I’m not saying that I believe this for what it sounds like, but I’ve read enough about it to be on the fence.
There is a long history of ghost stories and spooky things that happen in the Smoky Mountains. Many people believe there are spirits roaming those hills in North Carolina and Tennessee.
I asked chatGPT for stories of paranormal activity. While no SCIENTIFIC evidence exists, there are verifiable things that can’t be explained. The Lights at Cades Cove, for example, are explained by scientists as being things like dust catching light or maybe fireflies. But people who see them believe what they saw are NOT those things.
There are many stories.
Online, I also follow a retired law enforcement officer** who grew up in those mountains and heard the stories. He says there IS much paranormal activity happening.
He has the most logical explanation of supernatural happenings. It’s not logical if you don’t believe in the supernatural, but I do because I believe in God and the powers of Good and evil.
He says the Indians who lived there are still famous for their rituals calling forth spirits from the other side. Their ceremonies were fueled by their knowledge of plants that produced psychotropic drugs (Google confirmed this and said they frequently used jimson weed which can be deadly if handled wrong.)
Knowing all the things that he knows about the legends, the history, etc etc, he does not believe in ghosts. As a Christian and knowing those rituals were not, he believes the paranormal activity called forth demons. And he believes they still roam those hills because they received invitations and permission to be there.
He thinks Christians in that area are protected. BUT, he says, unintentional invitations can bring a lot of miserable, unwelcome “company”. He has warnings especially being outside at night like don’t whistle and don’t answer if you hear an unrecognized voice call your name.
* The channel I follow is by Brandon Gayheart, The Supernatural Sleuth is on YouTube is at the link, and tell some pretty interesting stories. He usually always lets you know if these are things he knows first hand to be true or if he’s sharing someone else’s story that he believes could be true
https://youtube.com/@thesupernaturalsleuth?si=-st4-2ScoKyU7zu_
