The Greenbrier GhostThe Greenbrier Ghost
In 1896, Elva Zona Heaster met and married Edward Shue, a drifter who had just arrived in Elva’s hometown of Greenbrier, West Virginia, to work as a blacksmith. In less
Author: Steve Gilly
The Last Public Hanging in West VirginiaThe Last Public Hanging in West Virginia
When there is a public execution, one expects a somber affair. That wasn’t the case with John Morgan of Ripley, whose hanging on December 16, 1897, for a grisly triple
The Whiskey RebellionThe Whiskey Rebellion
In the 1790s money was short on the Appalachian frontier, so most farmers would distill their corn into whiskey and use that as a medium of exchange. Then, the federal
John BrownJohn Brown
In the summer of 1859, as the country was rapidly coming apart over the issue of slavery, a man slipped into the Appalachian town of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia under an
The Hermit of Big Bald MountainThe Hermit of Big Bald Mountain
On today’s episode of Stories, Steve tells the story of David Grier, who spent his adult life atop Big Bald Mountain, just above Flag Pond, Tennessee on the North Carolina
The English DoctorThe English Doctor
Up until the end of the nineteenth century, most “doctoring” in the rural parts of Appalachia was done by folk healers or “granny-women,” who used old time roots and herbs
The DictatorThe Dictator
In the mid-19th century, American “filibusters” descended on Latin America with an eye on extending the United States’ influence over the area. The most notorious of these men was William
The Blue FolkThe Blue Folk
In Eastern Kentucky, around Troublesome Creek, lived a group of families that were normal in all respects, but for one: many of them went through life with blue-tinged skin. On
The Appalachian TrumpThe Appalachian Trump
At one time, Buchanan County, Virginia, was the home of the largest number of millionaires in the Commonwealth of Virginia, due to the money to be made mining coal. Probably
The Greenbrier BunkerThe Greenbrier Bunker
In the hills of West Virginia, at White Sulphur Springs, is a fine resort, the Greenbrier. There you can enjoy fine living and also take a tour of a Cold