Experience the haunted side of this tiny town and the mysteries it harbors, known only to the hermit-like early inhabitants of the formerly suspicious community. Feuds, witches, ancient Scots, and Celtic traditions live on in this remote corner of the Smoky mountains.
Join Gatlinburg Haunts for a ghost tour into the eerie corners of this quaint mountain town. Our stories include cannibals, family feuds that go back generations, and witchcraft. See where ghosts of the past are seen walking these streets to this day, and learn of their spine-tingling hauntings and history as they search for the peace they were unable to find in this quaint corner of Tennessee.
The Experiences You've Heard About
Kerri Ernst
Our tour guide Jacob was awesome! He was very engaging and very encouraging to our budding ghost hunter. The tour itself was filled with cool places, ...
11.30.24
Angela Charbonnet
Sam, our guide, was awesome! He was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Love the stories as we walked around the city. My husband and I had a ton of ...
11.27.24
Kay Car2
Our guide was awesome! He did a wonderful job playing up the theatrics while sharing some incredibly interesting (and spooky) pieces of Gatlinburg's h...
Gatlinburg’s reputation as the Gateway to the Smoky Mountains means plenty of winter activities for out-of-town visitors. However, a dark and twisted history awaits just underneath the idyllic mountain town’s surface.
Gatlinburg Haunts reveals the eerie energy in the Smoky Mountains. Dark stories of witchcraft, monsters, and cannibals haunt the town for those brave enough to listen.
First United Methodist Church
As the oldest church in Gatlinburg, the First United Methodist Church is sure to put a chill down your spine. Entirely made from mountain rock, the church is a sight to behold all by itself. But, sightings of strange silhouettes against the walls and apparitions of priests have only added to the fascination and spooked tourists countless times.
White Oak Flats Cemetery
What’s creepier than a cemetery? A cemetery in the middle of nowhere. The White Oak Flats Cemetery earns its place on our ghost tour for two reasons: it’s a hidden gem, and it’s creepy. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Tennessee, established in 1830, and the site of several unmarked graves believed to belong to the original settler of Gatlinburg.
Gatlinburg Inn
The 1937 Gatlinburg Inn is rumored to be haunted by the spirits of former guests who never checked out. More terrifying is the Demon of Room 11. This powerful entity forced one man out of the shower. Another was brave enough to taunt the demon, and a drawer was flung at his face shortly afterward. Nearby is the Laughing Woman, who manically laughs into the wall before dissapearing.
What to Expect on Your Gatlinburg Ghost Tour
In a city with such a vibrant and modern tourist scene, separating Gatlinburg’s dark history from its ski-resort facade can be pretty difficult. Gatlinburg Haunts takes you on an up-close look at the city’s troubled history and macabre present that others might simply ignore. Hear remnants of its tragic history poke through to the surface, whether through an aging cemetery (one of the oldest in the state), ancient blood-curdling Cherokee monsters, or the gory horrors of an old battlefield.
Hear about the graveyard that has shadows and plenty of them, not cast by light but remnants of unhappy former residents’ otherworldly energy. Two people have laid independent claims to seeing clusters of shadows on the Church wall, inside the porch, and throughout the graveyard. Seemingly benevolent and fleeting, the shadows have been here longer than any current living resident of Gatlinburg.
Discover the area that houses unprecedented unexplained activity levels, especially on the parkway, more commonly called the Strip. Explore the existential dread that tears at the flimsy facade of the town’s easily digestible tourist fair on our unique tour along this iconic strip. You may come to Gatlinburg expecting a quaint little tourist town, but on our tour, you will learn that there is much more to the Gateway to the Smokie than meets the eye, and you may not like it.
Discover the Horrors that Haunt Gatlinburg
Learn about Colonel William Thomas’s ghost, who roams the nearby woods, looking for a way to regain his fort that no longer exists.
Visit the Saint Mary Catholic Church and uncover the role the pastors have played in attempting to rid Gatlinburg of its most evil entities.
Discover how the victims of drownings and fires, accidents, and foul play are trapped in the very land upon which Gatlinburg sits.
Check out the Gatlinburg Space Needle, a place where tortured spirits still linger long after their last breaths were tragically taken.
Take a walk past the historic Gatlinburg Inn, which draws in outdoor enthusiasts and ghost hunters from around the nation.
Why You Should Book Your Gatlinburg Ghost Tour Tonight!
Warm yourself on the cold Tennessee nights
Nothing warms the body like a pounding heart, which you are sure to have on the Gatlinburg Haunts tour. Departing from the Space Needle in Downtown Gatlinburg our tour takes in some of the lesser-known sights of this charming mountain town.
Our professional local storytellers are passionate about their town, and the amazing stories of hauntings and ghosts, and the incredible history of this modest town in the mountains.
After the sun goes down, the town takes on a different character, and the dark woods become spooky beyond belief. Only we have the historical stories of hauntings and the spirits that wander the hills at night.
The rivers here are numerous and fast running, but the one that is haunted for certain is a shallow and gentle brook called The Cliff Branch River. One of the tales on your tour will tell you why any young men driving alongside this river at night should think twice before picking up any hitchhikers!
Night Skiing isn’t for everyone.
There’s lots to do at night in Gatlinburg, even night skiing at the resorts up in the mountains. But indoor activities get stale after a while and if you are at all outdoorsy, you’ll want to spend as much time as possible in the clean fresh air of the Smoky Mountains.
On a crisp night, there really is nothing so refreshing, or spooky as a walk around the town. Gatlinburg Haunts takes in the Skylift park with its magnificent views, the haunted Space Needle, and the Cliff Branch River.
What if you only have a day or two in the mountains?
It’s easy to fill your days in Gatlinburg, take the cable car up to the peak and walk the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America, the town also has a host of crazy golf courses, if that’s your thing! But your nights in Gatlinburg have fewer options. All the major attractions close in the early evening, but Gatlinburg Haunts tours set off in the evening, and are always entertaining and by far the scariest thing in town. Come walk alongside expert narrators while hearing about the old and new ghosts of Gatlinburg and tell you all there is to know about this fascinating town.
What if you don’t ski at all?
If it’s a cold day in Gatlinburg, you’ll be thankful for the chance to walk around and keep warm, but spare a thought for the hundred-year blizzard that kept the town isolated for weeks just after the Civil War. It was a different place back then, with fewer residents, more open country and a lot less traffic.
One character in the area who experienced the blizzard was ‘Craft the Carnivore’, who built his family lodge off to the south of Gatlinburg, in what is now the Smoky Mountains National Park. Simon Craft was a well-known Confederate Officer who ridiculed men who didn’t eat what he considered enough meat. He was known for eating all kinds of meats and for being a gracious and welcoming host.
The winter of the blizzard, Craft the Carnivore hosted a Twentieth Wedding Anniversary party to end all parties. While they were eating, the blizzard started. No one could leave for days. The days turned into weeks, and food ran low.
After nearly three months, Simon Craft, his wife, and a close family friend were the only ones around to tell what happened in the Family lodge, but none of them ever did. We have some theories to share with you on the Gatlinburg Haunts tour.