a little more than half a mile, and then turn left onto East Main Street. The Hendersonville Memory Gardens are in the Woodlawn Cemetery, which will be on your right just after the turn.
history
Younger cemeteries are rarely reputed to be haunted, but there are always exceptions. This cemetery has been around for only about 50 years and has been called Hendersonville Memory Gardens for an even shorter time. The cemetery was originally known as Woodlawn Memorial Park East, but its name was changed in 2003 to Hendersonville Memory Gardens.
Some of the more famous country music stars in Nashville are buried in this cemetery. June Carter Cash, the beloved wife of Johnny Cash, was buried here in 2003 when she died of cancer. Crushed by the death of his wife, Johnny Cash died later that same year and was buried next to her.
ghost story
It is no wonder that Johnny Cash who was called the “Man in Black” in life would retain that moniker even after death. On the same note, is it really any wonder that people have seen a man in black roaming through this particular cemetery at dusk?
The ghost story that is repeated most often here is that people will see a man dressed in a black suit walking along the sidewalk beside Johnny Cash’s grave. When people glimpse this man in black, they are typically across the cemetery and just happen to glance up to see him. When they go to investigate, there is no sign of the man.
visiting
The cemetery itself closes at dusk, so you are unable to enter after dark. Johnny Cash’s grave site lies at the highest point in the cemetery, so it is visible from almost anywhere else on the grounds. At night, though, it would be impossible to see a figure on the hill from outside the gates, especially if he were dressed in black.
Your best bet for encountering the ghost of Johnny Cash is to enter the cemetery during regular visiting hours and go to an area across the cemetery from the Cash grave. This is where people typically are when they see the man in black.
MCGAVOCK CONFEDERATE CEMETERY
1345 Carnton Ln., Franklin, TN 37064
directions
Exit downtown by taking TN 6 South/US 31 South/8th Avenue South/US 70 Scenic East, and continue to follow this road for the next 18 miles. When you reach the traffic circle, continue straight onto Main Street and then turn left onto 5th Avenue South. Follow 5th Avenue slightly to the right as it becomes Lewisburg Avenue. A little more than half a mile down the road, turn right onto Carnton Lane. The cemetery is across the parking lot from the mansion and gardens.
history
After the brutal night of the Battle of Franklin in November 1864, dead and wounded Confederate soldiers littered the entire city of Franklin. The larger houses in the area were used as hospitals, and Carnton Plantation was no exception (see Carnton Plantation chapter). When the house filled up with the wounded, the dying were laid upon the mansion’s grounds. Hundreds died in and around the house.
John and Carrie McGavock, the owners of the plantation, donated the two acres abutting their family cemetery to bury the Confederate dead. Due to the large number of dead that had to be buried there, the Confederate Cemetery at Carnton (also called the McGavock Confederate Cemetery) is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the country.
ghost story
Both the McGavock Family Cemetery and the Confederate Cemetery here at Carnton are reputed to be haunted. Most of the time, the ghosts are described simply as strange sounds which rise from within the gates of the cemetery. Moans and sighs will often be heard. It will sound as if someone is writhing in pain here in the cemetery, even when it is empty.
There are three other ghosts that haunt this particular cemetery. If you were to enter the Confederate Cemetery from the family cemetery side, in one of the rows on the right twin brothers are buried directly beside one another. Many times when people are walking past the graves of these twins, they will feel something rub against their ankle. Occasionally they will actually feel a hand grab their ankle.
The other ghost here is perhaps the most famous one. A ghost of a little girl walks both the Confederate Cemetery and the family cemetery immediately adjacent. The little girl will always be seen walking or running up and down the fence, pulling a stick across the metal bars. Sometimes the little girl isn’t seen at all but people will still hear the sounds of a stick hitting each bar of the fence.
visiting
Going into this cemetery after dark is illegal. The property is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week except Sunday when it is open from 1 to 5 p.m. The cemetery is free to visit during these hours. Since the grounds are closed at all other times, the only time to explore the cemetery and look for these ghosts is during its open daytime hours. Luckily, this is when the reports of the ghosts commonly occur.
MOUNT OLIVET CEMETERY
1101 Lebanon Pike, Nashville, TN 37210
directions
Head out of downtown by taking I-40 East toward Knoxville. Take Exit 212, the Fessler’s 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
