News Flash

COOKEVILLE – Ghosts and mischievous spirits are the focus of Saturday’s “Boogers, Haunts and Haints” Folklore History Hike.

“We will recount some unnerving folklore from all over Tennessee,” Ashley McKee, Cookeville museums education specialist, said of the free self-guided activity presented by Cookeville Leisure Services. 

Participants may pick up entry forms at the Cookeville Depot Museum, 40 E. Broad St., or Cookeville History Museum, 116 W. Broad St., between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and then “hike” between the two museums.

“You’ll read about and be quizzed on stories of eerie apparitions, worrying witches and harrowing haunts,” McKee said.

Those completing the activity will be entered in a prize drawing sponsored by Friends of the Cookeville History Museum.

McKee explained that folklore consists of traditional beliefs, customs and stories of a community that pass from one generation to the next by word of mouth. One example is the story of “Crazy George’s Bridge” – a bridge in Putnam County that is said to be haunted by a decapitated railroad worker who met his untimely end one night while wandering the tracks below the bridge. According to the legend, George will reappear to those who call his name three times after midnight; he’ll be carrying a light while searching for his lost head.

“The study of folklore gives us the ability to look into the everyday habits and beliefs of a culture, thus telling more about just who these people were,” McKee said. “Some tales can be explained, but others remain obscure.”

“Boogers, Haunts and Haints” will be this year’s final hike. 

For more information, call the Cookeville History Museum at 931-520-5455 or Cookeville Depot Museum at 931-528-8570.