Knoxville’s history is full of tragedy. From soldiers on both sides fighting during the Civil War to floggings outside the Courthouse to a race riot leading to an official death count of only one, the spirits of those with strong emotions and unfinished business remain behind.

Paranormal investigator, historian and founder of Haunted Knoxville Ghost Tours J-Adam Smith recognized that Knoxville had many “ground zeroes,” or areas where something historical happened, with rich stories and strong potential for hauntings.

During his ghost tours around Knoxville, Smith focuses on showing a different perspective on ghostly encounters, finding many times that if there are haunted locations, he is dealing with human spirits who have left behind residual energy like strong feelings of sadness, happiness or more.

“One of the things that I try to do in the field is share a different view of the paranormal,” Smith said. “They’re not what the TV makes it out to be. It’s not as scary and all that as TV makes it out to be. These are just people that we’re dealing with … I’ve just dealt with people, with different spirits and people over the years.”

Here are a few stories of historic haunted spots that give a look into Knoxville’s dark past.

Customs House

Now the East Tennessee History Center, the Old Customs House at 600 Market Street has reason to have some of its own hauntings both in and around the area.

“The third floor was used as a federal courtroom and tried major cases in there, even one of the most dangerous outlaws in American history Kid Curry was tried up there,” Smith said.

In addition, Old Customs House also held the post office and had other various courtrooms and offices on upper floors. The building served as the Tennessee Valley Authority office for about 40 years according to Knox Heritage’s website.

Smith said that there is a possibility that the years when the TVA was flooding areas could have left unfinished business in some of the areas that were flooded.

As with any location, the probability of becoming haunted by spirits increases when there is unfinished business.

“Even the post office that was once there after the Civil War, that location could have been an extreme location for altercations and also a lot of sadness and happiness,” Smith said. “Cause this is where they are going to be getting letters, finding out if loved ones are coming back from the war.”

The residual energy left over from those strong emotions could be the reason the location is haunted.

Patrick Sullivan’s (a.k.a. The Lonesome Dove)

Today, if passersby walked past The Lonesome Dove at 100 N Central Street in the Old City, they might admire the Victorian architecture and the renovated upscale-chic style of the restaurant.

However, what they may not suspect is that the historic building, once called Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon, is said to have ghosts walking the halls.

The saloon was opened in 1888 by Irish immigrant Patrick Sullivan who settled back in Knoxville after the Civil War.

“It’s believed that many highly regarded outlaws visited there and there are actually holes in the bar ceiling of when they would end up shooting when they got excited,” Smith said. “The Saloon operated from 1888 to 1907. It had a boarding house, a bordello, which is interesting because upstairs you actually have a room where there’s four doors to actually enter into, which matched that time-period to prostitution.”

The Saloon went through different changes over 70 years, from being a brothel to an ice cream shop in the ‘20s and ’30s before being restored and reopened as Sullivan’s Saloon in 1988, according to the Knox Heritage website on the saloon.

Smith said that the building has a possibility of being haunted by some of the very outlaws who visited the saloon. It’s also rumored that someone was found dead in the back who could be haunting the location now.

“There’s a possibility that even changing the name from Patrick Sullivan’s to Lonesome Dove could cause, who knows, could cause more of a stir,” Smith said. “We’re not saying it’s haunted, we’re not saying it’s going to cause more, but who knows, it could add a little extra to it because for so long, Patrick Sullivan’s was on the side of that building.”

Baker Peters House

Another famous location that could be haunted by ghosts is the Baker Peters House at 9000 Peters Road.

The home of Dr. Harvey Baker, it is believed to be haunted by several different ghosts. Perhaps one of them is Harvey Baker, who was killed in a raid of his home during the Civil War as Union troops took over Knoxville.

The ghost of his son Abner Baker could also be haunting the premises. After his father was killed, Abner Baker sought revenge on the man he believed to have done the murder. He was then taken to jail, where a mob broke him out and hanged him from a tree downtown.

The ghosts could also be that of the Confederate soldiers Harvey Baker cared for in his medical office in the basement of the house. Some of the soldiers might have died at the time and could still be in the house.

Another reason for the haunting, Smith said, is that during a reconstruction of the home a disturbance was caused to a staircase inside.

“There was actually a staircase that took Dr. Baker from his bedroom on the second floor down to the basement where his medical office was,” Smith said. “They had to put a bathroom in, and they ended up taking a portion of that staircase. When you do something like that, that can definitely cause a disturbance within the facility as well with the spirits. Because they can still be using the staircases.”