In this guest article, Haunted Pittsburgh, curator of Pittsburgh’s haunted history, suggests a ghostly road trip…
While you’re heading for the highways on vacation, why not check out haunted sites along the way? Haunted Pittsburgh suggests spending a week on the road with ghosts.
Elvis Presley’s haunted Graceland is the second most-visited home in America (after the White House). This coming August 16th is the 40th anniversary of the King’s death at the house, a fitting occasion to check out Graceland’s incredible spiritual energy.
And Graceland is just one haunted location—we’ve listed several other ghostly stops along the way. We’ve been to each of the places we cite below – ghost-lovers and non-ghost-lovers alike would find this trip fascinating.
FIRST STOP: LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
THE SEELBACH HILTON HOTEL: At this grand and elegant hotel on July 15, 1936, Patricia Wilson somehow fell nine stories to her death down an elevator shaft—the coroner said Ms. Wilson was careless, but some people think she was murdered by her ex-husband. Regardless, today she’s known at the hotel as the Lady in Blue–and they say she haunts the place.
Decades after her death, a chef at the hotel saw her walk into that fateful elevator—right through the closed doors. Another time, the lead captain of the hotel’s Oak Room was in the restaurant by himself when she materialized and spoke to him, then floated right through the window. On and on the reports go. The Seelbach is a great hotel—it’s like stepping back in time to a graceful era that passed away long ago.
As long as you’re in Louisville, you should stop at the LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MUSEUM & FACTORY (one of America’s great baseball museums and factory tours—they show you how they make the bats), fabled CHURCHILL DOWNS (site of America’s most celebrated horse race, the Kentucky Derby), and the JIM BEAM DISTILLERY (you don’t have to like the stuff to love the tour).
When you get on the road toward the next destination, visit the ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE, part of the National Park Service, and spend an hour soaking up the legacy of our greatest president.
SECOND STOP: NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Nashville is the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Johnny Cash Museum. It also has its share of ghosts.
GAYLORD OPRYLAND RESORT: This massive hotel near the present home of the Grand Ole Opry is home to the ghost of The Lady in Black, who wears a black veil over her face. She’s been seen floating through the halls in the darkest corners of the hotel. Some guests hear footsteps outside their rooms, but when they look to see who it is, of course, there’s no one there.
RYMAN AUDITORIUM: One of the grandest of the most hallowed American live performance venues, best known for hosting the Grand Ole Opry for decades, the Ryman is famously haunted.
One time, the Grand Ole Opry stage manager was in the theater alone at 2 a.m. when he plainly head footsteps walking across the stage even though the place was completely empty. He quickly turned on all the lights. Me, I’d turn on all the lights, then get out of there.
Several ghosts are said to inhabit the old place: Capt. Tom Ryman, the founder of the theater who makes appearances to protest performances he doesn’t approve of; the so-called “Gray Man,” who visits the theater during rehearsals and sits in the same seat every time; and Country music great Hank Williams. One time a construction worker was locking his tools away in a back room when the door shut and locked by itself. Just then, a Hank Williams song started to play from out of nowhere—when the song ended, the door suddenly opened.
THE HERMITAGE: That’s the name of the majestic plantation of one of America’s most fascinating – and most controversial – former Presidents, Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans and the face on the 20-dollar bill. It’s a great stop for history buffs, and it’s also haunted.
Years ago, when the house came under the ownership of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association, two women stayed at the house. They were sleeping on a pallet in the front parlor when they were awakened by the sound of someone ransacking the butler’s pantry and rattling the proverbial ghostly chains—even though there was no one else in the house. But that was nothing compared to what happened next.
From out of nowhere, a terrible racket emanated from the main hallway. It was a disembodied spirit riding his horse. Is there any question it was General Jackson? They say that the most common apparitions in the house are those of former slaves who lived and worked there.
THIRD STOP: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
THE PEABODY HOTEL: The famous hotel where the celebrity ducks march through the lobby was featured in the films The Firm, Great Balls of Fire, and The Rainmaker. It’s also said to be haunted – the eleventh floor, to be specific. It has all the usual trappings of a haunted hotel—creepy sounds, cold spots, and disembodied whispering.
GRACELAND: August 16th, 2017, marks the 40th anniversary of the day “The King” played a round of racquetball in his basement, sat down at the piano next to the racquetball court and played “Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain” and “Unchained Melody,” then went upstairs and died.
Elvis Presley’s shocking death garnered almost unprecedented media attention and made the aging superstar a perpetual cultural icon. His beloved Graceland is supposedly teeming with spiritual energy, especially in the large kitchen – really, all over the house.
Elvis’s face has been seen in a glass case. It’s also been seen peering out of windows upstairs (the bathroom where he died is directly above the foyer at the front entrance). Some drivers claim they’ve given a young man in an army uniform a ride to the gates of Graceland—the young man looked exactly like Elvis. If there was any doubt about the identity of this mysterious hitchhiker, it was dispelled when the young man sang for one of the drivers.
Some visitors ask tour officials about the young Elvis impersonator on the tour with an uncanny resemblance to the real Elvis—but of course the tour has no Elvis impersonator. A staff member reported seeing an entity float down from a ceiling in a bedroom and then sit on a bed—it was believed to be Elvis’s mother. On and on the stories go; there are too many to recount.
You don’t need to be an Elvis junkie to appreciate Graceland—it’s not the celebration of kitsch some visitors expect but a stately home of a fascinating and ultimately tragic figure whose hold on the public’s imagination has never waned. (While you’re at Graceland—stop over at Sirius’ Elvis radio station—the disc jockeys are great, and they’ll talk to you between songs.)
THE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM AT THE LORRAINE MOTEL— Since you are in Memphis, you should visit the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, who dedicated his life to achieving civil rights with non-violent means. It is one of America’s most meaningful places. The outside is the motel where Dr. King was gunned down—the sad balcony looks like it did on that awful day in April 1968.
OPTIONAL FOURTH STOP: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, DAYTON, OHIO
Since you’re in the neighborhood, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to Dayton, home of the official museum of the United States Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This is a spectacular—and massive—museum that chronicles the history of aviation. It includes presidential planes—including the former Air Force One that carried President Kennedy to Dallas, then carried his body back to Washington after he was killed while Lyndon Johnson was sworn in a few feet from the casket.
***
Haunted Pittsburgh is the chronicler of the weird and eerie tales of one of America’s most haunted cities… the keeper of Pittsburgh’s nightmares and curator of all “things that go bump in the night” in Western Pennsylvania. Their popular Ghost Tours of Downtown Pittsburgh are available on Fridays and Saturdays from May to early November. http://www.hauntedpittsburghtours.com/
Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PghGhostTour/