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Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

Unearthing the forgotten, the mysterious, and the legendary—one Southern story at a time. Hosted by Shannon Ballard, Southern Mysteries explores the rich and often untold history of the American South through a captivating mix of folklore, legends, unexplained mysteries, and true crime. Each episode uncovers a compelling tale from a Southern state, blending history with intrigue to reveal the fascinating stories that time left behind. While some episodes delve into chilling crimes, others spotlight legendary figures, ghostly lore, or baffling events.Sometimes the mystery is: why haven’t you heard the story?

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Today · 30 min
Episode 194 Thurmond - The Dodge City of the East
At the bottom of West Virginia’s New River Gorge, the nearly abandoned railroad town of Thurmond hides a history of coal wealth, rival businessmen, gambling, violence and suspicious deaths. This episode traces the rise of Thurmond and the infamous Dun Glen Hotel, the crimes that earned the area a lawless reputation, and the town’s transformation from a booming C&O railroad center into a preserved part of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources “Thurmond.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond.htm “Thurmond Walking Tour.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Jan. 6, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond-walking-tour.htm “Gambling at the Dunglen Hotel.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/gambling-at-the-dunglen-hotel.htm “Thurmond Passenger Depot.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. “New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.” National Park Service. Background on the 1978 establishment of New River Gorge National River and the 2020 redesignation as a national park and preserve. Harper, R. Eugene. “Thurmond Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form, Sept. 15, 1983. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/fayette/84003520.pdf National Park Service. “Thurmond Historic Structures Assessment: New River Gorge National River, West Virginia.” http://www.quid-tum.com/documents/thurmond_assessment_report.pdf Cox, W. Eugene. “Dun Glen Hotel.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, April 23, 2019. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1973 “Burning of the Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, July 23, 1930. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen01.html Knight, Wallace E. “Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, May 4, 1952. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen02.html “July 22, 1930: Fayette County’s Dun Glen Hotel Destroyed by Arson.” West Virginia Public Broadcasting, July 22, 2020. https://www.wvpublic.org/radio/2020-07-22/july-22-1930-fayette-countys-dun-glen-hotel-destroyed-by-arson “The Dunglen Hotel: The Historic Hotspot for Trouble.” New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oct. 22, 2014. https://newrivergorgecvb.com/dunglen-hotel/ Hufford, Mary. “Breaking the Time Barrier: Folklife and Heritage Planning in Southern West Virginia.” Folklife Center News, vol. 15, nos. 3-4, July 1, 1993. Tabler, Dave. “Women, Booze, Dice and Cards.” Appalachian History, July 23, 2019. https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2019/07/women-booze-dice-and-cards.html Schnur, Leisa. “Historic Dun Glen Hotel Site Soon Accessible.” Haunt Jaunts, Jan. 2, 2019. https://www.hauntjaunts.net/historic-dun-glen-hotel-site-soon-accessible/ Poillio, Carol. “Haunted National Parks: The ‘Dodge City of the East.’” Intuitive Investigations. https://www.intuitive-investigations.com/single-post/2016/04/12/haunted-national-parks-the-dodge-city-of-the-east “Longest Poker Game Ever.” Better Poker News. https://betterpokernews.com/betterpokernews-com-longest-poker-game-ever/ Amtrak. “Thurmond, West Virginia.” Station information for the Cardinal route. https://www.amtrak.com/stations/thn Amtrak. “Cardinal.” Route information for passenger service between New York and Chicago. “Thurmond, West Virginia.” Historical documentary detailing William Dabney Thurmond, Thomas Gaylord McKell, the development of the C&O railroad junction, Glen Jean, the Dun Glen Hotel and the south-side entertainment district. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwcFcuj-eJ0 “Thurmond.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 67. Profile of the town, its railroad business, banks, businesses and prominent residents. Newspapers.com. “Dunglen Hotel, Thurmond, W. Va.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 68. Newspapers.com. “Mankin Drug Company, Thurmond, W. Va.” and “The New River Banking and Trust Company, Thurmond, W. Va.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 69. Newspapers.com. “National Bank of Thurmond.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 70. Newspapers.com. “New C&O Station.” The Leader, Jan. 23, 1947, p. 3. Report on a proposed modern station, passenger and freight traffic, and Thurmond’s reputation as a riotous railroad town. Newspapers.com. “New Witness in Beckley Kidnap Case Is Found.” Hinton Daily News, Nov. 26, 1943, p. 8. Account involving a Thurmond railroad worker who encountered a kidnapped girl aboard a freight train. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/47911258/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad “Town of Thurmond Once Was East’s ‘Little Monte Carlo.’” Historical newspaper feature detailing the Dun Glen Hotel, gambling and stories associated with Thurmond’s violent reputation. Newspapers.com. “Thurmond Reawakened: It’s Not the Same Type of Town It Used to Be.” The Raleigh Register, Nov. 10, 1977, p. 20. Newspapers.com. “Fire Across From Thurmond Causes Loss of $25,000.” The Independent-Herald, Jan. 30, 1908, p. 1. Report on the fire that destroyed two stores and a residence and threatened the Dun Glen Hotel. Newspapers.com. “Old ‘Dodge City of East,’ Thurmond, Comes Full Circle.” Sunday Gazette-Mail, June 20, 1976, p. 12. Report on the Bankers Club, the Pugh family and new tourism businesses in Thurmond. Newspapers.com. “Coal Baron’s Dream Railroad Rusting, Awaits Dismantling.” Sunday Gazette-Mail, Aug. 4, 1974, p. 20. Account of the abandoned Arbuckle Creek railroad and Thurmond’s deterioration. Newspapers.com. “Thurmond, the ‘Dodge City of the East,’ Is Thriving Again.” Beckley Post-Herald/The Raleigh Register, July 31, 1977, p. 1. Report on rafting, tourism and renewed interest in Thurmond. Newspapers.com. “Mayor Fined Suicide.” The Fairmont West Virginian, June 14, 1904, p. 4. Reprinted account credited to the Huntington Herald concerning the drowning near Thurmond and the mayor’s reported five-dollar fine. Account of the drowned man fined for violating a town ordinance against suicide. Shepherdstown Register, June 16, 1904, p. 2. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/375523925/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad “Conductor Killed.” Hinton Daily News, Aug. 10, 1904, p. 1. Report on C&O conductor J.G. McKenzy, whose body was found on the tracks under circumstances that led residents to suspect murder. Newspapers.com. “Lawlessness at Thurmond.” Hinton Daily News, June 8, 1903, p. 1. Report on Baldwin detective J.W. Nelson’s alleged blackjack assault on railroad engineer Doggett. Newspapers.com. “Foolish Girl Lured to Thurmond to Marry a Man Whom She Had Never Seen.” The Independent-Herald, April 24, 1902, p. 3. Newspapers.com. “Three Miners Are Killed.” Martinsburg Herald, Feb. 2, 1907, p. 7. Report on the mine explosion near Stuart on Loop Creek that killed three miners. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/884926213/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad “Arrest Two at Thurmond for Burdette Hold-Up.” Hinton Daily News, April 25, 1925, p. 1. Newspapers.com. “Traveling Man Shot at Thurmond.” Hinton Daily News, Feb. 9, 1903, p. 1. Report on the fatal shooting of J.H. Arrington by Walter Smith at the Dun Glen Hotel. Newspapers.com. “His Throat Cut.” The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Aug. 26, 1893, p. 1. Report on Robert Baines, who was found near Arbuckle Creek with his throat cut and accused Henry Caldwell of the attack. Newspapers.com. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
