"I'm Never Leaving the Station"
There is more to the haunting beauty of Union Station than meets the eye. Built in the Romanesque Revival style, the train station-turned-hotel is one of Nashville’s historical gems. But if the 450-pound statue of Mercury perched atop its clock tower draws you in off Broadway, you may experience more than a wistful walk through the past as you take in the splendor of stained glass, marble, and stone.
Upon entering through heavy stone archways, you’re immediately dwarfed by a 65-foot, barrel-vaulted ceiling adorned with stained glass windows and complimentary crystal chandeliers. This spectacular feat of architecture is framed with motifs of angels holding cornucopias, tools, and bushels of grain, highlighting the agricultural, mechanical, and commercial achievements of Tennessee. While exploring the atrium, the open, wood-carved staircases seduce you up five stories—some say beckoning ascenders to jump.
The captivating beauty serves as a charming veil between the living and the other worldly phenomena experienced by patrons of the century-old building. Many of the hotel’s ghostly encounters feature Abigail, a woman who sent her beau off to war from the station when it served as a USO terminal shipping out thousands of U.S. troops during World War II. Unfortunately, Abigail’s true love was fated to an untimely death during combat in Europe. In her grief, she came back to the place where she swore her affections—having vowed to faithfully await his return—and threw herself off the station’s platform in front of a moving train.
Since its restoration in 1986, many guests have reported strange happenings during their stay. Room 711 has become notorious for flickering lights, strange sounds, and drops in room temperature. Abigail’s ghost is said to appear in the reflection of a glass door adjacent to the main level’s robust limestone fireplace, where marriage ceremonies are often held. Hotel attendants hint that she is attracted to weddings and music, perhaps in mourning for the love she had lost.
Many of those who’ve had a brush with Abigail believe her to be a benevolent spirit. An engineer who had a run-in with the heartbroken ghost just days ago would agree. While making his way up the rudimentary staircase that leads to the clock tower, he lost his footing. After narrowly escaping death, he recounted the hair-raising tale to his colleagues, swearing that a ghostly hand reached out and grabbed him, saving him from the 200-foot drop.
Over the years, such lore has chased off night shift workers and attracted ghost hunters hoping to tap into the supernatural energy they believe emanates throughout the old train station. The building’s colorful history—including rumors about mobster Al Capone’s escort through the terminal and morbid stories inspired by the fact that the hotel used to house live alligators—adds a playful dimension to Union Station’s elegant grandeur. So if you have a chance to grab a cocktail from The Bar Car this All Hallows’ Eve, make sure to look twice at your reflection in the window.