visitors report thrown rocks, voices and lights on camera.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book an October lantern tour, and check the cave’s Facebook page after heavy rain, when the cave floods and closes.
Open to the publicOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 520 East Main Street, Red Boiling Springs, TN 37150
Where to look Room 37, the White Hallway, Rooms 17 and 35, the dining room
Reported ghosts Sarah Cloyd, the Whistling Man, a boy named Edwin and R.V. Weston
Visiting A working hotel; book a room, or join our ghost hunt and sleepover
Ghost hunting Yes: Haunted Rooms ghost hunts and sleepovers
Zack and Clay Cloyd opened the Cloyd Hotel in 1890, when Red Boiling Springs was a busy mineral-water spa town. Fire destroyed it in 1924 and it was rebuilt in red brick in 1927; after the springs went out of fashion it became a boys’ summer camp, and in the late 1980s a group devoted to contacting the dead lived here. It reopened as the Thomas House in 1993 and is on the National Register.
It is one of the most talked-about haunted hotels in the South, featured on Ghost Hunters and Portals to Hell. Room 37 is linked to Sarah Cloyd, a child said to shake the beds and ask guests to play; staff also hear the Whistling Man in empty halls. Haunted Rooms runs overnight ghost hunts here.
Haunted Rooms tip: Join a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt and sleepover to investigate the whole building, including Room 37 and the White Hallway, with a team.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 1100 Holly Ave, South Pittsburg, TN 37380
Where to look The third floor, the nursery, Nelly's room (304) and the second-floor nursing station
Reported ghosts A 7-foot shadow figure; Buddy, a toddler; a nurse; Jim the caretaker; Nelly
Visiting Paranormal research center open for tours and investigations
Tours Day tours, public night investigations, half nights and private overnights
Hours and season Day tours 10 AM to 2 PM by appointment; night investigations from 6 PM (Central)
Tickets Day tour and mini investigation $35; overnight for up to 8 people $659 (2026)
Ghost hunting Yes: public and private investigations and overnights; ages 14 to 18 with an adult
South Pittsburg Municipal Hospital opened in 1959 and closed in 1998. The 68,000-square-foot building was used for storage until a later owner noticed odd things and let investigators in. Paranormal investigator Ronnie Dee bought it in 2018, and it now runs as the Old South Pittsburg Hospital Paranormal Research Center, about 35 minutes west of Chattanooga.
Staff believe 40 to 50 spirits are active here. The best known is a shadow figure at least seven feet tall on the third floor that is said to tell people to get out, and Buddy, a toddler on the second floor who giggles and asks to be picked up. Former employees reported moving carts and wheelchairs, crying babies and voices while the hospital was still open.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a half night midweek in winter for the lowest price, and spend time in the nursery and on the third floor.
Where to look The old Lamar House bridal suite, the men's room, the rafters and catwalk above the stage
Reported ghosts General William P. Sanders; Civil War soldiers; unseen hands tugging clothes
Visiting Working theater; see a show, occasional ghost tours
Tours Occasional special ghost tours
Ghost hunting No public investigations
The front of the Bijou is Knoxville’s old hotel, finished in 1817 and renamed the Lamar House in 1856, where Andrew Jackson once lodged. When Union troops took the city in 1863 it became a hospital, and General William P. Sanders died in its bridal suite on November 19, 1863. The theater opened behind it in 1909, sank to showing adult films by the 1970s, and was saved from demolition in 1974.
Local historians call it Knoxville’s most haunted building. A staff member told WBIR she saw a solid figure in a uniform with gold buttons in the men’s room and ran. Others report footsteps in the rafters and on the catwalk, tugs on clothing in the bathrooms and glimpses of soldiers. The Bijou has occasionally run ghost tours into the closed upper floors of the Lamar House.
Haunted Rooms tip: See a show, and watch the Bijou’s calendar for one of its rare ghost tours under the stage and into the old hotel floors.
Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.