July 27 · 24 min
Episode 193 Atlanta's Black Week - The Force Family Murders
In February 1893, Atlanta endured a week of financial scandal, suicide and shocking violence that newspapers would later remember as Black Week. The darkest chapter unfolded inside the home of one of the city's most respected families, where two sisters were murdered and a third calmly confessed. Through contemporary accounts and Julia Force's own writings, this episode explores one of Georgia's most haunting nineteenth-century murder cases and the mystery that still surrounds it. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Langley, Lee. Inside Scenes of Atlanta's Black Week: A Series of Social Sensations and a Carnival of Crimes. Atlanta: Franklin Printing and Publishing Company, 1893. "A Carnival of Crime." The True Citizen (Waynesboro, Georgia), March 4, 1893. "The Trial of Julia Force." The True Citizen (Waynesboro, Georgia), July 1, 1893. "Miss Julia Force Indicted." The Weekly Banner (Athens, Georgia), March 14, 1893. "Julia Force Declared Insane." The Hartwell Sun (Hartwell, Georgia), July 7, 1893. "Julia Force Sent to the State Sanitarium." The Union Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia), July 11, 1893. "Thomas Cobb Jackson's Suicide." The Montgomery Monitor (Mount Vernon, Georgia), March 2, 1893. "Force, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Boots and Shoes." The Daily Intelligencer (Atlanta, Georgia), Dec. 22, 1865. "Bankruptcy Notice of Benjamin W. Force." The Daily Opinion (Atlanta, Georgia), Oct. 24, 1867. The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), coverage of the Lewis Redwine scandal and Atlanta's Black Week, 1893-1894. The Atlanta Journal (Atlanta, Georgia), coverage of the Force murders and trial, 1893. Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia. https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu New Georgia Encyclopedia. "Fulton County." https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org New Georgia Encyclopedia. "Henry W. Grady." https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org Your Peachy Past. https://peachypast.blogspot.com Find a Grave. "Julia H. Force." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144555327/julia-h-force Friends of Memory Hill Cemetery. https://friendsofcems.org Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
July 13 · 26 min
Episode 192 The Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp
For more than two centuries, a hidden society existed in one of the most unforgiving landscapes in the American South. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the remarkable history of the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, one of the longest-lasting acts of resistance to slavery in American history. Through historical records, firsthand accounts and modern archaeology, this forgotten chapter of Southern history reveals how an entire community survived in plain sight and why so few people have heard their story. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources “The Hidden Black Society They Don’t Teach You About” — In the Margins, PBS. Overview of the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, including interior, fringe and canal communities; the stories of Harriet Jacobs, Venus and Jack; the canal labor economy; and the Easter Conspiracy. “The Great Dismal Swamp” — 99% Invisible. Podcast episode exploring the landscape, history and archaeology of the swamp’s maroon communities. “Tom Copper’s Rebellion and Great Dismal Marronage” — National Park Service. Detailed history of Tom Copper, Mingo, New Begun and the alleged Easter Conspiracy of 1802. “Anthropologist Daniel Sayers on the Maroons Who Found Freedom in the Great Dismal Swamp” — National Endowment for the Humanities. Interview about Sayers’ archaeological research and the evidence of long-term maroon settlements. “The Dismal Swamp: One Road Out of Slavery Took You Straight to the Boggiest Place You’ve Ever Been” — National Endowment for the Humanities. Background on the landscape, archaeology and people who sought freedom inside the swamp. “Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom” — Smithsonian Magazine. In-depth account of Daniel Sayers’ excavations and the evidence uncovered at interior maroon sites. A Desolate Place for a Defiant People: The Archaeology of Maroons, Indigenous Americans, and Enslaved Laborers in the Great Dismal Swamp — Daniel O. Sayers. Archaeological study of Indigenous occupation, enslaved labor and maroon resistance within the swamp. Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp — J. Brent Morris. History of the maroons and the ways they created independent lives beyond white-controlled society. City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763–1856 — Marcus P. Nevius. Study of temporary and long-term escape, informal labor networks and the connections between maroons and the swamp’s commercial economy. “A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp” — Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Program featuring historian J. Brent Morris and his research into the swamp’s maroon communities. “Gabriel’s Conspiracy” — Encyclopedia Virginia and Virginia Humanities. Historical overview of Gabriel’s planned 1800 uprising near Richmond. “Letter from Mosby Sheppard to James Monroe, Aug. 30, 1800” — Encyclopedia Virginia and the Library of Virginia. Primary-source warning sent to Virginia’s governor after the planned uprising was revealed. “Testimony in the Trial of Gabriel, Oct. 6, 1800” — Encyclopedia Virginia and the Library of Virginia. Surviving testimony from Gabriel’s prosecution. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl — Harriet Jacobs, available through Documenting the American South at the University of North Carolina. Jacobs’ firsthand account of her escape from slavery and the time she spent hiding in a swamp. Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America — Moses Grandy, available through Documenting the American South. Firsthand account of slavery, waterway labor and the economy surrounding the Great Dismal Swamp and its canal. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
June 15 · 39 min
Southern Mysteries Classics The Cult of the Unknown Tongues
