Nashville Haunted Handbook. Jeff Morris
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.
OLD BEECH CEMETERY
3216 Long Hollow Pike, Hendersonville, TN 37075
directions
Take I-65 North until you reach Exit 97, the Long Hollow Pike exit toward Goodlettsville. At the end of the exit, turn right onto Long Hollow Pike. Follow Long Hollow Pike for about 6 miles. The Old Beech Cemetery will be on your left in the churchyard of the Beech Cumberland Presbyterian Church. If you reach Buccaneer Boulevard, you’ve gone too far.
history
This cemetery and the adjacent church are the oldest remaining cemetery and church in Hendersonville. The church was founded in 1798, and its original founder is buried in the cemetery. There are older graves here, dating back to the days of the Revolutionary War.
The church itself suffered fires twice during its long existence. No one was killed during these fires, but the building itself was very important to all who worshipped there. Many of the church’s worshippers over the years have been buried in this cemetery, and many of these people are likely to be the reason for its ghosts.
ghost story
Generally the ghosts at the Old Beech Cemetery only come out at night. This is because the most prolific ghosts here are ghost lights. When the ghost lights appear in the cemetery, they always emerge in pairs and put on a show for those here to witness them. The lights will seem to chase each other through the cemetery for several minutes at a time. Whenever anyone enters the cemetery to search for the source of these strange lights, nothing is ever found.
Others have reported seeing shadowy figures walking through the cemetery at night or have reported feeling uncomfortable when walking through the cemetery at any time. There have been accounts of voices coming from the cemetery as well. These voices are audible, and they are almost always preceded by a sudden drop in temperature.
visiting
Old Beech is another cemetery that is closed after dark. This is unfortunate since many of the ghost stories here occur exclusively at night. If you are set on trying to find the nighttime ghosts here, the parking lot for the adjacent church is your best bet. Simply park in the lot and watch the cemetery for playful lights. Just don’t enter the grounds of the cemetery after it closes.
Many of the voices or intangible feelings will occur at any time of the day when the cemetery is still open to the public. These ghosts are easier to experience.
OLD CITY CEMETERY: BOULDER TOMBSTONE
1001 Fourth Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37210
directions
Old City Cemetery, also known as Nashville City Cemetery, which holds the boulder tombstone, is just south of downtown on Fourth Avenue. Facing the river on Broadway, turn right onto Fourth Avenue and follow it for about a mile until you pass I-40. The cemetery is just past Oak Street. The boulder is a huge tombstone near the main building at the center that cannot be missed. The name on the boulder is Ann Rawlins Sanders, 1815–1836.
history
Here at the boulder tombstone, there are known truths and then there are legends that may or may not be true. We know that the person whose name is on the stone, Ann Sanders, was 21 at the time of her death, that she married Charles Sanders four years before her death, and that she died at midnight on March 30, 1836.
The stories behind her death are less verifiable since, in the early 1800s, if someone committed suicide it wasn’t widely advertised. The story goes that in March of 1836, Ann and Charles got into a huge lover’s quarrel. At the climax of the quarrel, Ann ran away, not sure about the fate of her marriage or what would become of her. Depressed, she found her way to a cliff overlooking the Cumberland River and looked down into the water below. Feeling that she had nothing left to live for, she jumped into the river and drowned.
Charles repented after the fight and went looking for her. Eventually, he discovered what had happened and was completely crushed. In order to mark her grave, he had a chunk of rock removed from the cliff where she jumped. It was used to mark her grave in the city cemetery. Ann was afraid of the dark, so in order to make sure that she was comfortable in death, Charles attached a lantern to the top of the stone. Since then, the stone has gained the nickname “Suicide Rock.”
ghost story
You would not be surprised to find out that the ghost stories that involve this tombstone seem to match aspects of the legend that accompanies the stone. Most of the stories involve sounds that happen at any time during the day or night. Witnesses will often hear sobbing