Most Haunted Places in Knoxville, TN

Knoxville is a city that has a rich history dating all the way back to the later part of the 18th century and it was involved in some of the most fiercely fought battles during the Civil War. With such a colourful history, it is no wonder that the city is full of haunted places!

Let’s explore some of the most haunted places in Knoxville TN.

As we all know by now, pretty much every town or city has at least one haunted high school to call its own and Knoxville is certainly no different. Halls High School is one of the most haunted buildings in Knoxville TN and it is all down to the tragic death of a student in the 1970s.

The girl was arguing with her boyfriend at the top of the stairs when he pushed her and caused her to tumble down the stairs. When he saw the blood he panicked and ran, but realising that he had essentially left her to die he returned only to find her gone.

She was never found and was written off as a missing person. It gets even weirder when it emerges that exactly one year to the day after the incident, the boy was stabbed to death on his way home from a party.

No weapon was ever found and nobody was ever charged with the murder. People began to say that it was his girlfriend back from the dead and come for her revenge.

Since his death, a number of strange occurrences happened in the stairwell. It got so bad that it was bricked up and the only access door is kept locked. It is now used for storage and is off limits to students.

However, custodial staff still say that at night they have heard arguing coming from the stairwell and the sound of someone falling.

It seems that both spirits are now trapped there doomed to replay that awful night for eternity.

HillCrest North Nursing Home was built in 1951 and its oldest wing ‘B Building’ is said to be incredibly haunted. It was used as a tuberculosis hospital and then later turned into a nursing home.

Over the years many of the staff who have worked here have reported seeing ghosts and experiencing unexplained occurrences.

Strangely enough, it is not thought that the spirits here belong to dead patients, but rather former employees of the hospital or nursing home.

Why? Well, because HillCrest North Nursing Home is renowned for having some of the most caring and compassionate staff around from the medical team down to the maintenance crews.

It seems that even in death these people still care for their patients!

If you head to the subdivision in Lennox Place you will find two sorts of people living there – those who are happy to talk about paranormal activity and those who would rather just leave it alone!

However, that does not change the fact that almost the entire subdivision has encountered ghosts, with many of the spirits moving between several of the houses!

Some of the most common apparitions that have been reported here include an old man with white hair and wearing a long nightgown and  a young girl with long blonde hair.

The ghosts mostly all have one thing in common – they are very mischievous!

Some of their most common antics include opening up garage doors in the dead of night, rattling the dishes in kitchen cabinets and unlocking the doors during the day while the owners are out so that they come home to their house lying wide open!

Nobody is entirely sure why the area is so haunted!

Strong Hall is the women’s residence hall at the University of Tennessee. It is also one of the most haunted locations in Knoxville TN.

It is allegedly haunted by the spirit of one of the first female students to be enrolled at the school. She is said to appear in the mirror in the building’s lobby on her birthday every single year.

There are also frequent reports of strange noises during the night and the ghost, who is known as Sophie, is said to be very upset by students who have sex!

It is rumoured that the Resident Assistant’s room on the 4th floor was Sophie’s room and some say that is why none of the RAs  last for very long!

Sophie is generally considered to be a kind spirit who just wants the ladies of Strong Hall to maintain a certain level of decency and good morals, but that doesn’t mean that the younger girls don’t find her appearance a little scary!

The Bijou Theater was built back in 1817 when it was originally known as the Lamar House. The theatre was actually not added until about 100 years later and over the years the building has been used for a wide range of purposes including a civil war hospital and a 1960s adult movie house!

It is easy to see how any of these uses might have contributed to the paranormal activity here. However, it is thought to be mainly the spirits of actors and prostitutes who are now haunting the property!

There are several spirits here, but only one of them has been formally identified. Colonel William Sanders died in the bridal suite of the Lamar House back when it was serving as a hospital and he has been encountered there ever since.

Some of the other spirits in the building like to make themselves known by making noises and floating across the stage!

If you have been interested in the paranormal for any length of time then you may have already heard about Copper Ridge Baptist Church. In the 1990s people from all around the globe came to visit this small church just on the outskirts of Knoxville because of some very mysterious events that occurred here.

Over a period of about one year as many as 50,000 people witnessed these strange events including light anomalies that looked like crosses outside the church, apparitions appearing in photographs that looked like religious figures and even some people claiming to see what they believed to be angels!

Some people even made the journey to have their illnesses healed simply by entering the church. Were these occurrences divine, paranormal or just mass hysteria?

Nobody can really say for sure, but although the ‘miracles’ have mostly abated nowadays there is still the odd experience reported here and there which suggests that something still lingers here.

One of the most well known haunted places in Knoxville TN is probably Bakers Peters Jazz Club. Today it is best known as an expensive and somewhat trendy Jazz bar, but in a former life it served as a Civil War era residence which was built by Dr. James Harvey Baker.

It is not clear where the good doctor’s allegiances lay, as some accounts put him firmly on the confederate side while others say that he was completely neutral. What we do know, however, is that he did have a son who was a staunch confederate supporter.

The story goes that Dr. Baker was treating a number of wounded confederates in his home when the Union Army arrived and demanded that they be handed over. Dr. Baker refused to condemn his patients and instead chose to barricade himself in a bedroom.

It was not enough and the Yankees shot him through the wooden door. When his son returned home he swore revenge on the man who gave up his father to the Yankees and was successful in killing him only to be slain by that man’s friends.

Now people say that young Abner Baker is the one haunting the property, still refusing to give up the home that his family fought and died for!

Photographs which appear to show a ghostly face resembling Abner Baker are on display in the restaurant and some of the staff have reported cold spots, whispering voices, things moving and items being thrown around the kitchen!

The original Lakeshore Asylum building actually burned down in the 1920s, but the ruins are still visible and those who have visited them say that they have been able to hear disembodied screams and the sound of clanking shackles.

Some say they have also heard the haunting sounds of a music box playing. A new building was constructed just up the hill and it is also said to be haunted.

Visitors have photographed mist like figures in the windows and have heard the sounds of screams and shouting while also encountering shadow figures and other apparitions.

Given the amount of accusations there were of patients being mistreated and abused here it is only natural that the site would be haunted!