This Southern Mysteries Classic revisits a chilling historical true crime case from the Kentucky mountains. In February 1933, a church service ended with the death of 72-year-old Lucinda Mills. Nine of her relatives were jailed and accused of murder, while the national press labeled the case a human sacrifice. Decades later, the question remains: what really happened inside that cabin? Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Laben T. Mills Obituary. Big Sandy News. July 31,1914 Lucinda Ward Mills. Find A Grave. [Lucinda’s age listed as 65 here but based off of census records she was believed to have been 72] Burning of Body on Altar Halted by Inez Police. The Owensboro Inquirer. February 9, 1933 Cult Victim Held Willing Sacrifice. The Courier-Journal. February 10, 1933 Insanity Plea Planned in Cult Slaying Case. The Courier-Journal. February 11, 1933 Bare Details of ‘Sacrifice’ Death Scene. Indianpolis Times. February 11, 1933 Mills Held Without Bond for Slaying Mother in Cult ‘Sacrifice’. The Lexington Herald. February 12, 1933 Nine Relatives of Cult Victim Are Indicted. The Owensboro Messenger. April 5, 1933 Insanity Held Slaying Cause. The Courier-Journal. April 7, 1933 Two Relative Freed In Cult Slaying Trial. The Lexington Leader. April 9, 1933 Prosecutor Contends Slayers of Mrs Mills Cold Blooded Murderers. The Courier-Journal. April 10, 1933 Mills Kneeling on Mother’s Body Fought Deputies. The Owensboro Inquirer. April 11, 1933 Cult Case Goes to Jury. The Courier Journal. April 12, 1933 Cult Leader Is Given Life Term for Matricide. The Courier-Journal. April 12, 1933 Blaine McGinnis is Given Pardon. Lexington Herald-Leader. November 3, 1933 Odd Fellows Have Skeletons in Their Closets--and Their Walls and Attics. Los Angeles Times. April 2001. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
June 1 · 26 min
Episode 191 The Rowan County War
In the 1880s, Rowan County, Kentucky, became known as “Bloody Rowan” after politics, old grudges and personal revenge led to one of the state’s deadliest feuds. This episode traces the Rowan County War from an Election Day shooting in Morehead to three years of ambushes, militia intervention and a final armed showdown that ended the violence, but not through justice. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Pearce, John Ed. Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, 1994. Blair, Juanita and Brown, Fred Jr. Days of Anger, Days of Tears: Rowan County, Kentucky, 1884–1887. 1984. Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection. Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection. scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/rowan_county_war Kentucky Historical Society. Rowan County War historical marker, Morehead, Kentucky. The New York Times. “The Rowan County War: Two Factions Thirsting for Each Other’s Blood.” July 6, 1885. The New York Times. Coverage of the reported Grace Martin and Frank Tolliver marriage. 1889. Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Bloody Election Day.” August 6, 1884. Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “A Train Stopped and a Murderer Riddled with Bullets.” December 1884. Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Deadly Feud Ended in Marriage.” 1889. Louisville Courier-Journal. “The Rowan County War.” April 4, 1885. Louisville Courier-Journal. “Rowan County: A Three-Years’ History Written in the Blood of Seventeen Murdered People.” June 12, 1887. Coats, Harold Wilson. “The Man Unafraid,” from Stories of Kentucky Feuds. U.S. Forest Service historical account of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Chapter 23. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
May 11 · 22 min
Episode 190 The Murder of Ella Barham
In 1912, 18-year-old Ella Barham left her family’s farm near Pleasant Ridge, Arkansas, on an ordinary errand and never came home. Her brutal murder shocked Boone County and led authorities to a neighbor accused of killing her after years of rejected romantic interest. More than a century later, Ella Barham’s murder remains one of Arkansas’ darkest and most troubling true crime stories. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Gould, Nita. Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks. Butler Center Books / University of Arkansas Press, 2018. (rememberingella.com) Barham, Ella (Murder of) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas Gould, Nita, ed. The 1913 Trial of Odus Davidson: The Official Witness Testimony. Companion volume to Remembering Ella. Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Barham, Ella (Murder of)' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net) Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Davidson, Odus' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net) Find a Grave — Ella Lillian Ethel Barham (memorial #40832262) Find a Grave — Odus Davidson (memorial #31134642) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — 'The verdict: Guilty of murder' (review of Remembering Ella by Tom Dillard, December 9, 2018) AY Magazine — 'Murder Mystery: In Memoriam: Ella Barham' (aymag.com) Case file: State v. Davidson, No. 183 (Ark. Cir. Ct. 1913). Boone County Circuit Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas. Case file: Davidson v. State, 108 Ark. 158, S.W. 1103 (1913). University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law / Pulaski County Law Library, Little Rock, Arkansas. Boone County Court Record Book L, County Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas. Lead Hill, Arkansas newspaper, November 22, 1912 — first published account of the murder (via Chronicling America, Library of Congress, loc.gov) Batesville Daily Guard — editorial on circumstantial evidence and the Davidson verdict Shiloh Museum of Ozark History — 'Scenes of Boone County' (shilohmuseum.org) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
April 27 · 27 min
Episode 189 The Burning of Darien
One of the Civil War’s most controversial events unfolded on June 11, 1863, when Union forces entered Darien, Georgia, an undefended town of little strategic importance, and left it in flames. Homes, churches, businesses and one of the oldest Black congregations in the South were destroyed. The troops ordered to take part included the famed 54th Massachusetts, one of the first official Black regiments of the Civil War. But the story of who set the destruction in motion is more complicated than many people came to believe. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Burchard, Peter. “One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment.” St. Martin’s Press, 1965. Burchard, Peter. “We’ll Stand by the Union: Robert Gould Shaw and the Black 54th Massachusetts Regiment.” Facts on File, 1993. Coulter, E.M. Writings on the burning of Darien, including his characterization of the destruction as a “barbaric act” and “wanton vandalism.” Duncan, Russell, editor. “Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.” University of Georgia Press, 1992. Duncan, Russell. “Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.” University of Georgia Press, 1999. Emilio, Luis F. “A Brave Black Regiment: History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865.” Boston Book Co., 1894. Francis Lieber, “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field,” General Orders No. 100, April 24, 1863. Georgia Historical Society historical marker, “The Burning of Darien,” erected in 2001. Historical Marker Database, “The Burning of Darien,” marker transcription and location information. King, Spencer Bidwell Jr. “Darien: The Death and Rebirth of a Southern Town.” Mercer University Press, 1981. Levin, Kevin M. “James Montgomery, the Burning of Darien, and the Innocence of Robert Gould Shaw.” “Civil War Memory,” Oct. 23, 2023. Levin, Kevin M. “Vindicating Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th.” “Civil War Memory,” May 19, 2013. Massachusetts Historical Society, “The Destruction of Darien, Georgia,” “The Beehive,” Oct. 25, 2017. National Museum of African American History and Culture, “The Combahee Ferry Raid.” National Museum of the United States Army, “Robert Gould Shaw.” National Park Service, “54th Massachusetts Regiment.” National Park Service, “Combahee River Ferry & Harriet Tubman Bridge.” National Park Service, “We Called Ourselves Combee: Freeing the Enslaved People of the Combahee River.” Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIV. Shaw-Minturn family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, including Robert Gould Shaw’s June 1863 letters describing the burning of Darien. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Darien, Georgia, church history materials. “Written in Glory: The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment,” entries related to June 1863, July 1863 and the burning of Darien. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
