Podcast
Southern Ghost Stories
Hosted by Southern Ghost Stories · EN
American Hauntstorian Allen Sircy explores America’s haunted past — unearthing true ghost stories, graveyard legends, and forgotten folklore. Join him as he gives voice to haunted history and chilling tales that blur the line between fact and myth from every corner of the country.
39episodes
Episodes
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The Dark Side of Appalachia: Terrifying Cherokee Folklore
2d ago00:21:53Tap to summarizeDeep in the mist-covered valleys and dark hollows of the Appalachian Mountains, ancient Cherokee folklore still lingers like smoke through the trees. In this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, American Hauntstorian Allen Sircy strips away the campfire entertainment to explore the terrifying and fascinating entities that the Cherokee viewed as a reality of the natural world. From the deceptive, liver-eating Spearfinger and the soul-stealing Raven Mocker to the giant protector Tsul ’Kalu and the unseen spiritual rot of the U’lag’û, these legends served as vital warnings about morality, respect, and the thin veil between mankind and the supernatural. Centuries later, despite forced displacement and cultural upheaval, these stories endure because the ancient mountains themselves remain unchanged—leaving modern Appalachian locals still whispering about the dark shapes, hidden crystals, and tiny footsteps that haunt the woods after sunset.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
Transcribe →Tennessee Tales Tuesday: The Fentress County Witch Trial
3d ago00:11:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Southern Ghost Stories: Tennessee Tales Tuesday, host Allen Sircy heads into the rugged hills of East Tennessee to uncover the state's only documented witch trial. Long before paved roads reached the Cumberland Plateau, the isolated 1835 frontier community of Jamestown became consumed by superstition and fear, culminating in the arrest of an elderly recluse named Joseph "Old Man Stout." Accused of being a warlock who could manipulate dark forces, transform into smoke, and bewitch a local girl, Stout was dragged from his cabin by an armed mob carrying silver bullets to stand trial in Tennessee's first and only witch trial. Dive into this fascinating piece of forgotten Appalachian history and Tennessee folklore, where real-world legal history meets enduring mountain legends of the supernatural.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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The Brooklyn Theatre Fire: Graves, Greed, and Ghosts
1w ago00:15:58Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, host Allen Sircy heads north to uncover the haunted history of the 1876 Brooklyn Theatre fire, one of the deadliest disasters in American theater history and a cornerstone of New York true crime and folklore. Long before a tragic stage fire claimed nearly 300 lives, the grand venue was built directly over the forgotten St. John’s Burying Ground—sparking immediate rumors of a cemetery curse and terrifying New York ghost stories. From early reports of restless spirits wandering the halls to the grim discovery of disturbed gravestones beneath the charred rubble, the tragedy left a deep scar on Brooklyn's past. Decades later, urban legends and paranormal activity persisted at the site, with eyewitnesses reporting phantom actors reenacting the doomed final play. Dive into this dark chapter of historic New York hauntings, where real-world tragedy, desecrated graves, and eerie Brooklyn folklore collide.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Grieving Grave Robbers: Love Beyond the Grave
1w ago00:17:34Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, Allen Sircy explores the disturbing history of grieving grave robbers—individuals whose overwhelming heartbreak pushed them across the line from sorrow into madness. The episode details the notorious Florida case of Carl Tanzler, an eccentric radiologic technologist who stole the decomposing body of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos in 1933 and lived with her reconstructed remains for seven years. It also uncovers a lesser-known 1911 incident from Stanford, Kentucky, where a woman named Amanda Harrison became so obsessed with a deceased attorney that she attempted to exhume his body in the middle of the night under the delusion of a divine resurrection. It is a compelling, dark look at Southern folklore and real-life history where love, grief, and obsession collide in the cemetery after midnight.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Tennessee Tales Tuesday: Franklin’s Real-Life Frankenstein
1w ago00:09:21Tap to summarizeIn this first Tennessee Tales Tuesday episode of Southern Ghost Stories, Allen Sircy dives into one of the strangest forgotten stories in Franklin, Tennessee history — the legend of Dr. Ferdinand Stith, a physician who reportedly tried to bring a dead man back to life using electricity in the 1840s. Inspired by the real science behind Frankenstein and the eerie experiments of galvanism, this episode explores how a public execution, a shocking experiment, and rumors of a real-life “Dr. Frankenstein” became part of Middle Tennessee folklore.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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The Seelbach Hotel's Lady in Blue
