Thursday's Ten (on Friday)

10 Ghosts Who Live in Nashville...according to the Nashville Ghost Tours

Ok, so we went on the coolest Ghost Tour last night. We're planning to do Franklin in the next couple of weeks...but for now, here's Nashville's most famous ones...with a few pics sprinkled in.




1. Hermitage Hotel - baby in room 910 (which no longer exists, it's now in the $3000/night Presidential Suite). People often call the front desk complaining about the continual crying of a baby from a room close to them.


2. Hermitage Hotel - Lady in White (woman murdered by her husband around 1911)

3. Hermitage Hotel - Southern Belle (woman who by her period clothing apparently resided in a house that existed before the Hermitage. Because of a little skirmish we like to call the Civil War, they have no records of who she could be, but she's appeared in a few photographs and has been seen mostly on the bottom 2 floors of the hotel)

our guide Darcy and the Orb that follows her around the Capitol...

4. Capitol - William Stillwell, the original architect of the Capitol, and Samuel Morgan, the overseer of the project. They couldn't STAND each other, and both are buried in the building itself. The Capitol is where rookie cops are stationed. There are several police reports of hearing arguing coming from inside the building, only to discover that no one is there and there is no evidence of a breakin. Most people agree that Stillwell and Morgan are still arguing, much as they did when they were alive. There are also police reports documenting officers being locked into/out of a room by an unseen force and having to call for backup.

5. Capitol - James K Polk is the only President who is buried on the grounds, along with his wife Sarah. People report seeing orbs dancing around the tomb quite often. Our tour guide called it an orbgy. Haha. We didn't see any, or maybe just one, but it was fun to look for them.

another orb maybe?

6. St Mary's of the Seven Sorrows - the ghosts in the bell tower ring the bells at odd times. There's never any explanation for this, as the bells are no longer actually used...it's an electronic system that rings on the hour.

7. St Mary's of the Seven Sorrows - Bishop Richard Pius Miles. Several visitors and parishoners--and even priests--of St Mary's reported seeing an elderly gentleman, dressed in black and walking with a cane walking around the church. These reports went on for several years until a renovation of the church in 1969. During construction a tomb was found. In the outer coffin was a plaque that read Bishop Pius Miles, first Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville, died 1860. The ones who discovered the plaque assumed that during the Civil War, when the church served as one of several hospitals, the plaque was removed for fear of grave desecration. Over time people forgot the tomb existed. The inner coffin discovery was more surprising, however. Although it had been over 100 years since the Bishop's death, his body was perfectly preserved. This is one of the criteria for sainthood in the Catholic Church, so it is possible that he will at some point in the future become a saint. The more interesting point though is that he exactly matched the description of the man who had so often been spotted. After his re-interrment in the meditation room of the church he has never been spotted again. Guess he just needed to be noticed :0)




8. Ryman Auditorium - Hank Williams Sr. He often plays with the lights or sings after hours on the stage. Whispering Bill Anderson also reported that he felt Hank's spirit after playing one of his tunes during sound check--and everything around him lost power. He believed that Hank was putting his seal of approval on his career.

9. Ryman Auditorium - Captain Ryman himself. He's been known to heckle performances that he doesn't approve of. He originally built the Ryman as a house of worship, and when Carmen came to the Ryman several years after his death he heckled from the audience during each show. Since then he's made his disapproval known if a show comes in that he doesn't like.

10. Ryman Auditorium - the Man in Gray...believed to be perhaps a Confederate Soldier...is often seen in the balcony, but only during sound checks and rehearsals as well as other times the balcony is unoccupied.