Grassy Cove United Methodist Church - Grassy Cove, TN
N 35° 50.432 W 084° 55.334
16S E 687653 N 3968254
According to legend, a petrified body was found in a saltpeter cave in the area. The body was brought to this cemetery and buried. Shortly after the burial, screams could be heard in the vicinity of the church and cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM291Y
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2007
Views: 151
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Grassy Cove is a little known community just south of Crossville in Cumberland County, TN, along the way to Spring City, near the Roane County line. It's a quiet little valley, with some of the most beautiful scenes in the entire state. It's hard to believe that long ago, this place had a dark secret.
During the Civil War, there were many mines and caverns used to produce saltpeter, which was very important to the war effort. A few years after the war, some boys were exploring the caves when they made a startling discovery: the petrified body of a man! This was an odd discovery, and no one knows exactly why the body had seemed to turn to rock. The body was taken to the coroner's office, but no one claimed it. Eventually it was buried in the cemetery surrounding the Methodist Cemetery in Grassy Cove.
According to the legend, this is when the unrest began. At night, moans could be heard coming from the cave where the body was found. Screams could be heard along the road in front of the church where the body had been buried. The door to the church was opened and slammed shut by unseen hands. The situation continued to get worse, and people refused to go to the church out of fear.
There was a former slave named Simon who had initially warned against burying the body at the church. At the time, the locals had scoffed at him, but now they began to think that perhaps he had been right. This former slave was also the grave digger, so he was summoned to remove the body from the grave and return it to the caves. Simon agreed to do it, but stated that there should also be a funeral held for the man. The preacher agreed. Simon then returned the body to a nearby cave, but never told anyone what cave he placed it in. As expected, the sounds ended.
So if you're ever exploring an empty cave in the Grassy Cove area, and find a body, your best bet might to be just to leave it alone!