The Amazingly Creepy Tennessee Mausoleum You Never Knew Existed
By Meghan Kraft|Published July 07, 2018
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Meghan Kraft
Author
Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.
We all love a good ghost story, whether we’re stuck in the heart of October or the blustery breezes of March. Here in Tennessee, our deep state history fosters quite the atmosphere for a good ghost story. Our tiny towns hold dark wounds, our cities the stomping ground of strange stories. One of the darkest and most chilling tales of all, however, comes from the tiny town of Cleveland, Tennessee. Have you heard the story of little Nina Craigmiles before? Once you’ve heard it, we promise — you’ll never forget it.
The town of Cleveland, Tennessee is best known for its tight-knit community and its proximity to the absolutely stunning Cherokee National Forest. But many people are unaware of some truly unique history hiding right in plain sight in the city.
Behind St. Luke's Episcopal Church in town, there's a large, white mausoleum that is the final resting place of Nina Craigmiles. The mausoleum might seem out of place, but the Craigmiles family was very well off, having earned their fortune selling goods to both sides in the Civil War. Nina died when she was 7 years old. She was riding in a carriage with her grandfather when they came to a railroad crossing. For whatever reason, they crossed the tracks in front of an oncoming train, but they were too slow. Nina was killed in the accident, and her grieving family paid for the church and mausoleum to be built. The church was named St. Luke's because she died on St. Luke's Day in October.
Interestingly enough, the church was supposed to feature a statue of little Nina. The statue was made from Italian marble and was shipped from Europe to Cleveland, but the statue never made it. The statue maker shipped Nina's statue on the HMS Titanic. But you already know that story.
The mausoleum's most interesting and eerie feature is the red stain above the mausoleum door. No one knows what it is or where it comes from, but many speculate that it's a blood stain left by the ghost of the little girl.
Pretty creepy, right? You never know what kind of fun and eerie history you're going to find in Tennessee. You can visit the mausoleum for yourself in Cleveland at 320 Broad St. NW.
For a bite into an arguably sweeter part of Tennessee history, you’ll want to check out this darling little pie shop. We love how homey it is, and it definitely scares away the creeps this tomb brought out of hiding. Thank goodness!
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