17. The Unfortunate Ghost

Dr. Dalton is a heart surgeon at Vanderbilt. Until moving into his home at the end of Park Ridge Drive in the nicest part of town he could afford, he considered himself to be a man of science, exclusively. Yes, of course, he would have agreed that there was a certain artistry to his profession, [...]

Photos

I was going through the last boxes of books in the garage when I realized my grandma’s photos were not in there. I ended up throwing away all of my photos, which sucks more than I can tell you. But I found my grandma’s photos in my dresser drawer, where I swear I have looked [...]

16. A Quarter for Katie

Katie Campbell was eight years old when she died. She had just learned to ride her bike and she was making large loops around the park at the top of Love Hill when a car came tearing up the road and into the park and, like a bubble bursting in the hot summer air, she [...]

Pope’s Place

I took the Butcher to Pope’s Place in Madison to see the Mark Robinson Showband and Rhythm Review (that might not be the exactly correct name). If you’re old enough, I guess I don’t have to explain that to you. If you’re my age, kind of imagine something like the Blues Brothers. If you’re too [...]

15. The Covington Quilt

It would be best if we didn’t mistake Bettie Covington and Alice Pettis for friends. They had known each other their whole lives and they shared a common interest. Some say that Bettie was born into slavery on Alice’s father’s farm. I don’t know if that’s true. but I know their history went back before [...]

Saving

I got a call from a friend yesterday who is looking for a photo. If it exists anywhere else in the world, they can’t find it. And it’s sitting on my computer. I have to figure out how to go about figuring out who holds rights to it, but it still exists. It is not [...]

Ear Aches and Belly Achin’

I had better not be getting sick. I have too much going on in the next couple of weeks. But damn, if I don’t have that slight ear ache that leads a gal to want to ask smokers to exhale right down in her head. I don’t actually know if having people blow cancerous toxins [...]

14. The Devil’s Cursed Gold

It’s well-known that the Devil has a summer home here in Nashville. So, it didn’t take too many Sundays before preachers were blaming him for the flood. The truth is that he had nothing to do with it. The Devil rarely does things, at least not any more. Lately, he’s just been making suggestions or [...]

Good News Obion County!

If you are an exurb, it must mean there’s an “urb” nearby, right? Maybe one with jobs? Over at Pandagon, Amanda Marcotte says: And in general, liberals could point out that what happened to Gene Craddick and his family is an illustration of the problems that erupt when a bunch of Americans think they’re too [...]

A Toast to Bitch PhD

I figure if folks can toast and roast Andrew Sullivan for being a big influence on the blogosphere, I can toast Bitch PhD and nod to its passing. Bitch PhD was the first of the “big feminist” blogs that linked to me. Before that link, I had maybe 30 readers a day and after that [...]

13. We are Our Own Ghosts

Minnie Robertson was 82 years old. Her great-grandson, who they all called Pinky, was just 16. He was sitting in the back of a police cruiser because he had obeyed when the police yelled, “Come out with your hands up.” Mrs. Robertson was sitting on the floor of what used to be her house, resting [...]

Blows My Mind

I’m going to bet that at least some of you already know about this song, “Cypress Grove” by Clutch, but I did not learn of it until it was mentioned over at Nine Bullets, where I learn about all good music from a guy who likes Lucero, which is just a band I cannot get [...]

Tuesday Blues

I have been trying to figure out when I’m going to work in my nine nights this year. I have, as long as I’ve done it, done it in October. But I just don’t have nine consecutive nights this month to spend with Them. And I don’t like it. It’s already made the energy of [...]

A True Ghost Story

Jo(e) has a great, great one.

12. Shadow Lane

Lainey had a house on Shadow Lane. Like all of the houses on Shadow Lane, it was the ubiquitous 1950s brick ranch with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a somewhat surprisingly cheery disposition. In spite of all the house had going for it, it had one thing working against it–it was haunted. Noticeably. You could [...]

Voting for the Hunting and Fishing Amendment

Yes, Sean Braisted is right and we ignore  a lot in our state constitution (though, I think now would be a great time to purge the state legislature of all duelers). But I still think R. Neal is onto something. If there’s an amendment to the state constitution that protects hunting and fishing, that gives [...]

Dinner with an Old Friend

Last night one of my best childhood friends came over for dinner while she was in town for work. We had, in part, baked vegetables, which were supposed to be grilled, but the grill was out of gas. But I’m glad we cooked them in-doors because the whole house still smells delicious. Man, it was [...]

11. The Church Street Man

There have probably always been a lot of ghosts downtown, since it’s the oldest part of town, but until folks started moving back down there in great numbers, you only ever heard about the ghosts haunting the honky-tonks. The gentleman in tonight’s story might always have been running down Church, a look of exhileration and [...]

Mondaaayyyaaayyyy

My parents are gone. The Butcher is off butching or whatever. And I feel like I’m alone for the first time in days. And I am loving it a little bit. It’s hard to admit you prefer to spend time by yourself, probably especially if you have a family, but dang, do I really need [...]

Check This Coverage Out!

This is really great. Over at Biblioden, you can read a review of A City of Ghosts, read an interview with me, and enter to win a copy of the book. Here’s my favorite part: I believe that part of what you’ll find here is the birth of a new line of folk tales. Phillips [...]

10. The Woman in the House on Sigler Street

Delia Patton was the last of her Pattons, the last of at least seven generations of Nashville Pattons stretching back before the War. Her mother had this theory that sometimes the old lines just petered out, which was the kind of thing that made sense on the surface, but not if you thought about it [...]

The Southern Festival of Books Was Awesome!

I was standing there, waiting to go on stage, talking to a dude from Memphis and I looked up and said, in a confused voice, “I think that’s my brother. It is my brother! And my nephew!” and it was! They had sneaked up to listen to me read. The reading went really well! There [...]

9. The Man in the House on Sigler Street

It was well-known that Dalt Patton’s wife haunted their house. They had fallen in love young. She was 19, he was 24 when they got married. Their first child was stillborn just a month after Mrs. Patton’s 20th birthday. And then, for whatever reason, it seemed like they could not have children. Everyone agreed that [...]

The Gameplan for the Southern Festival of Books

I have an hour to fill while I’m on stage, so here’s what I think I’m going to do. I’m going to read “All the Same Old Haunts” and “Dodge City” because folks really like them and then I’m going to read all of the Devil stories. I think that will keep it interesting for [...]

8. Fisk Memorial Chapel

One of the nicest spirits in Nashville lingers at Fisk Memorial Chapel. Most of the time, she is more noticed in her absence than her presence. You’ll walk into the empty chapel and the air will still be humming, as if someone has just finished playing the organ. Or you will shuffle into your spot [...]