Back in 1933 there were reports of a ghost haunting the home of Bill Barrett in Stanley Valley, located in Hawkins County, Tennessee. For three weeks starting in March of that year, Mr. Barrett had seen the apparition around his place so much it “has got me worried.”
The story is that this ghost was a greedy spirit. He was said to have stolen two wagon loads of fence rails. He also had a thing for hams, apparently, since he would regularly get into the family smokehouse, which was secured with several locks. And he had a bit of Ernest T. Bass in him, too, because one of his favorite activities was throwing rocks at the house.
In early April, Bill Barrett reported that he saw the ghost right in front of him and promptly fired a shotgun point blank at it’s chest from 15 feet. The spirit said “Oh,” then calmly turned around and took off. Others who were helping Bill try to catch the ghost also fired hundreds of rounds at it, with no effect.
One of Barretts friends actually hid in the yard near the house in an effort to sneak up on and catch the apparition. Turns out that the ghost simply snuck up on him and hit him in the back of the head with a rock, knocking him out.
In case you are wondering what an East Tennessee ghost looks like, the local newspaper described it as looking “like a heavy-set man.” It would usually show up between sundown and midnight.