Where to look The cellblock, the sheriff's family quarters and the funeral home parlors across the street
Reported ghosts Voices, movement and full apparitions in the funeral home; activity in the cells
Visiting Jail museum open by day; investigate both buildings on a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt
Hours and season Jail museum: Tue to Sat, noon to 4pm (free, donations welcome)
Ghost hunting Yes: Haunted Rooms ghost hunts, 8 PM to 2 AM
Just off Lynchburg’s courthouse square, the Old Moore County Jail was built in 1893 for under $600 and was also the sheriff’s family home, with cells on one side and the family’s rooms on the other; 25 sheriffs served from here until it closed in 1990. Sheriff Wiley Hobbs died in office in 1932, and his widow Pearl became the county’s first female sheriff. A man was killed in the jail by a lynch mob in 1901. By day it is a free museum run by the Moore County Historical Society.
Directly across the street, the Old Lynchburg Funeral Home spent decades preparing the town’s dead, and investigators say it is even more active than the jail, with voices, movement in empty rooms and full apparitions. Not everyone agrees: one longtime museum volunteer told the local paper he has never seen or heard anything. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts across both buildings in one night, with small groups rotating between the cells and the parlors.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book our Lynchburg ghost hunt and dress warmly: the funeral home has no heating.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address Courthouse square, Huntsville, TN
Where to look The first-floor bathroom, the stairwell and the cell blocks
Reported ghosts A woman who died in the bathroom; voices, footsteps, whistles, pictures flying off walls
Visiting Museum with day tours and after-dark investigations
Tours Day tours, after-dark tours, public ghost hunts
Hours and season Museum 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Ghost hunting Yes: public ghost hunts and private investigations, 8:30 PM to 3 AM
Built of local beige sandstone in 1904 (some sources say 1906), with a third floor added in 1922, this jail survived the 1946 fire that destroyed the courthouse beside it and is the oldest surviving building in Huntsville. It held some of the county’s worst inmates until it closed in 2008, and its history includes the unsolved murder of a sheriff, lynchings and inmate suicides. It is on the National Register and is now a true crime and paranormal museum.
History, Highways and Haunts runs the jail. Visitors report voices, shadow figures, footsteps, a whistle from the stairwell, hands on shoulders and pictures flying off the walls, one of them caught on video. The first-floor bathroom, linked to a woman who died there, is said to be the most active spot. Celly the jail cat greets visitors.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a private night investigation (Thursday to Sunday, up to 10 people) and ask for time in the first-floor bathroom.
Where to look The staircase, the upstairs window and Matilda's room
Reported ghosts A crying woman, a girl at the window, drums, objects moved
Visiting Museum with guided house tours
Tours Guided house tours on the hour; specialty and seasonal ghost tours
Hours and season Mon to Sat 9 AM to 5 PM, Sun 11 AM to 4 PM
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; ask about specialty tours
German woodworker Johann Albert Lotz built this Greek Revival house in 1858, across the road from Carter House. On November 30, 1864, the family sheltered in the Carter cellar as the battle raged over their land. Their south wall was blasted away, and the house became a field hospital. It opened as a museum in 2008, and cannonball scars and bloodstains are still on show.
The Travel Channel has featured it as one of the most terrifying places in America, and the Tennessee Wraith Chasers investigated it for Haunted Live. Reports include a woman crying for a loved one, a little girl at the window, the sound of drums, tugs on clothing blamed on the Lotz children, and objects that move.
Haunted Rooms tip: Join a Franklin on Foot evening tour from the house on Friday nights in October; reservations are required.
Address 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, Nashville, TN 37219
Where to look The pews, the stage and the area beneath it, and the alley toward Tootsie's
Reported ghosts Captain Thomas Ryman, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline
Visiting Working concert hall with daily tours
Tours Self-guided, backstage and VIP tours, plus Haunted History Tours
Hours and season Daytime tours daily 9 AM to 4 PM (special hours on show days)
Tickets Self-guided tour from $25; guided backstage tour about $42.50 (2026)
Ghost hunting No investigations; the venue runs its own Haunted History Tours
The Mother Church of Country Music opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, built by riverboat captain Thomas Ryman after a religious conversion. It took his name after he died in 1904, and from 1943 to 1974 it was home to the Grand Ole Opry. Hank Williams and Patsy Cline both made their Opry debuts on this stage.
The stories follow the history. Staff and visitors have told of hearing Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, and of Captain Ryman himself making noise when shows were not to his taste. Hank Williams has also been reported in the alley that runs to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. The Ryman embraces it with its own Haunted History Tours, which take you under the stage.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the 45-minute Haunted History Tour (there is a special one on Halloween night), then walk the alley behind the building after dark.
