The Wicked South

Michael Dewitt, Seton Tucker and Matt Harris discuss the future of the Wicked South Podcast, and they talk about the affect the Alex Murdaugh trial had on their lives. Dewitt is the author of The Wicked South and The Fall of the House of Murdaugh Seton and Matt host the podcast Impact of Influence Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wicked-south/donations Advertising Inquiries: htt...

The Best Little Whorehouse in South Carolina For more than 30 years, Madame Hazel operated the Sunset Lodge, a high-end brothel and the "best-kept" secret in Georgetown, S.C., serving state senators, prominent local officials and even the occasional pastor or deacon, all the while donating to the local town and charities. Join the Wicked South Podcast crew as they interview David Hodges, a...

Headless Horror in Colleton County   The remains of a human head were discovered in rural Colleton County this week, and police are searching for the missing body in a bizarre case that has captured media and public attention. But this is not the first time a human skull – with no body – has been found near Walterboro, S.C., the town that hosted Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial. Other skeletal...

“God knocked my socks off” - From Ruin to Rehab and Redemption   David Carson, once a meth, opiate and heroin addict, was arrested in what was reported as the historic, first-ever meth bust in the tiny town of Hampton, S.C. Not only did Carson later reform himself, he founded Sammy’s Mission, a network of six drug rehab transition houses that help addicts from around the state of South Carolina wi...

How a Mule Kicked Killed 8 People, and a Woman's Sexual Prowess Became World Famous This story has it all: Mules gone bad, women gone wild, a political sex scandal and a high body count. Join the Wicked South crew and South Carolina author and storyteller Tom Poland as we travel to Edgefield County, S.C., where the livestock are vicious, the men are violent, and at least one woman was notoriou...

There is a lot of competition and even some online feuding surrounding the Murdaugh crime saga and its online true crime community. Some competition and rivalry can be good things, but bitter blood feuds always end tragically. To demonstrate, let’s take a look at some of the most heated rivalries and worst blood feuds in history, and the legacy they left behind. Michael DeWitt Jr. is the author of...

It’s the new year. That means the feasting of the holidays is behind us, as well as those ten extra pounds on our rear ends. What also means New Year’s Resolutions. Lose weight. Get in shape. Cut back on the drinking. UGH. Well, things could be worse, a lot worse. So we took a look back into history and found our listeners some of the worst, craziest, and most wicked unhealthy diets in history. So...

Moonshine, murder and mayhem: A sneak peek at the new book, Fall of the House of Murdaugh  Brace yourselves, Wicked South listeners, for a behind-the-scenes, sneak peek into two of the hottest Southern nonfiction books coming out this winter.  Hear incredible stories from SC writer/historian, Kathryn Smith, author of Baptists and Bootleggers and the new Methodists and Moonshiners.  Wicked South co...

Seton, Matt, and Michael travel back in time to when North American rivers ran red with blood to bring you a “potluck” of Native American tales of murder, massacre and betrayal that helped shaped our history here in the Southeast. Here is what you’ll hear:  King Hagler of the Catawba Nation is assassinated, and his grave plundered by robbers, but justice is served in the form of torture, target pr...

In 2010, Tracey Piotrowski and her husband, James traveled from Florida to spend Thanksgiving with seven family members at the home of Richard and Caroline Santee in Bray’s Island Plantation in SC. Thanksgiving Day on member of the family would be fatally shot. The reports on the event has led to many questions. Michael DeWitt writes for the USA Today newspaper network. He is the author of two boo...

Modern Day Moonshine Part Two – Born to Bootleg In the second installment of a two-part series on modern day moonshining and South Carolina's moonshine culture, we welcome two special guests, Trey Boggs, who is a descendant of a bootlegger, a modern-day distiller, and co-owner of Palmetto Pride Distillery; and Brigid Fackrell, co-owner of Rotten Little Bastard Distillery and a descendant o...

Modern Day Moonshine Part One - Moonshine Memories with Dr. Kenny Kinsey In the first installment of a two-part series on modern day moonshining and South Carolina's moonshine culture, special guest (and one of the star witnesses of the Murdaugh murder trial) Dr. Kenny Kinsey reveals inside insight into major modern-day illegal liquor operations and shares some personal moonshine memories of h...

