Our next tale comes from Red River Gorge in Kentucky at an area known as Nada Tunnel or The Gateway to The Red River Gorge. This hole in the side of the hill is almost camouflaged by some of the most beautiful plant life Kentucky has to offer and resembles something from a Tolkien-esque novel. The limestone tunnel is approximately 900 feet in length, 13 feet in height, and 12 feet in width. It was named for a logging town located not far from the entrance of the tunnel and was completed in 1911. This passage was created for the Big Woods, Red River, and Lombard Railroad to run steam locomotives to haul timber from the Red River Valley.
Works Cited:
https://www.cliffviewresort.com/things-to-do/nada-tunnel/
https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/7860-nada-tunnel.html
Coffey, Lori, and Ron Coffey. Gateway Ghosts and Locan Legends. Fairy Ring Press, 2009.
Today’s tale takes us to Morehead, Kentucky - a small college town in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest and home to Morehead State University. Originally opened in 1887 as Morehead Normal School for educators, it transitioned to a co-ed university in the 1920s. The campus is beautiful and scenic, covering almost 1,500 acres. As with many college campuses, this one is no stranger to stories of strange occurrences and hauntings.
Works Cited:
http://www.thetrailblazeronline.net/life_and_arts/article_26a01372-77be-11e5-aad5-07414c408af9.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj5TrJXakrM
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2598&context=trail_blazer
https://kantuckee.com/morehead-ky-mysteries/
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=college_histories
Today’s story takes place on Lake Barkley near Eddyville, Kentucky. It involves Kentucky’s oldest prison facility known as Kentucky State Penitentiary or “The Castle on the Cumberland.” This facility was completed in 1886 and is the only state-run maximum security prison.
Works Cited:
http://genealogytrails.com/ken/kypenitentiarypage1.html
https://kyhi.org/kentucky-state-penitentiary/
https://www.southernspiritguide.org/the-groaning-of-the-prisoner-kentucky-state-penitentiary/
Today's tale comes from Meade County, KY, and is the unfortunate story of Leah Smock, an intelligent young herbalist who was villainized by her community and was the last "witch" burned in America.
Works Cited:
https://battletownwitch.com/
Today’s tale takes us back to Olive Hill Kentucky to Carter Caves State Resort Park. Carter Caves is a beautiful state park that was formed in 1946 when area residents donated around 945 acres of land to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for its creation.
Works Cited:
https://southerncherokeenationky.com/cherokee-in-kentucky/
https://www.werewoofs.com/ghost-stories/x-marks-spot-x-cave/4
This next tale takes place in Louisville, Kentucky in an Army training camp. Camp Zachary Taylor was one of sixteen national training camps created during World War I.
Works Cited:
https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/777
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/creepy-small-town-paranormal-activity-ky/
Today’s tale takes us back to the Olive Hill Kentucky area to the ghost town of Lawton, a town that has been mostly abandoned. Crumbling buildings of a bygone era still stand, serving as a snapshot into a distant past.
Works Cited:
http://thekyfiles.blogspot.com/2015/09/ghost-town-and-abandoned-mines.html
https://abandonedonline.net/location/tygart-limestone-company/
http://www.wgohwugo.com/cartercohistory.pdf
Our next tale comes from Bowling Green, Kentucky at a popular destination called Mammoth Caves. It is a well-known place for families to visit and engage in hiking, canoeing, and exploring the caves, but it is also well known for its history of hauntings and strange occurances.
Works Cited:
Today’s tale takes us to Western Kentucky and Tennessee to a place called the Land Between the Lakes, formerly known as the Land Between the Rivers, where we explore stories of hauntings as well as a dogman or werewolf like beast. Special thanks to listener Christopher Beckley for the story tip for today's episode!
Works Cited:
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/most-haunted-campground-ky/
https://wkdq.com/kentucky-campground-is-so-haunted-some-wont-stay-the-night/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S58f9aJ1D_c
https://web.archive.org/web/20090524043232/http://www.guardiantales.freewebspace.com/JAN-Beast.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/dogman/comments/nair5w/lbl_witnesssurvivor_roger_on_paranormal_round/
https://www.reddit.com/r/mrballen/comments/q3qarm/massacre_at_land_between_the_lakes_by_the_beast/
Today’s tale finds us in Rock West Virginia at the Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park. The park was the brainchild of entrepreneur Conley Snidow. He broke ground on his plans during the 1920’s, but what he did not realize was that the ground he was turning up had a sinister and bloody past.
Works Cited: https://visitmercercounty.com/places/lake-shawnee/ https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/lake-shawnee-amusement-park/ https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/abandoned-west-virginia-amusement-park-bloody-history-article-1.1497567 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-shawnee-amusement-park
Come along with us as we give you the history of one of America's most haunted places - Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, KY.
Come with us to Bardstown, Kentucky as we explore the history and haunting of the Old Talbott Tavern.
Works Cited:
https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/gothic-travel/americas-haunted-inns-bardstown-kentuckys-chilling-old-talbott-tavern-lives-up-to-its-reputation/
Bardstown, Kentucky: A Charming Town Where Bourbon is the Lure
https://www.visittheusa.com/destination/bardstown
Ghost Encounters - Talbott Tavern Restaurant & Inn
https://talbotttavern.com/ghost-encounters/
The Old Talbott Tavern history: Inside, one of KY's most haunted spots
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/2022/10/17/old-talbott-tavern-history-inside-one-of-kentuckys-haunted-spots/69505806007/
Today’s story comes from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and centers around Kasey Family Cemetery, a 300-year-old graveyard believed to be a hotspot for paranormal activity that has been given the name The Gates of Hell.
