Gaylord Opryland Resort

The Lady in Black is the throughline of Opryland ghost lore. Local Nashville ghost-tour operators identify her as Mary Louise Bransford McGavock, of the family who lived at Two Rivers Mansion before the resort was built on land that was once part of their property. She is described in 19th-century mourning dress, with a black veil drawn over the face.

Guest reports collected by Nashville-based ghost-tour companies and regional television features describe a recurring set of phenomena. Guests report receiving wake-up calls at 3am from the front desk, calls the desk has no record of placing. Guests describe footsteps in the corridors outside their rooms, sometimes accompanied by a low moan, when the corridor is verifiably empty on review. Cold spots and a sense of being watched are reported in the older sections of the property. The Lady has been described in the lobby, the atriums, and especially in the corridors of the Magnolia and Cascades wings.

None of these accounts are confirmed by the resort itself. Marriott's media relations have generally declined to engage with the lore. The stories travel through the local ghost-tour ecosystem, a periodic cycle of WKRN and Taste of Country features around Halloween, and word of mouth among hotel staff.

The lore outlasted the original Opryland USA theme park, which closed in 1997. The hotel's expansion through the 1990s coincided with the most active period of reporting.