Southern Gothic

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...

Just outside of Bath, North Carolina is a unique landmark that has puzzled folks for over two centuries-- a series of small depressions in the ground, known as the Hoofprints of Bath. According to legend, not only have these depressions been around for over two centuries but they are also the product of a legendary horse race with the devil. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pat...

St. Catherine's Island sits off the coast of Georgia, just fifty miles south of Savannah. This beautiful barrier island has served as a wildlife refuge for several decades, but its history is far darker than what anyone who has visited the island's serene forests and peaceful beaches could ever imagine. In 1597, it was the site of a violent rebellion that left several Spanish friars dead. Accordin...

Fear Daily takes you into the shadows of the past, unearthing the 1990's most terrifying tales of monsters, madness, and life after death. Join us as we explore the ghost stories and supernatural encounters left on an old online bulletin board that continues to operate somewhere in an unknown part of the Pennsylvania Rust Belt - a time capsule of society's greatest fears. Written by Brennan Storr,...

It was a hot summer night in 1868 when Laura Schafer lit a kerosene lamp and stepped into the darkened hall of her family’s Alexandria home. The flame cracked. Her dress caught. And by the time her screams reached the street below, it was already too late. What should have been Laura’s wedding day became the date carved into her gravestone. And hours later, the man she was meant to marry—Charles T...

In 1977, Reverend Willie Maxwell was shot dead in front of six hundred mourners at a funeral in Alexander City, Alabama. The man who pulled the trigger—Robert Burns—did it in plain sight. He didn’t run. He didn’t deny it. And when asked why, he simply said, “I had to do it.” But that moment was only the end of a far more disturbing story. For years, Reverend Maxwell had been surrounded by tragedy....

Reserve your spot on the Knight House overnight ghost hunt today! Built in 1815, the Knight House is the oldest standing structure in Christian County, Kentucky—and after more than two centuries of history, it has more than a few stories to tell. From its ties to early Kentucky power brokers and whispers of the Underground Railroad to tales of shadow figures, piano keys echoing in empty rooms, and...

Tucked deep in Mississippi’s Tunica Hills, where ancient bluffs rise from the loess soil and moss hangs heavy from the trees, stands one of the oldest plantation homes in the state—Cold Spring. Built around 1810 by a Scottish-born army surgeon named Dr. John Flavel Carmichael, this historic home near Pinckneyville has witnessed generations of Southern history—and, according to local lore, has neve...

Nestled in the rolling hills of north Georgia, the ruins of a once-grand estate lie hidden among towering boxwoods and overgrown brick paths—what remains of Barnsley Gardens. But this crumbling mansion isn't just a relic of the antebellum South… it’s the site of a legend. A place some say was cursed from the moment the first tree was felled. In this episode, we uncover the tragic story of Godfrey...

In the shadows of the French Quarter, where history and legend often blur, one of New Orleans' most enduring mysteries still lingers behind bright red doors on Royal Street. It begins in 1728, with the arrival of pale, fragile young women sent by the French crown to populate the colony—women who came with heavy wooden trunks and left behind whispers of vampirism. Known in local lore as the Casket...

On April 27, 1865, just weeks after the Civil War ended and the country reeled from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, a deadly explosion on the Mississippi River became the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history—and most Americans have never heard of it. The Sultana, a Civil War-era steamboat built to carry a few hundred passengers, was pushed far beyond its limits with more than 2,100 souls...

Moored in the quiet waters of Mobile Bay, the USS Alabama stands as a monument to American strength, sacrifice, and—some say—something far more ghostly. Known as "The Lucky A," this legendary battleship earned nine battle stars and never lost a single crewman to enemy fire. But not all wounds come from the enemy. In this episode, we trace the history of the Alabama, from Arctic convoy duty in the...

In honor of our upcoming Friday the 13th Ghost Tour next week, we bring you a special episode of Southern Gothic, featuring a live recording from our October 2024 event at InDo Nashville. Accompanied by the haunting guitar melodies of Alexandra Mann from The Mann Sisters, Brandon delves into four chilling tales from the American South: Samuel Jocelyn Jr. – A Wilmington man buried alive in 1810, wh...

In the early morning hours of December 31, 1862, Union Colonel Julius Peter Garesché was decapitated by a Confederate cannonball during the Battle of Stones River. His violent death—foretold in ominous warnings and eerie family prophecies—would soon echo in more ways than one. For in the decades since, visitors to the battlefield in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, have claimed to see a headless figure in...

The village of Middleway, West Virginia, is a community with a population of less than 500 people. Though the area was first settled back in the early 18th century, it has its place in history because as the home of legend that dates back to the late 1700s when a local farmer and his family became the victim of poltergeist-like activity. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon: Ad-F...

For more than a century, the Brown Mountain Lights have baffled scientists, inspired ghost stories, and drawn curious travelers to the rugged wilderness of western North Carolina. Nestled within the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area of Pisgah National Forest, Brown Mountain has become ground zero for one of America’s most enduring paranormal mysteries. Eyewitnesses describe glowing orbs—white, red, e...

Y'all join us as we explore ⁠Macabrium⁠, a podcast that explores the secrets of the past-- true crime, dark history, lore, and legends. Join Megan on Tuesdays for true crime & dark history, and Derek on Sundays for lore & legends.  This Lore & Legends episode is titled "“The Murder Hole Room: Hauntings at Leap Castle, Part 1” ⁠Listen to Macabrium today on your favorite podcasting apps!⁠ Learn more...

Y'all join us as we explore Macabrium, a podcast that explores the secrets of the past-- true crime, dark history, lore, and legends. Join Megan on Tuesdays for true crime & dark history, and Derek on Sundays for lore & legends.  This True Crime & Dark History episode is titled "Villain By Nature: The Cannibal Boone Helm." Listen to Macabrium today on your favorite podcasting apps! Learn more abou...

On May 15th, 2025, flames tore through the largest surviving antebellum mansion in the South—Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. Within hours, the storied structure was reduced to a charred skeleton. But as officials made statements mourning the loss and news channels skirted larger issues, much of the public saw something different: the fire was a symbol of racial reckoning. In this s...

This week we are going back to you & telling your listener-submitted stories! Tales include a haunted college, an apparition on an old battlefield and a lonely spirit on vacation in Gatlinburg... 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 Podcasts⁠ ⁠Into Histo...

In the shadow of Key West’s sun-drenched charm lies one of the island’s most disturbing true stories. In 1930, a reclusive hospital technician named Carl Tanzler became convinced that a young Cuban-American woman was his fated bride—sent to him by visions from beyond the grave. But after her untimely death, his obsession took a grotesque turn. From stolen corpses to waxen recreations, what followe...

Long before the Hatfields and McCoys became a symbol of Southern feuding, two Louisiana families waged a decades-long battle of their own. The Black River War between the Liddells and the Joneses tore through Catahoula Parish with ambushes, political rivalries, and cold-blooded murder-- culminating in a deadly shootout aboard a Mississippi steamer and vigilante justice carried out by torchlight. W...

The Fitzpatrick Hotel has been standing on the courthouse square of Washington, Georgia for more than a century now, its red-brick walls and Queen Anne trim casting long shadows over the town’s oldest streets. But around here, folks say it wasn’t just the fire that cleared the way for the hotel to be built—there are darker stories too. Stories about graves left behind. About spirits that never mov...