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The location is legend….Deadwood, South Dakota. A craftier name could not have been given to this geographically challenging, and semi-remote area. The Black Hills Gold Rush of 1874 gave a rapid rise to the illegally formed town. Ruthless cutthroats, gamblers, shady prospectors, outlaws, gunslingers, and madmen all came to the town of Deadwood to cash in and take all they could on the heels of the rich discovery. The Black Hills Gold Rush only lasted four years, but the imprint of people who came there, living and dying, left quite the supernatural impression on the town that is still felt to this very day. And there is no place in Deadwood more haunted that the infamous Bullock Hotel.

Wild Bill Hickok and the Bullock Hotel

Seth Bullock was the original builder and founder of the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood in the year 1895 and opened officially in 1896. Bullock himself was a Canadian citizen who emigrated to the area after initially finding success in Helena, Montana as a store owner. The day after Bullock came to Deadwood, gunman Wild Bill Hickok was murdered by notorious gambler Jack McCall over a game of poker. Hickok was shot point blank in the back of the head, and after an informal court hearing, McCall was found not guilty of the murder.

Seth Bullock

Bullock took this crime to heart and became the first sheriff of the town, but law enforcement wasn’t his only passion. With the area booming economically, Bullock was able to convert an abandoned warehouse into a three-story hotel that was decorated throughout in a haughty, Victorian style. With such a presumably lavish appearance, the Bullock Hotel became the hottest spot in town for all sorts of activity. Bullock’s spot was so popular that even the future President Teddy Roosevelt had stopped through with the Rough Riders and made Bullock’s acquaintance. The two became good friends and kept in touch over the years even when Roosevelt was elected. In fact, he made Bullock the chief forest supervisor of what was to become the Black Hills National Forest. This was a position that Bullock kept until his death from colon cancer in 1919. Despite his death, the hotel still ran about its normal business over the decades and that’s when the paranormal experiences began to develop.

Is the Bullock Hotel Haunted?

In general, the unexplained encounters were witnessed by hotel employees at first. A slot machine supervisor was in the basement early one morning conducting a simple repair when the shadow of a man manifested and then disappeared just as quickly as it began. Late at night, one of the operations managers was alone and had closed down the bar area and took some receipts for a final counting to a small office nearby. On his way, he made sure that all the barstools were neatly lined up against the bar. Once he made it inside the office, he heard a strange sound and went out to the barroom. All of the stools that had been lined up seconds before were now scattered in every direction all across the room. From there, the stories only get more strange and unexplained.

The Ghosts of the Bullock Hotel

A younger employee of the kitchen staff had gone into the hotel storeroom to retrieve some nominal items and when he turned around saw the ghost of a man standing in the doorway. He was in cowboy-like attire, with a wide-brimmed hat and dark mustache. The ghostly figure stared back at the employee for several seconds before disappearing into thin air! Frightened by the encounter, the employee ended up quitting his job hours later out of pure fear.

One of the most haunted areas of the hotel is the second floor and room #211 in particular. In this room, guests have reported items being moved by an unseen force, the ghostly appearance of a man in western clothing, the bizarre scent of cigar smoke, and what is believed to be the ghost of a small girl. The sighting of the young girl is not uncommon, as the sound of childish chatter has been heard. At times guests have seen what appears to be a lost little girl and attempt to help her find her parents or her room, only to turn a corner and find that she totally disappears.

At the other end of the spectrum, actual living children who have gotten lost in the hotel claimed to have been assisted to their rooms by a man in a dark suit, hat, and big mustache despite no employee dressing in such a manner. His spirit is known to micromanage the employees at the hotel by offering up whistle sounds or slight nudges whenever they might be standing around and not working.

EVP sessions conducted in the hotel by paranormal enthusiasts have yielded such otherworldly responses as “door’s open”, “die”, “hello to you”, and when asked questions, a response of “yes” has even come through in real time.