Where to look The mezzanine side box, seat C5 and the balcony
Reported ghosts Mary, a girl of about 12 in a school uniform; a jilted lover called Eleanor
Visiting Working theater; see a show or ask about group tours
Tours Occasional group tours
Ghost hunting No investigations; it is a busy working theater
The Grand Opera House opened on the corner of Main and Beale in 1890 and joined the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in 1907. Fire destroyed it in 1923, and the present movie palace by Rapp and Rapp opened on the same corner on November 19, 1928. An $8 million restoration in the 1990s gave it the stage that now hosts touring Broadway shows.
Its resident ghost is Mary, a girl of about 12 in a school uniform who is seen in a mezzanine side box and is said to favor seat C5. How she died depends on who tells it: a fire, a fall, a trolley outside. University of Memphis researchers concluded she died in a 1921 downtown accident unrelated to the theater and simply wandered in. Cast and crew also tell of at least six other spirits.
Haunted Rooms tip: Buy a ticket for a show and look up at the mezzanine boxes before the lights go down.
Where to look The upstairs rooms, the bathroom mirrors and the jukebox
Reported ghosts A jukebox that plays on its own; piano music, footsteps and figures upstairs
Visiting Open as a bar and live music venue
Ghost hunting No formal investigations; downtown ghost tours pass by
This South Main building began as a church in the late 1800s and was later a pharmacy, a sundry store and a jazz club where B.B. King, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin played. Its upstairs is said to have run as a brothel, and Russell George opened the bar as Earnestine & Hazel’s in 1992. Yelp ranked it the fourth most haunted spot in America in 2021.
The famous ghost here is the jukebox, which staff and regulars say starts songs on its own, sometimes the very song someone was about to choose. Upstairs, staff report a piano playing in empty rooms, footsteps, voices and full figures, and customers say they have seen faces in the bathroom mirrors. The second floor bar is cash only.
Haunted Rooms tip: Go upstairs, order a drink and keep an ear on the jukebox. Bring cash.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address Rugby, TN 37733
Where to look The North Village, the cemetery and the restored cottages
Reported ghosts Voices, apparitions and equipment answering questions across the village
Visiting Historic village with buildings to tour
Tours Historic Rugby After Dark lantern tours and ghost hunts
Ghost hunting Yes: guided ghost hunts and private investigations
English author Thomas Hughes founded Rugby on the Cumberland Plateau in 1880 as a utopian colony for younger sons of English gentry. Hardship drove most colonists away within a decade, but a small community stayed, and since 1966 a preservation group has restored the village, which is on the National Register.
Tennessee Tourism says the whole village is rumored to be haunted, with visitors and investigators reporting disembodied voices, apparitions and equipment that seems to answer questions. After Dark tours by lantern light, including a Haunted North Village and Cemetery tour, run Thursday to Sunday, with ghost hunts and private investigations by History, Highways and Haunts.
Haunted Rooms tip: Take the Haunted North Village and Cemetery lantern tour, then stay nearby for an early start at Brushy Mountain.
Where to look The back porch, the bloodstained upstairs floors and the McGavock Confederate Cemetery
Reported ghosts A woman on the back porch, a soldier pacing the front, a girl sweeping at dusk
Visiting House museum run by the Battle of Franklin Trust
Tours Guided house tours, battlefield and specialty tours
Hours and season Mon to Sat 9 AM to 5 PM, Sun 10 AM to 5 PM; last tour 4 PM
Tickets Classic house tour $22 adults, $14 ages 6 to 15 (2026)
Ghost hunting No paranormal investigations
Randal McGavock built Carnton in 1826 with enslaved labor. On November 30, 1864, the Battle of Franklin made it the largest field hospital in the area, with as many as 300 soldiers tended inside the house. The bodies of four Confederate generals, Cleburne, Adams, Strahl and Granbury, were laid on the back porch. In 1866 the McGavocks gave land for a cemetery where 1,481 soldiers were reburied.
Bloodstains still mark the floorboards. Visitors and staff tell of a woman’s figure on the back porch, a Confederate soldier pacing the front, and a young girl sweeping at dusk. Carrie McGavock, who tended the graves for the rest of her life, inspired the bestselling novel The Widow of the South.
Haunted Rooms tip: Take the 60-minute house tour, then walk out to the McGavock Confederate Cemetery as the light fades.
