Hi friends! Happy Friday! I hope you're super excited for the weekend because it's gonna be an epic one (I hope, maybe, we'll see, we've got a lunch to go to and obedience school for Benji Bear). The other day I made a Freaky Friday Files post about "A list of things that scare me" and Luke asked me, why are you afraid of the Appalachian Mountains? And then I thought to myself, what an interesting topic to discuss on the blog!
I've been seeing so many people on social media show their experiences living in the Appalachian Mountains and yes, sure, it could all just be a hoax, but that doesn't stop it from scaring people (like lil old me). And I'm sure there's the other side of things where maybe just maybe people make up stories about the Appalachian Mountains to stop others from visiting them. Who knows?
Anyway, the Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range in North America with the term "Appalachian" referring to different regions. If you are interested in the geographics of the region (not my specialty) then I highly recommend checking out "this article". Basically, it's a big stretch of mountains.
Before, we get into this "spooky" topic for today's Freaky Friday Files, I do also want to note that there are a few animals (that might explain some of the sounds) that live in the Appalachian Mountains. These animals include black bears, moose, deer, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and more. There has also been claims from people saying they have seen the endangered mountain lion there. And, the mountains have been home e to many Indigenous groups over the years highlighting the cultural and historical importance of the mountains.
I want to show you the below YouTube video by Aiden Robbins who really captures the reality of the Appalachian Mountains and how he says they are "deceptively dangerous".
By showing the above video, I also want to make sure I write with respect as well. With the difficult terrain, it is kinda understandable as to why so many people get lost or go missing and I just want to say if you are going to go hiking, make sure you are always 1000% prepared and take a friend with you.
But we're all here to find out some of the myths and see what sort of conspiracy theories/urban legends people might come up with about the Appalachian Mountains so let's get into that. And I say myths/conspiracy theories/urban legends because a) none of these have been proven, b) people make stuff up all the time, and c) often people will make up these kinds of myths to help them make sense of something awful that has happened (e.g., multiple people going missing).
According to Dinan (2018), these are the following Appalachian Legends
Bigfoot - I'm sure we've all heard of bigfoot (or Yeti, or Sasquatch), which is an ape-like creature that conceals itself in the deep dark woods and leaves behind giant footprints.
The Brown Mountain Lights - This is one I haven't heard before, I mean I've heard of lights and orbs being spotted around the world, but not these ones specifically. But the brown mountain lights are when eerie ghost lights are reported to be seen above Brown Mountain, North Carolina and this tends to happen quite often - not a once-off (to me, that kinda sounds like just some random weather behaviour but I digress). The first report of these lights occurred in 1913 and such sightings continued all the way into 1922 until the US Geological Society debunked these lights are just the reflection of car's headlights or trains. However, there was a flood in 1916 when cars were unable to go to this particular area, but the lights were still seen by people. Spooky.
Mothman - I just can't with this one, it's so silly. Like I feel like this is the one urban legend I can't take seriously. When I read about Mothman, it just sounds like a creepypasta. Anyway, Mothman is a type of "humanoid" figure that was reportedly seen between the years of 1966 and 1967 in the Point Pleasant Area, West Virginia. Gravediggers (I assume people who dig graves for the bodies to go into) reported/claimed to see a man with wings take off from a tree and fly above them. And only three days later, two couples driving together near an abandoned WWII plant claimed to see a large man with 10-foot-tall wings and glowing red eyes. The two couples attempted to flee the scene because of how scared they were, speeding all the way back into the city (where they said the creature had followed them). Because of how scared they were, the people went straight to the police where the creature was then reported in newspapers as "Mothman". Apparently, there were a lot more eyewitness accounts too (but I'm still not buying it tbh). To make matters worse (or increase the belief in the myth), in 1967, Silver Bridge (a bridge that connected Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed. The bridge had so much rush hour traffic on it and unfortunately, 46 people passed away. Some people had claimed to see Mothman before the collapse but in scientific fashion, we can explain this one as the bridge had a fracture and you can read more on the Wiki page about the tragedy "here".
The Moon Eyed People - the Moon Eyed People are said to be a small race of small, white-bearded men who lived in the mountains until the Cherokee expelled them. All men were said to have large blue eyes, white skin, and were sun blind (meaning they would only emerge at night). As these men could only see in the dark, they were dubbed the "moon eyed people". I have a few questions about this one, why were they only men? Wouldn't we have evidence if these moon eyed people were real? And what's so scary about them? If you want to learn more, check out "this article".
The Bell Witch Haunting - I don't want to go into too much detail because these ones scare me (I know it's just folklore but I just read about it and sent shivers down me, spooky + I'm writing this as I'm home alone. It's the middle of the day but still). Anyway, the Bell Witch Haunting took place at John Bell and Lucy Bell's farm in Tennesse early in the 19th century (I believe around 1817). The Bell family experienced weird supernautral phenomena (odd occurances such as hearing noises, scratches, knocks on the wall, and chains being dragged around). Even their daughters complained about weird things happening to them. The Bell family stayed queit, then their neighbours came over and experienced the weird phenomena and soon the Bell farm became a bit of a tourist hotspot. Anyway, if you want to read the rest of the story, check out "this article" but make sure you're not home alone. And yep, this is the witch that the movie "The Blair Witch Project" was based on. Sidenote, The Blair Witch Project fundamentally changed the horror scene by using "found footage" and "based on a true story".