April 13 · 28 min
Episode 188 The Murder of Louise Beattie
In July 1911, Louise Beattie was found mortally wounded after a late-night drive outside Richmond, Virginia, and her husband insisted a stranger had stepped from the darkness and fired the fatal shot. But the story he told began to crack almost as soon as investigators looked more closely at the road, the evidence, and the life he had been hiding. What followed was a murder case filled with scandal, deception, and testimony that gripped the nation. In this episode, Southern Mysteries examines the death of Louise Beattie and the trial that turned a Virginia killing into one of the most infamous crimes of its time. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Style Weekly Richmond — 'Finding Beulah' (styleweekly.com) Virginia Chronicle Digital Newspaper Archive — The News Leader, September 7, 1911 (virginiachronicle.com) San Francisco Call — August 29, 1911 — Paul Beattie testimony (California Digital Newspaper Collection, cdnc.ucr.edu) Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection — Rocky Mountain News, September 9, 1911 Pottsville Republican — November 24, 1911 — Beattie confession and execution (newspapers.com) Old Songs — Henry Clay Beattie folk ballad, Kelly Harrell 1927 recording (lizlyle.lofgrens.org) Find a Grave — Henry Clay Beattie Jr. (memorial #11571632), Louise Wellford Owen Beattie (#11571649), Henry Clay Beattie Sr. (#11571129) WikiTree — Henry Clay (Beattie) Owen — Wellford Beattie name change record William & Mary Law School Digital Repository — A Full and Complete History of the Great Beattie Murder Case (scholarship.law.wm.edu) Trotti, Michael Ayers. The Body in the Reservoir: Murder and Sensationalism in the South (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) Grossman, Mark. The Trunk Dripped Blood: Five Sensational Murder Cases of the Early 20th Century (Exposit Books, 2018) A Full and Complete History of the Beattie Case, Most Highly Sensational Tragedy of the Century (Phoenix Publishing Co., 1911) — Harvard CURIOSity Digital Collections and WorldCat Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Richmond automobile culture and Kline Kar history, 1911 (virginiahistory.org) Venture Richmond / Wikipedia — Manchester neighborhood history and 1910 consolidation with Richmond Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia — Russ Lescault, board member, quoted in Style Weekly Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
March 30 · 26 min
Episode 187 The Pascagoula Incident
On a quiet night in October 1973, two men fishing along the Pascagoula River in Mississippi walked into the sheriff’s office with a story that would follow them for the rest of their lives. Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were taken aboard a strange craft and examined by beings they could not explain. This episode of Southern Mysteries, explores the Pascagoula Incident, the fear and fallout that shaped both men’s lives, and why this Mississippi case still raises questions more than 50 years later. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Reuters. “Mississippi man who said he was abducted by aliens dies.” Sept. 13, 2011. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/mississippi-man-who-said-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-dies-idUSTRE78C66R/ WLOX. “Calvin Parker, who claimed he was abducted by aliens in Pascagoula in 1973, has died.” Sept. 2, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/09/02/calvin-parker-who-claimed-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-pascagoula-1973-has-died/ WLOX. “Coast Life: Alleged Pascagoula River Alien Abduction 50-years later.” Oct. 16, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/10/17/coast-life-alleged-pascagoula-river-alien-abduction-50-years-later/ Country Roads Magazine. Alexandra Kennon Shahin, “The Pascagoula Abduction.” Sept.21, 2021 https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/people-places/the-pascagoula-abduction/ Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2023/3667-2022-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “ODNI Releases Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2023/3668-odni-releases-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (PDF). https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Unclassified-2022-Annual-Report-UAP.pdf U.S. Department of Defense. “Department of Defense Releases the Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.” Nov. 14, 2024. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/3964824/department-of-defense-releases-the-annual-report-on-unidentified-anomalous-phen/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
March 16 · 27 min
Episode 186 The Marcia Trimble Murder
In February 1975, nine-year-old Marcia Trimble vanished while delivering Girl Scout cookies in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood, shattering the sense of safety surrounding one of the city’s most affluent communities. Her disappearance and murder became one of Tennessee’s most haunting cold cases, marked by suspicion, unanswered questions, and a mystery that lingered for decades. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources The Tennessean archival reporting on the disappearance, search, and investigation of Marcia Trimble (1975–2009): https://www.tennessean.com/ Nashville Banner historical coverage via Nashville Public Library Digital Collections: https://digital.library.nashville.org/ (digital.library.nashville.org in Bing) Metro Nashville Police Department public statements and case summaries related to the Trimble investigation: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police (nashville.gov in Bing) Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in State of Tennessee v. Jerome Sydney Barrett (2009): https://www.tncourts.gov/ Davidson County Criminal Court filings and docket information for Barrett’s prosecution: https://sci.ccc.nashville.gov/ (sci.ccc.nashville.gov in Bing) Vanderbilt University archives documenting the murder of Sarah Des Prez and Barrett’s connection: https://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/ Belmont University reporting and campus safety archives referencing the February 1975 assault linked to Barrett: https://www.belmont.edu/ A&E Cold Case Files episode “The Girl Scout Murder” (Marcia Trimble case): https://www.aetv.com/shows/cold-case-files (aetv.com in Bing) Nashville Scene long‑form reporting on the Trimble case and the Womack investigation: https://www.nashvillescene.com/ Interviews with Jeffrey Womack published across multiple decades, including retrospective reporting by The Tennessean: https://www.tennessean.com/ Nashville Public Library Metro Archives: Belle Meade and Green Hills neighborhood development history, maps, and planning documents: https://library.nashville.org/research/metro-archives (library.nashville.org in Bing) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data for Nashville and Davidson County (1960–1980): Historical accounts of Belle Meade’s origins and incorporation as an independent city: https://www.citybellemeade.org/ Reporting on the 1979 grand jury indictment of Jeffrey Womack via The Tennessean archives: https://www.tennessean.com/ Coverage of the 2008–2009 DNA breakthroughs and Barrett’s prosecution from The Tennessean and AP News: https://apnews.com/ Academic research on investigative tunnel vision and wrongful suspicion in 1970s policing (National Criminal Justice Reference Service): https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs Oral histories and interviews with Nashville residents who participated in the 1975 search efforts (Nashville Public Library Oral History Collections): https://library.nashville.org/research/oral-history (library.nashville.org in Bing) Contemporary reporting on changes in Tennessee missing‑child protocols influenced by the Trimble case (TBI & state legislative archives): https://www.tn.gov/tbi Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