Today, the Bullock Hotel is just as successful as when Seth Bullock first founded it all those years ago. It has gone through extensive renovations over the years, and to meet financial obligations, original furniture and antique interiors have been auctioned off at different times. Despite all the physical changes at the Bullock Hotel, one thing has remained constant, and that’s the presumed spirit of Seth Bullock.

Is the Congress Inn in Nashville Haunted?

Every good haunting needs a history, and The Congress Inn has quite a lengthy one. Upon initial investigation, information on the history of the hotel is scarce as if the past holds secrets no one dares to speak of or wants to be discovered. But, with enough digging, you’ll soon unearth personal tales and reviews from previous guests who all agree that something lurks within The Congress Inn that supports all the lore and rumors.

A Haunted Civil War Hotel

Many haunted hotels in America got their starts during the Civil War. As a battle with approximately 1,264,000 American casualties, the war was a blood bath that was bound to leave something behind.

Tennessee was a proper battleground during the war; some of America’s deadliest battles were waged on the state’s ground including the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. Major locations important to the war included Cattanooga, Stones River, Franklin and, of course, Nashville, which brings us back to The Congress Inn.

With thousands of wounded soliders, the need for hospitals was increased, and The Congress Inn was one of the early Civil War hospitals that housed injured and dying soliders. Of course, most patients couldn’t be saved. The war raged on, bodies piled up, and legend says that as the hospital ran out of room to dispose of the corpses, it resorted to cementing them into the basement walls.

Civil War Ghosts and the Congress Inn

One of the most famous stories about the haunted hotel dates back to 1987. Rumor has it that a guest awoke on his stomach only to find himself pinned to the bed. A large weight crushed his legs and knees, forcing him against the mattress and rendering him completely helpless. For the next 10 to 15 seconds, the guest laid there, unable to turn over until the weight suddenly released and the empty room was silent as ever.

This haunting experience led to questioning the locals, and the hotel’s ties to the Civil War were revealed. The bodies in the basement walls may still be encased today, and there are plenty of modern-day guests who report their own frightening encouters at the hotel.

From purported sightings of uniformed soliders lingering in the hall to the sound of gunshots and canons echoing through the walls, plenty of people who visit The Congress Inn go expecting nothing but legends but leave with a real haunt and stories to tell.

Is there really a blood well still in the basement? Are spirits connected to their old beds in the hospital ward like rooms 102 and 104 where one guest online wrote about seeing a young man stand and vanish from doorways?

Visit the Congress Inn

Historical haunt buffs should mark The Congress Inn as a stop along their tour of America’s haunted hotels. It’s one of Tennessee’s local legends, and offers a chance encounter to glimpse the horrors of America’s bloody past. Apart from the guest who was held down in 1987, there don’t appear to be any other recounts of violent or physical encounters with the Cival War ghosts at The Congress Inn, so don’t worry too much.

Maybe it was a one-time deal. Maybe some people have been too scared to come forward. Or maybe, 30 years ago, a ghost decided to spook a guest just enough to get the rumor mill churning in hopes that the truth would come to light.

Nashville, Tennessee is universally regarded as “Music City, USA”. Popular for the decades of country music originating from the city, it is still occupied with plenty of hopeful singers, journeyman bands, and colorful songwriters. As a city with plenty of visitors in and out over the many years, it should come as no surprise that one of the most haunted places is the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

Is the Gaylord Opryland Resort Haunted?

Formerly known as the Opryland Hotel, the Gaylord was opened in November 1977. With a nearby amusement park and Nashville being home to the Grand Ole Opry country music show, the hotel’s 580 rooms were constantly at full capacity. As business and visitors grew in Nashville, so did the number of rooms at the Gaylord. It acquired nearby real estate and kept expanding to meet all the requests for rooms.

One of the busiest areas of the property was the Magnolia Lobby. It was designed with an elaborate master staircase at the center of it and resembled that of a classic Southern mansion. Above it hung one of the most elaborate and ornate chandeliers. However, the former chandelier may also be connected to one of the property’s most active spirits.

The primary ghost to be seen is The Black Lady. People who have witnessed seeing her describe her as a younger woman dressed in a very ornate antebellum period black dress. The most frightening aspect of her appearance is said to be the black veil that covers her face, giving her a very creepy and hair-raising appearance.

