Creepalachia

This week, I’m diving into one of the most bizarre, beautiful, and ultimately broken places in West Virginia: The Palace of Gold. Perched above the hills near Moundsville, what began as a spiritual sanctuary for Hare Krishna devotees became a national headline factory in the 1980s—complete with FBI raids, murder plots, fraud, racketeering, and one of the most surreal downfalls in religious history...

Brenda Gail Lambert disappeared in 1992 from Bluewell, West Virginia. Her family has lived in hell ever since. Now, more than three decades later, her sister Christy Kennedy is stepping forward with the full story, and she came by the studio to lay it all out—everything from the last day Brenda was seen, to false leads, mysterious postcards, and potential suspects who vanished themselves not long...

Just wrapped one of the most eye-opening conversations I’ve had on the show. Ashlen Hilliard, cult interventionist and creator of The Psychology of Cults , joined me in the studio for a no-holds-barred deep dive into the mindset, manipulation, and madness of cult dynamics—past and present. We broke down: -Why “good” people join cults -The devastating stories of Heaven’s Gate and Jonestown -How cul...

What do 30+ horror and true crime books, a haunted house, a ghost train, and a juvenile detention sentence have in common? Brian Bowyer. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brian in the studio—and let me tell you, this man is one of the most captivating storytellers I’ve ever met. From a rocky past that included three years in the system as a teenager and battling severe alcohol addiction, Bri...

I knew talking rafting in the New River Gorge would be fun—but I didn’t expect it to be this good. This episode took a deeper dive than I imagined. Rafting legends and river experts Melanie Seiler Hames, Charles Seay, and Ray Ray Fillpot joined me in the studio to talk about the early days of rafting in southern West Virginia—and everything the river has taught them since. We covered the laughs, t...

This one hits close to home. One of the most personal episodes I’ve ever done—and also one of the most honest. Social workers Ashton Pritt and Miranda Morgan joined me in the studio for a raw, real, and at times hilarious conversation about the layered realities of parenting, trauma, drugs, life lessons, and what it means to hold space for others when your own life’s been anything but easy. It’s n...

Editors note: the population of Kanawha County is over 173,000. The population of Charleston is over 46,000.  The kind of conversation I wish never had to happen. But I’m deeply honored to have sat across from James Harper’s family—his father, Chris Waddell, and his wife, Gabrielle Harper—and heard their hearts. James was killed by a truck driver in April 2025 in West Virginia. You might’ve seen t...

The Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster is a scar that will never fully heal in the heart of West Virginia. On that devastating day in 2010, twenty-nine coal miners were taken far too soon, and two others were left injured—physically and emotionally—for the rest of their lives. Before Creepalachia ever began, I worked on a self-funded project called UBB: A Coal Miner’s Story. That five-hour documentary...

In this wild and absolutely packed October episode, mountain preacher, artist, and author Tony Breeden stopped by the studio for one of the most mind-melting deep dives into Appalachian cryptozoology I’ve ever had. From Bigfoot to Booger Owls, Men in Black to Gray Barker, and the truth (or not) behind ancient aliens, we covered everything under the weird and wonderful Appalachian moon. And that wa...

In this episode, we talked about our latest addition to the Haunted and Urbex series on YouTube, where Adra Johnson, Copperhead, and I spent the night inside one of the most famously haunted places in America: the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. This special 90-minute conversation dropped the day after the main Urbex episode (October 2nd), and it was packed with first-hand accounts, eerie moments,...

On November 25th, 2018, Wes Blackburn walked out of his mother’s home in West Virginia—and never returned. Joann Blackburn-Plumley and Michael Blackburn stop by the studio to  That weekend, he was supposed to be in Tennessee to watch his son race. But by the next day, whispers were already circling about an abandoned mine near the Oceana area. His mother got the call while at work: Wes was missing...

What an emotional interview this was, and I’m so appreciative of Jessica Basham for sharing her story involving cancer and the devastating ways it’s affected her life. Though Jessica hasn’t personally battled cancer, it has changed her world forever. In this heartfelt conversation, she opens up about losing her daughter Schuylar to cancer—and how she continues to keep her memory alive through test...

In this powerhouse episode, boxing legend Christy “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” Martin joins J.D. for a raw and inspiring sit-down that spans her iconic career and extraordinary resilience. From her roots in Itmann, West Virginia, to becoming the first—and still only—female boxer to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, Christy opens up about her early days, her historic 49-7-3 record with 32 knock...

