If you’ve been in Tennessee, especially the Eastern half, for at least a little bit of time, you’ll have heard of Jonesborough. While it’s the location of some of my personal favorite festivals, it is also the oldest town in the state. In fact, it is older and was around the same time as the original idea for the state, which was roughly the size of North Carolina and named the State of Franklin. ETSU drivers will recognize the name, since Johnson City has a road with the same name. It is one of the most historically famous areas in Tennessee, including the home and birthplace of President Andrew Jackson.

Given this, it’s surprising that I had such a hard time finding ghost stories for the area (though they have a storytelling festival, which I haven’t been to, so maybe their legends are more oral tradition) however, there was one that caught my eye.

Photo of downtown Jonesborough, Tennessee. (Contributed/tnecd.com)


I have been going to the Jonesborough Days Festival that is held in the summer almost every year (until high school at least) and my favorite place to see has always been this beautiful bed and breakfast with brightly colored paint.

This inn is officially named Hawley House and was built in 1790. According to an article on Jonesborough’s website (5 Haunting Stories of Tennessee’s Oldest Town, which has some other good stories as well!) It is currently owned by Marcy Hawley who claims that her male guests—and only the males—hear the giggling of girls late into the nights. She and the other women who stay there say that they can’t hear anything. The article also specifically mentions that the girls heard are of “ill-repute,” meaning that they’re supposedly sex workers.

Interestingly enough, though I didn’t know the story of the supernatural, my mom has always said that the building had once been a brothel. Despite this, I have a very hard time finding any trustworthy evidence of this claim. But if she (a transplant from another state) knows about the rumors of these girls, then perhaps there’s more claim to this than we thought…

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