Swan Pond Methodist Church
Swan Pond Church, located on Swan Pond Road in Harriman, is an isolated church located on a hill. Surrounded by a cemetery and a forrest, the church seems like the kind of place that would be haunted. And, according to many people, it is.
The most well known legend at the church is the story of a preacher who hung himself there years ago. Supposedly, you can see his body hanging from the steeple late at night. I have met people who have claimed to have seen him, but the story is not true; no preacher ever committed suicide here.
Still, the church and cemetery is said to be a haven for paranormal activity. Stories include:
Also worthy of note is a social gathering that occurred in Swan Pond about 100 years ago. Afterwards, six people became ill and died. It was widely suspected that they had been poisioned, but no proof could be found.
On the night of April 28, myself, Todd, Stefanie, Jason, Richard, and Ed visited the cemetery at approximately 9:15. The area lacked the ominous feel one gets at Bethbirei Church, but it was somewhat creepy nonetheless. While walking around the church, Todd reported seeing a face in the window looking out at us (which seems to have shown up in one of the pictures). I snapped several photos here which showed many orbs, and one showed a strange haze which none of us saw. (A photo taken seconds later did not show it).
The most well known legend at the church is the story of a preacher who hung himself there years ago. Supposedly, you can see his body hanging from the steeple late at night. I have met people who have claimed to have seen him, but the story is not true; no preacher ever committed suicide here.
Still, the church and cemetery is said to be a haven for paranormal activity. Stories include:
The cemetery surrounding the church is also said to be haunted. The ghosts of the long dead are said to roam about the grounds at night. In addition to the general "Black Aggie" tales, there are also lights that move about the graves. These lights are usually red, and sometimes take the shape of eyes, so that it appears someone or something is staring at you. There's also an unusual mist that rises from the graves. It has appeared prominently in some photos taken there.
I've seen online another tale which says that if you drive around the church on a certain Saturday of the month at midnight, everything around you seems to disappear momentarily...
Also worthy of note is a social gathering that occurred in Swan Pond about 100 years ago. Afterwards, six people became ill and died. It was widely suspected that they had been poisioned, but no proof could be found.
On the night of April 28, myself, Todd, Stefanie, Jason, Richard, and Ed visited the cemetery at approximately 9:15. The area lacked the ominous feel one gets at Bethbirei Church, but it was somewhat creepy nonetheless. While walking around the church, Todd reported seeing a face in the window looking out at us (which seems to have shown up in one of the pictures). I snapped several photos here which showed many orbs, and one showed a strange haze which none of us saw. (A photo taken seconds later did not show it).
A closeup of an orb.
A face?
posted by John Norris Brown at 4:00 PM
15 Comments:
Swan Pond Methodist Church definantly has paranormal activity. A few of my friends and i went over there a few nights ago, and drove around the church and the lights turned on.We took several photographs of the tombstones and the church. In one of the windows of the church,the is a figure of a face with yellow eyes. There are also orbs all around the tombstones, and a suspicous blur on the sign of the cemetary.
Me and My sister went there a couple of months ago and got an EVP of a woman and a picture of something at the edge of the woods. There is no doubt in my mind the place is haunted.
Courtney
17
Harriamn, Tn
My wife and I examined the church Friday. The most unnerving things were at the bottom of the hill coming in there is a cross stuck 3/4 down in the ground. Another part is near the entrance on the right hand side there lies the Beard family, if you notice the family had multiple children that all died within 1 week of birth. I did notice the windows of the church where you see the above figure, I am kinda wondering if it's the stain on the windows producing that picture. An old man was there with his wife, and he gave me the background on several people there. He also said the graveyard used to be bigger before TVA moved the steam plant in. Not to mention 3/4 of the graves noone no longer knows who is resting there. So, unmarked graves + missing graves= Unsettled spirits?? I dunno. The Rev that allegedly hung himself lies to the right of the church, the road meets right abot where he lies, it's a good 6 foot from the edge to the top meaning his body lies even with the road about a foot in. Freaky....The old man verified that the preacher did not hang himself yet did die under mysterious circumstances, and hinted of suicide. Would I say the place is haunted? Inconclusive, but I did get some dang eerie vibes from it. Not too mention now my wife is ill.
Swan Pond Methodist Church does have paronormal activitys and I know for a fact because me and a cuple of my friends went up there and guffed off up there because we had heard the storys and we wanted to know if they were true so anyways we went up there and we saw and heard alot of weaird stuff like the church benches moving across the floor and two little kids in the window and another thing is I just didn't go up there I atended church up there and it was creapy like when I was in there I asked one of the people where the restrooms was and she said in a frendly voice and not just any frendly voice "back there" it was scary and I said back there and the reason why I said that was because that was where I saw the little kids a boy and a girl well anyways I went back there and when I was comming out of the restroom it felt like someone wanted me to stay in there and it felt like something tryed grabing my sholder and I ran as fast as I could out of there and when church was over I never did go back to that place again and another thing they have a cooking thing there and what I hear from people it is not good to eat there food because it will kill you well that is all I have to say about the church I hope whoever reads this will really pay attintion to what I wrote.
