Alternate Perceptions Magazine, June 2026
Ghost Tours of the legendary Brushy Mountain Prison
By: Shiela Franks
Tennessee’s legendary Brushy Mountain State Prison. The name itself speaks of a strong place that possibly has strong mountain people working there. And guess what. It was both! Petros and Wartburg, Tennessee that provided some of the first and most continuous employees for the facility.
Originally opened in 1896 it was the State of Tennessee’s first maximum security prison with a capacity of 600 beds. It housed the worst of the worst. After 113 years in operation, it closed its doors to housing prisoners in 2009. It currently is open to the public for tours and has an excellent gift shop and a very tasty restaurant aptly called The Warden’s Table.
One very cool thing about this facility is that it also does paranormal tours. Jamie Brock, a paranormal investigator with over twenty years of experience at this prison, guides the tours. There are four-hour and seven-hour tours with the seven-hour tour being an overnight tour.
Some may wonder if it’s worth it. While I’m not a paranormal investigator or even tinker at it, I do not dismiss the fact that there are entities and situations in life that can’t be easily explained or dismissed as folly. I’m not a person easily spooked and I’m very familiar with prison life as I am a retiree of the Tennessee Department of Corrections. This was my second trip to Brushy Mountain. I felt a sense of lurking spirits the first time I was there but at the time I dismissed it as being on high alert due to being in a different prison with so many different prisoners around.
On the recent trip I went on I was reminded of how beautiful the country is leading to the prison and how well maintained the prison grounds are. When I entered the yard area, escorted by the prison cat, the first thing I saw was the whipping post. Prisoners had been stripped of their shirts and whipped with a heavy leather strap. The prison is situated back up in a hollow so their screams could be heard by all other prisoners and possibly some parts of the valley below. I felt that energy as I stood there. Whipping was banned there in 1964.
The next stop that put me on alert was the chow hall/dining room. The tour tape told of multiple stabbings and murders that had taken place there. You could easily envision the blood and carnage. As we moved to the housing area Jamie Brock entered the tape and told about a dark shadow that shows itself but moves in a slow steady pattern. A former inmate is also on the tape, and he too describes his experiences with the shadow.
Moving through the yard to the gym I can still feel the eyes on me, but when I get to where the hole/solitary confinement is the energy is much stronger. As they housed some of the most violent offenders, I’m very sure there were some strong and violent confrontations on the way to the hole. In this small area I could easily feel the cursing and beating on the cell doors. No doubt many suicides happened in these tiny cells.
For those interested in the paranormal I would highly suggest checking out the website and scheduling of a tour. Pretty sure you will get your money’s worth as all these type tours are at night. Here’s a link: https://tourbrushy.com/visit-brushy/paranormal-tours
Have a great trip and don’t get lost getting there or leaving. Those hollers are very dark at night and locals will have a gun in every corner of their home.
