Southern Appalachian Folktales

BOOGER DOG, PLAT-EYE, AND SPECTRAL BLACK HOUNDS

Spectral black hounds were explored in depth in Mark Norman’s 2020 book, Black Dog Folklore. They have been a staple in United Kingdom tales since before the 16th century, where they are mostly represented as antagonistic to Christians, and are associated with crossroads, burial mounds, places where executions have taken place, and long forgotten pathways.

CATAMOUNTS, BLACK PAINTERS, AND THE APPALACHIAN CHUPACABRA

According to Cassandra Yorgey’s February 17, 2023 Exemplore expose, Experts deny population of cougars in Appalachian Mountains, officially, mountain lions vanished from the mountain range sometime in the 1940s, and are considered “extinct” in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. However, not everyone believed that. In fact, “big cat” sighting of cougars, black mountain lions, and even a cat-like beast known as the “Appalachian Chupacabra” have continued since they were allegedly hunted out of existence.

CRYBABY BRIDGE

The sounds of a baby crying under a bridge are common ghost motif that is popular in southern Appalachian folklore.

CORPSE CANDLES AND FEATHER CROWNS

A specific kind of “spook light”, corpse candles are also called fetch-lights and dead-men’s candles in John Brand’s 1842 book, Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, and canwyll corph in Wales, according to Bob Curran’s book, Celtic Lore & Legend. They are antemortem apparitions, appearing as an omen to warn of impending death, and makes appearances in Southern Appalachian folklore.

FOOL KILLER

The Fool Killer was an important figure in Melungeon folktales that can appear today as a ghost guarding treasures.

GIANT CATFISH AND LAKE ALLIGATOR AND PIRANHA

Outlined in Jennifer Watts’ article, Underwater Ghost Towns of Tennessee, in the 1930s, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began construction on many dams throughout Tennessee to control flooding and provide electricity to its citizens. It seems that at many of these dams there’s a belief that there are giant catfish swimming in the depths.

HANGING BRIDGES

Crimes against black people in the not so remote past, as well as vague memories of the worst violence perpetrated in the name of Jim Crow segregation laws between 1865 and 1965 have given rise to the motif of hanging bridges in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains. It seems every county has at least one old bridge or railroad trestle where spirits of black people reside around because local legend says that after the Civil War, these places were where they were lynched. While the majority of these stories have no historical basis, horrendous lynching did indeed happen.

LADIES IN WHITE

Spirits of ladies in white are a trope in ghost lore in the Appalachian Mountains, and are typically associated with lost love and heartbreak. Few notice that there always seems to be a spring near where these ghostly images are said to appear.

LANTERN MAN

A specific kind of “spook light”, lantern man is a ghost story motif that a wandering light is that of a lantern carried by a man who passed away tragically at night while using the lantern to guide his steps while still alive. The moniker was popularized in Maureen James’ 2014 book, Cambridgeshire Folk Tales.

NOT-DEER

The Not Deer is cryptid in and around the Blue Ridge Parkway, and is associated with Boone, North Carolina. It looks like a deer, but has an odd and misshapen appearance, behaves strangely, and sometimes walks on its hind legs. Strangely, it has little fear of humans that happen on it.

RATTLESNAKE ROCK’S GHOST FIDDLER

Folklore maintains that the outcropping of stones along the Johnson County, Tennessee, and Ashe County, North Carolina line on Stone Mountain, and many other stone outcroppings in the southern Appalachian Mountains are called the “screaming stones” and associated with a phantom fiddler.

RAWHEAD AND BLOODY BONES, OLD SCRATCH EYES, AND TOMMY RAWHEAD

First appearing in the United Kingdom in Humfrey Powell’s 1548 pamphlet, The Will of the Devil, and Last Testament, and through the characters evolution and migration to the southern United States, this boogeyman’s was used to frighten children into good behavior.

SKINNED TOM

Shane S. Simmons’ book, Legends & Lore of East Tennessee, and Cindy Parmiter’s book, The Horror of Skinned Tom & Other Spooky Tales, explore this urban legend and modern fable to illustrate the dangers of teenagers “parking” at Lovers Lanes, with Tom taking the place of the more well-known figures.

SPOOK LIGHTS

Corpse candles and the Lantern Man are two specific types of spook lights, but there are places in the southern Appalachian Mountains where mysterious ball of light phenomena occur.

TAILEYPO

Recounted in Joanna Galdone’s 1977 book, The Tailypo, this is a creature used to scare children, and is usually described as dog-like with glowing eyes and sharp claws, but has no tail.

VANISHING HITCHHIKER

The vanishing hitchhiker ghost story motif doesn’t seem to change, no matter which part of the United States it’s told. The common themes were examined by Jan Brunvand in her 2003 book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker.

WAMPUS CAT

This creature has a long history in American folklore, and may have actual evidence that it does exist.

WITCHES AND WIZARDS

The folklore surrounding witches espoused by charm doctors reflects the English, Irish, Scottish, and Germanic settler’s beliefs, but the diabolical figure seems to have taken on unique characteristics in the lower Appalachian Mountains.

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