Old Gods of Appalachia – Episode Summary

Episode: "One Last House"

Podcast: Old Gods of Appalachia
Host/Producer: DeepNerd Media
Release Date: October 31, 2025
Written by: Kim Collins
Narrated by: Steve Schell
Setting: Alternate Appalachia, Mavisdale, Virginia

Overview

"One Last House" is a chilling stand-alone Halloween tale exploring the legacy of Appalachian hauntings, family, and the power of a story told on a dark autumn night. Layered through contemporary and memory timelines, the episode contrasts modern, sanitized Halloween traditions with a harrowing incident from the past, blending nostalgia with supernatural horror.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Family and Halloween Traditions (04:00–11:00)

• The episode opens in 2014 with Kevin Jesse, his wife Alicia, and their daughters, Taylor and Hannah, on Halloween night in Mavisdale, VA.
  • Unseasonably cold weather forces parents to insist on jackets over costumes, frustrating the children.
  • The family navigates generational divides over Halloween customs:
    • Kevin reminisces about his own wild, unsupervised trick-or-treating days compared to the current, safer "trunk or treat" events (sanitized, community-organized gatherings).
    • Taylor, the older daughter, feels that modern Halloweens have lost their individuality and excitement.

“This carefully curated and ruthlessly organized version of the holiday held none of the excitement that had made Halloween special when he was a kid.”
—Narrator (08:18)

• Dialogue highlights family dynamics, from amusing costume struggles to generational skepticism about safety myths.

2. A Ghost Story from the Past (11:00–34:32)

• To entertain (and subtly warn) his daughters, Kevin shares a Halloween story from his own boyhood in 1981.

Setting the Scene:

• Teenage Kevin and his brother Stevie gear up for trick-or-treating in town with their father’s cautionary reminders.
• The brothers, after a successful night, decide to visit one last house at the end of a dark, overgrown street.

The Haunting Encounter:

• The house at the end of the street is a decrepit Victorian, seemingly abandoned but with a single porch light beckoning.
  • Description of the house and its scarecrow is richly unsettling.
• Greeted by the croaking, toothy old woman (the "roach mother"), the boys are invited inside.
  • The atmosphere inside is thick with grime, ammonia, and the unsettling patter of insects.
• The "treat" offered is a bowl of old-timey candies, beneath which lurk a swarm of cockroaches.
  • Kevin’s hand is attacked by the insects. Horrified, he and Stevie try to escape as the house fills with a supernatural horde of cockroaches, overtaking the very structure and manifesting monstrous forms.

"Her gums were blackened with what looked like disease, and the teeth were yellowed with age and tobacco stains... As a graying pink tongue darted across them again, Kevin had the unsettling impression that she might very well bite after all."
—Narrator (24:09)

Escape:

• The boys, using the prop from their costume (a machete), pry open the boarded-up door, narrowly escaping as the insects and a humanoid monstrosity pursue.
• Stevie loses his costume, both boys abandon their candy hauls, and they flee to the safety of their father's parked truck at Jocko’s Bar.

“Behind them, a tide of chattering darkness was filling the house, marching across the floor and crawling up the walls, spreading over the ceiling like a coat of oily black armor...”
—Narrator (31:42)

3. Aftermath and Reflection (34:32–36:50)

• In the present, Kevin wonders if his daughter believes his story; her skepticism echoes his own disbelief in childhood tales.
• Steve (Stevie as an adult) never talks about that night, further deepening the chilling plausibility of the encounter.
• Their father had found one of Stevie’s shoes on the porch but no sign of the house's sinister inhabitant—or her porch decorations—adding an ambiguous, lingering dread.

"Every place is haunted. Sometimes it's just best to stick with the haints, you know?"
—Kevin’s father, relayed from memory (35:31)

Notable Moments & Quotes

Family Banter & Halloween Dynamics

• “The costumes are the whole point. You can’t even see them if we have to cover them up with coats.”
  —Taylor (05:00)

• "Is this really the hill we want to die on?"
  —Narrator, Kevin’s thought on the costume argument (04:26)

Musings on Changing Times

• "These days, Halloween had become little more than another marketing ploy."
  —Kevin, reflecting on the present (09:30)

Horror Descriptions

• "The bowl of candy roiled a choppy rainbow sea as the roaches hidden beneath the layer of sweets rose to its surface. The old lady’s face split in a rapturous death’s head grin."
  —Narrator during the terrifying kitchen scene (28:29)

Appalachian Wisdom

• "Every place is haunted. Sometimes it's just best to stick with the haints, you know?"
  —Kevin’s father (35:31)

Timestamped Segment Highlights

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Section | Summary | |---------------------- |-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:00–08:11 | Family prepares for modern “trunk or treat” | Shows intergenerational differences, warmth, and humor | | 08:11–11:00 | Kevin laments the loss of true Halloween magic | Leads into the “origin” ghost story with his daughters | | 11:00–14:00 | Flashback: Setting up for trick-or-treat, 1981 | Character backgrounds, town folklore, parental warnings | | 19:00–22:00 | Arrival at the last house | Eerie, detailed description builds tension | | 24:00–28:30 | The cockroach-filled candy bowl horror unfolds | First appearance of supernatural threat | | 29:30–32:30 | Escape sequence | Doors jam, insects close in, resourceful use of costume prop | | 34:32–36:50 | Return to present, reflection | Story’s aftermath, lingering sense of dread |

Tone and Atmosphere

• Language/tone: Deeply atmospheric, blending rural warmth with Appalachian folk horror and understated humor. The narration is rich with sensory detail, local color, and familial affection, which sharply contrasts with the nightmarish core.
• Intended effect: To unsettle, delight, and evoke nostalgia—while unsettled listeners check their Halloween candy for unexpected "treats".

Conclusion

"One Last House" serves up a potent mixture of nostalgia for lost childhood freedoms, the persistent shadow of local folklore, and the uniquely Appalachian brand of horror Old Gods fans love. At its heart is the power and danger of the stories we pass down and the land we call home—haunted not just by old gods, but by memories and the unknown corners of our own streets.

“Hope we didn’t ruin anybody’s appetite for candy. We just wanted to share the holiday spirit with y’all on this most hallowed birthday night.” —Narrator’s closing (36:45)