Folklore from around the Globe

Werewolf Springs

In the late 1860s, a circus train derailed along the railroad track that skirts the southwest boundary of the present Montgomery Bell State Park. Several circus animals escaped, including two creatures touted as “The Wolfmen of Borneo.” All the animals were recovered, except the wolfmen.

A couple years later, a local landowner and his hired hand were traveling by wagon down a country road, in the proximity of where Highway 47 runs southwest of the park. They were heading from the present day Burns area to a homestead near the Harpeth River.

The travelers were stalked by a wild creature in the vicinity of Werewolf Springs. They moved faster and faster trying to shake the creature, but it was no use. So they abandoned the wagon and ran into the forest in opposite directions.

The creature pursued the hired hand, who was never seen again. The landowner heard a blood-curdling scream and pleas for mercy from the hired hand, but his body was never found.

Following this incident, a posse gathered to find and kill the beast. They headed to a clearing near the springs, where it appeared a predator frequently hunted. They tethered a goat in the middle of the clearing and broke off in pairs, surrounding the goat and under cover.

A sasquatch-like creature entered the clearing and headed straight for the goat. The men fired at the creature, and then lit their lanterns to see if it was dead. The creature and the goat had vanished, along with two members of the posse.

A big-game hunter then attempted to slay the beast. The hunter spent three nights in a cabin near Werewolf Springs. All was quiet the first two nights, but the hunter had to fight for his life the final evening.

He heard howls in the distance, and took aim from a cabin window at what appeared to be the creature. He fired, but the shot only provoked the animal. The beast broke through the cabin door, but the hunter had positioned himself in the rafters and began firing at it.

The bullets didn’t faze the creature as it swiped and clawed at the hunter, whose ammunition, by now, was down to two shots in a pistol. He was saved, however, when the sun began to rise and the creature fled into the woods.

This is the rough account Brown heard as a Cub Scout, camping in the area known as Werewolf Springs. The area referred to as Werewolf Springs is actually Hall Springs, presently accessed through Montgomery Bell State Park’s 11-mile overnight hiking trail.

Mark Corlew, a longtime Burns resident and former MBSP naturalist and ranger, explained the Hall family homestead was located about 150 yards from Hall Springs (Werewolf Springs), between the springs and Hall Cemetery.Dickson's 'Werewolf Springs': Fact or fiction?
Josh ArntzDickson Herald archives
Editor’s note: This story was first published in Oct. 28, 2011. With Halloween just over two weeks away, The Herald is re-posting this story that analyzes the history of one of Dickson County’s tallest tales.

If you’ve lived in Dickson County for a while, you’ve probably heard some mention of Werewolf Springs.

Local teacher Sam Brown heard the legend about the mysterious half-wolf, half-man roaming Werewolf Springs when he was a child growing up in Burns in the ’60s.

Lifelong Dickson County resident Craig Anderson also heard tales as a child of the county’s werewolf, and noted the myth is one of Dickson’s biggest legends.

Anderson and Brown collaborated for an episode of The Renaissance Center’s production of “Dark Encounters Investigated,” during which they retold the legend of Werewolf Springs. The episode aired throughout 2003 on Channel 19.