Legend says that the spirit of Cherokee woman Running Deer inhabits the body of the Wampus Cat. It’s a cold, foggy night in the Appalachian mountains, where …

Jack and his brothers hid their moonshine still in a cave. As I wrote a blog post about Jack Tales, I was motivated to try my hand at writing a Jack Tale of m…

We’ve all heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk—an English boy, some magic beans, a giant, and an adventure up a towering beanstalk. But did you know that …

Molly Marley died from hunger and exposure. Her child wandered, looking for help. Hungry Mother State Park might seem like just another peaceful Blue Ridge ret…

Legend has it that Thomas Beale and his band of adventurers discovered a treasure cache in the American Southwest As a boy, I was fascinated by tales of lost…

Legend holds that Fairy Stones were created from the tears of Fairies In Southwest Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, between the towns of Bassett and Stuart, na…

In 1654, English explorers stumbled upon a European-style village deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Legend has it that in 1654, a group of weary English explo…

One of the Brown Mountain Lights captured on film Gazing upon the star-laden sky on a clear night, one expects tranquility. But an anomaly disrupts the sky’s…

1896 advertising broadside for the Saluda River Petrified Man The tale of the Saluda River Petrified Man is steeped in the superstitions and faux-science of …

Is this how the Moon-Eyed People looked? Cherokee legends tell of a short, white, blue-eyed race living in the Blue Ridge and Smokies hundreds of years bef…

Appalachian Folk Magic The Celtic roots of the Appalachian people run deep. Appalachian folk magic practitioners regarded natural openings like caves, lake…