Читать книгу Nashville Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 18

directions

Head out of downtown by taking I-40 East toward Knoxville. Take Exit 212, the Fessler’s Lane exit, and keep left at the fork until you find yourself on Rundle Avenue. Turn left onto Fessler’s Lane. After a half mile, turn right onto Lebanon Pike. Mount Olivet Cemetery will be on your right.

history

Mount Olivet Cemetery is the final resting place of many of central Tennessee’s most prominent politicians. Several former governors of Tennessee have been laid to rest here since it opened in 1856, and many other senators and congressmen have been buried within its borders. The cemetery has quickly established itself as one of the more prominent cemeteries in the Nashville area.

In the years following the Civil War, Southerners came together and organized a movement to bury many of the Confederate dead in prominent cemeteries in major cities in the South. Mount Olivet became one of those cemeteries that would house these fallen southern soldiers. More than 1,500 Confederate dead are buried in the Confederate Circle area at Mount Olivet.

ghost story

While among the paranormal community, orbs (balls of light that float around haunted places without any apparent cause in photographs and video) have generally been discounted as being light reflections off of bugs or dust, many people still cannot explain the strange balls of light that appear in photos and video taken within this particular cemetery. People will often walk through the cemetery snapping photos, not realizing anything is amiss, but upon later reviewing the pictures they discover many strange, inexplicable balls of light.

Yet these orbs are just the tip of the proverbial paranormal iceberg here at Mount Olivet. Many of the stories here involve strange disembodied voices that travel throughout the cemetery at night. The voices will be very loud and strong. It will almost sound as if a deceased politician is orating from beyond the grave within the 250-acre cemetery.

Still another ghost walks the grounds of this cemetery at dusk and throughout the night. People will often see a dark shadow that walks throughout the headstones, only to suddenly disappear. The apparition seems to replay the same motions night after night, walking from the Confederate Circle and disappearing into the darkness of the cemetery, and then later returning to the Confederate Circle and vanishing into thin air.

visiting

It is unfortunate that this cemetery closes at dusk. This makes it difficult but not impossible to experience many of the ghostly happenings here. Photographs from outside the gates will still supply the photographer with mysterious balls of light. While many of these orbs are probably bugs or dust, it is impossible to tell which ones may actually be paranormal.

The strong voices of the politicians are audible from outside the gates as well, making these ghostly voices easy to experience. Perhaps the most difficult phenomenon to witness here is unfortunately the most famous. It is difficult to see the Confederate Circle from beyond the gate, and this is the area where the shadowy specter is seen most often. Your best bet to experience this ghost is to be in the cemetery at dusk as the sun begins to set. People will often see the ghost at this time of day as well, and it is not illegal to be within the cemetery’s walls.