Haunted Hotels

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.

The original Garsden Hotel dates back to the turn of the century, but after a fire swept through the property, the owners rebuilt it in 1929. Eleanor Roosevelt and other famous guests stayed there over the years, but local legend says that some of the hotel’s regular guests never moved on.

The most haunted room is, without a doubt, Room 333. Multiple television shows dealing with the paranormal and supernatural filmed at the hotel over the years, and many of those shows focused specifically on that room. The woman who haunts this room hanged herself in the room, leaving her spirit behind. In addition to feeling cold spots, guests also hear strange banging and scratching noises that seem to come from inside the walls. They also report feeling uneasy and nervous while staying in the room. One woman abruptly checked out in the middle of the night after claiming that an invisible presence climbed in her bed.

Both guests and workers encountered the ghost of an old cowboy. As hundreds of cowboys and ranchers passed through the hotel over the years, there is no way to know who he might be. At least one worker spotted a man in a long overcoat with a cowboy hat perched on his head watching her in the basement. When she stepped closer, he stepped back and disappeared into the shadows. He may be the same ghost one guest saw in her shower. Though there are several ghosts haunting the Garsden Hotel, employees claim the spirits are harmless and even feel comfortable working while ghosts watch them from the shadows.

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.