Читать книгу Nashville Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 14

directions

North of Nashville in a small town called Goodlettsville sits Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. To get there, simply take I-65 North for about 6.5 miles to Exit 90A, the Dickerson Pike exit. Take a right onto Dickerson Pike and follow the road for about 5 miles. The cemetery will be on the right-hand side of the road. It is the only large cemetery in the area. You can’t miss it.

history

Unlike many of the other cemeteries in the area, Forest Lawn does not have a remarkably long history. In fact, this cemetery did not accept its first burial until 1954, only a little more than 50 years ago. This doesn’t mean that Forest Lawn does not have its own bit of history to share with anyone who is listening.

The most interesting part of this cemetery is a section known as Music Row, named after the Music Row district in downtown Nashville, mostly because many of the people buried in this section are country music legends. Many died suddenly and tragically while still in their prime.

On a rainy night in 1963, Patsy Cline was flying home from a show with several country music stars. The weather got the best of the plane, and it went down near Camden, Tennessee, instantly killing all on board. Lloyd Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Randy Hughes were all killed in the accident and were then buried at Forest Lawn.

On his way to the memorial service for Patsy Cline, country music star Jack Anglin was driving alone and took a corner too quickly. He lost control of the vehicle and crashed. He died and was buried at Forest Lawn as well.

ghost story

This cemetery itself does not seem to be haunted at all. It actually looks quite peaceful and beautiful. The fact that nothing appears to be creepy or ominous throughout the entire cemetery makes it all the more surprising when reports surface about strange things that happen here.

No one has ever seen a ghost at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. The ghosts here do seem to have something to say, though. Witnesses will sometimes hear what sounds like distant music when they walk near the Music Row section of the cemetery. Other times people will feel uncomfortable when walking alone near this section.

The most common occurrence at this cemetery, however, is that amateur ghosthunters with audio recorders will often record strange voices that they didn’t experience at the time of the recording. This “electronic voice phenomenon” seems quite prevalent here at Forest Lawn. People will record anything from whispers to music that wasn’t heard at the time the recording was made.

visiting

Normally, the best time to search for the Forest Lawn ghosts is during the day since the cemetery closes at dusk and the ghost stories here require you to actually enter its confines. This is OK, however, because most of the reports and recordings that originated here were made during daylight hours. Be respectful, bring a recorder, and explore the cemetery. Make sure you spend most of your time in the Music Row section since this is where most of the reports come from.