A Cold Slap to the Cheek: The Tale of an Appalachian Haunting

Today we tell a tale about a mysterious and unsettling visit to an old, grand house nestled deep within the Appalachian hills—a place where ghosts laugh and taunt you when the sun goes down and long into the night.  

It’s a story of terror that blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural, leaving our visitor—and perhaps even you, dear listener—with a haunting that lingers long after dawn breaks.    

Subscribe to the MountainLore podcast on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or on your preferred podcast platform to ensure you never miss an episode of our tales from Appalachia.  

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners…

The Preacher and the Ghost Of The Blackwater Farmhouse

Venture with us into the stormy hills of Southwest Virginia, where a stop on a preacher’s journey brings him a ghostly plea for justice in this episode of MountainLore. As the heavens unleash a rainstorm, our man of God seeks refuge in an old farmhouse, rumored to be haunted by restless spirits. What follows is a night of eerie noises, spectral encounters, and a murder mystery that has lingered in tales from Blackwater for generations.    

Make sure to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast on your favorite podcast platform, including Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.    

And as always…  

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

The Twisted Tree of the Witch’s Wrath

In the dark hollows of Appalachia, a tale as twisted as the branches of an ancient oak unfolds in this episode of MountainLore. We’re taking you back 150 years to a time when a grand old oak tree stood sentinel on the edge of a small town, its boughs a meeting place for a coven of witches and their moonlit rituals.  

Join us as we recount the harrowing night that left a town reeling and a traveler ensnared in legend. The Curse of the Twisted Tree is a story of vengeance, nature’s wrath, and the peril of underestimating the unseen forces that weave their way through Appalachian lore.  

Be sure to subscribe to MountainLore to unearth more tales that have weathered the ages. Find us on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or wherever you tune into the whispers of the past.  

And remember, choose wisely the shade under which you rest…  

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

The Haunted Tavern of the River’s Bend

On this ghostly journey through the heart of Appalachia, we recount the spine-tingling tale of two brothers, Jacob and Ritchie Vail, and their fateful encounter with a haunted tavern along the Ohio River. As the brothers seek lodging one night, they stumble upon a mysterious establishment with a dark past and an even darker presence lurking within its walls.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast to ensure you never miss an episode of our tales. We’re available on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Goodpods, Player FM, and wherever podcasts are found.

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

Old Richter’s Ghost

In this chilling episode of MountainLore, we delve deep into the eerie tales of western Pennsylvania as we recount a story that’s lingered in the whispers of the hills for over a century. We venture to a forsaken square frame house nestled in the mountains—a house that now stands forlorn, its glory days long past.  

In 1886, this house was abuzz with the life of woodsmen, but among them was an enigmatic old German man named Richter, whose past was as shadowy as the nights that terrorized him. His nightly wails and frantic cries for light painted a haunting picture that the woodsmen learned to endure as part of their stay.   Gather ’round as we unravel the tale of old Richter and his haunted. A tale that ensures the old farmhouse remains not just a structure, but a sentinel of the spectral legends of Appalachia.

Remember to subscribe to MountainLore for more tales that will send shivers down your spine. Find us on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Goodpods, Player FM, or your preferred podcast platform.

Until our next encounter…  

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

Big Fraid and Little Fraid

Today we tell a tale from southwest Virginia about a man, his young son, and the family’s cows, which the son tended during the day up in the mountains.  

That man tried to teach his boy a lesson in being home on time.  That’s NOT how things turned out, however.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast.  We’re on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Goodpods or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Thanks for listening and….

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

The Hollow Branch Witch Trial

One summer, many years ago, a small community in the mountains of Kentucky suffered through the worst drought any of them had ever experienced. Searching for a cause for their misery, they found one: an older woman who lived at the head of their holler, Hollow Branch, who many had whispered had unearthly and evil powers based on her reputation as a healer, or granny woman.

Before long this granny woman was on trial for being a witch and for bringing the drought down on Hollow Branch.

Thanks for listening and for sharing our tales with your friends.

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners.

The Tell Tale Lilac Bush

Bill and Elie had a long life together, made even longer by their utter dislike for each other.  One day Elie disappeared and Bill became a man set free.

All was grand, until that cursed lilac bush came along.

Be sure to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast.  We’re on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Audible or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Til next we meet, sweet dreams, podcast listeners…

Ghosts of Days Gone By

We have reached a milestone:  200 episodes!

To celebrate, we bring you a folktale from the mountains of western North Carolina…

A hunter resting one evening at a historic mountain pass in North Carolina happens to see a ghostly sight: three indistinct soldiers at the edge of a clearing, staring in his direction, not at him, but at something only they can see.  

This is the beginning of what will be a ghostly encounter.

Be sure to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast.  We’re on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Goodpods, PlayerFM or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners…

The Tragedy of Octavia Hatcher

On May 2, 1891, Octavia Hatcher of Pikeville, Kentucky, died from a strange, new illness.

Well, no she didn’t, but nobody knew that at the time.

You see, that illness caused her to go into a coma so deep that doctors at the time assumed she was dead and pronounced her so. Then she was buried in a cemetery on a hill above Pikeville.

That is when the tragedy of this story begins.

Be sure to subscribe to the MountainLore podcast on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Goodpods or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Sweet dreams, podcast listeners…