March 2 · 26 min
Episode 185 Spies of the Civil War - Rose Greenhow
A storm‑tossed blockade‑runner, a satchel of Confederate gold, and a woman whose secrets shaped the early days of the Civil War—this episode uncovers the life of famed spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow. From Washington parlors to prison cells to the dark waters off Fort Fisher, her story reveals the hidden world of Southern espionage and the final choice that bound her to the cause she refused to abandon. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Greenhow, Rose O’Neal. My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington. London: Richard Bentley, 1863. Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion: Being a True History of the Spy System of the United States Army During the Late Rebellion. New York: G.W. Carleton & Co., 1883. Boyd, Belle. Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1865. Van Lew, Elizabeth. Papers and correspondence, 1860–1870. Library of Virginia, Richmond. Davis, Jefferson. The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. National Archives and Records Administration. “Old Capitol Prison Records,” Record Group 393. Blanton, DeAnne. “Women Soldiers, Spies, and Patriots of the Civil War.” National Archives, 1993. Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Wheeler, Richard. Voices of 1861. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1961. Clinton, Catherine. Southern Women in the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Browning, Robert M. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993. Fonvielle, Chris E. The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1997. “Wilmington Daily Journal,” October 1864. Coverage of the wreck of the Condor and the death of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. “Richmond Enquirer,” 1861–1862. Reports on the arrest and imprisonment of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. “The New York Times,” August–September 1861. Coverage of Greenhow’s arrest and Pinkerton’s investigation. Library of Congress. “Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints,” Prints and Photographs Division. National Park Service. “First Battle of Manassas: Intelligence and Espionage,” Manassas National Battlefield Park. Sutherland, Daniel E. A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Fishel, Edwin C. The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1970. Horan, James D. Confederate Agent: A True Story of the Civil War. New York: Crown Publishers, 1954. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Vol. 10. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900. North Carolina Office of Archives and History. “Fort Fisher and the Blockade Runners,” Raleigh, NC. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
February 16 · 25 min
Episode 184 Sheriff Without A Gun The Legacy of Thomas Gilmore
In 1970, Thomas Gilmore became the first Black sheriff in rural Greene County, Alabama. He refused to carry a gun. How did a man of peace earn the trust to enforce the law in a place shaped by deep racial divides? And why does his story remain largely unknown? Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Richard Bailey — Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1572687 Eric Foner — Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction . https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858863/freedoms-lawmakers/ Alabama Department of Archives & History — Reconstruction‑era election record. https://archives.alabama.gov Greene County Historical Society. https://www.greenecountyhistoricalsociety.org University of Alabama — Black Belt Heritage Collections. https://guides.lib.ua.edu/blackbelt Birmingham Civil Rights Institute — Oral Histories. https://www.bcri.org/oral-history-project U.S. Department of Justice — Voting Rights Act historical materials. https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-rights-act-1965 Frye Gaillard — Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America . https://ugapress.org/book/9780820324722/cradle-of-freedom Marshall Frady — The Southerner . https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1358422 Southern Christian Leadership Conference Archives. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/southern-christian-leadership-conference-sclc Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Digital Gateway. https://snccdigital.org Birmingham News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-birmingham-news/268/ Tuscaloosa News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-tuscaloosa-news/2681/ Equal Justice Initiative — Historical reports on policing in Alabama. https://eji.org/reports/ Douglas A. Blackmon — Slavery by Another Name. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/18327/slavery-by-another-name-by-douglas-a-blackmon/ Isabel Wilkerson — The Warmth of Other Suns. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/19076/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/ This Man Stands Alone (film about Thomas Gilmore). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250463/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
#10February 2 · 23 min
Episode 183 The Vanishing of Virginia Carpenter
In June 1948, 21-year-old Mary Virginia Carpenter left Texarkana for college in Denton, Texas. She was last seen after a taxi dropped her near Brackenridge Hall at Texas State College for Women. The letter she promised her mother never came, and neither did Virginia. More than 70 years later, her disappearance remains one of Denton’s quiet, enduring mysteries. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Denton Record‑Chronicle. Coverage of the disappearance of Virginia Carpenter. https://dentonrc.com Texarkana Gazette. Reporting on the Carpenter case and related community response. https://www.texarkanagazette.com Texas Woman’s University Libraries, Special Collections. Historical information on TSCW campus life and 1940s dorm policies. https://twu.edu/library/special-collections/ (twu.edu in Bing) Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum. Background on Ranger Lewis C. Rigler and investigative practices. https://www.texasranger.org The Charley Project. “Mary Virginia Carpenter.” https://charleyproject.org/case/mary-virginia-carpenter (charleyproject.org) The Doe Network. Case File 1198DFTX. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1198dftx.html (doenetwork.org in Bing) Unsolved Mysteries Wiki. “Virginia Carpenter.” https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Virginia_Carpenter Texas Monthly. “The Phantom Killer.” https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-phantom-killer/ FBI Vault. Archival documents related to mid‑20th‑century missing persons investigations. https://vault.fbi.gov Newspapers.com. Digitized historical newspapers used for timeline verification. https://www.newspapers.com Ancestry.com. U.S. Census and public records consulted for background verification. https://www.ancestry.com Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
