Skeleton Horses, Oranges, and Werewolf
I saw these on FB,
a guy painted his four mares
up for pics, only he said that no
matter how hard he tried they would
not line up together.
Is that not cool?
A little tibit of knowledge coming
your way.
and they sure do taste good.
Okay, so I just heard about this
today (Monday).
This is a long read but
so interesting. Montgomery Bell State
Park is about 40 mins away and so pretty
this time of year.
They actually have a lantern tour down
to Werewolf Springs in a couple of
days. Course, I missed the sign up and
its full.
Anyway, read on...........
THE LEGEND OF WEREWOLF SPRINGS
Burns, TN — When I was growing up in Burns I
heard about “Werewolf Springs” from time to
time. It’s an old legend that had been passed down
from generation to generation in Dickson County.
The story is usually told whenever a group gathers
together at Montgomery Bell State Park for a hike or a camp out.
The “Legend of Werewolf Springs” is Montgomery
Bell State Park’s scary story and since it’s October
and scary stories are popular this month, I thought
I would retell the story for anyone who had never heard it.
The story starts at the end of the Civil War.
During the war between the states the railroad
was constructed through the south end of Dickson County.
In the years immediately following the war,
towns began to pop up all along the railroad
tracks. White Bluff Station, Smeedsville Station
(Dickson), and Burns Station were railroad depots
that were quickly growing into communities.
The railroad was the main source of travel since
the automobile didn’t exist yet at this time in
history. Tons of people would ride through Dickson
County on their way to and from Nashville.
In the late 1860’s a circus had just performed in Nashville and
they were heading west to do more shows.
Without TV or radio, Circus events were a very
popular form of entertainment during this era.
The Circus would attract huge crowds with their
very unique attractions. They were booked to
do shows all over the country.
They boarded the train in Nashville and started
heading towards Memphis. As they approached
Burns Station there was an accident, the train
derailed and tipped over crashing the railroad cars.
It appeared as if everyone was alright, but some
of the circus animals that had been locked in cages had
escaped. Most of the animals were recovered, some were not.
Two creatures known as the “Wolfmen of Borneo”
escaped and were never found again. The
remaining Circus performers were gathered
together and put on another train. The next
day they moved on to the next city.
A few years later two men were traveling through the
town of Burns on their way to Nashville. They
decided to make a stop to get some water at a
spring. (I’ve been told this was Hall Spring located
near Hall Cemetery just north of Burns. This area today
is located in the southwest corner of Montgomery
Bell State Park.)
When the men resumed their journey back to the
road, they felt like they were being followed. It
appeared as if something or someone in the
woods was chasing after them. They began moving
faster and faster. Realizing something was after them,
they ditched their wagon and both men began running.
The two men split into different directions. What
was described as a “Sasquatch” like monster
attacked and killed one man, while the second
man was able to escape. He ran all the way back to
Burns to tell the citizens of the town about this
“Werewolf” and what had happened.
News of the Werewolf attack quickly spread through
Burns and to the neighboring towns of White Bluff and Smeedsville.
A crowd formed in Burns and the men in town grabbed
their guns and other weapons vowing to hunt down to
beast to keep their families safe.
The large group took off towards Hall Spring with a plan.
They took a goat to use as bait. Their plan was to lure
the Werewolf in and shoot it.
The men strategically placed the goat and hid behind trees,
ready to shoot. After some time, when it got really dark,
the beast approached the goat and the men fired.
But when they lit their lanterns, they saw no goat and
no Werewolf. The beast had gotten away, and two more
people had been killed during the chaos.
People became afraid of the area, nicknaming it “Werewolf Springs.”
Determined to keep Dickson County safe, the citizens
came up with a new plan to kill the Werewolf. They sought
out the best big game hunter in the area and gave him the
task of killing the beat. The hunter agreed to go after the beast
and was given access to a cabin near the spring.
For two days, the hunter went looking for the Werewolf
and had no luck. On the third night the hunter finally
found the Werewolf near the cabin. He shot at the
creature through a cabin window, but missed, even
though it appeared to hit the beast. The shot provoked
the Werewolf, who then broke through the cabin door,
but the hunter was ready. He shot the beast several
times. But the bullets didn’t seem the faze the creature
and he kept coming at the man.
With little ammo left, including only two bullets in his pistol,
it appeared as if the hunter might not make it. Luckily, the sun
began coming up and the Werewolf retreated from
the cabin, back into the woods.
The hunter survived. It was unclear if the shots killed
the Werewolf or not, but no one wanted to go looking for it anymore.
For years locals would talk about seeing the Werewolf
but there were never anymore confirmed sightings.
About 75 years after the incident, during the Great
Depression, the state of Tennessee bought a large
amount of land to build a state park. It opened in
the 1940’s and became known as Montgomery
Bell State Park. “Werewolf Springs” as it became
known over the years, is now located inside the park.
You can access “Werewolf Springs” by taking an 11 Mile
overnight hiking trail. Who is brave enough to stay out there?
Well on that note, since I missed
the tour, I think I will grab
the camera and head out.
Like I said, beautiful time
to be shooting at the park.
About three days ago, temps
turned off cool and the colors
started to pop!
your day,
Pam
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