Stories of Appalachia
Welcome to "Stories of Appalachia," the podcast where hosts Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins have been unraveling the captivating history and folklore of the Appalachian region since 2015. Join them as they guide you through mist-covered mountains and winding rivers, exploring the stories that define the heart and soul of Appalachia.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 557
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Hillbilly
To many the word "Appalachia" is synonymous with the word "hillbilly," for better or for worse.
Often used as a derogatory term by non-residents of the region, many here have adopted "hillbilly" wit…
Often used as a derogatory term by non-residents of the region, many here have adopted "hillbilly" wit…
00:14:17 |
Fri 30 Dec 2022
The Cloudland Hotel
After the Civil War fine hotels were built all along the mountain range that separated North Carolina and Tennessee, each one grander than the last, a sort of Guilded Age race between the wealthy hot…
00:09:36 |
Sat 24 Dec 2022
Christmas Traditions in Appalachia
It is Christmas week, folks, so join us as we talk about Old Christmas and some Appalachian Christmas folklore.
Merry Christmas, all!
Merry Christmas, all!
00:10:50 |
Mon 19 Dec 2022
The Saltville Muck Dam Collapse
Christmas Eve, 1924, started like Christmas Eve always had, with people getting ready for family gatherings, caroling, and opening presents the next morning.
That's not what ended up happening in Sal…
That's not what ended up happening in Sal…
00:13:30 |
Sat 17 Dec 2022
The Hatfields and the McCoys: After the Feud
When you say "feud" anywhere in America, what comes to most folks' minds are the names "Hatfield" and "McCoy." That notorious feud has been the stuff of legend not just in Appalachia but all across …
00:10:45 |
Sat 10 Dec 2022
Frankie Silver: An Appalachian Woman Hanged for Murder
In the early part of the 19th century, a woman was arrested for the gruesome murder of her husband in what's now Mitchell County, North Carolina.
Some said she acted in jealousy, others say she reac…
Some said she acted in jealousy, others say she reac…
00:13:08 |
Sat 03 Dec 2022
The Great UFO Invasion of Appalachia
On a few nights in October, 1973 all over Appalachia, from Ohio to Tennessee, there was a wave of UFO sightings and reports of attempted abductions.
Today we tell that story.
If you like our stories o…
Today we tell that story.
If you like our stories o…
00:15:03 |
Sat 26 Nov 2022
Appalachia's Lonely Hearts Club Con Man
In the late 1940's a man who went by the name of Ernest I. Torrence traveled across Appalachia, from Georgia to Pennsylvania, seeking his true love.
Unfortunately for the women he met, his true love…
Unfortunately for the women he met, his true love…
00:15:06 |
Sat 19 Nov 2022
The Road to Nowhere
Earlier this summer we took our YouTube viewers to the area around Fontana Lake to show them a road that was promised but never fully built. On today's podcast episode, we're going to tell the story…
00:10:43 |
Sat 12 Nov 2022
The Building of the Western North Carolina Railroad
Building a railroad in Appalachia after the Civil War was always a hard, back-breaking effort. But in the very rugged mountains of Western North Carolina, which contained the tallest mountains east …
00:11:12 |
Sat 05 Nov 2022
The Murder That Never Happened: The Story of Condy Dabney
In 1925 a man from Coal Creek, Tennessee, named Condy Dabney came to Harlan County, Kentucky, looking for work down in the mines. He soon tired of that work and started a taxi service that shuttled …
00:13:47 |
Sat 29 Oct 2022
The Witch Dog
Back during the Great Depression East Tennessee was visited by a mysterious beast, a large dog with, some say, glowing red eyes. This dog, called the Witch Dog by some, terrorized farms in the regio…
00:11:21 |
Sat 22 Oct 2022
Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Every now and then there appears a man or woman with a sense of the true importance of the culture of Appalachia. Bascom Lamar Lunsford was one of those people.
Trained as a teacher and as a lawyer, …
Trained as a teacher and as a lawyer, …
00:13:43 |
Sat 15 Oct 2022
The "Hillbilly Girl" Murder Case: Edith Maxwell
In 1935 a young Appalachian teacher from Pound, Virginia, was arrested for the murder of her abusive father. The trials that followed attracted the attention of the national press, which chose, as i…
00:17:27 |
Sat 08 Oct 2022
The Howard-Turner Feud
In the 1880's and early 1890's Harlan County, Kentucky was the scene for one of the most notorious feuds aside from the one between the Hatfields and McCoys.
Two prominent families, the Howards and th…
Two prominent families, the Howards and th…
00:32:39 |
Sat 01 Oct 2022
The Bombing of the Gouge Home
On January 7, 1938, a blast rocked the little community of Hampton, Tennessee. After the smoke cleared, the home of Harmon and Pauline Gouge was in ruins, their three daughters lay dead, and Pauline …
00:07:52 |
Sat 24 Sep 2022
The Dunglen Hotel
During the post-Civil War coal boom in West Virginia, many new towns were founded to serve the coal industry and the railroads that hauled that coal to market. One of these towns was Thurmond, found…
00:11:26 |
Sat 17 Sep 2022
Bad Talt Hall
Talt Hall had a very interesting life. Born and raised in eastern Kentucky, he had been a Confederate soldier, a deputy sheriff, a U. S. Marshal, a feudist, a railroad employee and a traveler who liv…
00:15:53 |
Sat 10 Sep 2022
Champ Ferguson
During the Civil War a man from Kentucky who had moved to Tennessee joined the Confederate side as a guerrilla fighter. Due to his extreme anger issues he soon became a Confederate vigilante, killin…
00:14:15 |
Sat 03 Sep 2022
A Civil War Tragedy in Cade's Cove
A man's family in the Smoky Mountains community of Cade's Cove is torn apart by the Civil War, with tragic results for him.
Today we share that story.
You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple …
Today we share that story.
You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple …
00:10:09 |
Sat 27 Aug 2022
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