Hales Bar Marina & Dam in Haunted Tennessee

Hales Bar Dam, located in Guild, was the first multipurpose dam of its kind. It was built on land owned by the Hales family, clearly intended to be revolutionary. However, the construction took place over 8 grueling, tragic years between 1905 and 1913, costing a total of $10 million. The engineer himself made a couple of grave mistakes. Firstly, he didn’t take into account the geology of the land. The dam was predominantly built on porous limestone, and this particular stretch of river is highly dangerous. After all this, the dam has unfixable leakage problems and is expected to be underwater in around 20 years’ time. During construction, there were a series of strange, unfortunate deaths and injuries. It started 1 year after work began, when a worker was shot and killed by an unknown gunman. Another workman fell from a rock crusher, leaving him with internal trauma. Then, more fatalities occurred during a boiler explosion. But it doesn’t stop there. 2 of the white workmen killed 2 of the African workmen, and got away with their murders scot-free. The project engineer died from an ear infection during construction, and one of the Hales family was found dead on the railway tracks that lead to the dam. There was yet another murder in 1912. Lastly, 3 of the workmen fell into wet concrete, and were left there to die. 

With all of these deaths, it’s no surprise that the dam is haunted. However, perhaps it started long before this. Previously, the land was said to be cursed by chief Cherokee warrior, Dragging Canoe, after the land was taken from him by a white man. There are reports of investigators becoming possessed whilst inside the dam, seeming to lose all awareness of their surroundings and having no memory of what happened to them. The possession only stops when the victim is pulled from the dam. There is often mist near running water, however, the mist then oddly follows you around. It is also thought to be home to a Pac-Man-like spirit, as people have seen a figure of a small man with short legs eerily walking around.