At first glance, including Log Cabin Day, which falls on the last Sunday every June, on the Weird Holidays and Observances page may not seem unusual enough. But what about haunted cabins? That’s a little more interesting, right?
That’s why I included Log Cabin Day. I always intended to write a post detailing a few haunted cabins. That day has finally come.
They’re not all log, but here are seven haunted cabins and a brief guide to their restless spirits.
1. The Buchanan Log House in Donelson, TN
James Buchanan (not the same one who was the 15th president of the United States) built the Buchanon Log House in 1807. It’s the oldest log house in Donelson, Tennessee, and one of the oldest homes in Middle Tennessee. It’s even older than Nashville’s historic presidential residence, The Hermitage.
James and his wife Lucinda had six children and their Buchanan descendants lived in the home for 60 years. James died in 1841, and his wife passed in 1865.
Their son, Addison, built a log house elsewhere, also single-pen style, but it was moved to the Buchanan homestead in 1998 to become part of the Buchannon Log Complex.
Both the main house and the Addison home are rumored to be haunted. It is said Lucinda Buchanan haunts her bedroom in the main house, and that Addison and his first wife, Sarah, who died in childbirth, haunt the Addison house.
The Buchanan Log House offers tours by appointment and an event space. They’re also open about the alleged hauntings and have been known to host paranormal investigators.
For more info, visit: https://www.buchananloghouse.com/
2. The Cabin on 360 in Mechanicsville, VA
This log cabin is newer, having been built in the 1980s as an office/model home. But the land has seen a lot of history, including three Civil War battles:
- Bethesda Church
- First battle of Gaines Mill
- Totopotomoy Creek
During these battles, over 2,200 men died, were wounded, captured or went MIA on or near the land.
It was also more recently the site of a murder involving half-siblings.
These days the cabin is operated as a paranormal research facility that allows teams to come and investigate.
For more info, see their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Haunted360houses/
3. The Evil Dead Cabin in Morristown, TN
Okay, this one isn’t really haunted by ghosts, but it is the site where Sam Raimi filmed the original cult classic, Evil Dead.
According to Atlas Obscura, only its foundation remains. Also, the cabin is on private property located behind barbed wire, so trespassing isn’t encouraged.
4. The Floating Cabins at the Hales Bar Dam in Guild, TN
The rentable floating cabins on Nickajack Lake at the Hales Bar Marina & Resort aren’t haunted but they are on the site where the Hales Bar Dam used to be, and the dam’s ruins loom large near them.
The dam was built on what was sacred Cherokee land and is considered by some to be cursed. It’s also considered to be haunted because of the number of deaths incurred during construction.
Ruins of the dam remain and are available to tour. It’s also a favorite sport for paranormal investigators to visit, and the dam’s owners are very receptive to paranormal investigators.
There are also land cabins available for rent too, which are also popular, but because of their novelty, the floating cabins stay booked up.
For more info about the Hales Bar Dam Marina and Resort, visit: https://halesbarmarina.com/
For Hales Bar Dam tours and events, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HalesBarDamOfficial/
5. Lakes of the Clouds Hut in Mount Washington, NH
The Lakes of the Clouds hut in New Hampshire is a high mountain hut for hikers run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). It’s been voted one of America’s Best Huts by Backpacker Magazine, because of its views and atmosphere.
It was created because weather conditions, particularly the winds, on Mount Washington can quickly turn inhospitable, which two hikers, William Curtis and Allan Ormsbee, discovered in 1900. Their hike started out sunny but turned nasty fast. Both men ended up dying. The hut was built the next year to provide shelter for hikers to take both refuge and respite in.
No one’s sure if these deaths, or any of the 130+ hikers who have died on Mount Washington, contribute to the apparitions and paranormal activity many refer to as “The Presence,” but something does seem to hover around the Lakes of the Clouds hut and property.
It’s also said that in addition to seeing things, some have claimed to be pushed, partcularly if they pass Curtis and Orsmbee’s memorial spot and criticize the pair for not turning around and trying to press to the summit when the weather turned.
Curtis especially is said to be particularly restless. According to a post on Outside as taken from a book called Haunted Hikes, legend has it that a plaque in his memory affixed to a boulder would often become detached and find its way to the Lakes of the Clouds hut. When staffers tried to put it back, they’d find it back again. Now it’s bolted to the crew’s staff room inside the hut.
For more info about staying at the Lakes of the Clouds hut or any of the other high mountain huts AMC maintains, visit: https://www.outdoors.org/lodging-camping/huts.
6. Oscar Anderson’s House in Anchorage, AK
During one of our jaunts to Alaska, we took a walk on the Coastal Trail and came across a small yellow house overlooking the Cook Inlet. There was an information sign in front of it that identified it as Oscar Anderson’s house with a photo of what it looked like back when the area was known as Bootlegger’s Cove.
Oscar Anderson claimed he was the 18th person to set foot in Anchorage in April 1915, which was then nothing more than a tent city. He went on to play a major role in Anchorage’s development.
Anderson built the house on Ship Creek and lived there for 60 years until his death at 91 in 1974. When a couple moved in, they reported odd experiences. For one thing, they heard footsteps walking upstairs when no one else except them was in the house. For another, one morning they couldn’t get the door to Oscar’s old room open. When they finally did, they discovered a chest had somehow slid in front of the door and blocked it.
But the best part was when they reported the incidents to Anderson’s widow, who had moved to Tacoma, Washington. She was excited and reportedly said. “I knew he loved that house too much to ever leave it.”
These days the house operates as a museum that allows people to glimpse what life in 1915 Anchorage was like.
For more information, visit: https://www.alaska.org/detail/oscar-anderson-house.
7. The Shamrock House in Sunset, South Carolina
This haunted cabin at the base of the Sassafras Mountain is a former family compound built in 1925. But it’s really a group of three cabins, the main house plus the Bunk House and the Trout House, all of which are available for vacation and event rentals.
The main house, the Shamrock House, is where some believe the ghost of a young woman named Nancy lives.
According to her story posted on the Shamrock House’s “Cabins” page, Nancy overdosed on laudanum on May 13, 1927 after getting herself into an awkward situation. Nancy, along with two of her girlfriends, had been hired as “upstairs entertainment” for a party at the house. But when it was time to perform, Nancy couldn’t do it.
She ended up locking herself in one of the bedrooms. When she found out her father was on the way to get her, she freaked out. Apparently her father was a “fire and brimstone” preacher with a temper, and rather than face his fury she decided suicide looked more appealing.
The upstairs bedroom where the tragedy played out is called Nancy’s Room and some have reported seeing an apparition, hearing a woman crying and phantom footsteps, feeling cold spots, as well as lights going on and off by themselves and doors opening and closing by themselves.
For more info, visit: http://theshamrockhouse.com/
Check-In
Have you ever stayed in a log cabin, be it haunted or not?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I grew up in Alaska. I didn’t know Anderson’s historic cabin was haunted. Whoa, small world!
I am always envious that you grew up in AK. Although I’m probably glamourizing it and to be honest, I would not have appreciated the experience as a younger person. Now, however, I’m nuts about Alaska. Did you know about the Anderson House though? He sounds like he was a bit of a character in some respects.