S02 E14 - The Battletown Witch

Our next tale comes from Red River Gorge in Kentucky at an area known as Nada Tunnel or The Gateway to The Red River Gorge.  This hole in the side of the hill is almost camouflaged by some of the most beautiful plant life Kentucky has to offer and resembles something from a Tolkien-esque novel.  The limestone tunnel is approximately 900 feet in length,  13 feet in height, and 12 feet in width.  It was named for a logging town located not far from the entrance of the tunnel and was completed in 1911.   This passage was created for the Big Woods, Red River, and  Lombard Railroad to run steam locomotives to haul timber from the Red River Valley. Works Cited: https://www.cliffviewresort.com/things-to-do/nada-tunnel/ https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/7860-nada-tunnel.html Coffey, Lori, and Ron Coffey. Gateway Ghosts and Locan Legends. Fairy Ring Press, 2009.

Today’s tale takes us to Morehead, Kentucky - a small college town in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest and home to Morehead State University. Originally opened in 1887 as Morehead Normal School for educators, it transitioned to a co-ed university in the 1920s. The campus is beautiful and scenic, covering almost 1,500 acres. As with many college campuses, this one is no stranger to stories of strange occurrences and hauntings. Works Cited: http://www.thetrailblazeronline.net/life_and_arts/article_26a01372-77be-11e5-aad5-07414c408af9.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj5TrJXakrM https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2598&context=trail_blazer https://kantuckee.com/morehead-ky-mysteries/ https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=college_histories

Today’s story takes place on Lake Barkley near Eddyville, Kentucky.  It involves Kentucky’s oldest prison facility known as Kentucky State Penitentiary or “The Castle on the Cumberland.”  This facility was completed in 1886 and is the only state-run maximum security prison.  Works Cited: http://genealogytrails.com/ken/kypenitentiarypage1.html https://kyhi.org/kentucky-state-penitentiary/ https://www.southernspiritguide.org/the-groaning-of-the-prisoner-kentucky-state-penitentiary/

Today's tale comes from Meade County, KY, and is the unfortunate story of Leah Smock, an intelligent young herbalist who was villainized by her community and was the last "witch" burned in America. Works Cited: https://battletownwitch.com/ https://www.facebook.com/BattletownWitch

Today’s tale takes us back to Olive Hill Kentucky to Carter Caves State Resort Park. Carter Caves is a beautiful state park that was formed in 1946 when area residents donated around 945 acres of land to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for its creation. Works Cited: https://theclio.com/entry/514 https://books.google.com/books?id=UFm5Jim4yvwC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=is+there+silver+in+x+cave+carter+caves&source=bl&ots=DFmau_7SS9&sig=ACfU3U2qBcJT_PF2CJRq5MzSclpyJN5kvQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwysWlx6yAAxXzlokEHSAOC2s4ChDoAXoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=is%20there%20silver%20in%20x%20cave%20carter%20caves&f=false https://southerncherokeenationky.com/cherokee-in-kentucky/ https://www.werewoofs.com/ghost-stories/x-marks-spot-x-cave/4

This next tale takes place in Louisville, Kentucky in an Army training camp.  Camp Zachary Taylor was one of sixteen national training camps created during World War I. Works Cited: https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/777 https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/creepy-small-town-paranormal-activity-ky/ https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/history/river-city-retro/2014/12/05/celebrating-history-camp-zachary-taylor/19946281/

Today’s tale takes us back to the Olive Hill Kentucky area to the ghost town of Lawton, a town that has been mostly abandoned. Crumbling buildings of a bygone era still stand, serving as a snapshot into a distant past. Works Cited: http://thekyfiles.blogspot.com/2015/09/ghost-town-and-abandoned-mines.html https://abandonedonline.net/location/tygart-limestone-company/ http://www.wgohwugo.com/cartercohistory.pdf

Our next tale comes from Bowling Green, Kentucky at a popular destination called Mammoth Caves.  It is a well-known place for families to visit and engage in hiking, canoeing, and exploring the caves, but it is also well known for its history of hauntings and strange occurances. Works Cited: https://www.bgdailynews.com/news/the-mysteries-of-mammoth-cave/article_40c80ddb-01fc-5185-af81-95cd9154266d.html https://www.bgdailynews.com/news/the-mysteries-of-mammoth-cave/article_40c80ddb-01fc-5185-af81-95cd9154266d.html

Today’s tale takes us to Western Kentucky and Tennessee to a place called the Land Between the Lakes, formerly known as the Land Between the Rivers, where we explore stories of hauntings as well as a dogman or werewolf like beast. Special thanks to listener Christopher Beckley for the story tip for today's episode! Works Cited: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/most-haunted-campground-ky/ https://wkdq.com/kentucky-campground-is-so-haunted-some-wont-stay-the-night/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S58f9aJ1D_c https://web.archive.org/web/20090524043232/http://www.guardiantales.freewebspace.com/JAN-Beast.html https://www.reddit.com/r/dogman/comments/nair5w/lbl_witnesssurvivor_roger_on_paranormal_round/ https://hoptownchronicle.org/fake-story-of-a-beast-in-lbl-is-a-source-of-pain-for-former-residents-of-between-the-rivers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/mrballen/comments/q3qarm/massacre_at_land_between_the_lakes_by_the_beast/

Today’s tale finds us in Rock West Virginia at the Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park. The park was the brainchild of entrepreneur Conley Snidow. He broke ground on his plans during the 1920’s, but what he did not realize was that the ground he was turning up had a sinister and bloody past. Works Cited: https://visitmercercounty.com/places/lake-shawnee/ https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/lake-shawnee-amusement-park/ https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/abandoned-west-virginia-amusement-park-bloody-history-article-1.1497567 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-shawnee-amusement-park