HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. (WKRN) – Could you imagine hanging out with Loretta Lynn on her front porch 30 or 40 years ago, then looking over to your left and seeing a ghost just minding its own business?
Everyone who has lived or worked at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, including Loretta herself, has dozens of stories just like that.
The first stop on the ghost hunt tour is the grand staircase, where even the album covers from Loretta’s six-decade-long career are no match for paranormal activity.
Housekeeping clean and straighten the albums hanging on the wall once a week. Afterward, the family will always find a few turned slightly for no reason at all.
Ranch Manager Will Rourke says, “They do things to let you know they’re still here.”
Rourke and Loretta’s grandson Anthony Brutto have stories for days about this house, including one from when Anthony was just 16 years old.
“The power happened to go out,” says Brutto. “And as I round the corner to get back into this room, this chandelier is the only light in the house that was on. Now what’s strange about that is this whole room is on the same breaker. So there’s no possibility this chandelier would be on with all the other lights off.”
Loretta Lynn’s mansion is open to tour now, but they don’t let visitors upstairs for a reason.
One of the scariest rooms in the house is where two of Loretta’s boys, Jack and Ernie, refused to sleep.
“One morning Jack woke up; he saw someone pulling at his boots,” Rourke said. “And he could feel it trying to take his boots off.”
Jack ran right out of the room and told his mom it was the ghost of a Civil War soldier.
While inside the bedroom, the ranch staff and our crews both heard a noise none of us could explain.
It sounded like someone was knocking from inside the closet door, but when we checked, there was nothing in there but Christmas decorations.
The front balcony is another one of the house’s hot spots for ghosts.
Loretta came home one day and saw a woman standing there. The only woman home at the time was the kids’ babysitter, Gloria.
The following is the exchange Loretta had with Gloria, as described by Rourke.
Loretta: Gloria, who’s that up on the porch?
Gloria: Nobody’s up there.
Loretta: Yes there is. I saw a lady in white walking back and forth, wringing her hands. Something is wrong with her.
They went upstairs and no one was there.
“Actually, when I just went and talked to her, she said when she started seeing the woman in white on a regular basis, she knew it was time to leave,” says Brutto. “The house wasn’t big enough for two women!”
We’ve come to the conclusion that the ghosts that lurk here on the ranch aren’t malevolent ghosts. They just happen to share a house with the queen of country music.
Watch all of our Haunted Tri-Cities stories HERE.