Ashley
17
Harriman TN
Myself and three of my friends went to the church on Sat. Septmeber 9. We did indeed see some paranormal activity. We had a digital camera and we saw many orbs and heard some unidentifiable voices. The windows gave us a few strange pictures. The first window on the right side of the church as you are walking from the front seemed to be a powerhouse for spirits' activities. Everytime we walked by it, looking at it or not the tepreture drastically changed and we all got a strange feeling that we were being watched. The graveyard turned out many orbs too. I personally saw the "walking lights" but I thought that it was just my imagination until i saw that it had been reported before. Overall, I was impressed and it was well worth the drive there.
It was back in the early 1980's(I was 16 at the time,now I'm 40 and I remember it like yesterday), about 10 pm or so. As did alot of teenagers, they would find a place to park for privacy. I lived in the Swan Pond area all my life and heard some of the haunted church stories. One.. first hand from my cousin. I'll tell that story in a minute. But back to my account with the old haunted church on the hill. It was a dark, dark night in October, around 1982, me and my boyfriend pull the car around the back of the church (the road circles all around the chruch, real close to it). There was a fog like mist that was just everywhere. It would give you an uneasy feeling. We noticed that a light came on in the basement area window. It scared us to death, simply because the church at the time was all runned down and been closed for as long I had been alive. Young, stupid, and dumb as we were, we got out of the car and walked toward the window to peak in, and what we said stays with me to this day. Stuck in the wall was a large knife (like a butcher knife), but coming from the area around the knife, there seemed to be blood streaming down the wall. Needless to say we got the hell out of there in a hurry. When we got back to the car and started to pull away, the light went off. Needless to also say, we never went parking there again, and couldn't
It was back in the early 1980's around 9pm or so(I was 16 at the time,now I'm 40 and I remember it like yesterday). As did alot of teenagers, they would find a place to park for privacy. I lived in the Swan Pond area all my life and heard some of the haunted church stories. One.. first hand from my cousin. I'll tell that story in a minute. But back to my account with the old haunted church on the hill. It was a dark, dark night in October, around 1982, me and my boyfriend pull the car around the back of the church (the road circles all around the chruch, real close to it). There was a fog like mist that was just everywhere. It would give you an uneasy feeling. We noticed that a light came on in the basement area window. It scared us to death, simply because the church at the time was all runned down and been closed for as long I had been alive. Young, stupid, and dumb as we were, we got out of the car and walked toward the window to peak in, and what we saw stays with me to this day. Old childrens drawings hang around the room, and stuck in the wall was a large knife (like a butcher knife), but coming from the area around the knife, there seemed to be blood streaming down the wall. Needless to say we got the hell out of there in a hurry. When we got back to the car and started to pull away, the light went off. Needless to also say, we never went parking there again, and couldn't tell anyone. You get such a wierd feeling of being watched, and a sense of something NOT wanting you there.
The other thing that I had heard about the old Methodist Church goes like this. My cousin (14 years old at the time), had ran away from home with her best friend. Why (I dont't know) but they hid in the old church for a couple of nights.I guess thats the last place anyone thought they would hide at. A few nights in that place was enough to send them running away back home faster than when they left. She told of things like hearing footsteps inside the church, and the church organ playing by itself ( think that was the last straw). It was far scarier to stay at that place than to face the but whippings when they got back home. If you are just wandering if any of these stories on this site are true, you should find out for yourself. Just take a drive up the hill to the old Methodist Church. Park your car, get out and walk around. Look at all the really old graves and the dates on them, see the mist appear from nowhere, and see if you feel welcomed or not, but I have to warn you to get out of that place before the darkness of night falls. I have not personally been back to the place since that night, but had been up there during the day before that event happened to me. It don't matter, day or night, it feels the same. You can hear what sounds like someone walking around in the graveyard (you hear the leaves crunch under the feet). You will spend alot of your time, turning you head to see if someone is there or not. The church has been fixed up alot now, and a very few people actually attend service there now. But I don't actually know if they hold a night service or NOT.
I visited Swan Pond Methodist Church sometime last year. And I study paranormal activity and I did some work there and I can say that it does give you an uneasy feeling there but I think it all in the head because I didnt get anything on EVP's or on any pictures. The windows of the chruch are stained and they put off the appearence that there is a imagme in it. And also I didnt spot any ORB's! Most studies show that Digital Cameras tend to show mositure spots in the air, because of the quailty of picture it presents! Try this on for show if you have a digital camera and there is moisture in the air step outside and hold the lens up to the sky and watch how many ORB's will appear! this is simply moisture that you have in these photos! I really dont think that the Church is haunted because there are way to many stories about it....plus there was not solid proof of such in my studies!
