We recently went on the Ghost and Haunt Tour of Gatlinburg and had a very good time. Our guide, Larry, was well-informed about the historical aspects behind the stories he told, and was also quite enthusiastic when relating the “paranormal” features of those tales. Beyond that, he’s simply a very nice guy who is clearly enthusiastic about conducting these tours.
Before we started, Larry distributed a number of “ghost hunting tools,” (e.g. Ovilus, EMF meter, etc.). He informed us every group on the tour would be able to use each piece of equipment as these would be exchanged throughout our time together. After instructing us on the proper use of the items, we headed into the night where we heard stories of local murders, suicides and, of course, the spirits that allegedly linger in their wake. Although none of those in my group are really believers in this sort of phenomenon, we went to the tour with open minds and, of course, a willingness to suspend our disbelief and just have fun… and that we did!
Larry took us to a number of places, pausing at each to tell the story of the location and, sometimes, projecting an image of the “ghost” him/herself who spoke to us directly about the reason for their lingering presence.
We were also shown a number of images other ghost hunters had captured on earlier tours. Some were fairly easy to dismiss (if you were so inclined) as insects, reflections, etc., but I will add there were a couple that, if truly untouched, were, quite frankly, creepy. These included a ghostly “full body apparition” of a rather nasty entity named “Walter,” a figure standing behind a church window, and a somewhat unnerving picture of “The Nesting Witch.” Although we do not credit the lore of “The Nesting Witch” as anything but fanciful imaginings, the picture itself was striking, to say the least.
Did we see any ghosts or experience anything that might fall into the “spooky” category? Well, one member of our group, while using the Ovilus, got the words, “wound” and “chest“ displayed on the screen. Coincidence? Contact? I’ll leave it to you to decide. All I can say is that it certainly was fun!
Perhaps ghosts exist. Perhaps they don’t. But whether or not you are a believer, you really can’t go wrong if you choose to take the Ghost and Haunt Tour of Gatlinburg. They won’t be able to guarantee you’ll see a ghost—but it’s certain a good time can be had by all who go in the “spirit” of fun!