Gatlinburg Is Allegedly One Of Tennessee's Most Haunted Small Towns
By Clarisa|Published January 26, 2023
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Clarisa
Author
Born and raised Kansan, Clarisa has lived in both tiny towns and cities during their time here in the Sunflower State. As a busy mother of one crazy kid, two cats, and two geckos, they write whenever there is spare time.
Do you love the weird, the odd, and the spooky things in life? Ghost stories have been around since stories have been told, but some towns have more than their fair share of paranormal tales. Of course, most small towns come with a ghost story or two around historic buildings or a particularly eerie graveyard. Despite embracing the strange and spooky, Gatlinburg happens to be one of Tennessee’s most haunted small towns. If you disagree, you may want to read these legends before you decide on a final answer.
Welcome to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a small town of just a few thousand people that happens to also be a hub for paranormal activity of all shapes and sizes. Sad stories of love and loss or tragic accidents are spread all over town, creating a hub of creepy coincidences that can't be ignored.
The town may be rife with stories, but how many are true enough to experience yourself? The only way to know for sure might just be to check for yourself.
To start things off easy, the Mystery Mansion has a ghost story of its own despite it being a little bit on the nose.
Local rumors will tell you of a little girl around seven who fell off of a balcony, landing in the creek below. Ever since, around the anniversary of her death, she's been spotted crying and pointing up at the spot as if to mourn what happened.
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As Gatlinburg is a hub for tourist activity of all kinds, the National Park is just as eerie. If anywhere feels haunted in Gatlinburg, it's a misty scene when daylight is weak.
If you sleep up at Leconte Lodge, you may risk seeing an unwelcome face watching you sleep in the early hours of the morning. At 3:33 a.m., a little ghostly girl is said to appear at the edge of your bed to watch you sleep. Surely she can't watch everyone, right? Maybe you'll be skipped this time.
Most popularly, a beautiful woman who is known to walk the local Roaring Fork Motor Trail, looking a little lost and walking barefoot, as she has for ages.
A man named Foster picked up what he thought was his new boo on the road in the early 1900s, and offered her a ride on his horse, without realizing she wasn't corporeal. When he visited her parents' house the next day to ask for her hand in marriage, he was informed of her passing, just weeks before in a local fire.
Coming into town, one of the most important local places to see is the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, one of the oldest local landmarks. The years have paved the way for plenty of hauntings. Stories of shadow people walking around the pool at night or being seen through nearby windows have weaved through tales of murder to paint a petrifying picture of possible phantoms.
Not only were two women killed by a shady one-night stand in the late 1970s, but in the early 1980s, members of a boy scout group were murdered by the scout leader. Screams of women and children and running footsteps have been heard all over the resort, on empty floors locked away during the off-season. Spooky stuff!
Even Greenbrier Restaurant hasn't escaped all of these happenings, with the ghost of a sad young woman haunting the restaurant, sometimes seen out of the corner of your eye or at the end of a dark hallway. According to the stories going around, she was a bride who, in her grief at being stood up at the altar, couldn't handle the pain and decided to take her own life.
If you visit, you can see the alleged rope marks on the beam she used back in the 1930s. She was ghosted, and decided to ghost herself, in the end. Days later, her former fiancé happened to come upon a cougar in the Smokies that took his life. Locals will tell you all about how she led the cougar to him just for revenge.
Even if you don't believe in tall tales or spirits at all, there's still something to say about a small town so thoroughly haunted. Even without a local ghost tour to guide you, there are plenty of ways to get spooked on your own travels through town.
If you aren’t phased by phantoms but find it fun to pretend anyways, why not go on a creepy-themed Tennessee road trip? Stack up a few spooky spots on the map and make a vacation out of exploring the paranormal tales these places have to tell. Are you brave enough to handle it?
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