January 19 · 26 min
Episode 182 Buried Alive on Edisto Island The Legend of Julia Legare
Off the coast of South Carolina, on Edisto Island, a mausoleum at the back of an old churchyard has become the center of one of the state’s most persistent ghost stories. The name “Legare” is carved over the entrance, and for generations people have whispered that a young woman named Julia was buried alive inside. This episode follows the legend to the historical record and asks what we can really know about the woman whose name turned a family tomb into one of South Carolina’s most talked-about hauntings. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources "Tomb of Julia Legare." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/tomb-of-julia-legare.html "The Legend of Julia Legare." Edisto Beach. https://edistobeach.com/the-legend-of-julia-legare/ "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/edisto-island-presbyterian.html Jaime Rubio. "The True Legend of Julia Legare – Fact vs Fiction." Dreaming Casually, Aug. 7, 2014. https://dreamingcasuallypoetry.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-true-legend-of-julia-legare-fact-vs.html "Julia Georgiana Seabrook Legare (1829–1852)." Find a Grave memorial 65651815. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65651815/julia-georgiana-legare "Hugh Swinton Legare (1847–1854)." Find a Grave memorial 65655039. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65655039/hugh-swinton-legare "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island Cemetery." RootsWeb transcription https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cemphoto/history/sc/charleston/edisto/scehmedtall.html "Julia Georgianna (Seabrook) Legaré (1829–1852)." WikiTree profile Seabrook-911. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Seabrook-911 "Julia Georgiana Seabrook (1829–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M4KR-51C/julia-georgiana-seabrook-1829-1852 "William Seabrook (1773–1836)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKLK-T93/william-seabrook-1773-1836 "Robert Chisholm Seabrook (1821–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MZJY-FBZ/robert-chisholm-seabrook-1821-1852 "Seabrook Plantation – Edisto Island – Charleston County." .https://south-carolina-plantations.com/charleston/seabrook.html "Cassina Point Plantation." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/cassina-point-plantation-2.html Historic Houses of South Carolina. J. H. Easterby et al. (PDF). https://archive.org/download/historichousesof00leid/historichousesof00leid.pdf "The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. XVII." (PDF). https://www.carolana.com/SC/eBooks/SCHGM/The_South_Carolina_Historical_and_Genealogical_Magazine_Volume_XVII.pdf "James Hopkinson Papers, 1847–1921." ArchiveGrid / WorldCat summary. https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/archiveComponent/41963032 "Slaves of James Hopkinson (1810–1875), South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Slaves_of_James_Hopkinson_%281810_-_1875%29%2C_South_Carolina "1865 List of Abandoned Plantations, Edisto Island, South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:1865_List_of_Abandoned_Plantations_Edisto_Island%2C_South_Carolina "Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands – Berwick Legare, Edisto Island." Smithsonian NMAAHC Freedmen’s Bureau Digital Records. https://nmaahc.si.edu/freedmens-bureau/record/fbs-1662423774659-1662426204172-3 "Lowcountry Ghost Stories." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/lowcountry-ghost-stories/ "Old Churchyard Cemetery" brochure, Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort (PDF). https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/09fbc323/files/uploaded/Churchyard%20Brochure-website.pdf "Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor." National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/places/gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage-corridor.htm "Port Royal Experiment." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/beaufort-the-port-royal-experiment/ "Emancipation Day: The Freed People of Port Royal." South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium.https://www.scseagrant.org/emancipation-day-the-freed-people-of-port-royal/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Dec 22, 2025 · 23 min
Episode 181 The Crimes of Winona Spriggs
In the summer of 1924, a railroad worker was found dead near tracks in Little Rock. Weeks later, his wife was found dead in another state. What followed was a series of headlines that pointed to one woman—Winona Spriggs. Her name would appear again and again over the next fifty years, linked to crime, escape, and murder. This is the story of a family broken, and of the woman who never stopped running. Join the Community on Patreon Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, AR), 1924–1974 Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, AR), 1924–1954 The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), 1924–1954 Tulsa Tribune (Tulsa, OK), 1924–1948 Miami News-Record (Miami, OK), August 1946 The Salinas Californian (Salinas, CA), 1953–1954 The San Bernardino Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October–November 1974 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), March 16, 1954 Associated Press (AP) wire reports, 1924–1954 Pulaski County Circuit Court records (Arkansas) Oklahoma criminal investigation records (Miami, OK) California Superior Court records (Salinas, CA), 1954 Arkansas State Penitentiary records and parole files Oklahoma Department of Corrections records California Department of Corrections records U.S. Census records (1910, 1920, 1930, 1940) Marriage and divorce records for Winona Spriggs / Winona Green / Winnie Ola Freeman Death records for J.R. Green, Lena Green, Robert Sheldon Wilkinson, Harold Jonassen, and Winnie Ola Freeman Library of Congress, Chronicling America newspaper archive Newspapers.com archival database Ancestry.com historical records Unknown Misandry blog: “Winnie Ola Freeman (Winona Green): The Cat Woman” (2014) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Dec 8, 2025 · 28 min
Episode 180 The Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle
In December 1968, Barbara Jane Mackle was kidnapped from a motel room outside Atlanta, Georgia. The circumstances surrounding her abduction were so strange, investigators could barely make sense of them. The search for twenty year old Barbara Jane Mackle became a race against time that gripped her family and drew national attention. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Miller, Gene. 83 Hours Till Dawn. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. “FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives: Ruth Eisemann-Schier, 1969.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ten Most Wanted Program Archives. “Kidnapped Heiress Rescued from Buried Box.” The Miami Herald, December 21, 1968. “Barbara Mackle Found Alive.” The Atlanta Constitution, December 21, 1968. “Agents Seize Suspect in Mackle Kidnapping.” The Miami Herald, December 21–23, 1968. “Man Held in Heiress Kidnap Case.” The New York Times, December 22, 1968. “Girl in Box Case.” Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1968. “Suspect Caught in Marsh After Days on the Run.” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), December 1968. “Woman on FBI List Seized in Oklahoma.” The Oklahoman, February 8, 1969. United States v. Gary Steven Krist, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969. United States v. Ruth Eisemann-Schier, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969. FBI, Supplemental Case Report: Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle, December 1968 (declassified portions). Jordan, C.D. “Account of the Mackle Kidnapping Rescue.” Interview, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 1970. Associated Press. “Heiress Found Alive in Buried Box; Ransom Paid.” December 21, 1968. United Press International. “Search Intensifies for Kidnappers After Ransom Drop Fails.” December 1968. “Krist Granted Medical License Despite Record.” The Indianapolis News, July 23, 1985. U.S. Department of Justice. “South Florida Man Sentenced in Cocaine Trafficking Case.” DOJ Press Release, 2006. “Eisemann-Schier Paroled and Deported.” The Miami Herald, 1973. Emory Wheel (Emory University). “Student Kidnapped from Decatur Motel.” December 18–22, 1968 coverage. “The Mackle Kidnapping Revisited.” People Magazine (retrospective feature), 1998. “Buried Alive: The 1968 Abduction of Barbara Mackle.” CNN.com, Crime Retrospective Series, 2003. “83 Hours in the Earth.” CBS News Sunday Morning, archival retrospective segment. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Nov 24, 2025 · 21 min
Episode 179 The Mystery of Diamond Bessie
In 1877, a young woman arrived in Jefferson, Texas, wearing diamonds and traveling with a man who claimed to be her husband. Days later, her body was found in the woods, and her name was unknown. She became known as Diamond Bessie, and her death led to one of the most sensational murder trials in Texas history. This episode of Southern Mysteries explores her life, the circumstances of her murder, the trials of Abe Rothschild, and the legacy of a woman the town refused to forget. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) entry on "Diamond Bessie" Handbook of Texas Online Library of Congress Newspaper Archives “East Texas in the 1800s: Jefferson and the Murder of Diamond Bessie,” Jefferson Historical Society Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson Texas burial records University of North Texas Portal to Texas History The Diamond Bessie Murder Trial – Jefferson Playhouse historical archives “The Jefferson Murders” — archived article from The Dallas Morning News East Texas Tales by Bob Bowman Chronicling America – Historical newspaper records (Library of Congress) Marshall, Texas Capitol Hotel registration archives (via local historical society) “Diamond Bessie Reenactment Keeps History Alive” — Texas Highways Ancestry records and obituaries (Watertown, NY) for Annie Stone / Bessie Moore Archives of the Rothschild family business in Cincinnati (local historical collections) Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Nov 10, 2025 · 32 min
Episode 178 Little Boy Lost - The Disappearance of Kenneth Beasley
In 1905, eight-year-old Kenneth Beasley, the son of North Carolina State Senator Samuel Beasley, walked out of his one-room schoolhouse in Poplar Branch, Currituck County—and vanished. What followed was one of the most haunting and controversial cases in North Carolina history. A bitter feud between two respected families, a trial built on circumstantial evidence, and a man’s death that left more questions than answers. Over a century later, the disappearance of the senator’s son remains unsolved. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the loss, suspicion, and silence that still echo through the story of Kenneth Beasley—a mystery that has never let go of the Carolina coast. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources State v. Harrison, 146 N.C. 540 (1907) – Official North Carolina Supreme Court opinion detailing the 1907 conviction of Joshua T. Harrison for the kidnapping of Kenneth Beasley; includes procedural history, evidence summary, and court rulings. The News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), February 1905 – Original newspaper publication of the anonymous letter alleging a man seen with a crying boy in a buggy near Barco on the day Kenneth Beasley disappeared. The Elizabeth City Economist (Elizabeth City, N.C.), March 1907 – Contemporary reporting on the Pasquotank County trial of Joshua Harrison; includes witness testimony summaries and public reaction to the guilty verdict. The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), September 1907 – Coverage of Joshua Harrison’s suicide at the Gladstone Hotel following the Supreme Court’s decision; includes mention of the suicide note claiming innocence. The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.), September 19, 1907 – Regional coverage of Harrison’s death and aftermath, quoting Senator Beasley’s reaction that Harrison “took his secret to the grave.” The Atlanta Georgian, September 1907 – Additional newspaper reporting on Harrison’s suicide, reprinting statements from North Carolina officials regarding the case outcome. Currituck County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives – Miscellaneous Newspaper Articles – Digitized transcriptions of early 20th-century reports on the Beasley case, including disappearance coverage, Harrison’s indictment, and excerpts from the Supreme Court opinion. Beach Glass Books – The Senator’s Son: The Shocking Disappearance of Kenneth Beasley, and the Trials of Joshua Harrison by Charles Oldham (2018) – Modern historical investigation into the case; draws from court records, newspaper archives, and local oral history. Most Notorious Podcast – Interview with Charles Oldham (December 7, 2023) – Discussion of the Beasley disappearance and Harrison’s trial; includes historical context on Currituck County politics and the culture of the early 1900s. Strange Company Blog – “Where is Kenneth Beasley?” (January 6, 2020) – Summary of the case using verified newspaper accounts; cites the News and Observer letter and the 1907 court proceedings. Find a Grave – Senator Samuel Mordecai Beasley (1863–1910) – Burial information and biographical details confirming Beasley’s death in Norfolk, Virginia. Find a Grave – Joshua Thomas Harrison (1839–1907) – Burial and genealogical data, confirming Harrison’s identity, family connections, and date of death. Currituck County Historical Society Records – Local archival notes and oral tradition references to the Beasley disappearance; confirm the location of Poplar Branch schoolhouse and family properties. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources – State Archives, Raleigh – Holding references for Beasley and Harrison court and legislative documents, including the 1906–1907 Currituck Superior Court docket entries. U.S. Census Records, Currituck County (1900 & 1910) – Verification of Beasley and Harrison family members, occupations, and ages. Elmwood Cemetery Records (Norfolk, Virginia) – Burial registry confirming interment of Senator Samuel M. Beasley, 1910. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Oct 27, 2025 · 31 min
Episode 177 Witch Legends of the South
