Folklore
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series Stand below a mountain’s rock face when sunlight catches the creases in the stone. A ledge resembles a wall; a dark opening suggests a door. You might study the slope and look for a way up. But in a Cherokee account from the Appalachian mountains, a doorway…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series A knock sounds when no one is at the door. A bird flies into the house, and someone remembers that it can be a sign of death. In a coal mine, unexplained tapping carries a warning. Across Appalachia, stories like these have been told for generations. Ghosts return, strange…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series The Fourth of July arrives early in Ivanhoe. By midafternoon, lawn chairs begin appearing around the Jubilee Park and Horse Show Grounds. Families claim their spots for the evening festivities. Children drift between food stands while volunteers make last-minute preparations. Before the day is over, much of the community…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series Windows as Vulnerable Thresholds When folks talk about old mountain cabins, they usually talk about the solid parts. Thick log walls. A stone chimney. A door you could shut and brace. Those are the features that suggest safety. What gets mentioned less often are the quieter details,…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series A mist settles along a mountain road. The night is still until the sound of heavy paws keeps pace beside you. Step quicker, and the rhythm follows. Glance back, and a shadow slips into the trees. In the Appalachians, they call it the black dog legend; a…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series The banks of Chestnut Creek have a way of rearranging themselves when no one’s looking. One year, the bed is gravel. Next, it’s mud and willow roots. Paths vanish. Stones shift. Try to mark a spot on the map, and nature will soon erase it. Maybe that’s…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series If you walk through downtown Point Pleasant, West Virginia, you’ll find statues, murals, and souvenir shops dedicated to the town’s most famous resident. No, not the mayor. The Point Pleasant Mothman—a seven-foot, red-eyed, winged enigma who first made headlines in 1966. While most small towns claim fame…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series Imagine solving your own murder—from beyond the grave. According to the Greenbrier Ghost legend, young Zona Heaster Shue returned from the dead to point a spectral finger at her killer. Some dismiss it as folklore, but the facts tell a story stranger than fiction. The Death of…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series In the heart of Appalachia’s coal country, where few see daylight, a chilling folk tale persists: Tommyknockers. In the dark, cramped tunnels, miners whisper about these mysterious beings who knock on walls and steal tools. Their knocks sometimes serve as warnings—a signal to flee before disaster strikes….
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series Imagine hiking where the Balsam Mountains meet the Blue Ridge. Shadows stretch across the trail as the air grows crisp. Just ahead, a strange figure appears on the ridge—tall, shaggy, and oddly human-like. Is it a bear? A trick of the eye? Or could it be North…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series Picture this: it’s Christmas morning, and you’re rushing to get the cinnamon rolls in the oven, clear the wrapping paper carnage, and maybe post a perfectly filtered photo of your tree on social media before the dog eats the ornament hooks. Imagine trying to do all that…
An installment in our Folklore & Legends series It’s a cold, foggy night in the Appalachian mountains, where shadows seem to move just beyond the firelight. You hear the rustling of leaves and a distant scream. Is it a woman in distress? An owl? Or—is it something more fearsome? Old folks whisper of something else…