WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.700
If you listen to Southern ghost stories, you know the
2
00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.019
holiday season in the South has a shadow side. One
3
00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:12.539
filled with ancient folklore, cold winter nights, and whispers in
4
00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:17.039
the dark. This year, skip the sterile mall shopping and
5
00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:21.100
step into something far more extraordinary. Tickets are officially on
6
00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:24.500
sale now for the Yuletide Shadows Holiday Market, taking place
7
00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.559
on Saturday, November 28th at the Manchester Events Center. For
8
00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:31.620
just $ 6, your pass unlocks an unforgettable day of dark
9
00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:36.450
fantasy art gothic treasures, oddities, artisan vendors, food trucks, and
10
00:00:36.570 --> 00:00:39.890
holiday horror fun. Brought to you by Shadow Market and
11
00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.310
proudly presented with a nod from our friends at Haunted,
12
00:00:42.729 --> 00:00:47.960
Tullahoma's premier brick-and-mortar sanctuary for dark academia, Victorian decor, and
13
00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:51.920
curated oddities at 125 West Lincoln Street. Tickets for Yuletide
14
00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:55.200
Shadows will sell out, so don't wait until the shadows lengthen.
15
00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:59.869
Grab yours right now at shadowmarketus.com. And if you can't
16
00:00:59.950 --> 00:01:04.510
wait until November 28th to feed your dark heart, Visit hauntedstore.net
17
00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:08.230
or stop by the storefront in downtown Tullahoma. Get your
18
00:01:08.250 --> 00:01:21.200
tickets today at shadowmarketus.com, if you dare. Welcome back to
19
00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:25.950
Southern Ghost Stories. I'm the American Austorian, Alan Searcy. So
20
00:01:25.969 --> 00:01:27.670
on the afternoon of February 17, 1867, 25-year-old Jeter Phillips
21
00:01:27.689 --> 00:01:33.469
hitched a horse to his buggy and left Richmond with
22
00:01:33.510 --> 00:01:37.469
his young wife, Mary Phillips. To anyone watching them leave
23
00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:40.069
the city, they looked like any other newlywed married couple
24
00:01:40.129 --> 00:01:43.909
taking a quiet drive into the Virginia countryside. The marriage
25
00:01:43.930 --> 00:01:47.530
itself had surprised many people. Phillips had lived a rough life.
26
00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:50.609
He had served in the Confederate Army with the 13th
27
00:01:50.689 --> 00:01:53.680
Virginia Infantry, and had been wounded at Gettysburg, and after
28
00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:56.959
the war, drifted from place to place, often drinking heavily
29
00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.579
and earning a reputation for violence. Mary, on the other hand,
30
00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.469
was respected by those who knew her. She had once
31
00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:06.189
worked as a domestic servant and married Phillips despite the
32
00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:09.069
objections of friends and relatives who believed she deserved someone
33
00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:14.139
much better. Before they left Richmond, Phillips even borrowed money
34
00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:17.219
from acquaintances and visited several people, telling them he and
35
00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.500
his wife were going out for a pleasant ride into
36
00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.139
Essex County. It was an ordinary Sunday stroll that would
37
00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:28.099
become one of Virginia's most infamous murder cases. Late that afternoon,
38
00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:31.560
residents near a lonely stretch of road noticed something strange.
39
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:37.419
Phillips returned alone. His clothes were dusty, he appeared disheveled,
40
00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.659
and there were scratches across his face and hands. When
41
00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:44.689
people asked where his wife was, he offered a calm explanation.
42
00:02:45.669 --> 00:02:49.430
She was supposedly angry, and during the trip, she decided
43
00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:52.689
to leave him, climbing into a passing carriage driven by
44
00:02:52.810 --> 00:02:57.530
some other gentleman. According to Phillips, she just disappeared. It
45
00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:01.419
sounded unlikely, but there was little evidence to contradict him.
