The crying angel was/is a angel statue erected in memorial to a young girl who died. I know it dates back at least to the early 1970s..

It was said you could hear her crying as tears ran down the statues face at midnight on Saturday night..about the time she died. It was located in Shelby Forest. It was very spooky going out there...lots of strange sounds...I personally never got close enough to check out the tears...too spooky..

Any history of haunted Memphis should include this ghost story...I had not thought about it for 20 years or more until opening this thread.

http://memphis.about.com/od/halloween/p/ghosts.htm

Memphis and the Mid-South are home to an abundance of ghost stories. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, such stories can be entertaining reading. These stories are not presented as fact, but rather as the legends that they are. Enjoy these tales of Memphis hauntings.

Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery:
Located in Atoka, the Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church cemetery is infamous for its paranormal activity. Visitors to the old cemetery (which was established in the 1850's) report encountering unfriendly spirits such as long-dead criminals, ferocious beasts, and even the ghosts of malicious children. Even folks who do not believe in ghosts claim to have encounter wild animals in the cemetery late at night.

Blackwell House:
The Blackwell House is a Victorian home located on Sycamore View Road in Bartlett. Legend has it that the wife of the original owner, Nicholas Blackwell, died just two nights after moving into the house. According to the story, subsequent residents have not been able to stay in the home for any length of time because the home is now haunted by the ghosts of both Blackwells -- two spirits who are frequently roaming through the house, wearing their Sunday best.

Brister Library:
The Brister Library is the former library building at The University of Memphis. Legend has it that many years ago, a student was attacked and murdered inside the library. The murderer was never caught. The spirit of the student is said to still roam around the building, screaming for help.

Ernestine and Hazel's:
It is unclear just who haunts Ernestine and Hazel's, the dilapidated bar in downtown Memphis. But with it's history (it once housed a brothel upstairs!), it comes as no surprise that the bar is haunted. The jukebox reportedly plays on its own and ghostly figures have been spotted in the bar.

Ornamental Metal Museum:
The Ornamental Metal Museum is located in and on the grounds of Memphis' old Marine Hospital. The basement of the museum's main building, in fact, was originally the hospital's morgue. The morgue saw thousands of yellow fever victims during the city's epidemic and the ghosts of some of those victims reportedly haunt the area today.

Orpheum Theatre:
Probably Memphis' most famous ghost, Mary is the ghost of a little girl that was killed when she was hit by a vehicle outside the Orpheum. Though she is known to play childish pranks in the theater (opening doors, laughing out loud, etc.), she is most frequently spotted in her favorite seat, C-5. In addition to Mary, paranormal investigators believe that there are as many as six other spirits residing in the Orpheum Theatre.

Overton Park:
Legend says that in the 1960's the body of a young woman who had been stabbed to death was found floating in the lake at Overton Park. The woman was said to have been wearing a blue dress. Since then, numerous people have reported seeing an apparition in a blue dress rising up out of the lake.

Voodoo Village:
Voodoo Village is located on Mary Angela Road in southwest Memphis. According to residents, the area is home to St. Paul's Spiritual Temple and is enclosed in a huge iron fence. But the legend suggests that something other than church services are taking place there. Reports of sacrificial offerings, black magic, and the walking dead suggest that Voodoo Village is ripe with supernatural activity.

Woodruff Fontaine House:
There is one room in this historic home that is purported to be haunted. Molly Woodruff Henning is said to inhabit The Rose Room, though she occasionally wanders throughout the rest of the house. A seemingly friendly spirit, Molly reportedly once instructed museum staff on the correct placement of the furniture in her former bedroom.

Mynders Hall on campus - It is the ghost of Elizabeth Mynders, the daughter of the guy who designed the building. The building is shaped in letter of an "E". She died of an illness before the building was completed.

I lived there for several semesters. There were several girls that reported seeing a girl in an old-timey dress walking down the halls & disappear into a wall. There was even one report, during my time, of hearing a party around 3 am going on in our "party hall" (room with really nice elegant furniture and the only room with air conditioning), and no one was in there.

My own experience was one of hearing a girl whispering and then a slight cool breeze on the third floor. I turned to see what was there, and no one was there.

has anyone done the haunted pub crawl? It supposedly happens every friday night.

TiggerFan Wrote:

memphischeer Wrote:western in bolivar very haunted...not in memphis but close enoughwestern is the state mental hospital that part of is still in use but part is closed down they offer overnight stays if you dare.....

Overnight? Are you kidding? That would be awesome.
Contact info?
If the joint is good enough for Nuthouse Fargo, it's good enough for me.

Anybody? I've looked online and can't find anything about overnight stays.

I'd love to stay overnight at an abandoned mental hospital. Bring it on!

Been to VOODOO VILLAGE in 1967. We drove there at night and some guys came out and attacked our car. We were scared as can be and drove out of the place as quick as we could. There were strange things going on at that place.

Is the crying angle still in shelby forrest? If so where at?

DallasTiger Wrote:Been to VOODOO VILLAGE in 1967. We drove there at night and some guys came out and attacked our car. We were scared as can be and drove out of the place as quick as we could. There were strange things going on at that place.

thats why i want to go there but if those people there dont kill me, my mom would when she found out that i went

Voo Doo Village

Voodoo Village from above. It is on the right side of Mary Angela. Maybe someone who has been there can tell us what all those THINGS are in the yard.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl...is%2C%20TN

egrizzard Wrote:I have never heard the crying angel statue situation? I feel cheated.

I grew up in Hickory Hill, and we used to do the callas cutoff thing. I always heard it was devil worshippers and we walked through the woods one night trying to check it out. Funny how the stories change about a place depending on where you are from. Seems someone told me once there was an old post office in Summer that was rumoured to be haunted--

i grew up there too, but have never heard of callas cutoff. where is it supposed to be?

mphstiger79 Wrote:

egrizzard Wrote:I have never heard the crying angel statue situation? I feel cheated.

