The Savant of Rhea County, TennesseeThe Savant of Rhea County, Tennessee
Alvin Goins was a hard worker who, like many Appalachian men of his time, never finished school and was unable to read or write. That never stopped him from getting
Category: Oddities
Woodrow Derenberger And The Man From LanulosWoodrow Derenberger And The Man From Lanulos
In November 1966 a man on his way home from work literally drove into Appalachian history when he encountered a UFO blocking his way on I-77 outside Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The Goat ManThe Goat Man
From the 1930s to the 1980s an itinerant preacher from Georgia traveled throughout Appalachia and beyond in a ramshackle wagon pulled by a herd of goats. It was his way
The Blue People of KentuckyThe Blue People of Kentucky
In 1820 French orphan Martin Fugate and his wife Elizabeth arrived as new settlers in eastern Kentucky. Unknown to them, they carried genetic traits that would pass on to their
An Appalachian “Rip Van Winkle”An Appalachian “Rip Van Winkle”
One evening back in 1938 Clara Reynolds, of White Pine, Tennessee, went to bed. She woke up 12 years later! During that time her brother and sister-in-law cared for her,
Lost Legacy: The Curious Case of The Kentucky Man Who Almost Inherited a French Fortune!Lost Legacy: The Curious Case of The Kentucky Man Who Almost Inherited a French Fortune!
Back in 1924 a poor mountaineer from Middlesboro, Kentucky, became an overnight sensation. Steve White was apparently not Steve White but instead a man named Gustave Solome, the heir to
Sam’s Magnificent BeardSam’s Magnificent Beard
A mountain farmer and schoolteacher from the North Carolina town of Magnetic City (now Buladean) got so tired of shaving that he tossed his straight razor in the garbage and
French, The Alderson LionFrench, The Alderson Lion
In 1890 the circus came to Alderson, West Virginia. When the circus moved on, it left a new resident of the town, which became loved by all, well, except for
The Flatwoods MonsterThe Flatwoods Monster
Did some Braxton County, West Virginia, kids see a UFO back in 1952? Some folks thought so, especially after locals began exhibiting strange symptoms. Today Steve and Rod tell the
Uncle Bush’s Magnificent FuneralUncle Bush’s Magnificent Funeral
In 1938 a Roane County, Tennessee, hermit felt the pull of time. Concerned about how he was going to be remembered after he was gone and wondering if anyone cared