46
00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:04.900
He then returned to Richmond and continued repeating the story
47
00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:09.419
while Mary's family desperately searched for her. The search ended
48
00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:14.569
four days later. On February 21st, Mary's body was discovered
49
00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.330
hidden in thick underbrush not far from the road where
50
00:03:17.349 --> 00:03:22.189
the couple had traveled. She had been beaten so savagely
51
00:03:22.229 --> 00:03:25.530
her skull was crushed. Her throat had been slashed with
52
00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:28.979
such force she was nearly decapitated, and her face had
53
00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.500
been hacked beyond recognition. One of her shoes was missing
54
00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:36.280
and her clothing showed signs of a desperate struggle. The
55
00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:40.300
police found broken branches, disturbed leaves, blood on nearby rocks
56
00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:44.539
and footprints leading into the woods. The brutality stunned even
57
00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:49.449
veteran officers. Newspapers across Virginia called it the most shocking
58
00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:55.330
murder in years. Of course, suspicion immediately settled on Jeter Phillips.
59
00:03:56.389 --> 00:03:59.759
Witnesses remembered his scratches, the blood on his clothes. and
60
00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:04.479
his contradictory statements. One witness recalled Phillips trying to explain
61
00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:07.039
away his injuries by claiming his horse had become frightened.
62
00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.419
Another remembered him nervously changing details every time he was questioned.
63
00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:17.329
The evidence continued to grow. Mary's bonnet was found. Blood
64
00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:21.730
appeared on Phillips' buggy. Detectives retraced his route and slowly
65
00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:26.449
dismantled every single version of his story. There was another
66
00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:30.680
bizarre twist that complicated the investigation. At first, many authorities
67
00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:35.350
believed the body belonged to another woman entirely. Months earlier,
68
00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:39.750
a young servant named Jenny Edwards had mysteriously disappeared, and
69
00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:42.750
some believed the decomposed remains found in the woods were hers.
70
00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:47.040
The mistake gained traction because the corpse was badly mutilated
71
00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:50.860
and hard to identify. Rumors spread rapidly, and for a
72
00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:56.579
time investigators chased the wrong identity. Eventually, however, careful examination
73
00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:01.860
of clothing, jewelry, Dental features scars, and testimony from family
74
00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:06.910
members proved the victim was Mary Phillips. Remarkably, Jenny Edwards
75
00:05:06.949 --> 00:05:10.110
later turned up alive and well, ending one mystery while
76
00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:15.810
confirming another. Phillips was arrested and brought to trial in Richmond,
77
00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:21.220
and throughout the proceedings, he insisted on his innocence. He
78
00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.360
admitted that he argued with his wife but denied killing her.
79
00:05:25.610 --> 00:05:28.149
His defense attempted to cast doubt on nearly every piece
80
00:05:28.189 --> 00:05:31.069
of evidence suggesting someone else had murdered Mary after he
81
00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:37.279
supposedly left the buggy. The jury wasn't persuaded. The physical evidence,
82
00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:43.180
witness testimony, and Phillips' own changing stories formed a convincing picture.
83
00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:47.759
On July 10, 1868, the jury found him guilty of
84
00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:53.839
first-degree murder. Judge Christian sentenced him to hang. The appeals
85
00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:58.790
lasted nearly two years. Phillips' attorneys fought tirelessly to save him.
86
00:05:59.889 --> 00:06:03.769
Petitions were filed. Legal arguments reached the Supreme Court of
87
00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:07.550
Appeals of Virginia. Supporters claimed errors had been made during
88
00:06:07.569 --> 00:06:10.889
the trial, while critics insisted Phillips deserved exactly what was
89
00:06:10.949 --> 00:06:16.290
awaiting him. Governor Gilbert C. Walker reviewed the case, but
90
00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:22.370
he refused to intervene. Every legal avenue failed. The execution
91
00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:27.899
was scheduled for July 22, 1870. As the day approached,
92
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.199
Phillips became one of the most talked-about prisoners in Virginia.
