Bouncing Bertha’s GhostBouncing Bertha’s Ghost
In 1938 a family had an encounter with an Appalachian ghost when young Bertha Sybert’s bed began to shake mysteriously every night. Soon people were coming from all over the
Category: The Great Depression
March 30, 1930March 30, 1930
On this day in 1930 work began to construct a 3 mile tunnel beneath Gauley Mountain in West Virginia. The reason for the tunnel was to divert the waters of
Brushy Mountain’s Prodigal SonBrushy Mountain’s Prodigal Son
An attempted robbery of a Johnson City, Tennessee, laundry in 1930 eventually led to a stint in Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a prisoners strike and an escape for the robber.
William FayssouxWilliam Fayssoux
William Irvine Fayssoux was a psychic and illusionist in the south early in the 20th century. He traveled throughout Appalachia, performing feats that would seem incredible even today. There’s little
Lillie LaddLillie Ladd
In 1927 the wife of the Roane County, Tennessee, sheriff managed to persuade two escaped prisoners to return to the jail in Kingston without using a weapon of any kind.
The Bunch GangThe Bunch Gang
In May, 1934, a man wanted for the robbery of a bank in Ewing, Virginia, made a daring escape from the Cocke County, Tennessee, jail. Thus started a summer of
Beulah and JeanBeulah and Jean
You’ve probably seen the movie “Thelma and Louise,” about two housewives who hit the road for a bit of adventure that eventually goes terribly wrong. Today we’re going to tell
The FastThe Fast
In 1937 a devout Christian man in Sequatchie County, Tennessee, was instructed by the Lord to begin a fast. He did as he was told; at the same time he
Homer and GenevaHomer and Geneva
In 1937 the state of Tennessee passed a law that forbade marriage for anyone under the age of 16, without their parents’ permission. The first case brought under that new
The Hawk’s Nest TunnelThe Hawk’s Nest Tunnel
During the Great Depression jobs were hard to come by. So when the Rhinehart and Dennis Construction Company came looking for workers to build a hydroelectric tunnel on the New