AppalachianCustomsHistory
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This figure was once common in cautionary nursery tales, used to keep children from being naughty. If a child didn’t behave, legend said “Rawhead and Bloody Bones,” would come and take them. The legend was prevalent in the Appalachians throughout the early 1900s, however eventually faded into oblivion. While notContinue Reading

CursesFolkloreHistoric Buildings
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Virginia City, better known as Dry Gulch Junction, was a wild west attraction in Wytheville, Virginia. Dry Gulch was situated on the edge of Jefferson National Forest, around ten miles from Wytheville. The attraction became most notable for the wrong reasons. Debt and death plagued everyone who attempted to makeContinue Reading

FolkloreWitchcraftAppalachian
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Agatha and Drusilla were born as all normal girls are. They grew up in a typical home nestled within the rural Appalachian Mountains. However, these girls’ normality was short-lived. Upon reaching adulthood, they became twisted, deviated from the standard they knew growing up. They were notorious for their deception andContinue Reading

AppalachianFolkloreGhosts
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Eugenia Murray was not a kind woman. She was not a good woman. She lived life away from others and wanted it that way. The reasons for Eugenia’s bitterness and hatred were never known. It could’ve been a spurned lover, an unfaithful spouse, or a bad childhood. Whatever the reason,Continue Reading

AppalachianCrimes and CriminalsCursesGhosts
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Burton Hensley was an out-of-state peddler when he arrived in the blossoming town of Bristol, Virginia. He was not a great success, but adequately provided for himself. The locals told Burton of a great mansion just about ten miles away. They suggested he travel there and speak with the landowner.Continue Reading

AppalachianCrimes and CriminalsMurderers
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The Adkins family had been known for decades by the 1920s. They were fine, upstanding people with a name for honesty and hard work. Elishabeth was the family’s eldest daughter. Her beauty was rivaled by none in the area. Elishabeth loved a near-by farmer’s son, Jacob. He was successful and,Continue Reading

AppalachianFolkloreGhosts
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Amery Harlan hated his wife. He hated her nagging and her constant push for him to be something he wasn’t. He’d became enamored by Martha Mills and she had returned his favor. Amery didn’t want a divorce, though. He didn’t want to be bothered with the formalities and legal mumbo-jumbo.Continue Reading

FolkloreGhostsAppalachian
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T. Gilley was a showman of epic proportions. He was flashy, gaudy, and no matter how many claimed to hate him, he drew a crowd every Saturday morning. T. Gilley held illegal cock fights outside the West Hill Cemetery in Bristol. Despite the fact that they were breaking the law,Continue Reading