93
00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:36.939
Thousands wanted to see the condemned man. Reports described crowds
94
00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.829
arriving from across the state eager to witness what many
95
00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:44.970
expected would be Richmond's largest execution in years. Inside the jail,
96
00:06:45.889 --> 00:06:49.569
Phillips experienced what many interpreted as a dramatic religious conversion.
97
00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:54.319
He spent long hours reading the Bible, praying with ministers,
98
00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:59.370
and speaking openly about salvation. Visitors noticed a remarkable change
99
00:06:59.410 --> 00:07:03.509
in his behavior. The once defiant prisoner appeared calm, polite,
100
00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:08.209
and deeply reflective. He claimed he had found peace with God,
101
00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:13.379
and though he still denied murdering his wife. The night
102
00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:18.779
before his execution, Phillips slept peacefully. Jailers remarked that he
103
00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:21.379
appeared more composed than anyone expected from a man who
104
00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:25.230
was about to die. On the morning of July 22nd,
105
00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:30.009
he dressed carefully, prayed again, and met with ministers for
106
00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:32.170
being led into the jail yard where the gallows had
107
00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:36.970
been erected. Thousands packed every available space around the scaffold,
108
00:07:37.750 --> 00:07:40.329
while others climbed rooftops and nearby structures for a much
109
00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:45.360
better view. Standing on the trap, Phillips addressed the crowd
110
00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.829
in a lengthy statement. He declared he forgave those who
111
00:07:48.850 --> 00:07:53.629
had testified against him. He forgave the prosecutors, forgave the
112
00:07:53.670 --> 00:07:56.980
newspapers who had condemned him, and forgave everyone who believed
113
00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:01.199
him guilty. He admitted to many sins committed during his life,
114
00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.579
but maintained until his final moments he had never married
115
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.740
his wife, Mary Phillips. He insisted his hands had never
116
00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:12.600
been stained with her blood and declared he was about
117
00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:17.860
to meet God as an innocent man. When he finished speaking,
118
00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:20.970
the black hood was drawn over his face. The noose
119
00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:25.029
was adjusted around his neck. At precisely the appointed time,
120
00:08:25.069 --> 00:08:28.990
the trap dropped. Witnesses reported that his body fell cleanly
121
00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:32.820
and that death appeared to come quickly. Doctors later pronounced
122
00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.500
him dead, and his body was released to his family
123
00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:39.539
for burial. Ordinarily, that would be the end of the story.
124
00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.159
But instead, it gets a whole lot stranger. Within a
125
00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.970
few years, whispers began circulating through eastern Virginia that something
126
00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.389
impossible had happened after the execution. According to the rumors,
127
00:08:53.250 --> 00:08:57.809
Phillips didn't die on the gallows. Some claim that people
128
00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:01.250
secretly removed his body immediately after the hanging and transported
129
00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:05.019
it to a house in Richmond's Rockets District. Others insisted
130
00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:09.259
an astonishing $ 10, 000 had changed hands, not just for legal fees,
131
00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.370
but for another mysterious purpose. The body, they said, had
132
00:09:13.450 --> 00:09:17.250
vanished before burial. Even more curious was the fact that
133
00:09:17.389 --> 00:09:20.259
no confirmed grave could be found in Phillips' family cemetery.
134
00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.139
The absence became fuel for speculation. If he had been
135
00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:30.259
buried there, why couldn't anyone locate his graves? Rumors quickly
136
00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:35.659
filled the gap left behind by missing evidence. By 1885
137
00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:39.679
and again in 1877, newspapers were openly discussing stories that
138
00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:44.129
Jeter Phillips had survived his own executions One widely circulated
139
00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:47.220
account claimed that a minister had privately admitted Phillips was
140
00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:50.940
still alive somewhere. Another reported people living near his father's
141
00:09:50.980 --> 00:09:53.659
home insisted they never believed he died on the scaffold
142
00:09:53.700 --> 00:09:58.629
at all. According to one tale, several residents claimed knowledge
143
00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:01.220
that Phillips had somehow escaped death and continued living under
144
00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:05.139
another identity. And there's no proof, but that doesn't really matter.
