The Holston Salt and Plaster Company reopened an old well on August 25, 1874. The shaft was made decades earlier, when locals attempted to find water. Residents dug around 120 feet down,…
Tag: folklore
The Featherbed Ghost
Dances were a common fixture of Appalachian life well into the early Dances were a common fixture of Appalachian life well into the early Twentieth Century. They were a form of entertainment,…
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
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 Wizards of Abingdon
Abingdon is the county seat for Washington County, Virginia. Founded in 1778, it has seen many changes through time. One of the strangest episodes in its long and storied history deals with…
It Was a Memorable Service
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…
Family Love
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…
Bill Beaver, Old Nance, and Old Sugarmouth
Old Nance was featured in a few old books, such as Spirit of the Mountains, by Emma B. Miles. This little known haunting is remarkably and uncannily similar to the Bell Witch…
The Trials of Betsy Bell
The Trials of Betsy Bell is a little-known song that once appeared in Southern Lyrics, a book published in 1907. The song is noted as being written in July of 1906, but…
Bell Witch Revelations & Rumors
This final article on the Bell Witch addresses many revelations and rumors that have since surfaced. Nearly two centuries have passed since these events and countless legends have developed since. It’s impossible…
Sugarmouth and the Johnson Family
James Johnson, or “Old Sugarmouth,” became a central figure in Bell Witch history, almost as much as Betsy’s siblings were. His sons, John and Calvin, were said to have caught Powell in…