I grew up in Hickory Hill, and we used to do the callas cutoff thing. I always heard it was devil worshippers and we walked through the woods one night trying to check it out. Funny how the stories change about a place depending on where you are from. Seems someone told me once there was an old post office in Summer that was rumoured to be haunted--

i grew up there too, but have never heard of callas cutoff. where is it supposed to be?

It's "Callis" Cutoff. If you're driving down Germantown Road toward Winchester, it'll be on your left. Just look for "Callis Cutoff Rd."

Prepare to be less than amazed.

Now, if somebody could give some legitimate info regarding those supposed overnight stays at the supposed abandoned mental hospital in Bolivar...

DallasTiger Wrote:Voodoo Village from above. It is on the right side of Mary Angela. Maybe someone who has been there can tell us what all those THINGS are in the yard.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl...is%2C%20TN

Looking at that map, I see it is right across from Coro Lake. Isn't that supposed to be a pretty exclusive area, or was? I could be totally wrong, but as a kid, my best friend lived on a lake that I think was Coro, right across the street from Jerry Lee Lewis. Is this the place?

Lots of houses in Midtown are haunted.

There was a large cemetery located near Earnestine & Hazel's before the 1900's, the Butler Cemetery, and that is why E&H has "soul" burgers! It is definitely haunted. The jukebox will play strangely apropos songs on its own when you are there talking about something. Strange lights have been photographed there, and ghostly figures have been seen. It was a pharmacy owned by Abe Plough, also the Mitchell Hotel, and the owner of the diner and brothel was the wife of Sunbeam Mitchell, who owned Club Paradise.

The Ornamental Metal Museum is located near old Indian Mounds, as is the Hunt-Phelan Home.

On the east side of Court Square was the Irving Block Prison during the Civil War where hundreds of Confederates, men and women, were imprisoned in horrendous conditions, and many died there. It is now the site of a parking garage and 147 Jefferson. It always had a spooky feel to me when I officed there.

It is rumored that the 100 N. Main Building sits on the site of a slave auction run by N.B. Forrest, and that building definitely felt haunted all the years I officed there.

Johnny Betts Wrote:

mphstiger79 Wrote:

egrizzard Wrote:I have never heard the crying angel statue situation? I feel cheated.

I grew up in Hickory Hill, and we used to do the callas cutoff thing. I always heard it was devil worshippers and we walked through the woods one night trying to check it out. Funny how the stories change about a place depending on where you are from. Seems someone told me once there was an old post office in Summer that was rumoured to be haunted--

i grew up there too, but have never heard of callas cutoff. where is it supposed to be?

It's "Callis" Cutoff. If you're driving down Germantown Road toward Winchester, it'll be on your left. Just look for "Callis Cutoff Rd."

Prepare to be less than amazed.

Now, if somebody could give some legitimate info regarding those supposed overnight stays at the supposed abandoned mental hospital in Bolivar...

i lived out there for over 20 years, and my family just moved from there last summer. neway, i never even knew or heard anything about it. next time i'm out that way i'll look for it.

I think this Friday night will be a good night to go get a look-see at the Nervous Hospital in Bolivar.
It will be raining hard.
(Start the Halloween theme now.)

Man, all the stories from Shelby Forest are the best. When I was a kid, I used to play baseball out there and alot of the times we would have late games that would last untill about 10 or so and we would be responsible for shutting off the lights. When the lights go off, it is pitch dark and your mind starts running wild with all the stories you have heard. Some my mom told me were the pigman legend, the crying angel, and more. When I was older my mom told me the smoke stack story and how people still use it for animal sacrifices and stuff. Anyways, it's a pretty creepy place at night. Very weird sounds.

My dad always had a story about two guys who went horseback riding at shelby forest and never came back. I never believed it!

Orpheum Theatre:
Probably Memphis' most famous ghost, Mary is the ghost of a little girl that was killed when she was hit by a vehicle outside the Orpheum. Though she is known to play childish pranks in the theater (opening doors, laughing out loud, etc.), she is most frequently spotted in her favorite seat, C-5. In addition to Mary, paranormal investigators believe that there are as many as six other spirits residing in the Orpheum Theatre.

In the 50s and early 60s, my buddies and I would take in a matinee at the Malco (Orpheum Theater) on Saturdays. I remember on two occasions seeing Mary. The first time, I just saw a girl dressed in a white (or light) color dress with fluffy shoulders. I thought it was odd that she was sitting by herself in the balcony. A couple of years later, I saw another matinee and I saw Mary again in the same seat. This time I thought it was a dummy in a girl's dress. I didn't know about Mary until a few years ago when I read about her in an article about ghosts of Memphis.

memphischeer Wrote:western in bolivar very haunted...not in memphis but close enoughwestern is the state mental hospital that part of is still in use but part is closed down they offer overnight stays if you dare.....

A buddy of mine and I drove to Bolivar this weekend to check it out. We talked to a security guard for quite a while, and he told us they do NOT offer overnight stays. Nor has he ever seen anything inexplicable.

He did tell us some stories that he's heard from others, but he said he's worked all shifts and has never seen anything other than deer.

The hospital that was built in 1889 now contains offices, and there's a small museum in there, but the buildings were closed on Saturday. He said to come back on a week day.

He did show us the outside of the James K. Polk building which is completely abandoned and pretty creepy looking. I asked him if he could show us the morgue, but he said it's falling apart. He told us there's a chance that if we call the admin offices on a week day we might be able to "arrange" something.

I'll give it a shot. It was a good trip but a little disappointing to find out that the "overnight stay" rumor had no merit.