2w ago00:19:59Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, Allen Sircy heads to Louisville, Kentucky to dig into the history of the Seelbach Hotel. The grand building started as a dream for two Bavarian brothers, eventually becoming a world-class destination that hosted everyone from presidents to Al Capone. However, the hotel’s glamorous reputation has always been shadowed by violence, secret mob tunnels, and strange accidents. The most famous story involves the Lady in Blue, a woman named Patricia Wilson who was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in 1936. We look at the real-life tragedy behind the legend and shares accounts from guests and employees who still report seeing a woman in blue wandering the eighth floor or feeling sudden, unexplained cold spots in the hallways. It is a look at a Kentucky landmark where the history is just as heavy as the hauntings.Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Murder in the Lobby: Bull Nelson and Louisville's Galt House
2w ago00:19:09Tap to summarizeThe Galt House in Louisville, Kenutcky was built to be the pinnacle of Southern luxury, but its halls have always been more acquainted with blood than beauty. From a brutal 1838 barroom double-homicide that saw the killers walk free after a three-minute deliberation to the shocking Civil War-era assassination of a Union General in the hotel lobby, this landmark's history is defined by violence and ego. Even after the original structure was lost to a devastating fire that claimed lives in 1865, the ground remains unsettled. Today, the location is haunted by more than just memories; reports of phantom footsteps, moving furniture, and the lingering scent of cigar smoke suggest that the spirits of the murdered and the forgotten never checked out. Join us as we dive into one of Louisville's most infamous ghost stories!Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Chicago’s Night Hag: The Ghost of Martha Perteet
3w ago00:18:19Tap to summarizeTdoay on Southern Ghost Stories, Allen Sircy heads to 1870s Chicago to tell the story of Andrew Perteet—a man whose life unraveled through injury, alcoholism, and violence before ending in one of the city’s most disturbing murders. After Perteet killed his wife Martha in a brutal attack, the case led to a public execution, strange sightings around Polk Street, and rumors of a ghostly woman known as “The Night Hag.” The episode digs into the crime, the trial, the execution, and the one of the wildest Chicago stories that followed. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Pistols, Pride, and Andrew Jackson
3w ago00:22:48Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, I dive into one of the wildest true stories in American history—the duel between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson. This isn’t just about two men with pistols; it’s a chain reaction of insults, pride, bad decisions, and pure Southern grit that spiraled completely out of control. I break down what really happened, the people involved, and how something as small as a horse race turned into a deadly confrontation that followed Jackson for the rest of his life. If you think history is boring, this one will prove you wrong.If you want to learn more about the duel, please check out my book, "Pistols at Red River". It is available over at Amazon.https://a.co/d/08JubPbPBe sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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Waverly Hills Sanitarium: Where Thousands Died… and Never Left
4w ago00:23:21Tap to summarizeStep into the dark history of one of America’s most haunted locations in this episode, where we peel back the layers of Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Long before it was a destination for paranormal investigators, it was a quiet Kentucky hillside that transformed into a sprawling medical complex to combat the "White Plague" of tuberculosis. We explore the transition from Major Thomas Hays' peaceful family farm to a site of desperate medical experiments, the grim reality of the "Body Chute," and the modern-day hauntings that suggest the past hasn't quite moved on. From the legends of Room 502 to the chilling investigative fragments of a nurse named Sara, this episode skips the sensationalism to look at the heavy, honest truth of a place where thousands fought to breathe—and some may still be lingering in the halls.You can find more on Wavery Hills and other Louisville folklore in "Southern Ghost Stories: Louisville."It's avaible over at Amazon.https://a.co/d/09Gat9WvBe sure to like, subscribe and leave a review!Check out Allen's books on Amazon!https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials!Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonlineFollow Allen on Xhttps://x.com/ATOAllenUse code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com
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