Five-year-old Joe Eddy was buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Franklin in December 1891. Days later, his mother returned to find the grave torn open, his jacket, trousers and boots scattered on the ground, and his body gone.
Retired constable C.W. Westbrooke investigated, suspecting grave robbers who sold freshly buried bodies to medical schools, according to a Williamson Source collection of Middle Tennessee ghost stories. Westbrooke and two constables raided the Nashville Medical College basement in the middle of the night but found no trace of the child. Authorities feared the body had already been shipped by train to a medical school in another city.
Joe Eddy's body was never recovered.
The story is one of several Franklin legends that resurface each October as Halloween approaches. The city's haunted reputation traces largely to the Battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864, when roughly 8,500 soldiers on both sides became casualties, according to the American Battlefield Trust. About 6,000 were Confederate troops. Fourteen Southern commanders fell, more than in any other battle of the war.
Buildings across town were pressed into service as field hospitals. Among them was Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7, built in 1823 and the oldest Masonic hall in continuous use in Tennessee, according to Williamson Source. The lodge served as an observation post for both Union and Confederate forces and as a field hospital for wounded and dying soldiers.
Ghost stories have clung to the building ever since. People who have been inside at night report heavy footsteps moving through the halls after dark. An apparition described as a Confederate soldier has reportedly been seen on the upper floors. Children have occasionally described seeing what they thought were Civil War re-enactors inside, only to learn none were present.
Rachael Finch, who served as Civil War Projects Coordinator for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area and once kept her office in the lodge, told the Williamson Scene in 2015 that she had experiences she could not explain inside the building's three stories.
The Lotz House, at 1111 Columbia Ave., sits at the center of the 1864 battlefield. Staff and visitors have reported the sound of a woman crying out, sightings of a young girl near a window and objects that seem to move on their own, according to Williamson Source. The Travel Channel featured the home on "Haunted Live" and "The Most Terrifying Places in America."
Lotz House Executive Director Thomas Cartwright said in an Oct. 5 FranklinIs article that demand for ghost tours pushed the house to offer them year-round. "The tour focuses on actual occurrences in the house as witnessed by our staff and visitors," Cartwright said.
Deb Lantz, a local psychic medium who leads gallery-style readings through Franklin Walking Tours, told YOUR Williamson on Oct. 9 that Franklin stands out for paranormal activity, calling Carnton Plantation and the Cotton Gin Site Park near the Lotz House the most active spots in Williamson County.
Residents looking to explore the stories firsthand have several options before Halloween. The Lotz House offers 90-minute guided ghost tours every Saturday evening in October, starting at 6 p.m. Reservations are required. Franklin on Foot runs a 90-minute Grim and Ghostly historic district tour that meets at Landmark Booksellers in downtown Franklin.
Tombstone Tales brings costumed actors to Franklin's historic downtown cemeteries on Saturday, Oct. 24, with theatrical monologues portraying people buried at the sites. Tickets are required through Franklin Walking Tours.
Leiper's Fork Distillery, at 3381 Southall Road, hosts a free Haunted Cigar Night on Friday, Oct. 30, with live music from 6 to 9 p.m. and ghost stories from Franklin Walking Tours at 7 p.m.
