From witch communities, haunted churches, and the just plain creepy, Knoxville and the surrounding areas are a great place to be during Halloween. There are plenty of spooky places to visit if you live in the area or if you’re just visiting. Some are pretty widely known and have even been mentioned on the Discovery Channel, while others are smaller and might be lingering where you’d least expect.

1. Seven Islands Church.

Seven Islands is one of the oldest churches in the Knox County. It’s creepy and definitely haunted. Some people say they see lights coming from the bell tower if you look closely enough, and there are floating lights that hover over grave sites. I’ve been here in the middle of the night and seen very unfriendly faces peeking back at me from inside the church, when there definitely wasn’t anyone there.

2. Wheatlands Plantation.

In Seymour, Tennessee, there’s a plantation sitting off of Boyd’s Creek. There have been over seventy deaths in this house, not to mention there were Civil War battles fought on those grounds. In the yard behind the house, over 60 lives are buried in a mass grave. If any place is creeping with paranormal activity, it’s this place.

3. University of Tennessee.

U.T. is known to be one of the most haunted universities in the country. “The Hill” is supposed to be home to a vicious barghest (there are different opinions of what this creature could be; feline or canine). These are supposed to be death omens. Hess Hall is another haunted place, where blood curdling screams can be heard from a girl who supposedly committed suicide in the 70s. There’s also Sophie, who haunts Strong Hall, and is said to appear every year on her birthday in the lobby mirror.

4. Bijou Theatre.

This theatre is the fourth-oldest building in Knoxville. During the Civil War, it served as a hospital and became the Lamar Hospital. Because of this, most ghosts that haunt this Bijou are Civil War soldiers. One of the most famous, however, is William Sanders.

5. Mysterious Mansion.

This home is in Gatlinburg but it’s worth the trip. There’s apparently a small girl who fell from a balcony and you can see her standing on the ground below, pointing to the place where she fell. There also have been reports of a hooded figure that follows tour groups around as they are viewing the creepy mansion.