Where to look The national cemetery, the tour road stops and the Indian mounds trail
Reported ghosts Apparitions, drumming, voices, footsteps and phantom gunshots
Visiting National military park, open in daylight hours
Ghost hunting No; park rules apply after dark
On April 6 and 7, 1862, the Battle of Shiloh left 23,746 men killed, wounded or missing, more than in all of America’s earlier wars combined, and ended in a Union victory. The park was established in 1894, and Shiloh National Cemetery beside the visitor center holds 3,584 Union dead, 2,357 of them unknown; Confederate dead lie in mass graves around the field.
Tennessee Tourism notes longstanding legends of apparitions, drumming, voices, footsteps and gunshots on the field, told by visitors and staff, though none is on record. Follow the 12.7-mile, 20-stop auto tour, or walk the 1.1-mile trail to the Shiloh Indian Mounds. Nearby Hagy’s Catfish Hotel restaurant has its own legend of Elmo, a drowned steamboat crewman.
Haunted Rooms tip: Drive the full auto tour in the late afternoon and finish at the national cemetery.
Address 107 West M.L.K. Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37402
Where to look Room 311
Reported ghosts Annalisa Netherly
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
A hotel has stood on this downtown corner since the Crutchfield House of 1847, which served as a Civil War hospital and burned in 1867. Dr. John T. Read’s Read House opened on New Year’s Day 1872, and the current ten-story Georgian building by Holabird & Roche opened in 1926. Avocet Hospitality restored it to its 1920s look in 2018, and it calls itself the longest continually operating hotel in the Southeast.
Its ghost is Annalisa Netherly, who local lore says was murdered in the bathtub of Room 311 in 1927 by a jealous husband. No record of her death has been found, but guests report running water, flickering lights and a figure in the room. The hotel offers tours of 311 and you can book a night in it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book Room 311 directly with the hotel for the full experience, or ask about a tour of the room if it is taken.
Where to look Room 711 and the old train shed side
Reported ghosts Abigail, and a soldier on the tracks
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Nashville’s Romanesque stone train station opened in 1900 for the L&N Railroad, sat abandoned for years, and reopened as a hotel in 1986. Today it is the Union Station Nashville Yards, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, with the original barrel-vaulted lobby and its stained glass.
The hotel tells the ghost story itself. Abigail is said to have come to the station during World War II to see off her soldier sweetheart, who was killed in France, and to have taken her own life here. Guests in Room 711 report noises, flickering lights, faces in mirrors and sudden cold, and some describe a uniformed soldier on the tracks.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 711 when you book; the hotel itself promotes Abigail’s story, especially around Halloween.
Where to look Room 912, the upper floors and balconies, the lobby mirror and the elevators
Reported ghosts A crying baby heard in Room 912, a Lady in White, a girl seen on an upper balcony
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel opened on September 17, 1910, a Beaux-Arts landmark by architect J. Edwin Carpenter, paid for by 250 local residents. Presidents from Taft to Nixon stayed or spoke here, and in 1920 it was a stage for both sides of the fight over the 19th Amendment, which is why it was named a National Historic Landmark in 2020. Today it has 122 rooms and the Jean-Georges restaurant Drusie & Darr.
Its best-known story belongs to Room 912, where guests say they have woken in the small hours to a baby crying. Local lore says an infant fell from a window there, but no newspaper record of such an accident has been found. Staff and guests also blame a Lady in White for doors that open on their own, misbehaving elevators and glasses that slide off the bar.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 912 when you book and again at check-in, then take afternoon tea in the lobby and look for the mirror said to crack and mend itself.
Visiting Closed and fenced; view the exterior from the public road only. The grounds open once a year for the Run the Green Mile 5K
Ghost hunting No. The site is closed state property with asbestos and storm damage
The state’s second penitentiary opened on February 12, 1898, six miles west of downtown, and took in 1,403 prisoners on its first day. It was overcrowded from the start. It closed in June 1992, and a 1993 federal court order bars the state from ever housing inmates there again. Hollywood kept coming back: The Green Mile, Walk the Line, The Last Castle and Ernest Goes to Jail were all filmed here.
The interior was declared off-limits in 2011 because of asbestos, and an EF3 tornado badly damaged the building in March 2020. Ghost stories have grown in the empty halls: former workers, film crews and urban explorers tell of footsteps, slamming doors, cold spots and figures in the cell blocks. It is state property behind fences, so the only legal view is from the road.
