|
| |
Rotherwood Mansion
Here are Two Stories associated with Rotherwood Mansion..
In folklore the malevolent ghost is a ghost who behaves in harmful ways towards humans, animals, or property. These are spirits with an attitude who, in life, were said to the mean and malicious and merely carried their disturbing behavior over to the grave.
Apparently, malevolent ghosts are conscious entities who know exactly what they are doing. Take the example of the infamous master of Rotherwood Mansion in Kingsport, Tennessee
Phipps was a slave holder in an area that was strongly abolitionist. His neighbors, of course, would make up tales about him (true or not) that would make Phipps a stereotype of the evil Southern planter who abused his slaves. In fact, tales filtered through the neighborhood that a person could hear the anguished cry of pain of severely beaten slaves coming from Rotherwood plantation at night.
Phipps died in the summer of 1865. He was said to be a person who hated everyone, especially his family. When several of his nieces and nephews came to live at Rotherwood, he moved from the main house to the carriage house. In July, Phipps fell ill. It was hot and muggy on the second floor of the little carriage house and his only comfort came from a small slave boy, sitting at the head of his bed, constantly fanning him. Suddenly the room was filled with flies who settled on the dying man. They crawled into his nose and mouth, suffocating him. At first the little slave boy was horrified at the sight. Then he began to enjoy the spectacle of his hated master dying so horrible a death.
After Phipps was safely buried in the ground, strange things began to happen inside Rotherwood Mansion. Odd, maniacal laughter was heard in the halls at night. Ghostly eyes were seen peering in at the windows. Objects were moved around and turned over. But the most terrifying phenomenon occurred at night when the covers were suddenly jerked off sleepers, who would awaken with a start to see the apparition of Phipps standing at the foot of the bed, insanely laughing at them.
The Ghost Of Rowena Ross
The daughter of the Rev. Frederick Ross, builder of Rotherwood Mansion in Kingsport, Tennessee, Rowena Ross was considered the fair flower of Sullivan County and a prime catch for any man. She had been educated at fine schools in the north and returned to Sullivan County a beautiful and finished young lady. A good pianist, it is said that she was the first person to play a composition by Beethoven (probably a portion of a sonata) in Tennessee.
When she became engaged to be married to a local boy, people from all over the area came to Rotherwood for the wedding. The day before the ceremony Rowena's fiance and some friends went fishing on the Holston River, that skirted Rotherwood's front yard. The boat overturned right in front of Rowena's eyes and her fiance drowned.
Rowena became something of a recluse thereafter. Ten years later she married again, and this time her young husband died before the union was one year old. Rowena later took her own life. Her ghost, which is called "The White Lady", is said to haunt the grounds of Rotherwood Mansion, especially the riverbank area, supposedly looking for her drowned love. She has been seen by a number of prominent people including John B. Dennis (financier of Kingsport) and George Eastman.
A young man was sitting in front of Rotherwood Mansion one day picking wild strawberries. Suddenly he felt someone watching him. When he looked up, he saw the apparition of a lady in a white dress standing over him. He could see through her and immediately knew that he was seeing a ghost. The "White Lady" vanished and the boy--who is now a prominent Kingsport dentist--never forgot the experience. Even now he shudders when he recounts the tale
|