Southern Gothic

In 1885, publisher James B. Ward released a small pamphlet that contained three encrypted messages that purportedly told the whereabouts of an immense treasure. Unfortunately, after a century of attempts to decipher these mysterious codes known as the Beale Ciphers, no trace of this hidden stash of gold, silver, and jewels has been found. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter t...

From 1847-1870, along the Black River in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, two neighboring plantation owners engaged in a violent family feud. The cause of the dispute is still unknown, but whatever it may be, the result was the loss of numerous lives, including Confederate Brigadier General St. John Richardson Liddell. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with South...

The apparition of a grieving woman purportedly haunts the Chapel of the Cross cemetery in Mannsdale, Mississippi. Legend says this ghost is Helen Johnstone.-- the victim of one of Mississippi's most tragic tales of heartbreak and loss. Days before her wedding in 1859, Helen's beloved Henry Vick was struck down in a duel. The Johnstone family promised to one day bury the grief-stricken young woman...

One of the most significant issues that the early settlers of New Orleans encountered was where to bury their dead. The city’s swampy location has an exceptionally high water table, so when graves were dug, water quickly filled the holes. Caskets would float from their graves after heavy rains. The solution was not to bury the dead below ground, but rather inter their lost love ones in aboveground...

One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place in the small town of Franklin, Tennessee. However, the rich history of this southern community is far deeper than what occurred on November 30, 1865, and no structure in this historic town exemplifies that past more than the Historic Franklin Masonic Hall-- a three story brick building that has stood for almost two centuries. Stay tuned afte...

On a precipice near the top of Stone Mountain in Johnson County, Tennessee is a flat outcropping of sandstone called Fiddler's Rock. The mysterious landmark is covered in carvings of images, names and dates; however, what makes Fiddler's Rock so infamous are the purported sounds of a ghostly fiddle playing in the distance. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect wi...

Just fifty miles south of Greensboro, North Carolina, amidst lush pine forests and rolling hills is a large patch of barren nothingness known as the Devil’s Tramping Ground. This empty spot is circular in shape, roughly 40 feet across, and for as long as anyone can remember it has been completely devoid of all plant life. As a result, some legends claim this eerie location is where the devil himse...

As the end of the Civil War became imminent, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled his capital city of Richmond, Virginia. After leading the South for four years, he had high hopes to escape the country and rebuild a new Confederacy. So Davis took with him the entirety of the Confederate Treasury, a massive fortune of gold, silver and bullion. Yet when the Confederate President was finally ca...

In 1860, Dr. Haller Nutt began construction on a palatial estate in Natchez, Mississippi. Unfortunately the outbreak of the Civil War put a halt to progress, leaving Dr. Nutt's vision incomplete for over a century and half. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmed...

Legend says that the Bellamy Bridge in Marianna, Florida is haunted by a woman, who's life was supposedly lost to a vicious fire on her wedding night in 1837.; however, legend and history tell two different tales as to the origin of the Lady of Bellamy Bridge.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merc...

On December 3, 1864 William Henry Sketoe was hanged near his home in Newton, Alabama. Some legends claim he was a Confederate deserter, others a Union sympathizer; but for whatever the reason may be, his story has been one of Alabama's most infamous ghost stories for over a century. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: Southe...

The Rosewell Plantation of Gloucester County, Virginia was once the most grandiose plantation home of the British Colonies in North America; but after a fire destroyed this exquisite home in 1916, all that is left of this once great mansion is ruins. My name is Brandon Schexnayder and you are listening to Southern Gothic. Read the complete transcript of "The Ruins of Rosewell" Help Southern Gothic...

Each year, June 1st marks the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane season; and while modern technology has helped reduced the catastrophic destruction of these storms, on the small barrier island of Pawley's Island, South Carolina, locals believe it is the appearance of an apparition known as "The Gray Man" who truly warns them of impending disaster. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon...

On January 23, 1897, Elva Zona Heaster was found dead in her home in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. At the time, the cause was presumed natural; however, after her ghost purportedly appeared to her mother, it was soon found that the circumstances surrounding Zona's untimely death were much more sinister. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Goth...

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish, St. Augustine, Florida is one of America's oldest surviving cities; and while the history of this three-century old port, once instrumental in early colonization by the Spanish, is rich with tales of hauntings and folklore, one of its most infamous haunted structures is a lighthouse built by the United States Federal Government between 1871-1874. Help Southern Gothi...

The creation of Georgia's Lake Lanier came at a high cost for the people who had once settled there; and as a result, many believe that today this manmade body of water is cursed by its destructive past. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pintere...

Many legends claim that Lavinia Fisher was the first female serial killer in the United States. She and her husband John operated an inn just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. They named it Six Mile Wayfarer House, but their intentions behind the business were sinister. It is said the Fishers targeted wealthy travelers, poisoning them at dinner and stealing their valuables. For these crimes,...

The town of Cahaba was once the thriving state capital of Alabama. Yet today, nothing remains of this city but ruins.   Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMe...

The city of Atlanta, Georgia was a strategic stronghold for the Confederacy during the Civil War, serving as an integral railroad hub that supplied the South with men, munitions and supplies. But by the spring of 1864, as President Abraham Lincoln became desperate for a military victory, the city would become the direct target of the infamously aggressive Union General William T. Sherman. A campai...

In 1817 the family of Tennessee farmer John Bell came under the attack of a brutal entity; a haunting which became so infamous, it purportedly caught the attention of a future president, gripping a small community for years, and terrorizing the Bell family for generations. An entity that has since become known as the Bell Witch.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Con...

The legendary pirate Blackbeard is one of the most infamous men of the Golden Age of Piracy. A pirate who's spirit many believe still haunts the shores of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGo...

On January 15, 1916 Dr. John C. King opened the St. Alban’s Sanatorium in Radford, Virginia; converting a former school into a modern mental health facility that he had hoped to transform by focusing on the moral management and care of those admitted. Unfortunately, his goal of assisting his patients fell short, leaving many to live lives of torment within the walls of this sanatorium. A sanatoriu...

On August 6, 1887 one of Georgia’s darkest and most infamous murders occurred at a farmhouse in Bibb County. Nine members of Richard Woolfolk’s family were brutally slain with an axe. Suspicion immediately fell on his son Thomas and a national media circus erupted in the aftermath. This episode of Southern Gothic contains descriptions of a violent and horrific murder, listener discretion is advise...

Dr. John R. Drish began construction of one of Tuscaloosa's first plantation homes in 1835. Unfortunately, after he and his wife Sara's deaths, the home fell to ruin; giving life to claims that the tower that looms over this once stately plantation home is often the sight of eerie apparitions.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Web...

This episode of Southern Gothic is the third in the three-part series "Birth of a City: New Orleans," a story that chronicles the inception of a great American city and the legends that evolved with it. Part III: Madame Delphine LaLaurie On April 10, 1863 a fire broke out in the home of Creole socialite Madam Delphine LaLaurie; but as men rushed to save the lavish mansion, they had no idea of the...