Haunted American History

Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, families once believed that death could announce itself long before it arrived.A bird flying into the house. Three mysterious knocks at the door. A dog howling through the night.And sometimes, hidden inside the feather pillow of a dying person, a tightly woven ring of feathers known as a death crown.For generations, the people of Appalachia passed down stories of witches, restless spirits, supernatural warnings, and strange rituals meant to protect their homes and families.Tonight, we're exploring the dark folklore of the Appalachian Mountains.From the Scots-Irish settlers who carried centuries-old superstitions into the American backcountry to the witch doctors who supposedly broke curses with silver bullets, we'll uncover the beliefs that shaped everyday life in the mountains.We'll also investigate the Greenbrier Ghost, the remarkable case of a murdered woman whose alleged return from the dead helped expose her killer, and examine the histories behind the Bell Witch, the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights, and the legendary Mothman of West Virginia.Finally, we'll trace the connections between Appalachian folk traditions and the Halloween customs still practiced today, including fortune-telling games, carved lanterns, and a particularly unsettling ritual involving an apple, a candle, and a mirror.Because in the mountains, the supernatural wasn't always something hiding deep in the woods.Sometimes, it was waiting inside your own home.Welcome to Day 29 of 31 Days of Halloween VERB ENERGY Limited addition Blood-Orange Pound Cake- Promo Code - HAUNTED verbenergy.com/haunted Tales from the Shadows Weekend in Lancaster PA CONDEMNED links - https://linktr.ee/CondemnedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In August 1872, the Chinese community of Los Angeles gathered on a street where, just ten months earlier, a violent mob had murdered approximately eighteen Chinese men and boys.They weren't there to celebrate.They were there to feed the dead.According to traditional Chinese beliefs, those who die violently, far from home, or without proper burial can become restless spirits. Hungry ghosts who wander among the living, searching for food, comfort, and a way home.And every year, during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the gates of the underworld are believed to open.Tonight, we're exploring the history and supernatural traditions of the Hungry Ghost Festival.From the ancient Buddhist story of a monk attempting to save his starving mother to the elaborate offerings, ghostly performances, and unsettling superstitions surrounding Ghost Month, we'll discover how communities across Asia have welcomed the dead back into the world of the living.We'll also investigate the legend of the Jiangshi, China's infamous hopping corpse, and the mysterious corpse drivers who supposedly transported the dead through mountain villages under cover of darkness.Finally, we'll return to America's forgotten Chinese communities, where immigrant families exhumed their loved ones, carefully packed their bones, and sent them across the Pacific so they could finally rest at home.Because in these traditions, the dead don't always return to frighten the living.Sometimes, they're simply trying to find their way back.Welcome to Day 28 of 31 Days of Halloween VERB ENERGY Limited addition Blood-Orange Pound Cake- Promo Code - HAUNTED verbenergy.com/haunted Tales from the Shadows Weekend in Lancaster PA CONDEMNED links - https://linktr.ee/CondemnedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On July 10, 1706, a woman named Grace Sherwood was bound and thrown into the Lynnhaven River in colonial Virginia.Her neighbors had accused her of witchcraft.According to the beliefs of the time, an innocent woman would sink beneath the water. A witch would float, rejected by the same water used in Christian baptism.Grace Sherwood floated.And with that, she became the central figure in one of the strangest witchcraft cases in American colonial history.Tonight, we're investigating the true story of Grace Sherwood, better known as the Witch of Pungo.From accusations that she transformed into a black cat and tormented her neighbors to the invasive examinations ordered by colonial authorities, we'll follow the surviving court records through her extraordinary trial by water.We'll also explore the legends that developed around her, including a voyage across the Atlantic in an eggshell, a mysterious disappearance after her death, and the ghostly light said to appear over the waters where she was thrown.But behind those stories was a real woman who spent years defending herself against accusations that threatened her freedom, her livelihood, and her life.More than three centuries later, Virginia finally acknowledged the injustice.And according to local legend, Grace Sherwood still returns to the river.Welcome to Day 27 of 31 Days of Halloween VERB ENERGY Limited addition Blood-Orange Pound Cake- Promo Code - HAUNTED verbenergy.com/haunted Tales from the Shadows Weekend in Lancaster PA CONDEMNED links - https://linktr.ee/CondemnedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In February 1855, mysterious hoof-shaped footprints appeared across the snow-covered countryside of Devon, England.They stretched for miles, seemingly crossing rooftops, walls, and other obstacles no ordinary animal should have been able to navigate.Terrified residents believed the Devil himself had walked through their villages.But across the Atlantic, New England had its own stories about the Devil leaving his mark.Tonight, we're exploring the strange history of the Devil's footprints and the supernatural legends that took root in colonial America.From a Massachusetts preacher who supposedly threw Satan from a church steeple to wealthy men accused of selling their souls, we'll investigate the mysterious marks left in stone, the bargains that allegedly ended in damnation, and the places where the Devil was believed to walk among ordinary people.We'll also uncover how English colonists transformed Indigenous spiritual traditions into stories about Satan, why the Puritans outlawed Christmas, and how New England's forgotten Pope Night celebrations shared surprising similarities with the Halloween traditions that followed.Because in early New England, the Devil wasn't simply a figure from the Bible.He was a stranger on a lonely road, a footprint in the rocks, a noise beneath the earth, and sometimes an explanation for things people didn't understand.Welcome to Day 26 of 31 Days of Halloween VERB ENERGY Limited addition Blood-Orange Pound Cake- Promo Code - HAUNTED verbenergy.com/haunted Tales from the Shadows Weekend in Lancaster PA CONDEMNED links - https://linktr.ee/CondemnedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the winter of 1879, a Cree hunter named Swift Runner returned from the Canadian wilderness without his family.He claimed they had starved to death.But when investigators followed him back into the forest, they discovered something far more disturbing.Swift Runner had murdered and consumed members of his own family. He claimed an evil spirit had driven him to do it.For generations, Indigenous communities across the northern forests and Great Lakes had told stories of a terrifying being associated with insatiable hunger, cannibalism, and the darkest months of winter.They called it the Wendigo.Tonight, we're investigating the history and folklore behind one of North America's most frightening supernatural legends.From early accounts recorded by French missionaries to the horrifying crimes of Swift Runner, we'll explore the beliefs surrounding the Wendigo and the people accused of becoming one.We'll also examine the remarkable story of Jack Fiddler, an Indigenous leader who claimed to have defeated fourteen Wendigos, the controversial history of so-called Wendigo psychosis, and how Hollywood transformed an ancient figure of hunger and greed into the antlered monster recognized today.Because the original Wendigo wasn't simply something waiting in the wilderness.It was something a person could become.Welcome to Day 25 of 31 Days of Halloween VERB ENERGY Limited addition Blood-Orange Pound Cake- Promo Code - HAUNTED verbenergy.com/haunted Tales from the Shadows Weekend in Lancaster PA CONDEMNED links - https://linktr.ee/CondemnedYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.