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October 29, 2025 12 mins
The return of The Unseen Paranormal with a special Halloween Edition. Eric narrates stories from his book "Small Town Haunts and Legends of Tennessee". The stories included are The Legend of Reelfoot Lake, Magnolia Manor, and Historic Rosemont. 

"Small Town Haunts and Legends of Tennessee" by Eric Freeman Sims is available on Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble.com, Good Reads and wherever fine books are sold.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Eric-Freeman-Sims/author/B0DT23C4TS

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/small-town-haunts-and-legends-of-tennessee-freeman-sims/1147401897?ean=9798349333255

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223627397-small-town-haunts-and-legends-of-tennessee

Host Eric Freeman Sims and the show on the interwebs 

https://www.facebook.com/TheKnightHouseKY

https://www.theknighthouseky.com/

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Join us as we dive into the history, hauntings, and
high strangers of the world to try to better understand
the paranormal. I will be your guide. I am paranormal
researcher and investigator Eric Freeman Sims. Welcome to the Unseen
Paranormal Podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Unseen Paranormal Podcast.

(00:33):
I am your host, Eric Freeman Sims, and today we
have episode two of our spooky season Halloween Week special episodes.
I am narrating a few more stories on this episode
from my book Small Town Hanson Legend of Tennessee, and
that book is a favorable one Amazon, Kendall Barnes, Double
dot Com, Apple Books, Goodreads and anywhere find books you're sold.

(00:58):
And you can also catch me doing some book signings
throughout the rest of this year and get your book signed,
or you can buy one for me on the spot
and I will personalize it for you. Anyway, enough of that,
let's get down to the business. Our first story is
the Legend of real Foot Lake. Real Foot Lake is
in the northwest corner of Tennessee and Tiptonville. The lake

(01:19):
was created during the violent New Magic earthquakes that occur
between eighteen eleven and eighteen twelve, Multiple witnesses claim the
Mississippi River ran backward for almost twenty four hours. The
earthquakes changed the land topography and the river flooded, creating
real Foot Lake. The shallow lake spans fifteen thousand acres
and is known for its cypress trees and nesting bald eagles.

(01:39):
Much of the lake is a type of flooded forest,
home to many kinds of shore and wading birds, along
with aquatic plants and flowers. There is a state park
that offers hiking, camping, tours, and various other activities throughout
the year. Real Foot Lake is a cursed piece of
land according to the Chickasaw legend. The story starts with
the son of the Chickasaw chief, the Sun, had a
deformed that rolled when he walked, and was known as

(02:02):
Calipin by his people. Calipin translates to real Foot. When
Real Foot's father died he became chief. He was sad
and lonely and was not interested in any of his
tribe's maidens. His father had told him of stories of
tribes to the south and of their beautiful women, so
he decided to make a pilgrimage to find a mate,
Real Foot journeyed south down river to the land of
the Choctaw. When he arrived at the Choctaw village, he

(02:25):
was agreed with ceremony and invited to the council fire
to meet the chief Copia, next to Kopia said his daughter.
Kopia asked the reason for the visit, and real Foot
explained that he was looking for a princess to marry
and return home with. He then told the chief that
his daughter was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen and wanted her hand in marriage. Kopi was outraged
and did not want his daughter Laughing Eyes to marry

(02:47):
de Form Chief and told Real Foot that she would
only marry a Choctaw. Chief Coopiah called on the Great
Spirit for help. The Great Spirit told real Foot that
it was against tribal ball to steal a bride from
another tribe. He disobeyed the law, the Great Spirit would
cause the earth to shake and waters to rise and
flood Realfoot's village. Real Foot was frightened by this warning

(03:07):
and returned to his own village, feeling defeated. A year
passed and real Foot still had no bride. And was lonely,
so he decided to ignore the warning and return to
chalk Taw Land to kidnap Laughing Eyes. His mission was successful,
and he returned to the village to receive that green
celebration from his people. Laughing Eyes was terrified of what
the Great Spirit would do and begged Realfoot to return

(03:28):
her to the Choctaw tribe, but he refused because he
was in love with the princess. A marrige ceremony was
arranged and the Chickasaw tribe rejoiced. The Great Spirit was
angered that Real Foot had disobeyed him. During the ceremony,
the ground began to shake and rumble to the beat
of a drum. Real Foot, Laughing Eyes and the villagers
tried to flee, but the trembling ground caused them to
stumble and stagger. The Great Spirit stomped his foot in anger.

