Tennessee is the 17th largest state, in the southeastern United States. Although most visitors are attracted to Tennessee for the scenic beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and the vibrant music scene of Nashville, there are numerous lesser-known and unusual attractions throughout the back-country, many of which are both strange and historically significant.
What Dionicio Rodriguez endeavored to build in the 1930s was intended to be a solemn shrine of remembrance, but Crystal Grotto Shrine has instead become one of the great strange tourist attractions of Tennessee. The shrine consists of a hand-hewn cave carved with Biblical scenes and numerous dioramas depicting the life of Jesus, as well as thousands of quartz-crystals and semi-precious stones. The grottoes are free-standing structures that resemble craggy rock, but are in reality a series of concrete and wire mesh sculptures built to resemble stone. The shrine is in Memorial Park Cemetery, on the outskirts of Memphis.
Crystal Grotto Shrine
5668 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38119
901-767-8930
memorialparkfuneralandcemetery.com
The story of the Bell Witch is well-known throughout Tennessee. The story tells that Kate Batts, a neighbor to the Bell family and suspected witch, bore ill-will toward the family, although no one knows why. When the family began having frightening and violent encounters with an unseen entity they were convinced that Kate Batts was behind it. The Bell Witch haunting went on for many years and eventually, so the story goes, took the life of John Bell. Bell Witch Cave is now a visitor destination near Adams and consists of the Bell homestead with an 19th century cabin housing a museum of family genealogy and the cave, which was placed on the National Historic Register in 2008. Tours are given from June until Labor Day, with a special event on Halloween.
Bell Witch Cave
430 Keysburg Road
Adams, Tennessee 37010
615-696-3055
bellwitchcave.com
Of all the unusual attractions in Tennessee, perhaps the most beloved is the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg. The museum stands in Winery Square, a shopping plaza, and is home to over 20,000 sets of salt and pepper shakers from all over the world. The museum was started by Andrea Ludden, a Belgian immigrant, who has written a scholarly work on the history of salt and pepper shakers and amassed the majority of her large collection over just four years. The museum is a quirky roadside attraction in downtown Gatlinburg and is open daily.
Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum
461 Brookside Village Way
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
865-430-5515
thesaltandpeppershakermuseum.com
