Old Gods of Appalachia - Episode 92: Excursus I

Podcast: Old Gods of Appalachia
Host: DeepNerd Media
Date: January 29, 2026
Writer: Cam Collins
Performer: Steve Shell

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode launches Season 6 of Old Gods of Appalachia, titled "Long Shadows." The story unfolds in the remote mountains of central Appalachia, blending folk horror and Southern Gothic with the tale of Tony Crawford. Charged by his employer, Mr. J.T. Fields, to retrieve a mysterious and unsettling hat pin from the long-abandoned Woodhaven Sanatorium, Tony’s search unearths palpable dread, old secrets, and hints of supernatural darkness lurking beneath forgotten histories.

Key Discussion Points and Story Breakdown

1. Introduction & Setting the Mood

[04:32]
The episode opens with atmospheric narration:

"When the fire dies down and the woods go quiet and you think you’ve told every tale you know... in the end, long shadows fall."

• Listener discretion is advised due to horror content.
• The tale is set on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina in January 1989.

2. Tony’s Arrival at Woodhaven Sanatorium

[05:32 - 08:45]

• Tony Crawford, tasked by his boss Mr. Fields to retrieve an antique hat pin, reaches the decaying, isolated Woodhaven Sanatorium.
• The building’s history and unnerving architecture are described—an eclectic, eerie mash-up of Greek Revival and Queen Anne, overgrown and seemingly untouched for decades.
• Tony reflects on the secrecy and generosity behind his employer’s unusually sentimental request, suspecting ulterior motives.

Notable Quote

“How dare we think we can break the skin of a god and dig out its heart without bringing forth blood and darkness?”
[Episode Prologue]

3. Tony’s Task and Backstory

[09:10 - 14:32]

• Mr. Fields had outbid a property developer for the land, claiming personal reasons tied to a family friend.

• Tony is paid a generous bonus to find the bizarre hat pin—a realistic, carved ivory skull with jet eyes and a gold crossbone.

• Tony’s suspicion builds, reflecting on familial warnings:

  “I wouldn’t trust that man as far as I could spit, Anthony Crawford.” — Tony’s Mamaw
  [13:50]

• Tony’s personal history: orphaned, raised by his grandmother, and reliant on well-paying odd jobs for Mr. Fields.

4. Exploring the Abandoned Sanatorium

[15:00 - 24:45]

• Tony sets up base in the abandoned parlor and methodically inventories the first floor: medical facilities (including a Hydrotherapy room with showers and leather straps), art and music rooms, dining room, kitchen.
• Finds records of former patients—mostly tuberculosis victims, largely forgotten by family and society.

Notable Quote

“It was clear that the people who had run this place had done everything they could to provide a warm and welcoming environment for the patients... It was just as clear that most of the patients who stepped through its doors never left.”
[22:45]

• The oppressive history and decay weigh on Tony mentally.

5. Clues and Hidden Architecture

[25:00 - 32:45]

• Tony eats lunch, then paces the grounds—spotting architectural oddities and missing windows.
• Upstairs, he finds patient and staff quarters stripped of anything useful, reinforcing a sense of loss.
• Discovers the nurse’s detailed log from 1928, chronicling a mysterious patient in “room 16” experiencing unnatural occurrences.
• Realizes a hidden space must exist, based on inconsistencies in window placement and measurements.

Notable Moment

“There was something behind it. There had to be.”
[31:50]

6. The Secret Wing and the Hat Pin

[33:00 - 39:45]

• Tony uncovers a concealed door behind a wall of laundry machines, leading to three secret rooms (14, 15, and 16).
• Finds the ornate, ominous hat pin in one room beside lavish, decayed personal effects—a velvet cloche hat and lacy undergarments.
• Senses “the ivory almost seemed to glow... the jet eyes twinkled and then a hanging jaw grinned up at him.”
• He secures the pin and, despite growing dread, is drawn to investigate room 16, last mentioned in the nurse’s eerie log.

Notable Quote

“There was a presence here, a sudden sense that he was not alone. Tony felt his breath catch, his heart suddenly racing, and he froze.”
[40:00]

7. Confrontation with the Unseen in Room 16

[40:10 - 40:20]

• The atmosphere in room 16 is unnaturally silent and oppressive; Tony experiences terror and flees—suggesting he’s narrowly avoided a direct encounter with something monstrous or supernatural.
• He sprints from the hidden hall, hat pin in tow, as darkness falls.

Notable Quote

“Somehow he knew with every fiber of his being that something waited for him in those inky shadows, something alien and malevolent, something that meant him harm.”
[40:12]

8. Epilogue and Season Teaser

[41:00 - end]

• The narrator closes with a poem-like reflection (“Last night I dreamed of darkness. Last night I dreamed of hope...”), before engaging the audience:

  “Now what in the world happened in the haunted halls of Woodhaven sanatorium back in 1928 that left a stain such that not even a loyal employee of Mr. J.T. Fields of Paradise could bear to stand there? ...Guess y’all will have to come back next time to find out...”
  [41:05]

• The episode promises further revelations and horrors for the coming season.

Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• [Prologue] "How dare we think we can break the skin of a god and dig out its heart without bringing forth blood and darkness?"
• [13:50] “I wouldn’t trust that man as far as I could spit, Anthony Crawford.” — Mamaw Glenda
• [22:45] “...It was just as clear that most of the patients who stepped through its doors never left.”
• [31:50] “There was something behind it. There had to be.”
• [40:12] “Somehow he knew with every fiber of his being that something waited for him in those inky shadows, something alien and malevolent, something that meant him harm.”
• [41:05] “Guess y’ all will have to come back next time to find out, now won’t you?”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:32 – Atmospheric introduction and horror warning
• 05:32 – Tony’s arrival at Woodhaven and exposition
• 13:50 – Family warning regarding Mr. Fields
• 22:45 – Exploration and realization of the sanatorium's grim past
• 25:00-32:45 – Discovery of the nurse’s log, architectural clues
• 33:00-39:45 – Discovery of the hidden private wing and the hat pin
• 40:00 – Encounter with the supernatural presence in room 16
• 41:00+ – Season teaser and closing narration

Tone and Style

• Southern Gothic, haunting, immersive, and rich in regional flavor.
• The narrator’s tone shifts from warm familial address to creeping dread.
• The writing is deeply atmospheric, blending personal drama with folktale horror.

Summary for New Listeners

Episode 92 of Old Gods of Appalachia ushers in a new season by immersing listeners in a slow-burning, unsettling ghost story. Tony Crawford’s hunt for a cursed relic—an ivory skull hat pin—in a deserted tuberculosis sanatorium turns into a confrontation with buried secrets and supernatural dangers. The vividly drawn setting, careful layering of dread, and discovery of a hidden wing seal the episode’s reputation as masterful Appalachian horror storytelling. The episode ends with Tony traumatized yet alive, his story unresolved, and listeners left anticipating darker revelations in episodes to come.