Southern Gothic

On January 23, 1897, Elva Zona Heaster was found dead in her home in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. At the time, the cause was presumed natural; however, after her ghost purportedly appeared to her mother, it was soon found that the circumstances surrounding Zona's untimely death were much more sinister. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish, St. Augustine, Florida is one of America's oldest surviving cities; and while the history of this three-century old port, once instrumental in early colonization by the Spanish, is rich with tales of hauntings and folklore, one of its most infamous haunted structures is a lighthouse built by the United States Federal Government between 1871-1874. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The creation of Georgia's Lake Lanier came at a high cost for the people who had once settled there; and as a result, many believe that today this manmade body of water is cursed by its destructive past. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many legends claim that Lavinia Fisher was the first female serial killer in the United States. She and her husband John operated an inn just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. They named it Six Mile Wayfarer House, but their intentions behind the business were sinister. It is said the Fishers targeted wealthy travelers, poisoning them at dinner and stealing their valuables. For these crimes, the Fishers were executed on February 18, 1820. It is said that Lavinia wore her wedding dress to the gallows and when it came time for her to speak her last words she unrepentantly bellowed, “if you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me, I’ll carry it.” But the historical accuracy of this legend is entirely false. In fact Lavinia may not have actually murdered anyone. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Faceboo

The town of Cahaba was once the thriving state capital of Alabama. Yet today, nothing remains of this city but ruins.   Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city of Atlanta, Georgia was a strategic stronghold for the Confederacy during the Civil War, serving as an integral railroad hub that supplied the South with men, munitions and supplies. But by the spring of 1864, as President Abraham Lincoln became desperate for a military victory, the city would become the direct target of the infamously aggressive Union General William T. Sherman. A campaign that would leave this once thriving railroad city in ashes. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1817 the family of Tennessee farmer John Bell came under the attack of a brutal entity; a haunting which became so infamous, it purportedly caught the attention of a future president, gripping a small community for years, and terrorizing the Bell family for generations. An entity that has since become known as the Bell Witch.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legendary pirate Blackbeard is one of the most infamous men of the Golden Age of Piracy. A pirate who's spirit many believe still haunts the shores of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 15, 1916 Dr. John C. King opened the St. Alban’s Sanatorium in Radford, Virginia; converting a former school into a modern mental health facility that he had hoped to transform by focusing on the moral management and care of those admitted. Unfortunately, his goal of assisting his patients fell short, leaving many to live lives of torment within the walls of this sanatorium. A sanatorium built on land that had been the sight of numerous tragedies for centuries. Tragedies that pitted natives against colonists, and northerners against southerners. For special access to members’ only content, including “Southern Gothic: The Monsters,” as well as updates and links to our social media, visit SouthernGothicMedia.com today. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothi

On August 6, 1887 one of Georgia’s darkest and most infamous murders occurred at a farmhouse in Bibb County. Nine members of Richard Woolfolk’s family were brutally slain with an axe. Suspicion immediately fell on his son Thomas and a national media circus erupted in the aftermath. This episode of Southern Gothic contains descriptions of a violent and horrific murder, listener discretion is advised. Additional narration by Katelyn Murray and Kenneth Strader of The Haunted Heart podcast.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic

Dr. John R. Drish began construction of one of Tuscaloosa's first plantation homes in 1835. Unfortunately, after he and his wife Sara's deaths, the home fell to ruin; giving life to claims that the tower that looms over this once stately plantation home is often the sight of eerie apparitions.  Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of Southern Gothic is the third in the three-part series "Birth of a City: New Orleans," a story that chronicles the inception of a great American city and the legends that evolved with it. Part III: Madame Delphine LaLaurie On April 10, 1863 a fire broke out in the home of Creole socialite Madam Delphine LaLaurie; but as men rushed to save the lavish mansion, they had no idea of the horrors they would uncover inside.  Theme music for "Birth of a City: New Orleans" was written and performed by Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Adam Wright. Additional narration by Justin Drown of Obscura: A True Crime Podcast.   Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on

This episode of Southern Gothic is the second in the three-part series "Birth of a City: New Orleans," a story that chronicles the inception of a great American city and the legends that evolved with it. Part II: Spirits of the Cathedral In 1764 the French ceded control of New Orleans to the Spanish, who would control the city for the next forty years; but during that time, tragedy and violence would occur. As a result, New Orleanians turned to their spiritual leaders for guidance. Catholic priests and bishops who many believe still continue to watch over their parishoners. Theme music for "Birth of a City: New Orleans" was written and performed by Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Adam Wright. Additional narration by Javier Leiva of Pretend Radio.   Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia

This episode of Southern Gothic is the first in the three-part series "Birth of a City: New Orleans," a story that chronicles the inception of a great American city and the legends that evolved with it. Part I: The Casket Girls In 1721 the French founded the city of New Orleans as the mouth of the Mississippi River, but development was slow, so the city's leaders requested young women of marriageable age to be sent to the young colony. Unfortunately, little is known about the origins of these women, who some believe may have been the first vampires to immigrate to the New World. Women, who have become known as "The Casket Girls." Theme music for "Birth of a City: New Orleans" was written and performed by Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Adam Wright. Additional narration by Donna Elwin of the podcast A Paranormal Chicks. Visit SouthernGothicMedia.com for news, notes and access to special members-only episodes. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Me

Private Nicodemus Kidd enlisted in the Confederate Army on July 10, 1861; however, the young private quickly fell victim to an horrendous disease while camped outside of the Confederate capital. A disease that would plague Confederate camps for the entire war, giving soldiers an horrific 1 in 5 chance of dying from illness and infection during the conflict. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Construction of Fort Jefferson began in the early 19th century to address the growing need for America to protect its shores. The resulting massive coastal fortress is the largest masonry structure on American soil; however, its history as a defensive outpost is far overshadowed by its time spent as a prison, housing Union Army deserters and none other than the very men convicted for successfully conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1926 Conley Snidow opened the Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in West Virginia, on land that many believe was once sacred to the indigenous tribes of the region. Echoes of the land's subsequent bloody history and the park's tragic demise are said to still resonate there today. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 22, 1957, Simon Warner, a self-described "crime doctor," was murdered at is home in Shelbyville, Tennessee for allegedly placing a Voodoo hex on a man who had come to him for help; and while Warner was certainly not a Voodoo practitioner, many believed he held supernatural powers. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William Faulkner is arguably the most influential writer in the literary genre of Southern Gothic; and nowhere is his fascination with the aesthetic more apparent, than in his Oxford, Mississippi home Rowan Oak. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The religious practice of snake handling sprung up from the isolated rural communities of Appalachia in the early twentieth century; spreading throughout the south by way of an eccentric, charismatic and often troubled group of devout pastors. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices