Author: Idols to Enemies
Big Ridge State Park (Maynardville, TN) – Photo Gallery
Asheville Trip – Travel Blog
Hey, everyone! It’s been a long time since we posted an update, so I wanted to start off with an explanation…
For the past year, we’ve been researching several places throughout Tennessee. There are so many potentially haunted locations out there to explore, and we have reached out to a great many of them, trying to get a feel for where to investigate next. What we’ve come across in the vast majority of the cases has been that each site comes down to one of three things: the location wants us to carry some type of insurance policy so their business is protected (understandable), they want monetary compensation, or they’ve had bad experiences with paranormal teams in the past that have set them against the idea of any other groups coming in.
A couple of these leave us in a position to simply not be able to pursue them at this time, so we’re trying to prioritize the locations that require payment up front to come investigate. That’s part of what this trip to Asheville this past Sunday was about. We’re starting to also look outside the state of Tennessee for more ideas.
Zealandia (Asheville, NC)
Our first destination of the day was to a castle nestled in the hills above the city of Asheville known as Zealandia. Unfortunately, we arrived only to find the property hidden behind a gated driveway. We attempted to visit the Asheville Mystery Museum to gather more info on the place, but unfortunately they were closed at the time. The video below shows a local group investigating the inside of the castle. Looks like a very cool place, but we’ll need to find a better point of contact for obtaining more info on how to get in before this lead is going anywhere.
Helen’s Bridge (Asheville, NC)
Not far from Zealandia, you can find the somewhat famous Helen’s Bridge. It is said that a woman named Helen, who lived in Zealandia, lost her daughter in a fire on the property, and was so distraught that she hung herself from the bridge. Now she haunts the bridge to this day. We performed a couple of EVP sessions that yielded no results. However, we do intend to return for a follow-up investigation with more equipment at some point.
Lewis Memorial Park (Asheville, NC)
We visited this park briefly after reading claims of apparitions of a Confederate soldier appearing in the park on horseback. Honestly, it was simply a peaceful graveyard.
Grove Park Inn (Asheville, NC)
This place… well, it’s awesome. Grove Park Inn is an absolutely beautiful resort overlooking the mountains. The grand architecture and sheer size of the complex is awe-inspiring, and to top it off, turns out there’s a great ghost story with a lengthy history here. Apparitions of the “Pink Lady” have been reported since the 1950’s. Dozens of people have had first-hand experiences with this ghost, and while she has been seen in multiple spots all over the Main Inn, there is something extra appealing about room 545 to this particular ghost. I think it’s safe to say we will attempt to investigate these claims further in the near future. (Also, this Peet’s Coffee place inside the resort is legit.)
The Covered Bridge (Elizabethton, TN)
On our way back home, we stopped at this historic bridge. Though I’m skeptical to say it’s haunted, there was a murder of a young couple that took place on this bridge. Regardless of whether their ghosts still linger around the landmark, there is an ominous feeling one gets while standing in it’s presence. Perhaps it is just an overwhelming sense of the history you’re standing amidst, with colonial era homes right across the street, or maybe it is something supernatural. Either way, it is a spot worth checking out sometime if it isn’t too far out of the way for you.
Asheville Trip Pics
Where we’re at…
Hey guys!
First of all: wow! Our EVP video of the baby crying in Sensabaugh Tunnel has been getting a lot of attention lately, and it’s really awesome. Check it out and see what all that fuss is about!
Also, we’re finally getting around to posting some new content from an investigation we did earlier this year regarding a possible demonic entity at a local business. We got some great responses there in real time, and we’re excited to share the results soon.
We also added a new tab to our site that makes it easier for those interested in the history of all these local haunts.
Hope you guys enjoy the new features and content. We’re working hard to get some more investigations lined up soon so we can get back to doing what we love!
Thank you all so much for your continued interest.
-KPR
Quick update…
Hey guys!
We realize it’s been a while since we’ve posted much, but we do have a lot of things going on at the moment:
- First up, we have a full length video of our investigation of Bethesda Church in Russellville, TN coming out soon. There’s a lot of footage to go through here as it was an overnight investigation and we’re trying to be as thorough as possible in our review. Once the editing on the main documentary is done, we’ll follow that up with other special segments and highlights of the very best evidence obtained during this encounter.
- We have a couple of members that are nearing the end of the semester at their respective colleges, so some of our focus is on making the grades!
- We’ve also got a huge amount of footage to review from the private investigation we did at a local business recently regarding some demonic activity, among other paranormal phenomena. It may be a few weeks before this one hits the site, but we are working on it!
Just wanted to keep those who are interested in the loop!
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back soon for our Bethesda Church investigation video.
-KPR
History of Bethesda Church in Russellville, TN
Constructed in 1835, Bethesda Presbyterian Church is a remnant of the Civil War’s effect on East Tennessee. As the war began, the congregation divided in two: many sided with the Confederacy, though many more still were Union sympathizers. During this period, the church closed its doors. The Battle of Bean Station took place on December 14, 1863. After this historic battle, Confederate General James Longstreet arrived at Bethesda Church with 25,000 men who were stationed on the land until February 1864. During this time, the church served as a hospital. In the cemetery just outside the church doors, over 80 unknown soldiers were buried in mass graves. While some Union soldiers were laid to rest here, most of the unknown dead are presumed to have fought for the Confederacy.
