Appalachian Arcana Cam Collins and Sarah Faulk

In 1952, amidst growing speculation about UFOs sweeping the country and looming cold war paranoia, residents of a tiny West Virginia town experienced an uncanny event that has yet to be thoroughly explained. In this week's episode, Sarah and Cam discuss the creature known as the Flatwoods Monster,the Braxton County Monster, the Phantom of Flatwoods, or simply the Green Monster.

In 1982, Dr. Charless Lee Scudder and his partner, Joseph Odom, were living the American dream. They had built their own home in the mountains, where they entertained friends and enjoyed their retirement. Then one night, two supposed friends turned on them, and the evening ended in murder. Cam and Sarah discuss Georgia's infamous Corpsewood Manor murders.

Mentioned in this episode
"A Castle in the Country" (Charles L. Scudder, Mother Earth News, March/April 1981)
"The Tragic Case of Dr. Charles Lee Scudder, Satanist" (churchofsatan.com)
"Haunted Horror: The True Story of Georgia's Corpsewood Murders" (Ken Summers, weekinweird.com, February 10, 2014)
Find-a-Grave
Corpsewood Manor — A Castle in the Woods (memorial Facebook page)

In this episode, Cam and Sarah discuss one of Tennessee's most infamous murders, as well as some local ghost stories.

Mentioned in this episode
Lillelid murders still haunt East Tennessee, 20 years later (Matt Lakin, Knoxville News-Sentinel, July 7, 2017)
A Blackened Rainbow: How do we make sense of the Lillelid murders? (Jesse Fox Mayshark, Weekly Wire, April 20, 1998)
Suspects held in family's slaying dabbled in occult (Wes Smith, Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1997)
Lillelid murders Wikipedia entry
Six Documentary [VIDEO]

Just in time for Halloween, Appalachian Arcana returns! Episode six introduces Appalachian Arcana's new cohost, Sarah Faulk. We're also trying something new — we're only going to cover one story in this episode. But don't worry — there's a lot to cover here. Cam and Sarah discuss Tennessee's most famous ghost — The Bell Witch!

Mentioned in this episode
The Bell Witch: An American Haunting, Brent Monahan (2000)
The Bell Witch Anthology: The Essential Texts of America's Most Famous Ghost Story, Nick Moretti (2008)
bellwitch.org

This week Ben delves into the unique species and characteristics of Appalachia's ecosystem, from rare salamanders to slime molds and more. Then Cam digs into the mysterious Georgia Guidestones — a monument inscribed with "guidelines" intended to guide post apocalyptic humanity to a "new age of reason" and commissioned by an anonymous group of self-described "loyal Americans" in 1981 — and the controversies and conspiracy theories they have sparked.

Mentioned in this episode
[PDF] Guide to the Georgia Guidestones, Elberton Granite Finishing Company (1981)
[VIDEO] The Georgia Guidestones: America's Most Mysterious Monument
[VIDEO] The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (Salamanders)
American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse
Hunting Mushrooms, and What Makes Some Glow in the Dark

Photo info: "Beacon" © 2013 Jeremy Taylor, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license 2.0. Thanks, Jeremy!

Appalachian Arcana interviewed Virginia Highlands Comic Con attendees about their own paranormal experiences. Some of these are super spooky!

Thanks again to VHCC for inviting us, to everyone who came out to support this awesome local event, and especially to these awesome folks who shared their own stories with us.

If YOU've seen a ghost, or experienced some other weird phenomenon you'd like to tell us about — or if you have a topic you'd like to see us cover on the podcast — send us an email at appalachianarcana@gmail.com.