Ozarkian Folk Chronicles - Your Podcast About the Ozarks

Dan Bennett, ghost tour guide extraordinaire, joins Curtis and Hayden for a fascinating interview about the encounters of ghosts and guests in the historic Crescent Hotel. From little Breckie to Michael the Irish stone mason, these tales of the paranormal are challenging and entertaining. Are you brave enough to book Room 218?? You don't want to miss this episode of the Ozarkian Folk Chronicles! H...

Join Curtis and Hayden when they talk with Dave Tobey about the Current River. Dave has been a ranger, guide, and river enthusiast for many years, and he'll share his love for one of the most beautiful rivers in Missouri. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

is episode is a return to episode 12, a classic Ozarkian Folk Chronicles exploration of the folklore of missing limbs. The Chronicles will return next week with a new episode of freshly recorded fun! In this episode, Curtis and Hayden discuss the folklore of missing and amputated limbs with Abby Burnett, author of Gone to the Grave: Arkansas Burial Customs, 1850-1950. They are also joined by Emale...

Join Curtis and Hayden when they sit down with Terry and DeDe Sanders and the Folk Chronicle’s true crime historian, Tammy Morton, for an in depth look at the infamous case of Shirley Jo Phillips, who murdered her friend Wilma Plaster in 1989. Sometimes a crime is remembered because it touched us in some strange and utterly unpredictable way. Such is the case for Terry and DeDe, who bought the hom...

Join Curtis and Hayden when Tom Koob returns to the Chronicles with a wild tale about Radium Springs, a mysterious cave and spring deep in the Missouri Ozarks. From the discovery of the spring in 1879 by a small party of hunters to the exploration of the area by scientists with geiger counters in the 1950s, the story and potential pay-off of Radium Springs has caught the imagination of three gener...

Episode 49: Meet the Creek Rocks, Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf!  We hope you'll join the Chronicles for this special interview with Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf, two of the finest Ozarks folk musicians anywhere. Not only do they share their musical histories--Mark was a founding member of Big Smith, and Cindy recorded her first album in 2016--but they also play songs from their new album, "Wolf...

Champ Herren, Ozarks entrepreneur, farmer, and student of Randolph, joins the Chronicles to share his research into popular Ozarks superstitions. Champ sheds new light on old practices as he follows the evidence, and in the process helps clarify the bizarre beliefs of a century ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Sledge and Butch Gregory, the legendary musicians of the Horse Creek Band at Silver Dollar City, join Curtis and Hayden for a rollicking podcast of bluegrass, square dance, Gospel, Texas swing, and more! Larry and Butch also talk about their early careers and the happy times spent at Silver Dollar City. The Horse Creek Band embodies Ozarks folk culture and music, and we know you'll enjoy thi...

Join Curtis and Hayden as they visit with Dede Sanders and Tammy Morton to discuss the wild case of Robert Faye Adam's and his wife, Willa. Dede, 10 years old at the time, was driving her grandfather's bulldozer when Adam's drove up with a secret in the trunk of his car. From there...well, you'll just have to tune in to hear the story like you've never heard it before! Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Join Curtis and Hayden as they visit with Randle Chowning about the early days of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils; and Randle's wife, Jaynie Simon- Chowning, and her stories of her father, Si Simon, and his major influence on the music scene in Springfield, Missouri and around the world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Koob, Ozarks storyteller extraordinaire, is back on the podcast with a tale of murder and mystery on the banks of the James River. Tom has researched the death of young Alice Stallion, and he not only brings his knowledge to this tragic episode but also his humanity. We know you'll find Tom's story fascinating! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join our guests Tammy Morton and Angel Wolf as we talk about the strange and uncanny superstitions of the Ozarks. From mad stones to medicines, the Ozarks hills and valleys remain a repository of the folkways of the "old country." Who better to discuss these superstitions than two multi-generational Ozarkers who know the lore and legends? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

Dr. Brooks Blevins, the premier historian of the Ozarks and Noel Boyd professor of history at MSU, sits down with Curtis and Hayden to discuss the tension between the "cold, hard facts" of history and the more whimsical world of folk stories and songs. From "signal trees" to the folktales of Vance Randolph, Dr. Blevins evaluates the relevance of folktales and ballads to historical studies and expl...