145
00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:08.799
The rumors spread from paper to paper across the country.
146
00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:14.870
The explanations became increasingly fantastic. Some believed wealthy friends robbed officials.
147
00:10:15.809 --> 00:10:18.629
Others suggested doctors revived him after the hanging with electricity.
148
00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:22.080
A few even claimed the execution had been staged altogether.
149
00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:26.059
Every retelling added another detail until the line between history
150
00:10:26.100 --> 00:10:30.159
and folklore was just about gone. Modern historians have found
151
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:34.679
no evidence that Jeter Phillips survived. Contemporary reports consistently state
152
00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.259
that physicians examined him after the hanging and he was
153
00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:41.309
declared dead. Newspapers that covered the execution described the event
154
00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:45.450
in detail and no reliable documentations ever surfaced showing that
155
00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:50.370
he escaped. But the missing grave, conflicting rumors... and sensational
156
00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:54.409
newspaper accounts created one of Virginia's most enduring post-execution legends.
157
00:10:55.549 --> 00:10:58.149
For believers in ghost stories and strange history, Jeter Phillips
158
00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:02.340
occupies a fascinating space. His tale is remembered simply because
159
00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:05.200
of the savage murder of his wife, or the dramatic
160
00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.320
execution for thousands of spectators. He is remembered because death
161
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.279
itself became part of the mystery. Long after the gallows
162
00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:17.019
fell silent, people continued insisting they had seen it. They
163
00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:19.019
claimed he had walked away from the scaffold, disappeared into
164
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.860
the Virginia countryside, and lived the rest of his life
165
00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.299
beyond the reach of the law. Whether those sightings were
166
00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:27.980
the product of rumor, wishful thinking, or some kind of hoax,
167
00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:34.250
Jeter Phillips became something stranger than a condemned murderer. He
168
00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:37.169
was a man whose legend refused to stay buried, even
169
00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:41.149
after the Haymans' work was supposedly done. If you enjoy
170
00:11:41.190 --> 00:11:43.909
stories about people surviving the gallows, check out my book,
171
00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:47.580
The Resurrection of Knox Martin. It's available over at Amazon.
172
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.679
It's a story about a guy who was hanged in
173
00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:52.519
Nashville and may or may not have walked home to
174
00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.659
Alabama afterwards. It's a crazy story, and there are newspaper
175
00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:58.419
accounts all over the country. I mean, the nation was
176
00:11:58.450 --> 00:12:02.009
just bum-fuzzled about this guy who survived a hanging. Anyway,
177
00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:03.870
it's called The Resurrection of Knox Martin, and you can
178
00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:05.950
find it over at Amazon. All my books are over
179
00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:08.429
at Amazon. They're on Kindle Plus. Kindle Plus, you can
180
00:12:08.450 --> 00:12:11.450
read all of them for free. The Sausage King, The
181
00:12:11.490 --> 00:12:14.389
Resurrection of Knox Martin, Southern Ghost Stories, Downtown Nashville, Southern
182
00:12:14.409 --> 00:12:17.059
Ghost Stories, Franklin, Tennessee. Got so many books over there.
183
00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.549
But anyway, the new book, Arsenic Anna, if you guys
184
00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:22.029
check that one out, it's got a bunch of good reviews.
185
00:12:22.669 --> 00:12:25.250
It's about a serial killer in Cincinnati during the Great Depression.
186
00:12:25.490 --> 00:12:27.549
One by one, she's poisoning old men and taking their money.
187
00:12:27.590 --> 00:12:30.649
It's bananas. But it's based off a real story in Cincinnati.
