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Haunted Destinations: Big Ridge State Park, Tennessee

Explore Tennessee’s Big Ridge State Park, where haunted trails, ghostly legends, mysterious apparitions, and eerie folklore make every hike unforgettable.

If you enjoy hiking haunted locations with beautiful scenery, then Big Ridge State Park, Tennessee, may be just for you.

Big Ridge State Park has two trails with rather ominous names: the “Ghost House Trail” and “Dark Hollow Trail.”

Inside Tennessee’s 3,700 acre Big Ridge State Park, the Ghost House trail loops past the foundations of a home from the early 1800s, a grist mill, and the Norton Cemetery. Admittedly, one of the park’s biggest disappointments is no “ghost house” on Ghost House Trail. Only the cistern and a couple of pits remain of the old Hutchison House from which the trail derives its name. Legend says the adult daughter, Nancy, died of tuberculosis. During Nancy’s funeral-wake, visitors heard what sounded like her voice crying from upstairs. When the house was eventually abandoned, the neighbors still heard frightening noises coming from the vacant house. Those neighbors eventually moved away to escape the unsettling ambiance of the place. The family members’ ghosts have reportedly “photo-bombed” hikers’ pictures over the years, showing up as vague silhouettes.

Hikers report seeing the apparition of a man dressed in red flannel and grey pants throughout the park 3,700-acre park.

People have even heard very realistic sounds of a Model A car engine on the Dark Hollow Trail. Horseback riders and hikers with dogs say their animals have been spooked when passing through certain parts of the park. If you believe in an animal’s sixth sense, this may be the most telling sign of all.

Sources: The Hartford, Extra Mile; Exploring East Tennessee’s Eerie Trails by Logan Mahan

Until next time,

Mary Ann Poll is America’s Lady of Supernatural Thrillers. Visit www.maryannpoll.com for more information about her supernatural thrillers.

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Mary Ann Poll, America’s Lady of Supernatural Thrillers, is the award-winning author of the Ravens Cove series. Born in Texas and shaped by its wide skies and stubborn spirit, Mary Ann called Alaska home for over forty years — and though her boots are back on Texas soil, her heart never left the Last Frontier. That love for both lands breathes through every page — from the sun-baked spirit of Texas to the eerie perpetual light of the Alaskan solstice and the rich traditions of Alaska’s Indigenous peoples.

Her love for a spine-tingling story and her love for Christ come together in her writing. Mary Ann’s own spiritual journey — from a lifelong fascination with the supernatural to a deep and abiding faith — gives her novels their distinctive voice: suspenseful, grounded in real spiritual stakes, and rooted in hope.

When she’s not writing, Mary Ann enjoys gardening, swimming, and time with her beloved family and pets — who have a habit of finding their way into her stories.