 |
|
The Suck Creek Spirit
 In the canyons around Signal Mountain there lies a small community called Suck Creek. It's name isn't the only unusual thing about it. Suck Creek is actually the name of the creek which flows through the area. The creek received this unusual name because as it flows into the Tennessee River, it causes rapids and whirlpools which were known to suck in passing boats.
The community of Suck Creek is located on the edges of Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management area in rural Marion County, TN, not far from the Hamilton County line and Chattanooga. It's a nice little community nestled between high mountains. It's very small, and you can pass through without noticing much. As you drive through along state highway 27, you will enter Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management. As you drive through, you will notice a hiking trail which crosses the highway. This is the Cumberland Trail. The area of this trail up the hill from the highway is said to be haunted by a slave who tried to escape to freedom many years ago.
Today many people in the area have claimed to hear groans and pain that this slave endured so many years ago. Since the trail is closed after dark, it's difficult to look for the ghost. Passing motorists on highway 27 have claimed to have seen an apparition crossing the highway or in the woods near where the trail crosses the highway. The story is that this spirit is searching for the men who killed him so that he can have revenge on them. Most people tend to sympathize with him, and hope he does find those who did this terrible deed, so that he can punish them.
|
During the days of slavery, many a slave tried to escape to freedom. One slave escaped from a master in Suck Creek, and fled up the mountain. Unfortunately, his master had brought in the bloodhounds and was right on his trail. A mob had joined in the search, and they were out for blood. The slave ran up the mountains, but finally could run no more. The party caught up to him, and proceeded to beat him savagely. After beating him until he was unconscious, they decided to lynch him. They hanged him from a tree and left. Amazingly, he survived this, and woke up hanging from a tree. Sadly, the men must have heard him moving, because they returned. This time they beat him even worse, making sure they had murdered him. All in all, it is one of the worst incidents in Marion County history. 