For nearly half a century, Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr. was the chief prosecuting officer of a circuit that harbored bootleggers, poachers, rumrunners, and cold-blooded murderers. But the Murdaughs were not the only interesting personalities in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The 14th Judicial Circuit is a strange corner of coastal South Carolina populated with mysterious, colorful charac...

Behind every dynasty are the wives and mothers who helped build it, and the Murdaugh clan is no exception. In this episode of The Wicked South, we introduce you to five generations of Murdaugh women who helped stabilize and ground the family's often controversial image, and we also uncover some possible secrets in the unsolved Libby Murdaugh fake obituary case. Plus, co-host Michael DeWitt rec...

Did you know that the last witchcraft-related trial in America was not held in Salem, in South Carolina? The Wicked South Podcast explores the fascinating case of Barbara Powers, a woman accused of practicing "diabolical arts" on a young victim, but unlike most "witches," this lady had a good lawyer! We also interview one of Power's direct descendants, attorney Mandy Powers Nor...

The Hills Are Alive... With Moonshine Stories From Buster Murdaugh to Becky Hill, the legacy of bootlegging has touched many families. On this episode of The Wicked South, Matt, Seton and Michael explore the Great Colleton County Whiskey Conspiracy which engulfed the Murdaughs and the family of Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, introduce the coolest sponsors any podcast could hope for, an...

Baptists, Bootleggers, and Moonshine Mammas In this episode of  The Wicked South Podcast , Kathryn Smith, author of  Baptists and Bootleggers  and Methodists and Moonshiners , shares tales of shoot-outs and showdowns in gritty, violent locales such as Dark Corner and Hell Hole Swamp. Then storyteller Michael DeWitt shocks co-hosts Matt Harris and Seton Tucker with a scandalous tale of "making...

Thousands shuffled through those dark doorways each year, from every county in South Carolina. Many were helped, many died, and some had no business being there at all.  In this episode of The Wicked South Podcast, Seton, Matt and Michael explore the madness and mystery of Bull Street's historic asylums and examine the bright future ahead for this developing area of the state capital.  Support...

A Black teenager is killed in a shotgun slaying during a racially turbulent time of our S.C. Lowcountry history. It takes four years, a wealthy Yankee do-gooder, and an FBI investigation before five well-known white men, including two public officials, are indicted for murder. But would justice be served in the 14 th  Judicial Circuit under Solicitor Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh? In this epi...

From Hampton, S.C. to Selma - The Civil Rights Crusaders From seemingly insignificant small towns like Hampton, South Carolina, to historic landmark locations like Selma, Alabama, crusaders at home and from abroad walked a hostile road of racism and resistance to write a better chapter of American history. On this 60 th  anniversary of the historic March on Washington, the Wicked South Podcast int...

The devil has always walked among us, often disguised in the friendly faces of family members, but driven by wild demons: alcohol, drugs, or mental illness. In The Wicked South Podcast Episode 7, Michael, Seton, and Matt study family annihilators in S.C. Lowcountry history, and why Alex Murdaugh represents the worst of the devils in the human spirit.  Check out The Wicked South Facebook Page Suppo...

Matt and Michael dive into the fascinating history of banking in Hampton. During the Great Depression, Randolph Murdaugh Sr. prosecuted crooked, corrupt bankers and sent them to prison. Almost a century later, his descendant, Alex Murdaugh, conspired with a dirty money lender to steal millions. This week, that disgraced banker, Russell Laffitte, is set for sentencing to federal prison.  Meanwhile,...

Matt Harris and Seton Tucker continue to tell the story of the Wicked South. The wicked preacher took the underaged girl under his wing, then fast and prayed until God "sanctioned their union." But lo and behold, a child was born, and it was no immaculate conception.  Criminal charges were filed, and it would become one of the most sensational and scandalous trials in Randolph Murdaugh&#39...

Michael Dewitt, Seton Tucker and Matt Harris bring you another case from the Wicked South. It is a case eerily similar to Stephen Smith's unsolved homicide. Another dead Hampton County teen found in the middle of a H.C. road with lots of unanswered questions, and shockingly local police are connected. Another grieving H.C. family waits years for unrequited justice. Protests rise and lawsuits a...

Trains and tragedy steam through the history of the Murdaugh dynasty, leaving behind both great fortune and mysterious deaths. Michael, Seton and Matt take a train ride back into history to possibly solve an 83-year old Murdaugh mystery involving the death, train wreck and lawsuit that launched the Murdaugh legacy. The Wicked South Podcast on Facebook Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.co...