7 Haunts to Jaunt to Between Nashville and Memphis

At the beginning of June 2012, we jaunted over to Memphis. My USTA team had won our city league, which meant we earned a trip to State. The State Championships were held in Memphis, somewhere I’d not yet been.

In fact, I haven’t really spent much time on I-40 heading west in the almost eight years we’ve lived in Nashville. It seems we’re always heading south on I-65 (which we did at the end of July 2012 since my team won State and we played in the Sectionals tournament down in Mobile –love to mention I won at something!).

The other direction we often find ourselves heading is east on I-24. Sometimes we head east on I-40 too, or west on I-24. But we haven’t spent much time traveling I-40 west.

Turns out there’s a lot of neat haunts out that way. In fact, some are even on my list of 14 haunted places I’d like to jaunt to in Tennessee. But quite a few were new. Here they all are:

1. Pinson Mounds – Pinson, TN: This is an archaeological park (one of two) “set aside to protect the prehistoric remains found there.” It’s the largest Middle Woodland period mound group in the U.S. and was used for ceremonial purposes. They mounds are rumored to be haunted. (It is a burial site after all, so rumors naturally spring out of that fact alone.) But strange noises and energy have also been reported here.
2. Freshwater Pearl Museum – Camden, TN: A pearl museum in the middle of Tennessee? Come on. That alone caught my eye. Upon further research, I discovered it’s North America’s only freshwater pearl-culturing farm. Nothing paranormal here that I can tell. Just something interesting I’d like to check out.
3. Salem Civil War Site – Jackson, TN: Also known as the Salem Cemetery Battlefield, this site allows for a self-guided tour among the monuments honoring the 1,000 Confederate and Union troops who engaged in battle here on December 19, 1862 and the soldiers who lost their lives that day. There doesn’t seem to be reports of anything paranormal going on here. That’s okay. Not necessary. I enjoy visiting Civil War sites. It’s always an educational and humbling experience.
4. Shiloh National Military Park – Shiloh, TN: The National Park Service’s website sums up what happened at this site best: “bloody.” There’s a lot to see within this park besides the battlefield itself. There’s also the Shiloh National Cemetery, Shiloh Indian Mounds, and Corinth Battlefield. This is for sure a Haunt Jaunt kind of place. Park officials often deny any reports of the paranormal (that’s standard no matter what park), but rumors abound about phantom drumming, gunshots, and marching, as well as rumors of a pond many soldiers ended up dying in –so many that it turned blood red. Not permanently. These days it’s plain old pond water –most days, that is. Some claim on occasion it turns blood red again for a bit. (Most assume this is some kind of sun-induced optical illusion though.)
5. Loretta Lynn’s Ranch – Hurricane Mills, TN: Shortly after we returned from all my tennis tournaments, we jaunted down to Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. I had no expectations for it. I had seen the house on some show about haunted places at one time. I also knew that Ghost Adventures had filmed there, but I never saw that episode. All I knew was it was in a state I now lived in and it wasn’t that far way. Day trip! We lucked out and visited on a blue sky, sunny, picture perfect day. We didn’t experience any paranormal activity, but we did enjoy touring the house, the museum, and the other surroundings. (Although, I did write about how the big Indian statue on her property haunted my dreams.) I HIGHLY recommend visiting if you ever find yourself able to do so. (I posted pics on our FB page. See the Loretta Lynn’s Haunted Ranch album. This was also a place I felt compelled to write about on TripAdvisor.)
6. Clement Railroad Hotel Museum – Dickson, TN: The sign from the Interstate caught my eye for this destination. It’s an old railroad hotel that’s been converted to a museum featuring local history, including history from the Civil War and the area’s railroad influences. Apparently there are rumors of some paranormal activity here. Volunteer State Paranormal Research held an event here a couple of years back even. (Had a feeling it might have some activity. I didn’t even see the building, just the sign advertising it, but its ghosts called to me. That happens sometimes.)
7. Middle TN State Veterans Cemetery – Nashville, TN: As my husband would say, “It’s just a cemetery.” But no cemetery is “just” a cemetery is it? The people under those markers had lives, loved ones, and stories of their own. Plus, it’s a military cemetery. My dad, my husband’s dad and grandpa all served our country, but weren’t career soldiers. We never consider ourselves a military family, but my dad did instill a deep respect for those who are brave enough to put on a uniform. Like I already mentioned above about the Civil War sites I visit, it’s always a deeply humbling experience to pay my anonymous respects at cemeteries, especially military ones.

BONUS JAUNT

A jaunt I learned of not via signs from I-40, as I did with all of the above, but one I learned of later that isn’t too far from Loretta Lynn’s Ranch was the Waverly Train Explosion Museum in Waverly, TN. There’s a real caboose that serves as a memorial and museum to the 1978 train disaster that happened in this area. Why such gruesome things appeal to me, who knows? Maybe because where you find disasters, you often find paranormal things happening too? Why I’m interested in that sort of thing, I may never know but I am so…this is an attraction that would attract me.

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.