Haunted Rooms tip: Drive past on Centennial Boulevard in daylight and look at the turreted front from the public road. Do not trespass: the site is fenced, unsafe and patrolled.
Address Sensabaugh Hollow Road, Hawkins County, TN
Where to look The middle of the tunnel
Reported ghosts A crying baby, approaching footsteps, a woman's shadow in the back seat
Visiting A public road tunnel; drive through, do not park inside
Ghost hunting No; it is a working road
This narrow concrete tunnel north of Kingsport was built in the 1920s and named for Edward Sensabaugh, who owned the land. The City of Kingsport calls it a nationally recognized urban legend, and the legends contradict each other: a thief drowned Sensabaugh’s baby here, or Sensabaugh went mad and killed his family.
The version the city calls most accurate is the least gory: Edward lived to old age, none of his children died as babies, and he hid at one end of the tunnel and shrieked to scare off vandals. Visitors still say a car turned off inside will not restart, and report a baby crying, footsteps and a woman’s shadow in the back seat.
Haunted Rooms tip: Go in daylight with a friend, do not stop inside, and expect water, graffiti and a slippery surface.
Address Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN
Where to look Daisy Town's empty cabins and the site of the Wonderland Hotel
Reported ghosts Footsteps, a figure at dusk, strange noises near the old Wonderland Hotel
Visiting Inside the national park; walk the restored Daisy Town cabins in daylight. The Appalachian Clubhouse interior is for paid group bookings only
Tickets Free to walk the historic district
Ghost hunting No
The Little River Lumber Company founded Elkmont in 1908 as a logging base, and wealthy Knoxville families soon built summer cottages around the Appalachian Club and the Wonderland Hotel, which opened in 1912. The park’s leases ran out in 1992. The Wonderland collapsed in 2005 and its annex burned in 2016, but in 2024 the park finished restoring 19 historic cabins and buildings in Daisy Town, which you can walk through for free.
Walking the empty cabins at dusk, it is easy to see why visitors report footsteps, a ghostly figure, strange noises near the Wonderland Hotel site and the feeling of being watched. These are visitor stories with no record behind them; Elkmont’s ghost town name simply comes from its abandonment. The same valley hosts the famous synchronous fireflies each summer.
Haunted Rooms tip: Walk Daisy Town in the last hour of daylight; the fireflies event needs a park lottery ticket.
Where to look The second floor of the old Utopia Hotel building and the historic corridors
Reported ghosts Tim Hanifin, said to have been shot in 1897; a weeping woman in Victorian dress
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Dream Nashville backs onto Printers Alley and is built around two survivors of the old Men’s Quarter: the six-story Utopia Hotel of 1891, on the National Register since 1979, and the facade of the 1887 Climax Saloon, once the district’s most notorious saloon and bordello. The hotel opened at the turn of 2019 with 168 rooms and 21 suites, and it welcomes pets.
The ghost stories come from the old hotel. Local ghost tours tell of Tim Hanifin, said to have been shot dead by a sheriff on the Utopia’s second floor in 1897, whose misty figure is seen in the halls. Guests and staff also describe a weeping woman in Victorian dress and footsteps with nobody there. We have not found a newspaper record of the shooting, so treat it as tour lore.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a room in the historic Utopia building rather than the new tower, then take a late walk down Printers Alley.
Address 111 North Main Street, Greeneville, TN 37743
Where to look Brumley's Restaurant and the best suite
Reported ghosts Greene Room Grace, Front Desk Bill and General John Hunt Morgan
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Built as the Grand Central, a railroad hotel, between 1887 and 1890, this downtown Greeneville landmark ran as the Hotel Brumley from 1908 to 1981 and reopened after restoration in 1996 as the General Morgan Inn. It is named for the Confederate cavalry general John Hunt Morgan, who was shot and killed in Greeneville in 1864.
Local TV’s Haunted Tri-Cities lists three resident spirits: Greene Room Grace, a former server who takes spoons off the tables in Brumley’s Restaurant; Front Desk Bill, a former employee; and General Morgan himself, who is said to have claimed the best suite.
Haunted Rooms tip: Have dinner at Brumley’s and keep an eye on your spoon.
