Southern Gothic - Southern Gothic Media

Latest Episodes:

Friday the 13th Is Coming... | Live Storytelling Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

In honor of our upcoming Friday the 13th Ghost Tour next week, we bring you a special episode of Southern Gothic, featuring a live recording from our October 2024 event at InDo Nashville. Accompanied by the haunting guitar melodies of Alexandra Mann from The Mann Sisters, Brandon delves into four chilling tales from the American South:

Samuel Jocelyn Jr. – A Wilmington man buried alive in 1810, whose restless spirit is said to haunt St. James Episcopal Parish Cemetery.
Julia Brown of Manchac Swamp – A voodoo priestess whose ominous prophecy allegedly brought about a devastating hurricane on the day of her funeral in 1915.
Leah Smock, the Battletown Witch – A young Kentucky woman accused of witchcraft and tragically burned alive in 1840, her story now commemorated in local folklore.
Julia Legare of Edisto Island – A South Carolina woman mistakenly buried alive, whose spirit is believed to keep the door of her mausoleum perpetually open.

Join us for THIRTEEN, a haunted history walking tour in Franklin, Tennessee, on Friday the 13th. This intimate experience is limited to 13 guests and promises an evening of spine-tingling tales and historical intrigue. Secure your spot at SouthernGothicMedia.com/thirteen.

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The Headless Horseman of Stones River Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

In the early morning hours of December 31, 1862, Union Colonel Julius Peter Garesché was decapitated by a Confederate cannonball during the Battle of Stones River. His violent death—foretold in ominous warnings and eerie family prophecies—would soon echo in more ways than one. For in the decades since, visitors to the battlefield in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, have claimed to see a headless figure in blue silently riding the mist-covered glades near the site of his fall.

But who was Colonel Garesché? And how did his tragic story become entwined with one of America’s oldest ghost story archetypes—the Headless Horseman?

In this episode, we explore the origins of Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the centuries-old folklore that inspired it, and the chilling real-life legend that grew out of the blood-soaked fields of Middle Tennessee. From Garesché’s Catholic faith and battlefield premonitions to the enduring tale of a spectral rider haunting Stones River, this is a story where American history and haunting legend collide.

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Mystery of the Wizard Clip | Encore Episode May 29, 2025

Show notes

The village of Middleway, West Virginia, is a community with a population of less than 500 people. Though the area was first settled back in the early 18th century, it has its place in history because as the home of legend that dates back to the late 1700s when a local farmer and his family became the victim of poltergeist-like activity.

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Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights | Encore Episode May 26, 2025

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For more than a century, the Brown Mountain Lights have baffled scientists, inspired ghost stories, and drawn curious travelers to the rugged wilderness of western North Carolina. Nestled within the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area of Pisgah National Forest, Brown Mountain has become ground zero for one of America’s most enduring paranormal mysteries.

Eyewitnesses describe glowing orbs—white, red, even blue—rising from the mountain, flickering like lanterns, and vanishing into the night sky. Some believe these lights are the restless spirits of Cherokee warriors killed in an ancient battle. Others claim they’re tied to long-lost lovers, murdered wives, or even extraterrestrial visitors.

In this episode of Southern Gothic, we uncover the tangled roots of the Brown Mountain Lights legend. From 18th-century accounts and ghostly Appalachian folklore to Cold War UFO sightings and government investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey, we’ll explore how science, superstition, and storytelling have shaped one of North Carolina’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

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Introducing Macabrium: Lore & Legends May 23, 2025

Show notes

Y'all join us as we explore ⁠Macabrium⁠, a podcast that explores the secrets of the past-- true crime, dark history, lore, and legends. Join Megan on Tuesdays for true crime & dark history, and Derek on Sundays for lore & legends.

This Lore & Legends episode is titled "“The Murder Hole Room: Hauntings at Leap Castle, Part 1”

⁠Listen to Macabrium today on your favorite podcasting apps!⁠

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Introducing Macabrium: True Crime & Dark History May 21, 2025

Show notes

Y'all join us as we explore Macabrium, a podcast that explores the secrets of the past-- true crime, dark history, lore, and legends. Join Megan on Tuesdays for true crime & dark history, and Derek on Sundays for lore & legends.

This True Crime & Dark History episode is titled "Villain By Nature: The Cannibal Boone Helm."

Listen to Macabrium today on your favorite podcasting apps!

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Fire at the Nottoway Plantation and the History of Plantation Tourism May 19, 2025

Show notes

On May 15th, 2025, flames tore through the largest surviving antebellum mansion in the South—Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. Within hours, the storied structure was reduced to a charred skeleton. But as officials made statements mourning the loss and news channels skirted larger issues, much of the public saw something different: the fire was a symbol of racial reckoning.

In this special episode of Southern Gothic, we examine how Southern plantations like Nottoway went from sites of forced labor to luxurious resorts and wedding venues. From the Lost Cause myth and the rise of heritage tourism to the backlash against plantation weddings and the emergence of museums like Whitney Plantation, which aim to tell the real story of slavery-- join us as we explore the history of plantation tourism.

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Listener Tales, Volume Three May 15, 2025

Show notes

This week we are going back to you & telling your listener-submitted stories! Tales include a haunted college, an apparition on an old battlefield and a lonely spirit on vacation in Gatlinburg...

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Count Carl von Cosel's Macabre Obsession May 12, 2025

Show notes

In the shadow of Key West’s sun-drenched charm lies one of the island’s most disturbing true stories. In 1930, a reclusive hospital technician named Carl Tanzler became convinced that a young Cuban-American woman was his fated bride—sent to him by visions from beyond the grave. But after her untimely death, his obsession took a grotesque turn. From stolen corpses to waxen recreations, what followed is a tale so surreal, so haunting, it defies belief.

In this episode, we unravel the true story of obsession, violation, and the twisted lengths one man went to in the name of so-called love.

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The Black River War | Encore Episode May 05, 2025

Show notes

Long before the Hatfields and McCoys became a symbol of Southern feuding, two Louisiana families waged a decades-long battle of their own. The Black River War between the Liddells and the Joneses tore through Catahoula Parish with ambushes, political rivalries, and cold-blooded murder-- culminating in a deadly shootout aboard a Mississippi steamer and vigilante justice carried out by torchlight. What sparked this violent feud? And why has history largely forgotten it?

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