188
00:12:30.710 --> 00:12:33.529
I can't believe that no one's really done something with
189
00:12:33.549 --> 00:12:37.059
this story before. But yeah, check out Arsenic Anna. And also,
190
00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:38.759
this is the last weekend for the Ghost of Gallatin
191
00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.279
Haunted Tour. If you guys want to come take a
192
00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.120
walk with me around the Gallatin Square, it's always a
193
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:44.440
lot of fun. I mean, I think I've told you
194
00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:47.360
guys Gallatin, Tennessee was occupied during the civil war. They
195
00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:49.700
were hanging men. They said they hanged over a hundred
196
00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.879
men behind the courthouse. He built a gallows and one
197
00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.299
by one, a hundred men were hanged over there. North
198
00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:57.519
water burned the ground three different times. There's an old
199
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.399
governor's house down the street where weird things happen all
200
00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.690
the time. We got surveillance footage that we can't explain
201
00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:05.909
where these orbs show up, start moving, uh, really weird stuff.
202
00:13:05.929 --> 00:13:08.950
So yeah, ghost of Gallatin.com and check out, uh, ghost
203
00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:11.730
of Gallatin haunted tour on Facebook. It's got a bunch
204
00:13:11.769 --> 00:13:14.970
of followers post stories there as well. Um, Yeah, man,
205
00:13:15.009 --> 00:13:17.149
October has come and gone, but hey, have you guys
206
00:13:17.169 --> 00:13:19.389
been to Monster City Madhouse yet? But one of the
207
00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:20.759
new shirts, man, is a whole lot of fun, and
208
00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:23.000
I may or may not have given Ben the idea
209
00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:26.200
for the shirt. I really did, but anyway. The greatest
210
00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:28.639
cryptid tag team of all time has arrived. Straight from
211
00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:32.220
the deepest forest of cryptomania comes the Monster Powers. Featuring
212
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.159
the Yeti and Bigfoot in an over-the-top tribute to classic
213
00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:40.240
1980s wrestling, monster magazines and larger-than-life personalities. Packed with colorful
214
00:13:40.299 --> 00:13:44.039
retro artwork, outrageous promos, championship gold, and enough cryptid power
215
00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:47.419
to shake the woods. This exclusive Monster City Madhouse design
216
00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.679
is perfect for wrestling fans, cryptid hunters, horror lovers, and
217
00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:56.070
anyone who appreciates old-school cartoon mayhem, brother. Whether you're tracking Bigfoot,
218
00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.389
searching for the Yeti, or just ready to watch the
219
00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:01.090
mega monsters run wild, this shirt was made to stand out.
220
00:14:01.690 --> 00:14:05.570
So when you go to MonsterCityMadhouse.com, use promo code SAVE10
221
00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:09.610
to get 10% off your order. That's right, MonsterCityMadhouse.com, promo
222
00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:12.549
code SAVE10 gets you 10% right off the top. So
223
00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:14.850
be sure you like Southern Ghost Stories on Facebook or Instagram,
224
00:14:15.309 --> 00:14:16.730
and send me some questions. I told you guys I'm
225
00:14:16.750 --> 00:14:18.529
doing a Q & A later this month, probably in
226
00:14:18.549 --> 00:14:21.610
a few weeks. I've got a few questions in the bank,
227
00:14:21.690 --> 00:14:23.549
but I like interacting with you guys, and you guys
228
00:14:23.570 --> 00:14:27.129
send questions about stories or places I've been. But southernghoststories
229
00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:29.629
at gmail.com is where you can reach me. And again,
230
00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:34.370
the southernghoststories at gmail.com. So anyway, thanks for tuning in.
231
00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:37.330
I'm the American Haunt Story, Alan Searcy, and I'll see
232
00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:39.720
you guys back tomorrow for another brand new episode.
233
00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:51.039
200 years ago, Louisville, Kentucky was known as the Graveyard
234
00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:53.980
of the West. Yellow fever hit the town so hard,
235
00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:58.000
gravediggers stacked bodies in mass unmarked graves, their names lost
236
00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:01.399
to time. A century later, the Ohio River rose and
237
00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:04.039
swallowed the city whole. The bodies it pulled from the
238
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.580
ground floated up against the cast-iron storefronts, bumping against the
239
00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:11.620
glass like they wanted back inside. This fall, Old Fashioned
240
00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.110
Express invites you to climb aboard the Haunted Trolley Tour
241
00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:18.590
and take a trip back in time through Louisville's grim history.
