Patsy Cline’s Spirit

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline’s singing career was on the rise in the spring of 1963 when the small plane she was on crashed into a secluded West Tennessee forest near Camden.

She and three male companions * were heading home after a benefit concert they had given in Ohio. They were just a half hour from their destination when a storm hit causing their plane to crash.

Six years before, Cline’s performance on television of Walkin After Midnight had made her one of the first Country singers to crossover into mainstream popularity.

In 1961, she was in a car crash that almost took her life while she was working on recording Sweet Dreams. This song garnered her even more recognition and admiration. She followed this with her successes, I Fall To Pieces, Crazy and She Got You. All hits on the Country as well as the Pop charts.

At the moment of her passing the world lost a great talent. Belied by Cline’s small frame, her voice resonated with warmth, power, and emotions that have not been matched since.

Decades after her death her albums continue to top the charts. Today, a new generation of music lovers listens to her songs with awe.

People who have visited the crash site state that the quiet trees that surround the boulder that marks the place is deceiving, for most leave with an uneasy sense of something unnatural. Adjectives used to describe the area include: strange, odd and chilling.

One woman who took her dog with her down the steep path that leads to the ravine noted that her pet began to whine and would not go near the boulder that is inscribed:

*  “On this site March 5, 1963, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Randy Hughes lost their lives.” Hughes was Cline’s manager.

The crash sites' inscribed boulder.

The Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, known as the “Muni” is another place where witnesses state they have encountered Cline’s ghost. She performed here on several occasions.

Backstage at Shreveport
Auditorium

Her apparition has been seen and heard moving backstage between the dressing rooms and the corridor. Witnesses state they have heard her voice as if she is warming up for a performance.

Here is an example of Cline’s sultry voice—I Fall To Pieces.

Haunted Object: A Piano

Mary’s son found an old upright piano through his salvage business. Knowing his mother had always wanted a piano, he had it delivered to her house.

Mary had the instrument placed in her breezeway. She cleaned it up, polished it, and had a man come out and tune it.

The piano quickly became one of her prized possessions. Several years passed without anything unusual occurring. Mary who was in the habit of taking a short afternoon nap started to awaken, to the sound of random notes being played on the piano.

At first, she thought it might be the wind, or maybe mice were in the instrument. But as time passed, she realized these were not the cause.

Every time she walked out onto the porch to figure out what was going on, the sounds would stop.

One afternoon as she watched her granddaughter, she heard the piano’s notes play--with each key that was struck the noise became louder.

As the weeks passed, the piano began to play songs, instead of random notes. Mary now was woken up in the middle of the night to the sounds of the piano playing. This began to occur regularly.

Mary feeling nervous and upset, was relieved when one day, her daughter heard the piano playing. This confirmed in her mind that she was not going crazy.

Other members of her family also heard the piano play. The family concluded the instrument must be haunted.

Because of her mental stress, and the fact the piano’s weight was collapsing her porch floor, Mary sadly decided she must get rid of the instrument.

She had it placed out on the curb with a “free” sign attached to it. An older couple came by and adopted it. Mary sometimes wonders if they too experience the late-night concerts.