Little is known about her origin other than she is given the name of Ms. McGavock. Stories from various people claim she was indeed killed by a chandelier falling on her decades before in a home that was occupied on the land before the hotel was built. People report at times the chandelier’s lights will alternately blink or go out despite no faulty explanation. Other times, the chandelier will sway back and forth before mysteriously coming to a complete and total stop.

Ghosts of the Gaylord Opryland Resort

The Black Lady is known to haunt all areas of the hotel. One pair of guests report approaching an open elevator with a woman dressed in all black inside, only for them to enter the elevator, the doors close and she completely disappears. Her activity also occurs late in the evenings outside guests rooms.

Visitors have complained of running and stomping sounds accompanied by weak moaning sounds only to have security come up and find the hallways completely empty. Inside the rooms, she is known to come in the middle of the night to wake sleeping guests by whispering either, “mister” or “miss” in their ears!

Despite her dreadful appearance and activity, The Black Lady is not known to cause any destruction nor is malevolent in any way. In fact, some of the hotel staff chide one another and often cite Ms. McGavock as being responsible for anything that mysteriously happens, good or bad, in the hotel.

Today, the Gaylord Opryland Resort is a sprawling, ornate resort with nearly 2900 rooms. It is listed as one of the largest hotels in the entire world as Marriott International now runs the resort. However, no matter how much larger the resort grows, The Black Lady has been said to have been spotted in every corner of the property. This Nashville mainstay resort is definitely worth a visit for paranormal enthusiasts.

Situated within the Scenic City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Read House is an upscale and remarkably busy hotel. Undergoing a twenty-five million dollar renovation, the downtown staple is a must stay for any visitor to the city. But behind all the polished marble flooring and original custom woodwork lurks some most bizarre paranormal activity.

Is the Read House Haunted?

The hotel was originally built in 1847 as the Crutchfield House by a philanthropic businessman named Thomas Crutchfield. The purpose of the hotel’s location was to serve as a prime place to stay once the railroads began passing through Chattanooga in 1850. The many trains brought with them lots of visitors to the Chattanooga area and the Read House, in particular, thus creating a very nice economy.

Of all things in 1861, future Confederate leader, Jefferson Davis actually stayed at the hotel and marked his stay with a speech delivering news to locals that the South was seceding from the Union. A fight ensued between Davis and some visitors as well as the locals and Crutchfield sold the hotel shortly thereafter. The new owner was a doctor by the name of John Read who significantly upgraded the property, adding to it even more luxurious architecture than ever before. Only somewhere along the way, a haunted spirit emerged.

The Ghosts of the Read House

Room 311 is the infamously haunted room of the Read House. According to local legend, a prostitute named Anna Netherly was murdered in the room somewhere around the end of the Civil War by a Union soldier. The legend implies there was a disagreement over money and the soldier slit Netherly’s throat, letting her bleed out and die on the floor in the room. While Netherly’s physical body might have been removed from the room, her spirit certainly remained.

Over the years, guests have reported paranormal activity in the room of all kinds. Objects have been moved, cold spots felt, as well as the faint and pale appearance of a young woman in period dress with a darkened slash around her throat. With visitors, Netherly’s spirit seems to only bother male guests,  having been many reports of male guests being touched by an unseen presence.

When the Read House underwent renovations in 2017 and 2018. Crews were going to replace all the doors in the hotel. When it came to removing the door to Room 311, it refused to come off the hinges. Construction workers attempted for hours, but it was the only door in the entire ten-story hotel that refused to be taken down. Crews had to resort to using a buzzsaw to physically cutout out the door from the jamb. Was this an issue of a deeply settled door? Or Netherly’s ghost somehow not wanting to let go of the past?

Despite the reputation of Room 311, it is fully available to stay in if one chooses to stay at the historic Read House. It brings on a refreshing change of pace for a city like Chattanooga that covets tourism and chooses to embrace its sordid history rather than bury it.