242
00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:22.690
Ride a vintage trolley through the gaslit streets of Old Louisville,
243
00:15:22.830 --> 00:15:27.330
the Highlands, and downtown. And, if you dare, abandon the
244
00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:30.379
safety of your trolley to walk the darkened streets where
245
00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:37.019
terrible tragedies occurred. Reserve your seat now at oldfashionedexpress.com and
246
00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:41.799
use the code PODCAST10 for 10% off. We're waiting for you.
247
00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:51.240
Coming October 2nd, the gates open at Smith County's scariest attraction,
248
00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:56.960
Nightmare Hollow. Located at 160 Marina Lane, Carthage, Tennessee, every
249
00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.659
Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10.30, admission starts
250
00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:05.000
at $ 20 with fast pass and VIP options. Nightmare Hollow
251
00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:08.480
is a haunted trail located at Defeated Creek Marina and Campground.
252
00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:12.879
Recently rebranded from Nightmare on Marina Lane, Nightmare Hollow has
253
00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.809
made several upgrades for this season, including... an additional trail,
254
00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:20.899
upgraded scenes, fast pass and VIP options, and a gift
255
00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:25.059
shop featuring local vendors and merchandise featuring our logo and characters.
256
00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.940
Come out and see what all the hype is about.
1
00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.700
If you listen to Southern ghost stories, you know the
2
00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.019
holiday season in the South has a shadow side. One
3
00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:12.539
filled with ancient folklore, cold winter nights, and whispers in
4
00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:17.039
the dark. This year, skip the sterile mall shopping and
5
00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:21.100
step into something far more extraordinary. Tickets are officially on
6
00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:24.500
sale now for the Yuletide Shadows Holiday Market, taking place
7
00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.559
on Saturday, November 28th at the Manchester Events Center. For
8
00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:31.620
just $ 6, your pass unlocks an unforgettable day of dark
9
00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:36.450
fantasy art gothic treasures, oddities, artisan vendors, food trucks, and
10
00:00:36.570 --> 00:00:39.890
holiday horror fun. Brought to you by Shadow Market and
11
00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.310
proudly presented with a nod from our friends at Haunted,
12
00:00:42.729 --> 00:00:47.960
Tullahoma's premier brick-and-mortar sanctuary for dark academia, Victorian decor, and
13
00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:51.920
curated oddities at 125 West Lincoln Street. Tickets for Yuletide
14
00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:55.200
Shadows will sell out, so don't wait until the shadows lengthen.
15
00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:59.869
Grab yours right now at shadowmarketus.com. And if you can't
16
00:00:59.950 --> 00:01:04.510
wait until November 28th to feed your dark heart, Visit hauntedstore.net
17
00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:08.230
or stop by the storefront in downtown Tullahoma. Get your
18
00:01:08.250 --> 00:01:21.200
tickets today at shadowmarketus.com, if you dare. Welcome back to
19
00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:25.950
Southern Ghost Stories. I'm the American Austorian, Alan Searcy. So
20
00:01:25.969 --> 00:01:27.670
on the afternoon of February 17, 1867, 25-year-old Jeter Phillips
21
00:01:27.689 --> 00:01:33.469
hitched a horse to his buggy and left Richmond with
22
00:01:33.510 --> 00:01:37.469
his young wife, Mary Phillips. To anyone watching them leave
23
00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:40.069
the city, they looked like any other newlywed married couple
24
00:01:40.129 --> 00:01:43.909
taking a quiet drive into the Virginia countryside. The marriage
25
00:01:43.930 --> 00:01:47.530
itself had surprised many people. Phillips had lived a rough life.