The Flatwoods Monster - This one just feels like another Mothman story. I don't think I'm going to do justice if I paraphrase this one, so Dinan (2018) says: "In the late days of summer, 1952, two brothers named Edward and Fred May of Flatwoods, West Virginia, rushed home to tell their mother, Cathleen May, that they’d seen something unexplainable. While playing football at the playground of the Flatwoods school, they’d witnessed a bright UFO streak across the sky and land on the property of a local farmer. Intrigued, May, her sons, and some other local boys, headed out to the farm. It was nearing dusk when they saw an unidentified object in the woods. “They saw an odd-shaped thing that appeared to be glowing red with smoke and steam coming off of it,” says Andrew Smith, Executive Director of the Braxton County CVB and curator of the Flatwoods Monster Museum. 17-year-old Eugene Lemon, a National Guardsman who’d also tagged along on the adventure, said he saw a pulsing light and pointed his flashlight toward it, revealing a pair of bright eyes in a tree and a “10-foot monster with a blood-red face and a green body that seemed to glow.” The monster then hissed and floated towards the group, causing Lemon to scream and drop his flashlight. According to newspaper reports, “several of the party fainted and vomited for several hours after returning to town.” Later, Mrs. May was quoted as saying that the monster “looked worse than Frankenstein.” The group turned and ran down the hill, immediately reporting what they saw to the local sheriff. An hour later, several men armed with shotguns returned to the scene with Lemon. They were met with a horrible smell and, according to local reports, saw “slight heat waves in the air.” “Authorities didn’t find much,” says Smith. “What was found was gathered and sent to Washington D.C. and never seen again.” Smith says that what makes the Flatwoods Monster so interesting is that there weren’t many UFO sightings back in the 1950s. The Flatwoods incident was only the second or third of its kind—and probably the first with so many witnesses. “It made national headlines,” says Smith. Today, on the main road into town, there is a sign that reads “Welcome to Flatwoods: Home of the Green Monster.” The UFO sighting—or whatever that was—is in the past but not forgotten. “There’s not a consensus,” on what happened in Flatwoods that evening, says Smith. “You have your UFO true believers and skeptics who think it was a misidentified barn owl,” Smith explains. “If I had to pick one I’d say that the most commonly held thought is that the monster is a fun and interesting bit of folklore,” says Smith. “Having to decide whether it’s real or fake takes all the fun out of it.” " I do really love that last line "having to decide whether it's real or fake takes all the fun out of it" - I don't usually think about things in that way, but it kinda resonated with me if that makes sense.
Okay, moving on to a Reddit thread (of all things) but user Diligent-Ice1276 posed a question on /r/appalachia that said "Is it true that the appalachian mountains are haunted?" and I want to share some of the responses below
Are you asking if people believe these things or if they are real? from u/slade797
It’s mostly to scare people out of traveling into the mountains and hollers. Build a myth to keep people out so we can be left alone. from u/EmotionallyAutistic
Some of our superstitions are based in truth and common sense. For instance, I've heard "if you hear a woman scream in the woods at night, no you didn't". It's not because the woods are haunted or that Billy is beating his wife. It's because mountain lions and bobcats sound like a screaming woman. from u/bowandbat
I grew up feeling safe in the woods then out of it. My daddy would tell me that there was nothing to be afraid of in the woods. Could there be a few "weird" things here and there, sure. But I don't go messing with it and it won't go messing with me. from u/mistressalrama
All very interesting points - what's that thing, ahh Occam's Razor where the most logical answer is probably the correct one (or simplest).
I also came across a few Appalachian Supersitions from Snavely (2023) that I thought we could read together:
Snavely (2023)'s Appalachian Superstitions
Never close a knife you didn’t open, or you’ll have bad luck for 7 years.
Keep a penny in your washer.
Don’t wash clothes on New Year’s Day or you will wash a family member out.
Don’t walk under a ladder. If you find yourself under one, don’t turn around–back up.
Don’t let anyone sweep under your feet
If a bad storm is coming, put a 2-edged axe into a stump facing the storm to ensure the storm goes around you.
Don’t cut your baby’s hair before their first birthday.
Don’t let a pregnant woman see a dead person or the baby will have a birthmark.
Hold your breath when you pass a cemetery, or you’ll be the next to die.
If you’re walking with someone you have to go on the same side of a post or obstacle, or it will break your friendship.
Never leave a rocking chair rocking, or you will invite spirits.
I haven't heard a lot of these before except number 4 - I kinda feel like not walking under a ladder is common sense. I also don't think I'd heard of number 9 either until Luke said to me the other day "Have you heard that thing about holding your breath when you pass a cemetry?" which I hadn't but it must have come from somewhere. The only thing I do and it's usually a respect thing, is wash my hands after going to a cemetry - but I think that's from Māori in NZ (and cemetries always have taps in NZ for that reason). Like the water is used to remove the sacredness of the cemetry. Anyway, all very interesting superstitions - I wonder if I personally have any other ones, hmm something to think about.
What really peaked my interest about the Appalachian Mountains lately though is the amount of TikToks people make about them! I'll provide some examples below
from alliescheyswrld - https://www.tiktok.com/@alliecheyswrld/video/7270675594478718251?lang=en
from noterilynrobinson - https://www.tiktok.com/@noterilynrobinson/video/7355510473233550634?lang=en
from morgshauntings - https://www.tiktok.com/@morgshauntings/video/7310342119523208494?lang=en
another from morgshauntings (quite a popular one) - https://www.tiktok.com/@morgshauntings/video/7348924096375246122?lang=en
from sarebearrr_ - https://www.tiktok.com/@sarebearrr_/video/7382769818178440490?lang=en
I'll finish off with this final YouTube video about 5 Creepy Videos from the Appalachian Mountains (one of them is an ARG so just keep that in mind).
Thanks for reading! See you next time,
Ash xoxo
Great post. I'm so fascinated by the Appalachian mountains.