Across the South, the word witch has been used to explain what people fear and cannot control. For generations, healers, midwives, conjurers and root workers carried knowledge their communities needed, yet often faced suspicion when tragedy struck. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the real lives and southern legends behind those branded as witches. From colonial courts to mountain cabins and coastal swamps, these stories reveal how the line between healing and haunting has always been thin and how fear can turn ordinary people into figures of folklore. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources Anderson, Jeffery E. Conjure in African American Society. Louisiana State University Press, 2005. American Folklife Center, Library of Congress — regional oral history collections on conjure, hoodoo, and midwifery. Anniston Hot Blast and Birmingham Age-Herald (Alabama newspapers), 1880s witchcraft coverage. Deep South Magazine. “Julia ‘Aunt Julie’ Brown: Debunking Her Voodoo Priestess Mythos.” Encyclopedia of Louisiana. “Marie Laveau.” Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Encyclopedia Virginia. “Sherwood, Grace (ca. 1660–1740).” Federal Writers’ Project. South Carolina Slave Narratives. Library of Congress, 1938. Ferry Plantation House Museum archives, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Fett, Sharla M. Working Cures: Healing, Health, and Power on Southern Slave Plantations. University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Foxfire 2: Houses and Appalachian Traditions. Edited by Eliot Wigginton. Anchor Books, 1973. Historic New Orleans Collection. “Julia Brown: Hoodoo, Hurricanes, and a Storm-Swamped Ruddock.” L’Observateur (St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana). “Voodoo Queen and Forces Unseen.” Library of Virginia. “The Case of Grace Sherwood, 1706.” Princess Anne County Court Records. Louisiana State Museum archives, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana. Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2006. Martha Ward. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. McTeer, J.E. Fifty Years as a Low Country Witch Doctor. University of South Carolina Press, 1971. Mental Floss. “The Legend and Truth of the Voodoo Priestess Who Haunts a Louisiana Swamp.” Milnes, Gerald. Signs, Cures, and Witchery: German Appalachian Folklore. University of Tennessee Press, 2007. National Park Service. “Marie Laveau’s Tomb – St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.” Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Vintage Books, 2003. Princess Anne County Order Book, 1695–1709. Virginia State Library microfilm collection. Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “Granny Women: Healers of the Southern Appalachians.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. “Dr. Buzzard.” South Magazine. “Lowcountry Root Doctors.” The State (Columbia, South Carolina). “In the mid-20th century, even the county sheriff was a witch doctor.” Swannanoa Valley Museum. “Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden: Midwife and Healer of Western North Carolina.” The St. John the Baptist Pioneer, October 1915, hurricane coverage. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), October 1–3, 1915, storm and casualty reports; obituary, June 17, 1881. Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia. “Good Witch or Bad Witch? The Grace Sherwood Trial and Pardon.” Ward, Martha. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. Western Carolina University Digital Humanities Project. “Midwives and the Medicalization of Birth in Appalachia.” Wikipedia (used for verification of geography and storm data): “Frenier, Louisiana” and “1915 New Orleans Hurricane.” Wigginton, Eliot, ed. Foxfire 2: Houses and Appalachian Traditions. Anchor Books, 1973. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
#9Oct 20, 2025 · 29 min
Episode 176 The Mystery of the Surrency Poltergeist
In 1872, the quiet Georgia town of Surrency became the center of one of America’s strangest mysteries. Inside the home of Allen Powell Surrency, glass shattered, clocks ran backward, and furniture moved without a hand touching it. The events drew scientists, skeptics, and spiritualists, including one from Salem, Massachusetts. Was it a hoax, hysteria, or something that defied explanation? In this episode of Southern Mysteries, uncover the story of the Surrency family and the haunting that shook a town, blurred the line between faith and fear, and became one of the most documented poltergeist cases in U.S. history. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com Episode Sources The Savannah Morning News (Oct–Dec 1872) – Coverage of the Surrency disturbances The Atlanta Constitution (Nov 1872–Jan 1873) – Reports on the “Surrency Mystery” The Augusta Chronicle (Oct 1872) – Editorial accounts of the Surrency haunting The New York Times (Dec 4 1872) – “Spiritual Manifestations in Georgia” The Albany Patriot – Reprinted witness letters and commentary, 1872 The Philadelphia Inquirer (1872–1873) – Syndicated reports on the haunting Harper’s Weekly (1873) – “Poltergeists and the Marvels of Surrency” John W. Truesdell, The Bottom Facts Concerning the Science of Spiritualism (1873) The Boston Globe (1872–1873) – Reports on Charles H. Foster Georgia Historical Quarterly Vol. 47 (1963) – “The Surrency Ghost: A Georgia Poltergeist Reexamined” The Georgia Encyclopedia – Entry on Surrency, Appling County Alan Brown, Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State (2008) Charles Elliott, Strange Tales of the South: Haunted Houses and Ghost Legends (1974) Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places: The National Directory (2002) Jim Miles, Haunted South Georgia (2017) J. Michael Norman, Spirits of the Southeast (2010) Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, 3rd Ed. (2007) Tiya Miles, Phantoms of the Past: The American South and the Supernatural (2021) Alan Gauld & A.D. Cornell, Psychical Research and the Poltergeist (1979) Michael Norman & Beth Scott, Haunted America (1988) Nancy Roberts, Haunted Houses: Tales from the American South (1972) Jim Miles, Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Legends of the Peach State (2010) Randy Russell & Janet Barnett, Spirits of the South: Ghost Stories of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi (2000) Alan Dundes, Dictionary of American Folklore (1993) William G. Roll, The Poltergeist Phenomenon (2012) Nancy Roberts, Haunted Houses: Where Ghosts Still Roam (1979) Kathryn Tucker Windham, Southern Spirits: Tales of the Supernatural from the Deep South (1983) Ann Braude, The American Spiritualist Movement, 1848–1920 (2001) Muriel V. Murphree, Mysteries and Legends of Georgia (2009) Georgia Public Broadcasting (2021) – “The Surrency Poltergeist: Georgia’s Most Documented Haunting” Georgia Archives – Appling County records and land grants, Allen P. Surrency estate (1870s–1880s) U.S. Census Records – Appling County, Georgia (1870–1880) Library of Congress Chronicling America – Digitized newspaper archives, 1872–1873 Frank Podmore, The Poltergeist in History (1896) American Hauntings Podcast, Season 4, Episode 14 – “The Surrency Ghost” Beast of Bladenboro – “The Surrency Haunting: Georgia’s Most Infamous Poltergeist” Otherworldly Oracle – “The Surrency Ghosts: True Terrifying Tales of Haunted Georgia” PANICd.com – “ParaPedia: The Surrency Family Poltergeist” US Ghost Adventures – “The Poltergeist of Phelps Mansion” Paranormal Research Society of New England – “Phelps Mansion” American Hauntings Ink – “The Stratford Poltergeist” Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

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