In October, Federal troops pushed closer to the encampment at Bethesda during an engagement 
known as “Vaughn’s Stampede.” In November, Confederate troops pushed the Union soldiers back west towards Knoxville. This battle is known as “Gillem’s Stampede.” During this push, a cannonball smashed through the eastern wall and caused severe structural damage. The walls were quickly repaired and reinforced with iron bracings and rods that can be seen in the photo to the right. The original pulpit and high-backed pews remain to this day, and the floors lie permanently stained with the blood and disdain of our American predecessors.
As the war ended and soldiers from both sides began to return home, the congregation attempted to compromise and reconvene. Sporadic services dotted the calendars. Between 1866 and 1871, sympathizers of each cause sat in the outer pews, leaving the middle column empty. Eventually, one side left and helped form the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown. The remaining church body stayed through 1875. However, in time, the majority began attending the new Russellville Presbyterian Church.
Bethesda has remained closed since that time, save for a few irregular services held for major Christian holidays such as Easter. Now the building stands to serve as a reminder of the sacrifice of our ancestors in East Tennessee. Within its walls and grounds lies the story of a church body that symbolized the civil issues of the time. This once-unified group of people was just another casualty of a war among brothers.
As for potential paranormal activity, many have claimed to see apparitions of restless Confederate soldiers both inside and outside the church. The apparition of a weeping woman has also been seen on the far side of the cemetery. Her cries are often heard late at night. We have also heard reports of a “witch” buried on the grounds near the woods.
We investigated Bethesda Church and the surrounding grounds this past Sunday evening. Check back soon to see what we found!
It’s been a huge week for KPR…
Every night this week, KPR has been meeting and brainstorming about what we can do to take the next step forward, and we’ve got some exciting details to share with you guys.
Official Gear
First up, we’re in the process of ordering some official team T-shirts. If you’d be interested in getting one of your own, please let us know and we’ll try to work something out.
New Investigation Equipment
We also just got some brand new gear to use on our next investigation! We now have two new handheld audio recorders, a mic for better audio quality on some anticipated interviews, an EMF detector, and a temperature gun (which would’ve really been a handy thing to have during our investigation of the Baker-Peter’s house when we all noticed a significant temperature change but had nothing on hand to really prove it).
An Aggressive Entity?
We’ve been recently approached by someone concerned that a harmless spirit that has roamed their building for quite some time is now accompanied by something more malicious. We’ve been asked to investigate, so we set up an interview with Darren Holland, a consultant demonologist, in preparation. We’ll have that interview up on our site in the near future.
Next location is LOCKED DOWN!
…And we couldn’t be more excited. We’ve been graciously granted permission to investigate a haunted location in Morristown next weekend. That’s all we can say for now. We’ll reveal more details soon.
And a few surprises left on top of all that…
We have a couple other new pieces of equipment to utilize on our next investigation that we’ll just have to wait to show you! Plus, there are other things in the works that we can’t divulge quite yet. Rest assured, this is going to be a great year for our group! Exciting things to come.
Regards,
Why do paranormal researchers seem to only investigate at night?
There are actually several reasons for investigating in the dark.
Human’s other senses are heightened when sight is diminished.- Less people are out and about at night.
- Many paranormal investigators have day jobs, too.
- Certain paranormal events may occur habitually at a certain time of day.
- Honestly, it does increase the thrill of doing the live investigations in these locations.
Humans’ other senses are heightened when sight is diminished.
This is a scientific fact. Our eyes do adjust somewhat to low-light situations, but our hearing, sense of smell, and all other sensory devices at our disposal become more in-tune with our immediate surroundings. A seasoned investigator will recognize this, and will work diligently to debunk any strange happenings that occur without immediately writing them off as paranormal.
Less people are out and about at night.
This is important because this means less noise pollution from the surrounding population. When a haunted location resides in the middle of a downtown location that is bustling during normal work hours, but calm and quiet at night, you would definitely choose the latter time to investigate it. It makes the whole situation much easier to decipher the paranormal from the explainable.
Many paranormal investigators have day jobs, too.
Sadly, this is just the reality. Investigating the paranormal would ideally be my full-time job, but for many in this passionate community, it is only a fun hobby. Thus, we work during the day and, when we have time, we investigate at night!
Certain paranormal events may occur 
habitually at a certain time of day.
This is true at night as well. Residual haunts may involve an event, such as a murder or accidental death, that occurred at a specific time of day. These events replay over and over, at or near the same exact time every day (or night), and could be the reason for a team of researchers to choose to visit a location at that time.
Honestly, it does increase the thrill of doing the live investigations in these locations.
As lovers of the spiritual realm, many of us do also enjoy a good scare every now and then. It’s one thing to watch a scary movie about ghosts in the dark, but it’s another altogether to live through a paranormal experience! The thrill of prowling around in the dark and happening upon these experiences is second to none.
Thanks for checking out the new site!
Spring is on the way, and with more free time upcoming for all of us here in the KPR crew, we’re now able to start looking at arranging some new investigations.
We literally just launched this site to document all of our past investigations and keep you all updated on what is to come. We’re also planning on including some useful things for fellow investigators such as equipment reviews, location spotlights and historical viewpoints, and a wealth of news and discussions on all things paranormal.
We’re excited to have this site finally up and running, and it’s only going to get better from here! Check back soon for an update on where we’re heading next!
Knox Paranormal Researchers 