Southern Gothic

On a hill above the Cane River in Natchitoches, Louisiana, three white columns stand where a grand antebellum mansion once rose — the only trace of a building that’s been gone for more than a century. For the students of Northwestern State University, they’re more than a landmark. They’re the heart of one of Louisiana’s most enduring ghost stories. They say a young woman once lived — and died — wi...

In the quiet mountain town of Lewisburg, West Virginia, stands a small limestone church that has watched over its congregation for more than two centuries. But among the old graves behind its walls, one monument draws more visitors — and more whispers — than any other: a white marble angel said to bring death to anyone who dares to kiss her cheek. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Between the mountain towns of Hot Springs and Marshall, North Carolina, the French Broad River cuts through a gorge so narrow the cliffs seem to press in from both sides. It’s a stretch of water known for its beauty by day — and its whispers by night. Locals say the cries that echo off those stone walls aren’t carried by the wind, but by the ghosts of travelers who never made it past Chunn’s Taver...

Long before Florida’s theme parks and beach resorts, travelers came south to see a wonder of nature — the crystal waters of Silver Springs, so clear you can see straight through the earth. But beneath that glassy surface lies a place locals say was never meant to be seen — a dark, circular vent known as the Bridal Chamber. Legend tells of a love forbidden by pride, a promise sealed with a jeweled...

Reality is the real horror. Every Monday, poet and paranormal obsessive Heidi Wong unearths the chilling true stories behind the world’s most terrifying legends. From haunted dolls to cursed houses, each episode of Twisted Tales reveals the disturbing real-life events that inspired horror’s biggest blockbusters and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Some stories are stranger than fiction....

In the heart of Holly Springs, Mississippi, an iron fence guards one of the town’s oldest homes — a stately white mansion built in 1837, known as Featherston Place. Its grand columns and sweeping porch have survived war, sickness, and time itself… but some say not everything inside ever moved on. For generations, visitors have whispered of footsteps on the stairs that stop halfway and vanish into...

Tucked deep in the red clay hills of Goochland County, Virginia, the Waller Mine once promised fortune to any man willing to dig for it. But like most gold rush tales, what glittered on the surface hid something much darker below. Locals still talk about the screams that once echoed from the abandoned house near the old mine — sounds of moaning, pleading, and a man calling out for help when no one...

The Union Station Hotel is one of the most historic landmarks in Nashville, TN — a relic from the golden age of the railroad. But beneath the marble floors and stained glass, some say a love story ended in tragedy… and never really ended at all. Guests in one particular room have reported flickering lights, phantom footsteps, and the sound of someone softly crying in the dark. Locals say it’s the...

In October of 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious and dying in the streets of Baltimore — wearing another man’s clothes and unable to explain how he’d gotten there. Days later, his rival published a venomous obituary… and with it, Poe’s final poem, Annabel Lee — a haunting tale of forbidden love and loss “in a kingdom by the sea.” Over a century later, Charleston, South Carolina, would claim...

Just outside the small town of Olive Hill, Kentucky, in the winter of 1968, the quiet home of John and Ora Callihan became the center of something strange. It began with the sound of breaking glass—a framed portrait of Christ shattering from within—then spread room by room as mirrors cracked, dishes burst, and furniture moved on its own. As neighbors whispered of curses and unseen forces, the nati...

Welcome to ⁠⁠How Haunted?⁠⁠ The paranormal podcast where each episode we explore the horrible history and terrifying ghost stories of one of the most haunted places on planet Earth. I’m Rob Kirkup: author, paranormal historian, and ghost hunter from the north-east of England. Allow me to be your guide as we dare to investigate in-depth the often dark and troubled history of each location, and of c...

In the winter of 1933, a revival took hold deep in the hills of Martin County, Kentucky. What began as a week of prayer and fasting soon slipped past the line between faith and fanaticism. Each night, hymns echoed through the holler—voices crying out in tongues, neighbors whispering that something wasn’t right. By the time the sheriff forced his way into that small farmhouse, the revival had becom...

On April 4, 1841, President William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office—just thirty-one days after his inauguration. For generations, the story was told the same way: an aging man caught in the cold, refusing a coat, delivering the longest inaugural address in history, and paying for it with his life. Pneumonia, they said, brought on by his pride. But the truth may be f...