Celebrate Halloween with Tammy Morton and Angel Wolf as they join Curtis and Hayden to talk about ghosts past and present. The deep valleys and secluded caves of the Ozarks have always lent themselves to tales of the preternatural, and this tradition of storytelling will never die--kinda like the ghosts themselves! Feel the eerie on our latest episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

Join Curtis and Hayden as they talk with Josh Heston, founder of the State of the Ozarks online community and author of the book Plague Child's Doctor, as well as weekly newsletters and other works. Josh has extensively studied the Celtic culture, and he shows how that culture continues to influence the Ozarks through the traditions and beliefs of the Scots-Irish who settled here in the 1800s. As...

Travis Holt is back with a slew of moonshine stories from Newton County, Arkansas. From the folks who brewed it to the lawmen who pursued it, Travis reminds us that moonshine was more than a cliche when it comes to the Ozarks: It was a way of life! Travis is one of our favorite storytellers, and we know you’ll enjoy this wild and wooly episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

Join Curtis and Hayden when they sit down with Misty Langdon, a multi-generational Ozarker who lives with her husband on her family's farm. Misty talks about growing up in the beautiful and rugged hills of Low Gap, Arkansas, and the ongoing efforts of some to intervene in the environment and culture of those hills. She is a local historian--Misty records the stories of her friends and neighbors in...

Join Curtis and Hayden when they sit down with comedian Shannon Thomason, also known as "Applejack," for a reading of folktales from the collections of Vance Randolph. These tales focus on dimwitted Jasper and similar young men who may not be too bright but nevertheless come out on top in the end. These are the stories that amused the folks of a hundred years ago and continue to tickle funny bones...

Join Curtis and Hayden when they sit down with Jae McFerron, current director of the Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama and longtime Branson entertainer and Silver Dollar City comedian. Jae recalls the iconic Shad Heller and his role in promoting and embodying the Ozarks spirit. Jae also talks about the influence of Harold Bell Wright’s The Shepherd of the Hills and its ongoing significance in th...

Join Curtis and Hayden and their guests Emalee Flatness Combs and Esther Exley, who sing and play ballads, waltzes, and folksongs from long ago. Emalee performs with the Homestead Pickers at Silver Dollar City, and fifteen-year-old Esther recently won first place in the Junior Arkansas State Old Time Fiddle Contest. They have also done extensive research into specifically Ozarks folksongs, and the...

Join Jim Hamilton, a lifelong newspaper editor, reporter, and author, when he talks with Curtis and Hayden about growing up in the Ozarks, his career in letters, and the important role local journalism plays in strengthening our communities. Jim's poignant essays will touch your heart as they recall a gentler time and pace. Jim also discusses writing as a means of coping with loss and the power of...

Join Hayden and Curtis for an interview with Bob Bilyeu, Dave Stewart and Lance Keithley. These three men have been friends for well over half a century. All three relay tales of growing up in the vicinity of Bear and Bull Creeks, near the rural Ozarks community of Day, Missouri near the Christian-Taney County line. Day was the home of famous artist, Rose O'Neill and her Bonniebrook esta...

Join Ken Henderson when he sits down with Curtis and Hayden to talk about growing up in Reeds Spring, Missouri, his traumatic first day of school, and the early days of Silver Dollar City. Ken also talks about the experience that led him to create the Reeds Spring Hall of Fame, a project that will keep alive the history of the people of Reeds Spring in perpetuity. Listen to Ken, and you'll se...

Join Vincent Anderson, noted Ozarks historian, author, blogger, and TV consultant, when he sits down with Curtis and Hayden for a fascinating discussion of Ozarks Bigfoot sightings, cold blooded murders, and vigilant justice by Bald Knobbers in Arkansas! Vincent also talks about his own discovery of who is buried where and the effect his research had on local lore. Vincent is a sane voice in a wil...

Join Curtis and Hayden as they review and analyze contemporary accounts of the infamous House of Lords in Joplin, Missouri, at the turn of the 20th century. A noted saloon, restaurant, gambling house, and perhaps brothel, the House of Lords was at the center of "Wicked Joplin," as Larry Woods called it. No less fascinating is the enigmatic figure of Gilbert Barbee, the owner of the building that h...