The Carter House

Posted: 10.15.2024 | Updated: 10.15.2024

Tennessee may not be the first place you imagine when you think of haunted places in America. But the Appalachian Mountains that run through it are older than humanity.

That means that the state has experienced more things than our entire species could imagine over the years. And among those events, it’s witnessed a tragically countless number of wars and bloody battles. 

One such battle is central to this particular ghost story in Franklin, Tennessee. It’s a tale of daring escape, horrific conflict, and the unshakable bonds of family. 

It’s the story of the Carter House. 

Who Haunts the Carter House?

Ghostly duties in the Carter House tend to stay within the family. By that, we mean that the two ghosts that haunt this historic house were members of the Carter family. However, they’re certainly not the only specters in the area. 

The area around the Carter House was the site of the Battle of Franklin, a bloody battle during the Civil War that destroyed the Southern Army of Tennessee and did nothing to prevent the Union Army from marching toward Nashville.

As you might expect, remnants of such a conflict are inevitable. Some of them - like bullet holes and craters - are physical. But others, like some of the ghosts we’ll talk about, are more ephemeral. 

Read on to learn more about the Carter House and the ghosts within it and be sure to book a ghost tour with Nashville Ghosts to learn more about haunted Nashville in general. 

Family History

Before we get into the history of the Carter ghosts, it’s essential to learn about the Carter House's history.  

It was constructed in 1830 by patriarch Fountain Carter. Typical of Tennessee homes of the era, it was a functional, simply made building, crafted out of bricks and designed to be used as a farmhouse. However, the Carters didn’t have long to enjoy rural bliss as, three decades later, the Civil War would break out and soon arrive at their doorsteps. 

As we mentioned above, Franklin was the sight of a grisly Civil War battle. The Carter House was taken over and used as the headquarters of Union Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox. During the fighting, the Carters sheltered down in their basement, along with their neighbors and enslaved people.

Fountain’s son Tod enlisted in the Confederate army and was eventually promoted to captain. His military career was indeed a colorful one. He was captured by the North during the war and managed to escape his captors by jumping out of a moving train transporting prisoners.  He escaped and rejoined the army to join the battle in his hometown. There, he was shot in the head, his home in sight as he died. 

However, this wasn’t where the Carter family’s involvement in the war ended. Tod’s brothers, Moscow and Francis, also served in the Confederate army, and after the war, the Carter House parlor was converted into a hospital for wounded troops. But even after the war ended, the Carter House still bore grisly reminders of America’s bloodiest war - bullet holes, craters, and damage still covered the exterior of the building. In fact, with over a thousand bullet holes, it’s been declared as one of the most damaged buildings during the Civil War that’s still standing. 

The Hauntings of the Carter House

After the battle, Tod was brought to the Carter House, where his family tended to his wounds. Sadly, after a couple of days of agony, he died. 

However, though he passed away, some say he never entirely passed on. To this day, he is one of the most frequently seen ghosts in Franklin County. Visitors and trespassers alike have reported seeing a figure that closely resembles Tod pace up and down around the property. Others claim that he stays on the property to communicate with the other souls that reside in Franklin, having also lost their lives during the Battle of Franklin. 

Still, others claim to have seen a statue on the property seemingly come to life and begin jumping up and down. Maybe that’s Tod, finding a way to have fun beyond the grave. 

But before you feel bad for Tod, it doesn’t look like he’s alone on the property. His sister Annie, who was in the house with him when he died, also haunts the property. It seems that she and her brother are inseparable, even in death, for many people hear the two of them chattering away, and onlookers who report having their clothes randomly pulled, seemingly by no one, suspect that it’s Annie playing tricks. 

The Horse and His Rider 

There’s one final member of the Carter family that haunts the property who’s a little bit different than Tod and Annie. For one, he has hooves. This would be Tod’s old warhorse, Rosencrantz. After Tod had been captured during the Civil War, Moscow Carter, Tod’s brother, wrote him a letter reporting that Rosencrantz had swam across a river and returned to the war camp, displaying a serious display of grit and a sense of place. Both qualities may explain why the horse is still on the property today. Many say that you can still hear Rosencrantz cantering about in the woods of the Carter house, perhaps reliving the battle or looking for the owner he never reunited with in life. 

Haunted Nashville

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Carter House and its playful ghosts. It’s an exciting place with a mix of war and tragedy in its history, and it’s a great example of the unconventional nature of the ghosts that inhabit Tennessee. 

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Tennessee hauntings. And don’t forget to take a ghost tour with Nashville Ghosts if you’re ever in the Nashville area and want to get even more in-depth into the area’s spooky history! 

Sources:

https://boft.org/carter-house-history

https://www.tennesseehauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/carter-house.html

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/franklin

https://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/person/2123/theodrick-tod-carter