The Gun Battle of Thorn Hill, TNThe Gun Battle of Thorn Hill, TN
At the turn of the 20th century a wealthy and politically connected man from Grainger County, Tennessee, lost a lawsuit filed by a widow and was ordered to pay her
Category: Tragedy
Floyd Allen: The Untamed Legacy of Hillsville’s Outlaw PatriarchFloyd Allen: The Untamed Legacy of Hillsville’s Outlaw Patriarch
In 1912 Floyd Allen was convicted for his part in freeing his nephews from custody and sentenced to a term in prison. This did NOT sit well with Mr. Allen
The Laurel Mine Disaster of 1884The Laurel Mine Disaster of 1884
The Pocahontas coal field, located in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, was one of the most productive coal areas in the United States. The town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell
The Mysterious Christmas Eve Fire: The Missing Sodder Children and their Haunting LegacyThe Mysterious Christmas Eve Fire: The Missing Sodder Children and their Haunting Legacy
On Christmas Eve, 1945, a mysterious fire broke out at the Fayetteville, West Virginia home of George and Jennie Sodder. Try as they might, George and his oldest son were
The Tragic Tale of Mary the ElephantThe Tragic Tale of Mary the Elephant
In 1916 the circus came to Kingsport, Tennessee. During a parade, the star elephant, Mary, became enraged when she was jabbed behind an abscessed tooth with a metal prong, killing
The Greenbrier GhostThe Greenbrier Ghost
In 1897 a young woman’s neck was broken, killing her. Her husband was arrested and convicted, partly on testimony from her mother, who told the jury what the ghost of
A Civil War Tragedy in Cade’s CoveA Civil War Tragedy in Cade’s Cove
A man’s family in the Smoky Mountains community of Cade’s Cove is torn apart by the Civil War, with tragic results for him. Today we share that story. You can
The Murder of the Richards SistersThe Murder of the Richards Sisters
Early in 1940 two middle-aged sisters and a teen-aged boy who did odd jobs for them were brutally murdered in their home in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. These killings were unsolved
Buried Alive – The Story of Octavia HatcherBuried Alive – The Story of Octavia Hatcher
James Hatcher married Octavia Smith in Pikeville, Kentucky, in 1889. The couple had a son, Jacob, who died shortly after his birth and Octavia soon spiraled into a deep depression