What better way to kick it off than with a horror movie showdown guaranteed to feed your Appalachian soul? On this spooky, cinema-soaked episode, J.D. is joined by horror aficionado and filmmaker Foz Rotten (aka Aaron White) for a rapid-fire 90-minute conversation about 13 hand-picked horror movies you must watch this season—each soaked in rural dread, mountain mist, and Appalachian energy. We’re...

In this emotional, eye-opening episode, J.D. sits down with two deeply compassionate women who have made it their life’s work to care for people at the end of theirs. This week, we’re talking about hospice—what it is, what it isn’t, and why it just might be the closest thing to angels on earth. Kelly McFarland is the Education Coordinator at HospiceCare in Kanawha County, and Michelle Cook with Am...

In this brutally honest episode, J.D. sits down with three seasoned professionals in emergency medical services to talk about a crisis most folks aren’t even aware of — rural EMS systems in West Virginia are on life support, or are they? Nick Lawrence, in an operations role at STAT Ambulance Service, joins us alongside longtime EMS legend Jonathan Cresong — a man with more certifications than a NA...

In this beautiful and eye-opening episode, J.D. sits down with death doula Tracy Seffers to talk about what it really means to walk with people through the end of life. From the emotional to the spiritual to the downright practical, Tracy pulls back the curtain on a process we all will face—but few of us are ready to talk about. Tracy shares what brought her to this sacred calling, the misconcepti...

In this deep-dive Tin Foil Hat Show episode, J.D. sits down with fellow Appalachian truth-seeker Tom Riser to unravel the entire lore of the Mothman — one of the most iconic and mystifying figures in American cryptid history. From the original sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 to the collapse of the Silver Bridge, from Men in Black encounters to recent reappearances, this episode...

In this important episode of Creepalachia, JD sits down with Dr. David Shimm, a physician with one of the most impressive educational backgrounds in medicine—Harvard undergrad, Duke-trained internist and hematologist, and radiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. Together, they discuss one of the most pressing and under-reported health issues in the region: cancer in Appalachia. Dr. Sh...

In this powerful and inspiring episode, J.D. sits down with Alicia Darl VanMeter , who shares her raw, unfiltered story of addiction, arrest, and recovery. From the depths of despair to a place of healing, Alicia opens up about her journey—from the chaos of rock bottom to finding a purpose in helping others. She’s joined by Gary Vaughan , the bail bondsman who arrested her . Together, they recount...

In this revealing episode, Randy Ferrill sits down with J.D. to share how an innocent hobby—playing digital card games—turned into a devastating financial spiral. Over the course of one year, Randy lost nearly $20,000, not at a casino or a racetrack, but through microtransactions in solitaire and other mobile games. We break down how these seemingly harmless apps exploit behavioral psychology to t...

In this gripping episode of Creepalachia, J.D. sits down with two powerful voices in one of the most disturbing stories coming out of eastern Kentucky: Elizabeth from the YouTube channel Hillbilly Crime, and Tya Adams, a survivor with a voice the system tried to silence. Elizabeth has been on the front lines of independent reporting around the shocking murder of Judge Kevin Mullins, allegedly carr...

In this heartfelt and wide-ranging episode, J.D. sits down with southern West Virginia’s own Matt Deal, a singer-songwriter whose haunting lyrics explore themes of life, death, depression, and the raw beauty of struggle. He performs several original songs live, opening a window into the pain and poetry of Appalachian living. We also veer into lighter territory with behind-the-scenes tales from &qu...

In this powerful and brutally honest conversation, J.D. is joined by three fierce advocates who have spent their lives on the frontlines of West Virginia’s child welfare system. Together, they pull no punches when it comes to the state of CPS, foster care, mental health, addiction, and the layers of broken systems affecting kids across the Mountain State. Mackenzie Holdren is a Guardian ad Litem r...

J.D. sits down with Kimberly Burks, the mother of Quantez Burks, and Latasha Williams, Quantez’s fiancée, to discuss the disturbing events surrounding his death in the custody of Southern Regional Jail in West Virginia. In one of the most powerful and emotional episodes ever recorded for Creepalachia, these two women explain how Quantez was brutally beaten to death by correctional officers only on...