Just upriver from Jamestown, Berkeley Plantation stands as one of Virginia’s most historic estates. Its story begins in 1619 with the Berkeley Hundred, an early settlement that saw both hope and heartbreak on the colonial frontier. Over the centuries, its halls would witness the rise of the Harrison family, whose descendants signed the Declaration of Independence and held the presidency, while its...

On Merritt Island, Florida, most visitors come for the Kennedy Space Center, where rockets have carried astronauts beyond the Earth. But tucked away on the south side of the island, down a crooked mile of oak trees draped in Spanish moss, sits a much older landmark—Georgiana Cemetery. It is one of the oldest graveyards in Brevard County, and among its weathered stones lies the grave of a young wom...

On a cold February morning in 1896, a farmhand near Fort Thomas, Kentucky, stumbled upon a body at the edge of a ravine. The victim was a young woman in a blue checkered dress, her gloves sliced, her head missing. Within days, a pair of petite boots and a ledger entry in a small-town shoe store revealed a name that would haunt headlines across the country: Pearl Bryan of Greencastle, Indiana. What...

BlueLife⁠ is a new post-apocalyptic sci-fi audio story which has its world premiere on September 1st. I'd love you to listen, and if you like what you hear please subscribe to the email list on the website so you will be one of the first to hear the episodes when they are launched. The ⁠BlueLife⁠ script was an Austin Film Festival semi-finalist. It received a staged reading at the Festival where i...

Spooky season is finally here! Join us for another edition of our listener-submitted stories... from haunted cemeteries, a creepy old mirror, to the possible sighting of a spirit on a Civil War battlefield. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? ⁠⁠Patreon: Ad-Free Episodes, Premium Releases, Bonus Content & More⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Southern Gothic Premium on Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Southern Gothic Premium on Apple Podca...

Just south of Savannah, Georgia, where the low country stretches into swampland, lies a quiet tributary shaded by thousand-year-old cypress trees. Today, paddlers drift across its dark waters, taking in the beauty of the moss-draped forest. But for many who visit, Ebenezer Creek carries a sense of unease—a heaviness that lingers in the air. Some say that when the water rises after storms, you can...

Just off the old Natchez Trace, in the quiet woods of Tennessee, stands a broken marble column marking the grave of Meriwether Lewis. The monument was meant to honor one of America’s greatest explorers, but its shattered form also reflects a life cut short under circumstances that remain unsolved more than two centuries later. In 1804, Lewis and Clark led the Corps of Discovery across thousands of...

Just a stone’s throw from the quaint downtown square of Harrodsburg, Kentucky—the oldest town in the state—sits a small city park. Families gather there for picnics, children play on the swings, and joggers circle the open green. But tucked at the edge of it all, surrounded by a white picket fence, is something far more unusual: a single grave. Its headstone bears no name, only the word “UNKNOWN.”...

Just a stone’s throw from the quaint downtown square of Monticello, Arkansas, stands a sprawling Queen Anne mansion framed by towering trees and ornate stained glass. Known for its turrets, grand columns, and intricate woodwork, the Allen House is the kind of place that stops you in your tracks. But behind that beauty is a story steeped in tragedy. For decades, one upstairs room was locked tight,...

Tell Me Your Ghost Story is a podcast where real people share their real-life encounters with the paranormal. Host Kassie Askin invites guests to share their unexplainable encounters in their own words. Some stories are terrifying, some are heart-warming, and some just might change the way you see the world. Kassie isn’t looking for answers or theories, just stories that are sure to haunt you. Lis...

The Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for over 400,000 United States service members and their eligible family members, and the most well-known and highly esteemed national cemetery in the country. Yet few know of how this esteemed burial ground came to be; a result of overcrowding cemeteries during the Civil War, in a place that was seemingly chosen out of spite-- the home of...

On a lonely gravel road in Mississippi, 12 miles southwest of Meridian, is a dilapidated old truss bridge, no longer open to cars or traffic. It spans 112 feet, giving travelers access across the Chunky River, a short tributary of the Chicksasawhy River. This bridge, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, had been built to replace one erected by early settlers of the...