(03:52):
The Father of Waters heard the thunderscroar and flooded the village,
drowning everyone in it. The area where the Great Spirit
stomped is now Real Foot Lake. Some claim that you
can often hear drums beating from below the surface of
the lake, while others have seen a canoe with two
Native Americans quietly gliding across the water, only to disappear
into the fog. Our next story comes from Bolivar, Tennessee,

(04:14):
a mansion called Magnolia Manor. On Main Street, just off
the square, you will find a beautiful two story mansion
known as Magnolia Manor. The home was built by Judge
Austin Miller in eighteen forty nine and occupied by his
descendants until the nineteen seventies. In nineteen eighty one, missa
Lane Cox bought the house. She fully restored the home
to his prieious glory, and it served as a bed

(04:34):
and breakfast until twenty nineteen. During the occupation of the town,
four Union generals used the manor as their headquarters, including Grant, Sherman, Logan,
and McPherson. One night, while sitting at the dinner table,
Sherman made the comment that he believed that all Southern men,
women and children should be exterminated. Miss Miller heard this
comment and ran out of the room crying. General Grant

(04:55):
followed her to see what was wrong. Miss Miller told
Grant what was said, and Grant confirmed her Sherman and
made him apologize. Sherman felt angry and humiliated, so he
stormed up to his room. On the way of the stairs,
he drew his sword and slashed a banister, leaving a
mark that can still be seen to this day. Is
also believed the generals planned the Battle of Vicksburg in
this home. There are many ghostly reports from the guests

(05:17):
employees of the former bed and breakfast. Spirits that are
seen are believed to be members of the Miller family,
those of the enslaved, and some from the Civil War.
Many specters are reported in the detached kitchen cottage, including
the apparition of a short, heavyset woman has been seen
many times and described as utterly and wearing an apron
over an old sil dress. This spirit is believed to

(05:38):
be that of the enslaved cooked named Adeline. A cat
has also been seen room in the halls. The cat,
belonged to the Miller's daughter Annie, is buried in the
Polk cemetery in the Miller family plot and even has
its own tombstone. Another usual animal that haunts a property
is that of a ghostly parrot that can be seen
and heard in a small building in the main house.
A younger female apparition is often seen in a Victi

(06:00):
orient style dress and is described as quite beautiful. She
is known to pull the covers off guests and disappears
quickly once spotted. A second female spirit is seen rocking
in a rocking chair and carrying a lit candle around
the house. A ghost affectionately known as Old Smoky haunts
the dining room and has been seen walking down the
hall to the bedroom. The heavy smell of cigar smoke

(06:20):
usually follows him and he appears quite often. Some visitors
have also reported being touched by an unseen hand and
have heard voices, laughter, and phantom footsteps. Cold spots are
also a common occurrence, with no explanation. Three generations of
the Miller family lived in the manor, so it makes
sense that some chose not to leave. Reflections of the
Civil War have also been witnessed by the current owners.

(06:41):
One evening in the den, they observed a room full
of people in Civil War dress. They watched the soldiers
in amazement for almost a full minute before they vanished.
Another soldier has been reported to patrol the property, still
fulfilling his duty even in death. Our last story comes
from Gallison, Tennessee The Beautiful Historic Rosemont. Construction of Rosemont
began in eighteen thirty six by Judge Josephus Khan Guild,

(07:04):
using only materials from the property, and was completed in
eighteen forty two. The two story brick home was built
in the blend of Greek Revival and Paladin styles, with
three separate buildings connected by a covered portico, and named
after a large rose garden on the north side of
the house. The Guild family and their descendants would occupy
the home until nineteen ninety three, when it was sold
to the city of Gallatin. The house originally set on

