February 17, 2010
The Ghosts Set the Table
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Jessica Penot - Gatlinburg, Tennessee - November 10, 2007
Most ghost stories are creepy. They hint at some unhappy soul lurking just
beyond reality waiting to do us harm. The Riverhaven cabin is haunted, but
the ghosts there seem pleasant and inviting. Riverhaven is a cabin in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It is described by the reality company as pleasant
and comfortable. This historic log home is an antique Chestnut log,
approximately 200 years old, built in 1800. It has unique wormy Chestnut
paneling inside. The cabin was constructed in the National Park and was
moved in the 1930s to its current location in downtown Gatlinburg. The
realtor's Web site shows many pretty pictures of the cabin and if you rent
it, when you enter you'll be pleasantly surprised by its comfort and warmth.
Every cabin in Gatlinburg has a log or journal for visitors to share their
experiences in. Typically, these logs are filled with stories of family
vacations. Every page has the same bland pleasantries. It is as if they came
from a script. Guests tell about their family, what they did, and the great
time they had in the cabin. Riverhaven's journal is different. Each guest
tells about flickering lights, moving objects, vanishing items, and odd
noises. Not every resident there concludes the cabin is haunted, but every
page indicated there is something odd about this pleasant cabin nestled by
the river. I only stayed at Riverhaven for three nights and for the most
part it was quiet. I stayed with my family and we complained to each other
about the lack of linens in the cabin. We searched it from top to bottom,
pulling it apart in a futile quest for a table cloth or anything to cover
the splintery, ancient dining table. Finally, on the first night we gave up
and ate on our laps. We went to bed and dead-bolted the door and locked the
door with the sliding lock that even someone with a key couldn't open. In
the morning, we awoke to find every table set with table cloths and
silverware. The cabin was clean and pretty and we certainly hadn't left it
that way when we went to sleep. We often laugh about this cabin as we
flounder to explain our experiences there, but when I think of the strange
journal there and the consistency of all the stories, I have to assume it
was haunted by ghosts that liked us.