Works Cited
“Kasey Cemetery Aka Grandview Cemetery Aka The Gates of Hell Elizabethtown, KY.” Serious Paranormal, https://www.seriousparanormal.com/kasey-cemetery.
Limke, Andrea. “Kasey Cemetery Is One of Kentucky's Spookiest Cemeteries.” OnlyInYourState, 6 Sept. 2019, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/kasey-cemetery-ky/.
Nixon, June. “Gates of Hell Cemetery in Elizabeth Town, KY.” Aghost, Aghost, 10 June 2018, https://www.aghost.org/post/2018/06/09/gates-of-hell-cemetery-in-elizabeth-town-ky.
To close out Spooky Season, we are bringing you to the most Haunted Nightclub in America, Bobby Mackey's Music World. This location has been the subject of several paranormal investigations, rumored satanic activity, murders, demonic possession, and more.
Works Cited
Sawyer, Bobbie Jean. “Bobby Mackey's Music World Is a Haunted Honky-Tonk with a Chilling History.” Wide Open Country, 18 Oct. 2021, https://www.wideopencountry.com/bob-mackey-music-world-most-haunted-places/.
Six, Taylor. “See a Ghost at Bobby Mackey's Music World.” Richmond Register, 7 Mar. 2022, https://www.richmondregister.com/opinion/columns/see-a-ghost-at-bobby-mackeys-music-world/article_94248124-51f6-5415-ad72-cffa5d7b86b3.html.
Smith, Dan. Ghosts of Bobby Mackey's Music World. Haunted America, 2013.
Come along with us to Richmond, Kentucky as we take a look at the spirits that supposedly haunt the historic campus of Eastern Kentucky University.
Works Cited
“The Blue Lady (Keen Johnson Building).” EKU Special Collections & Archives, https://digitalcollections.eku.edu/exhibits/show/ekux100/ekux100-locations/the-blue-lady.
Kuhl, Sara. “Madsocial: Eku's Ghost Stories - Dodd Talks Supposed Hauntings on Campus.” Richmond Register, 27 Oct. 2018, https://www.richmondregister.com/news/lifestyles/madsocial-ekus-ghost-stories-dodd-talks-supposed-hauntings-on-campus/article_0eb34964-b06c-5915-b008-e3de477f71a5.html.
Welcome back listeners! To kick off season 2, we are bringing you a tale from Russellville, Kentucky. Though there are several variations, this story details the fate of an angry teenage girl who cursed God for allowing a lightning storm to ruin her romantic plans. She was reportedly struck by lightning and her image was etched upon the windowpane she was standing in front of, preserving her moment of death for all to see.
Works Cited
“Lightning Portrait of Startled Lady Bather, Russellville, Kentucky.” RoadsideAmerica.com, https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11461.
Wilgus, D. K. “The Girl in the Window.” Western Folklore, vol. 29, no. 4, Oct. 1970, pp. 251–256., https://doi.org/10.2307/1499047.
Come with us to Braxton County, West Virginia, and let's talk about the Flatwoods Monster. Was this a case of a visitor from another world, or just some overactive imaginations of some young boys?
Works Cited
De Yampert, Rick. “Local UFO Expert Tracks Flatwoods Monster Case.” Daytona Beach News-Journal Online, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, 24 Oct. 2012, https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2012/10/25/local-ufo-expert-tracks-flatwoods-monster-case/30616697007/.
“Flatwoods Monster.” Cryptid Wiki, https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Flatwoods_Monster.
“The Flatwoods Monster.” Visit Braxton, WV, 25 Apr. 2022, https://braxtonwv.org/the-flatwoods-monster/.
Wenzl, Roy. “In 1952, the Flatwoods Monster Terrified 6 Kids, a Mom, a Dog-and the Nation.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 July 2018, https://www.history.com/news/flatwoods-monster-west-virginia.
In episode 13 we explore an Appalachian oddity that occurred in the late 1800s in Bath County, Kentucky in which pieces of meat rained down on a farm for almost 10 minutes.
Works Cited
Austin, Emma. Kentucky Meat Shower? Yes, Meat Fell from the Sky More than 145 Years Ago. Louisville Courier Journal, 25 Oct. 2019, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/history/2019/10/25/kentucky-meat-shower-meat-fell-sky-bath-county-olympian-springs/4082953002/.
Felton, James. “The Time It Rained Meat on a Clear Day in Kentucky, and People Immediately Ate It.” IFLScience, IFLScience, 24 May 2022, https://www.iflscience.com/the-time-it-rained-meat-on-a-clear-day-in-kentucky-and-people-immediately-ate-it-63800.
“The Louisville Medical News: A Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery. V. 1-20. V.1-2 1876.” HathiTrust, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015074156194&view=1up&seq=260.
Wang, Marina. “The Artist Trying to Explain Kentucky's 'Meat Shower' of 1876.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 9 Feb. 2020, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kentucky-meat-shower.