As a long time member and attendee of this church I can tell you I have NEVER seen anything out of the normal at our around the church. Not one of the members have. Been up there several times late at night for various reasons & have never saw or heard anything. There was never a minister that killed himself. I admit the site might appear scary with a cemetary in front and the location on the hill, but I can assure you the only "scary things" you will see at night might be the drunken kids throwing beer bottles at our windows or damaging the property.
Hello, My name is Shelby and i'm 16 years old. A few days ago, a couple of friends and I went and camped out by the lake near the T.V.A plant. A friend got sick and we had no ride so we walked home half way. As soon as we entered swan pond rode, i felt as if something was watching us and I felt quite eerie even though I knew nothing of the rode what so ever. My friends told me stories of the church and their experiances of the rode which was really was something I honestly didn't need to know, haha. They told me of what happened to the people who got poisoned and stuff like that at the church. We were walking at an extremley late hour and i was so scared that I felt like I was going to vomit. Could it be possible that demons may roam in that area? The reason I ask is because i've never been so scared in my life and nothing really ever gets to me. Something's not right about that rode and I listen to my sixth sense wisley. My mom, a few friends, and I plan to go up there late at night and take photos and record a few things. I just have a feeling something very wrong is going to happen and that frightens me a bit. If you wish to get back to me, my email is dead_sorrow24@hotmail.com or you can reach me at myspace at; www.myspace.com/dead_sorrow90 Thank you for your time.
Some friends and i took a trip to Swan Pond Methodist Church last night, it took us a while to find it but we finally did. Going up the hill was really creepy, the graves are pretty much halfway down the hill. But anyway he walked around the church taking pictures of the windows, we didn't see any faces. We think the reason for that is they are like stained glass or something. but we did take a lot of pictures and captured some orbs. But i definitely thing there are some paranormal activity going on out there. Its well worth the drive, Its pretty scary so i suggest you go. thanks tyler
here is a link to the orbs we captured.....
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/cheaptrick1189/swanpond034.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/cheaptrick1189/swanpond025.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/cheaptrick1189/swanpond024.jpg
It is so hard to tell the time and date of these posts and how old they are so I just wanted to post today's date. I have lots of pictures at Swan Pond Methodist Church. If you would like to see them email me at sandssarah@bellsouth.net or check out my myspace www.myspace.com/sandsclantn
It is October 12, 2007
Oh my gosh... this is really true.
Me and my friend had no idea about this and never heard anything about it. But the condos near there is where my cousin lives and we were visiting her. A little while later at night, me, my nephew, and my friend tiffany was walking by the church and wanted to check it out never even knowing or seeing it there. So we decided to walk to the front and to the side of the church. While my nephew was to chicken to go near it he waited behind. Me and my friend walked up closer to the front entrance and heard nothing.. then we walked to the side and thought we saw a light pass through the window so we got a little closer. As we got closer we heard music. Kinda like a piano or an organ. After being scared outta our minds about that we looked behind the church where the cemetary was, but took no chances as of going back there. As we started to leave to go back to where my nephew was (at the front entrance) we heard a loud knocking noise on the front door or somewhere on the inside. So we quickly and panicly ran back down the hill. Looking back to see the light we had saw that caught our attention to bring us to this SCARY adventure. Seriously this was like last yeat and we are just now coming across that it was haunted.
My husband, one of his friends, and I went a couple years ago around Halloween. His friend told us about Swan Pond, we had to check it out. My husband's friend brought a digital camera and a tape recorder. We went not planning on seeing anything.
We arrived there and, to my surprise, it felt extremely comfortable there. It didn't seem creepy...other than the fact that we were at a graveyard around 12:00 at night. The windows were stained and if you wanted to pretend to see something you could. And we took many pictures. Nothing showed up. We recorded everything... and nothing.
I read another comment were someone said people were breaking windows out. If you're going to ghost hunt the least you can do is respect the place.
Thanks,
Stephanie
I wrote before, and the night I wrote my sisters and I went back. Last time I didn't see anything.And it felt comfortable and normal. I went back last week. And it was totally different. We could hear the organ being played from the steps leading to the porch. We took a picture of an elderly person looking at us in a window from inside. The windows are streaked and stained. But one window had been knocked out and it was clear. And that's where the old person was looking at us. And a ton of orbs, I've never seen so many orbs. It was unsettling how many orbs were there. It felt as if we were being watched the whole time. We felt like something didn't want us there AT ALL!My sister's cell phone went off 2 or 3 times and no one was calling. We heard a little girl scream. And later someone told me that a little girl had died in the back. She had drowned in the well in the woods. And that's where we heard the scream. We left that night freaked out.
Stephaniecarriger@yahoo.com
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