Old Roane Medical Center Site of New TN Paranormal Experiences Center

Is the small town of Harriman poised to become Tennessee’s next haunted hot spot for ghost hunters? Perhaps. WVLT in Knoxville reported the owners of the Haunted Old South Pittsburg Hospital Paranormal Research Center have recently leased the old Roane Medical Center building in Harriman.

That’s exciting for paranormal investigators and enthusiasts who want a new place to explore. However, it’s also great news for two other reasons. Let’s check those out and also learn more about the old Roane Medical Center and its paranormal activity.

Old Roane Medical Center spared from demolition?

The historic building was set for demolition. That’s a big reason it’s so exciting to hear the news about the lease agreement between the owners of South Pittsburg’s Paranormal Research Center and Harriman’s Industrial Development Board.

For now, the hospital that was built back in the 1930s and that nobly served the citizens of its county for decades, has been spared from that fate. However, the town hopes by doing so that it will also accomplish something else.

Old Roane Medical Center tourism generator?

By leasing the building to someone who wants to open it as a tourist attraction, there’s definitely the potential for it to generate revenue for other sectors of Harriman too.

The old Roane Medical Center is right smack in the heart of downtown Harriman, which is located just under an hour west of Knoxville, about an hour and a half north of Chattanooga, and a little over two hours from Nashville. That makes it an easy day trip at least, or even a great place to head for a weekend getaway.

And what do people need to do when they travel? Eat and shop.

Well, they might not need to shop unless they forgot something, but a lot of people like to shop when they visit new places. And perhaps even might need a place to sleep.

So, yes. To use a famous line from Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come” —and spend money while they’re there.

The irony of banking on “spirits” to boost revenue in Harriman tickles me, though. Especially because the town was created in response to another kind of “spirit.” Or, rather, the avoidance of it.

As the city’s history page explains, its moniker is “The Town that Temperance Built.” It was founded by Frederick Gates, a Methodist minister from New York, in the late 1880s to be a place where “‘no manufacture, storage or sales of intoxicating liquor or beverages’ would take place.”

Yes, I realize that’s referring to “spirits” of the alcoholic variety, but a type of “spirit” nonetheless.

What will it offer?

There’s no word yet on exactly what kind of “paranormal experience center” the old Roane Medical Center will be. Maybe similar to what they do down at the old South Pittsburg Hospital with overnight investigations and personalized experiences? Maybe even an event location for paracons and such?

The building certainly looks large enough to accommodate haunted sleepovers. However, it might depend on what kind of shape it’s in on the inside.

I’m not sure about shadow people, but it also sounds like the old Roane Medical Center has the same type of paranormal activity that old South Pittsburg Hospital does —and plenty of it.

When will it open?

Other than that they’ll take over the building starting Mar. 1 and hope to open by mid-March, they haven’t announced a specific opening date.

Check-In

Is there a paranormal experience or research center of any kind in your state?