(07:26):
a five hundred acre working farm that raised longhorn cattle,
but was mainly a thoroughbred horse farm. Their prize horses
were highly sought after for racing, and one of them
produced a genetic line from which the famed Secretary descended.
The Guild family lived relatively quietly until eighteen sixty two,
when the Union Army came to town. During the Union occupation,
Rosemont would see the confiscation of their thirdbred horses, cattle,

(07:48):
and even Judge Josephas Kong Guild's political imprisonment. One story
to the occupation involves Missus Guild and the dining room table.
Union troops had placed the piece of furniture by the
road to write dispatches and other correspondents. One soldier would
even pass the time by repeated sticking his knife into
the wood and carving on it. It is said that
when missus gild found out about the misuse, she marched

(08:08):
directly out to the road and confronted the soldiers, demanding
they bring the table back into the house, immediately scolding
them back to the dining room. To this day, one
inn the table still shows inkstains and the deep goalleges
from the knife. Another story tells of how the guilds
kept some of their thoroughbreads until the end of the
war by having several of the finest horses in the basement.
In the evening, they would supply alcohols to the Union

(08:30):
night watch and wait until the soldiers got drunk and
passed out. With the soldiers out of the way, they
could walk and exercise the animals under the cover of darkness.
These hidden horses insured that after the war the family
still be in the lucrative business. To help make them wealthy.
The family claims the house has always had an element
of the supernatural. As one of the Guild women lay dying,
a big out swooped down the chimney and sat on

(08:50):
her headboard. After she took her last breath, the bird
flew back up the smokestack, never to be seen again.
The family tell stories of the Guild women having certain
psychic gifts as from one female generation to the next,
with a few men also inheriting them. They were connected
to the spirit world and the people of Gallas and
sought their advice on different topics. The house was still
paranormally active to this day. Many brides had chosen to

(09:12):
have their ceremonies at the beautiful home and used the
upstairs bedroom to get dressed along with their wedding parties.
Some of them claim to see a woman in eighteen
hundreds dress who is believed to be the ghosts of Betty,
the daughter in law of Judge Guild. Other brides have
been joined in photos by at first unseen apparitions, and
wedding photographers have captured incredible pictures of what appeared to
be spirits still roaming the grounds. Numerous paranormal investigations have

(09:36):
taken place at Rosemont over the years. Investigators have caught
many EVPs electronic voice phenomena on recordings, including a woman's voice,
a horse, winning, chosen voices, and phenom footsteps. Other claims
in the house are doors opening and closing, footsteps up
and down the staircase, and disembodied voices. The full body
spirit of a very nicely dressed man wearing a fedora

(09:56):
has often been seen in the reception building behind the house.
He is believed to be the spirit of one of
the guild men who live in the house in the
nineteen seventies because his man cave set on the concrete
pad where the reception hall now stands. There are many
more witness stories of encounters with the other worldly at Rosemond.
Most of, if not all, of these accounts are positive
interactions with what was believed to be the Guild family themselves.

(10:19):
Rosemand has such a vast history that is no surprise
that the Guilds come back to visit their beautiful family home.
Gallathton's Hissort Rosemont is open from April through October for
history tours, paranormal investigations, and various events year round. All right,
that is all for this special Halloween episode number two
for Spookie season Thank you for tuning in small Town

(10:39):
hauntson Legend to Tennessee by myself, Eric Fremsims is available
on Amazon, Kendall, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble dot Com, Goodreads,
and wherever find books are sold. So go grab yourself
a copy and enjoy the rest of the stories in
the book. Thank you for tenant in today. We'll see
you next time. Stay saved up there. Thank you for
listening to the Unseen Paranormal. Join me next Wednesday with

(11:01):
a brand new guest and please rate, review, share, subscribe
on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening right now. This
helps more people discover the show. You can connect with
me over on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or join us in
the Unseen Paranormal Lounge group on Facebook. Until next time,
remember some of the scariest things un Seed Si
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