Address 127 West Main Street, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Where to look The Jury Room suite
Reported ghosts Friendly unnamed spirits, perhaps old jurors
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Parts of this inn date to 1797, in Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, and it was expanded over the following century. In the early 1900s it housed jurors while the courthouse was being renovated, which is where its Jury Room suite gets its name. It closed for a time after the pandemic and was put up for sale in 2022, and it is taking bookings again with nine rooms.
Local TV called it a “happy ghost place”: past owners described its spirits as friendly, and mysterious voices have reportedly been recorded in the Jury Room, which some put down to the twelve jurors who once slept there.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the Jury Room and time your visit for the National Storytelling Festival in October.
Where to look The Magnolia Lobby and its staircase and chandelier, stairwells, elevators and top-floor rooms
Reported ghosts The Lady in Black, said to be a member of the McGavock family
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
The giant resort beside the Grand Ole Opry opened on November 24, 1977, next to the old Opryland USA theme park, and has grown to 2,888 rooms under three glass atriums, the Garden Conservatory, the Cascades and the Delta. The May 2010 flood put parts of it under about 10 feet of water; it reopened that November. It is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties and run by Marriott.
It is a young building for a ghost story, but Tennessee’s own tourism office tells one. Guests and staff describe the Lady in Black, a woman in a long black antebellum gown and sometimes a veil, seen at the top of stairs, in corridors and in rooms, and said to rattle the chandelier in the Magnolia Lobby. Legend links her to the McGavock family, who once owned much of this land.
Haunted Rooms tip: Stand on the Magnolia Lobby’s grand staircase late at night, when the crowds have gone, and keep an eye on the chandelier.
These places appear in older lists of haunted spots. We keep them here so you know the facts before you go, but you cannot (or should not) visit them.
Rotherwood Mansion, Kingsport
Famous for the legend of Rowena Ross and a lady in white, Rotherwood is a private home. Its owner, a self-described skeptic, has told WATE she has never seen the footprints or figures. Please do not visit.
The Delta Queen, Chattanooga
The steamboat hotel, said to be haunted by Captain Mary B. Greene, left Chattanooga in 2015 and was put up for sale in 2025.
Wheatlands, Sevierville, and Gwendolyn's House, Elizabethton
Our older guide listed both with dramatic claims we could not confirm in any current source, and neither is open to visitors. We have removed them.
The Pegram family cemetery
Bulldozed for housing in 1970, according to the local story; there is nothing left to visit.
Changed from our older guide: the Delta Queen has left Tennessee, and Rotherwood is a private home. We removed Greenwood Cemetery, RestHaven Memorial Gardens and Bethesda Church, whose stories we could not confirm in any current source, and Wheatlands and Gwendolyn’s House (see above). The Lakeshore asylum grounds are now a public park, covered in our Knoxville guide. New in this update: Brushy Mountain, the Old South Pittsburg Hospital, the Scott County Jail, Historic Rugby, Shiloh, Elkmont, the Lotz House, Earnestine & Hazel’s, our Lynchburg ghost hunt and Tennessee’s haunted hotels.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most haunted place in Tennessee?
The Bell Witch Cave in Adams is the most famous, tied to the 1817 Bell family haunting. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, Hales Bar Dam and the Thomas House Hotel are the most investigated.
Can you ghost hunt in Tennessee?
Yes. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at the Thomas House Hotel and the Old Moore County Jail in Lynchburg, and Brushy Mountain, the Old South Pittsburg Hospital, the Historic Scott County Jail and the Bell Witch Cave all host investigations.
Which Tennessee haunted places can you stay the night in?
You can book a room at the Thomas House Hotel, the Read House, the Hermitage Hotel and other haunted hotels, and Brushy Mountain and the Old South Pittsburg Hospital run overnight investigations.
Is the Tennessee State Prison open to visitors?
No. It has been closed since 1992, its interior was declared off-limits in 2011 and it was damaged by a 2020 tornado. View it only from Centennial Boulevard in Nashville.
Where is the Sensabaugh Tunnel?
On Sensabaugh Hollow Road in Hawkins County, north of Kingsport. It is a working road tunnel; drive through in daylight and do not stop inside.
What happened to the Delta Queen in Chattanooga?
The haunted steamboat left Chattanooga in 2015 for Houma, Louisiana, and was put up for sale in 2025. It is no longer a place to visit in Tennessee.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
