Lore Legends 72: The Hills (February 2, 2026)

Host: Aaron Mahnke

Overview

In this episode of Lore: Legends, host Aaron Mahnke journeys deep into the Appalachian Mountains to unearth the region’s darkest, most persistent legends: mysterious “Moon Eyed People,” the monstrous Spearfinger, the unsettling Grinning Man, and the prophetic “Madman of Oak Ridge.” Each story not only weaves together supernatural folklore but also exposes larger themes of cultural memory, fear, and the blurry border between myth and history. Mahnke’s signature narrative style blends vivid descriptions, historical records, and local lore, inviting listeners to explore why the hills between New York and Alabama are fertile ground for such enduring tales.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unique Folklore of Appalachia

[01:15 – 03:16]

• The Appalachians: Among the oldest mountain ranges, shaped by isolation and hardship.
• The collision of European superstitions, Indigenous stories, and harsh living conditions birthed a folklore “that both comforts and warns its listeners.”
• Quote:

  “Folklore in Appalachia serves as a sort of cultural compass… Together, the legends passed down give voice to the mountains, making them active participants in the storytelling.” – Aaron Mahnke [02:15]

2. The Moon Eyed People

[03:17 – 13:48]

Origins & Descriptions

• Mysterious figures said to be “short, bearded and flat faced,” with large blue, crescent-shaped eyes; unable to tolerate sunlight, only venturing out by moonlight.
• Associated with both Cherokee and European (notably Welsh) ancestries, depending on the storyteller.
• Earliest accounts:
  • Welsh explorer Lionel Woffer (“milk white, lighter than Europeans… crescent shaped eyes”)
  • John Sevier, first governor of Tennessee, relayed a tale from Cherokee chief August Eta of a “war” with these people, including a prisoner swap and exile.
  • Sevier’s twist: connecting the Moon Eyed People specifically to Welsh ancestry.
  • Further claims by a Frenchman about pale “Welsh” tribes with book scraps and a dialect high up the Missouri River.
• Physical evidence:
  • Statue found by Felix Axeley depicting entwined figures with crescent eyes (now at the Cherokee County Historical Museum).
  • 1882 Article: Burial grounds with tiny skeletons (~19 inches long) near Sparta, Tennessee (evidence now lost).
  • Fort Mountain, Georgia: ancient 900ft stone wall resembling European forts.

Theories on Their Identity

• Offshoots of Central or South American “albino” tribes (Kuna), or the mound-building Adena culture.
• Most popular: Descendants of Welsh Prince Madoc who supposedly sailed to America in 1170 AD.
  • Supported by a 15th-century Welsh poem, expanded upon by John Dee’s writings for Elizabeth I.
  • Circumstantial evidence: mass graves with Welsh armor, “Welsh-like” Native dialects—though none confirmed by modern historians.
• Historical skepticism:
  • No tangible Welsh artifacts; the fort’s “European” aspects considered coincidental or misattributed.
  • Story popularized for political reasons—providing pretext for English colonial claims.
  • Quote:

    “That, right there, is one of the dangers of folklore. Sometimes it offers us a seemingly fun and entertaining story, while at its core it is slowly rewriting our perception of history, giving birth to literal monsters.” – Aaron Mahnke [13:40]

3. Spearfinger: The Mountain Ogre

[13:50 – 23:45]

Description & Powers

• Haunts the Nantahela Mountains (“land of the midday sun”); dense forests, deep ravines.
• Shape-shifter—can appear as a bear, bird, or kindly old woman.
• True form: haggard crone, jaundiced stone-like skin, flies crawling over her body, and a long, spear-like finger to slice open victims and steal their livers.

Tactics & Story

• Attempts to lure children, sometimes impersonates victims to prey on families.
• So skilled, victims often don’t realize they’ve been attacked.
• Cherokee Council devises pitfall trap; Spearfinger falls in, revealing herself.
  • Mythic birds assist in the defeat:
    • Titmouse misleads hunters (arrows bounce off her hide).
    • Chickadee lands on her right hand, revealing her hidden heart. Arrow to the palm finishes her.
• Aftermath:
  • Chickadees become omens of safe return; flies, bad luck.
  • Story as moral parable (“truth will always win the day”).
  • Quote:

    “The truth-telling chickadee turned a seemingly invincible monster into a defeated foe, teaching that no matter how big, dangerous, or all-powerful a monster might seem, truth will always win the day.” – Aaron Mahnke [23:32]

4. Indrid Cold and the Grinning Man

[23:46 – 36:40]

Sightings

• 1966, Elizabeth, NJ: Two boys encounter an abnormally tall, bald, grinning man in green coveralls—no ears, no nose, just a terrifying grin.
• Weeks later, West Virginia:
  • Woodrow Derenberger meets “Indrid Cold,” a telepathic, grinning man from the planet Lanulus. Long conversation on the roadside.
    • “He meant no harm, only happiness.” – recounting Indrid Cold’s message [26:30]
    • “That we call such a place a gathering,” Cold says, upon learning about cities [27:20]
    • Leaves with “We will be seeing you again.”
• Other witnesses in the area report similar figures and “fluttering vehicles.”
• The Lilly family of Point Pleasant, WV, experience poltergeist activity and a nighttime visitation from a grinning man (“large, broad... grinning widely as he came around the side of the bed to stand over her” – Linda Lilly, [29:44]).
• Recurrent theme: Electrical disturbances, vehicles stalling, cabinets slamming.

Explanations & Endurance

• Indrid Cold is variously considered an alien, a ghost, or pure invention.
• Derenberger claims repeated visits, sometimes joined by Cold’s “family” and even describes being taken to Lanulus, three and a half light years away, in just 90 minutes.
• Wrote of his experiences: Visitors from Lanulos.
• Public ridicule leads Derenberger to cease speaking of Cold—but “Indrid Cold never left West Virginia after that, haunting the hills ever since.”
• Memorable moment:

  “And when he appears to people today, they say he does so with a smile.” – Aaron Mahnke [36:38]

5. John Hendricks, “The Madman of Oak Ridge”

[39:10 – 48:19]

The Life of John Hendricks

• Born 1865, Tennessee; traumatic family loss, accused of child abuse, institutionalized, later known for erratic religious fervor and prophecy.
• Supposed miraculous escape from asylum (which soon burned down after his “curse”).

The 40 Nights & Prophecy

• Purported vision after sleeping rough for 40 nights: Prophesied the transformation of Bear Creek Valley into a center of immense scientific and military activity.
  • Foresaw:
    • “Great buildings and factories… help to win the greatest war America would fight...”
    • Rail lines, exact construction sites of Oak Ridge (later home to a core facility of the Manhattan Project).
    • Invention of air travel, the fate of neighbors.
• Dismissed as mad in his time, gains posthumous notoriety as the valley’s reluctant oracle when prophecies “come true”—eviction notices were even sent to his stepdaughter Paralee per his prediction.
• Quote:

  “Regardless, though, the story has made its way into the history of Oak Ridge, giving a city without a past its own origin story.” – Aaron Mahnke [48:09]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the dual role of folklore:

  “Sometimes it offers us a seemingly fun and entertaining story, while at its core it is slowly rewriting our perception of history, giving birth to literal monsters.” – Aaron Mahnke [13:40]

• Spearfinger’s defeat and story meaning:

  “The truth-telling chickadee turned a seemingly invincible monster into a defeated foe… truth will always win the day.” – [23:32]

• On the Grinning Man’s lingering presence:

  “And when he appears to people today, they say he does so with a smile.” – [36:38]

• On the creation of place identity through myth:

  “Giving a city without a past its own origin story and in the process, supporting the sense of inevitability that came with America’s atomic manifest destiny.” – [48:13]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:15] Introduction to Appalachia and its lore
• [03:17] The Moon Eyed People: origins and theories
• [13:50] The legend of Spearfinger and its Cherokee roots
• [23:46] 20th-century Appalachian legend: Indrid Cold and The Grinning Man
• [36:40] Final notes on Indrid Cold’s aftermath and Derenberger’s fate
• [39:10] John Hendricks: Prophecy, madness, and the Manhattan Project
• [48:19] Reflections on the power of Appalachian legend

Conclusion

Aaron Mahnke’s episode artfully demonstrates that, in Appalachia, ancient landscapes forge legends that refuse to die—tales of mysterious tribes, vengeful monsters, enigmatic visitors, and uncanny prophecy. These stories aren’t just entertainment; they shape culture, sow caution, and sometimes—just sometimes—reshape our sense of history itself.