Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? When thinking about America’s most haunted cities, what comes to mind – New Orleans, Savannah, Salem, Massachusetts, Lawrenceburg? The first three seem obvious, but Lawrenceburg?
A walk down the town’s Main Street seems a peaceful enough activity, with the charming shops and cozy restaurants. But one structure is anything but charming and cozy. The Anderson Hotel has developed quite a creepy reputation status. So, how did this seemingly ordinary looking two-story building become a hotbed of haints?
That’s a question that numerous paranormal investigators have attempted to answer. The ghoulish goings-on at the Anderson Hotel have been featured on television (Season 1 of TLC’s Paranormal Lockdown).
In 2016, the show’s investigators Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman, spent 72 hours at the hotel, concluding that when it came to the supernatural, the Anderson had negative energy to spare. That conclusion was reinforced in an episode of the podcast, The Grave Talks, on the You Tube channel. The podcast documented reports from paranormal investigators claiming to have seen bloodstains in the bath tubs; experiencing bite marks from invisible teeth and witnessing numerous apparitions gliding through the Anderson’s rooms.
For the paranormal tourist, the Anderson Hotel is a nightmare come true. The annual Anderson Haunted Hotel is so scary that multiples of people couldn’t even bring themselves to leave the lobby. The haunted attraction gets raves from those who like a good scare.
Visitors also may accompany local amateur historian and ghost hunter Jeff Waldridge on tours throughout the year and of course, during the Halloween season. In additional, Jeff runs the Ghost Walks which are as rich in the history of Lawrenceburg as they are in spooky stories. Plan your creepy adventures on our calendar.
For a more playful spirit, the annual Adult Trick or Treat is quickly becoming a must-do event. Food trucks, craft brews, art vendors and a even a roller skating rink are all set up in historic downtown. Get ready, cause folks around here start planning their costumes for next year’s street party on November 1.
Bigfoot
Bigfoot is, well, big around here. Since the early 1700’s, the nomadic and mysterious creature has been sighted in Anderson County. To this day, we rank top of the list of the most sightings in the region. The Frazier family were the first to identify the beast on their farm out on Wildcat Road and the lore goes that they even sold part of their property to avoid the manimal.
Seems a bit peculiar that most of the sightings have been around the distilleries which makes us wonder if our favorite Wildman doesn’t have a bit of a taste for the brown spirits, or maybe it’s the spotter who does. Either way, we celebrate the folklore at the annual Wildman Days Festival that happens in June. In the fall of 2024, we’ll be adding the Wildman Triathlon (9/21/2024) which will feature a Half and Olympic Distance Triathlon that will truly be a beast of a race.
