62 episodes
Ohio Folklore Melissa Davies
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- Sociedad y cultura
Hello and welcome to Ohio Folklore. I’m your host, Melissa Davies, and I’m delighted to serve as your guide through some of Ohio’s most treasured, and often misunderstood, folk legends. We’ll explore locations that have inspired a sense of wonder, awe and mystery. We’ll scour historical facts to lay out what can be known. We’ll explore oral histories from local people who’ve had first hand encounters with the places and legends themselves. And, lastly, we’ll consider the unexplained, the unresolved, the missing pieces. What keeps a legend alive is a mix of critical ingredients. You’ve got to have a sense of uniqueness, of being out of place. You’ve got to have an element of significance, of a message that speaks deeply in its universal truth. But lastly, and most importantly, you’ve got to have that feeling of curiosity, of a puzzle with a few vital pieces missing. Our minds want to fill it in, to make it whole. And that, my friends, is where folklore is born. It’s is a collection of stories we humans tell about the places and events that seem bigger than ourselves; that seem too fantastical for history books; that seem too mysterious for museums. Many of the stories we’ll cover in this podcast will say as much about the storytellers as the subject matter itself. The teller and the story cannot be separated. Sometimes, what’s conjured up to fill in the gaps, tells us more about ourselves than we realize. The legends we’ll cover will address our deepest fears, our most heartfelt wishes and our most ardent desire for something beyond our mundane lives.
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The Unsolved Murder of Rebecca McClung in Mason
Most Ohioans know the community of Mason for one claim to fame -- the destination of summer thrill seekers, Kings Island. But for those more keen on local history, it’s also known for a haunting, unsolved murder. The building in which it occurred, at 101 E. Main Street downtown, stands yet today. Claims of eerie disembodied sounds and full-bodied apparitions are now commonplace. On Apr. 12, 1901, an elderly recluse was found murdered in her own bed, her head cave...
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The Legend of Death Hole, Hocking Hills
Most of us come to Hocking Hills, Ohio’s most treasured park, for its rugged beauty. With scenes unlike anywhere else in the state, newcomers are often stunned by towering rock formations and plunging waterfalls. It’s no wonder this place draws so many year after year. One lesser known landmark off the beaten path has intrigued and terrified locals for more than a century. Death Hole, a deceivingly peaceful spot on Scott’s Creek in Logan, has laid claim to unsuspecting ...
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(Rebroadcast) Fallsville Christmas Ghost
Just in time for the holiday season... An Ohio Folklore Christmas ClassicAround the holidays, most Ohioans are wrapping presents, baking cookies and decorating the tree. One ancient holiday tradition often gets left out, however. It’s the ritual of sharing ghost stories around the winter solstice. It’s that darkest time of year when the veil between the dead and the living is at its thinnest. Come hear the forgotten story of a Shawnee Chief, whose ghost appears on Christmas Eve, in the ...
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(Rebroadcast) Bloody Bridge of St. Mary's
Just in time for Halloween, a classic Ohio Folklore episode is rebroadcasted. Take another delve into this timeless ghostly love story that lingers on...Bridges represent so much to us. They make the impassable, passable. They connect us to the wider world. Yet in folklore terms, bridges are magnets for ghosts. Countless “crybaby bridges” dot the landscape of our great state. We share and reshare tales of disembodied voices and misty shapes rising over the ...
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(Rebroadcast) Moonville Tunnel
Come listen again to one of Ohio Folklore's most popular episodes!One monument to an era gone by once laid hidden in the overgrown hills of Ohio’s Vinton County. Thanks to the efforts of countless local enthusiasts and state ODNR officials, this antiquated railway tunnel is now easily reached. In fact, it’s handicap accessible.All who dare can now visit the Moonville Tunnel. However, it’s not just the living who answer its beckoning call. Claims of ghostly apparitions ...
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(Rebroadcast) Port Clinton, Prohibition and the Haunted Island House Hotel
Planning that annual trip to the Lake Erie shore this summer? Better take another listen before you go...Most of us think of Port Clinton as a summer tourist destination. Indeed, it is. And yet, it's so much more.Few know of the haunted structure that sits on the corner of Madison and Perry Streets. The Island House Hotel is a rumored home for lost spirits, including a famous mobster, sheriff and orphaned immigrant turned proprietor. They make their presence know...