Category: Tennessee

When East Tennessee State University first opened its doors in 1911, it was a training school for teachers. ETSU still prepares teachers in grades P-12, but it also serves Northeast Tennessee’s health care system, educational...

In local folklore, abandoned hospitals are the perfect breeding ground for ghosts, most likely because so many people die there. Not surprisingly, one of the most haunted sites in the entire United States—the Waverly Hills...

The Victorian shingle-style brick house that is now Prospect Hill Bed and Breakfast Inn was built in 1889 of hand-made brick by Joseph Wagner, who served as a major in the Union Army during the Civil War. Wagner was a prosperous...

Highway ghosts are fairly common in Tennessee. The Bristol Highway is said to be haunted by Long Dog, a family pet that was brutally killed by the notorious outlaw John Murrell. People traveling along the old stagecoach road...

East Tennessee includes the Appalachian Plateau and The Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, and the Blue Ridge Region. The Appalachian Plateau derives its name from its flat-topped mountains, like Look-out Mountain, from the...

From a historical viewpoint, Elizabethton is one of the most fascinating small towns in Tennessee. Originally called the Watauga Settlement at Sycamore Shoals, it was the first permanent settlement outside of the original...

In the first half of the nineteenth century, traveling through the mountainous regions of East Tennessee was fraught with danger. Pioneers had to contend with unpredictable weather, hostile Indians, and seemingly impassable...

Roan Mountain is awash in history. For many years, the little town was a whistle stop on the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad. The narrow gauge railway carried passengers from Johnson City, Tennessee, to Boone,...

Hundreds of legends have been generated by unusual geological formations. A good case in point is New England’s Great Stone Face. Lovers’ Leaps can be found throughout the entire country. In a remote part of Johnson County, a...

Old, abandoned houses are the most ideal settings for ghost stories. A close second, however, is bizarre-looking houses with odd inhabitants. Such is the case of the Old Stone House in Alcoa, Tennessee. The Old Stone House was...

The Reverend Frederick A. Ross built Rotherford Mansion on Netherland Inn Road in 1818. Reverend Ross doted on his beautiful daughter, Rowena, sending her to the finest schools in the North. She was a charming girl who was...

In the Southeastern United States, the term “Wampus Cat” is applied to any large, cat-like creature with a loud, shrill cry. In East Tennessee, however, the word pre-dates the arrival of white men in the state. It is usually...