26
00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:50.609
He had served in the Confederate Army with the 13th
27
00:01:50.689 --> 00:01:53.680
Virginia Infantry, and had been wounded at Gettysburg, and after
28
00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:56.959
the war, drifted from place to place, often drinking heavily
29
00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.579
and earning a reputation for violence. Mary, on the other hand,
30
00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.469
was respected by those who knew her. She had once
31
00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:06.189
worked as a domestic servant and married Phillips despite the
32
00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:09.069
objections of friends and relatives who believed she deserved someone
33
00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:14.139
much better. Before they left Richmond, Phillips even borrowed money
34
00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:17.219
from acquaintances and visited several people, telling them he and
35
00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.500
his wife were going out for a pleasant ride into
36
00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.139
Essex County. It was an ordinary Sunday stroll that would
37
00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:28.099
become one of Virginia's most infamous murder cases. Late that afternoon,
38
00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:31.560
residents near a lonely stretch of road noticed something strange.
39
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:37.419
Phillips returned alone. His clothes were dusty, he appeared disheveled,
40
00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.659
and there were scratches across his face and hands. When
41
00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:44.689
people asked where his wife was, he offered a calm explanation.
42
00:02:45.669 --> 00:02:49.430
She was supposedly angry, and during the trip, she decided
43
00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:52.689
to leave him, climbing into a passing carriage driven by
44
00:02:52.810 --> 00:02:57.530
some other gentleman. According to Phillips, she just disappeared. It
45
00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:01.419
sounded unlikely, but there was little evidence to contradict him.
46
00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:04.900
He then returned to Richmond and continued repeating the story
47
00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:09.419
while Mary's family desperately searched for her. The search ended
48
00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:14.569
four days later. On February 21st, Mary's body was discovered
49
00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.330
hidden in thick underbrush not far from the road where
50
00:03:17.349 --> 00:03:22.189
the couple had traveled. She had been beaten so savagely
51
00:03:22.229 --> 00:03:25.530
her skull was crushed. Her throat had been slashed with
52
00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:28.979
such force she was nearly decapitated, and her face had
53
00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.500
been hacked beyond recognition. One of her shoes was missing
54
00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:36.280
and her clothing showed signs of a desperate struggle. The
55
00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:40.300
police found broken branches, disturbed leaves, blood on nearby rocks
56
00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:44.539
and footprints leading into the woods. The brutality stunned even
57
00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:49.449
veteran officers. Newspapers across Virginia called it the most shocking
58
00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:55.330
murder in years. Of course, suspicion immediately settled on Jeter Phillips.
59
00:03:56.389 --> 00:03:59.759
Witnesses remembered his scratches, the blood on his clothes. and
60
00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:04.479
his contradictory statements. One witness recalled Phillips trying to explain
61
00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:07.039
away his injuries by claiming his horse had become frightened.
62
00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.419
Another remembered him nervously changing details every time he was questioned.
63
00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:17.329
The evidence continued to grow. Mary's bonnet was found. Blood
64
00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:21.730
appeared on Phillips' buggy. Detectives retraced his route and slowly
65
00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:26.449
dismantled every single version of his story. There was another
66
00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:30.680
bizarre twist that complicated the investigation. At first, many authorities
67
00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:35.350
believed the body belonged to another woman entirely. Months earlier,
68
00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:39.750
a young servant named Jenny Edwards had mysteriously disappeared, and
69
00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:42.750
some believed the decomposed remains found in the woods were hers.
70
00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:47.040
The mistake gained traction because the corpse was badly mutilated
71
00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:50.860
and hard to identify. Rumors spread rapidly, and for a
72
00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:56.579
time investigators chased the wrong identity. Eventually, however, careful examination
73
00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:01.860
of clothing, jewelry, Dental features scars, and testimony from family
74
00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:06.910
members proved the victim was Mary Phillips. Remarkably, Jenny Edwards
75
00:05:06.949 --> 00:05:10.110
later turned up alive and well, ending one mystery while
76
00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:15.810
confirming another. Phillips was arrested and brought to trial in Richmond,
77
00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:21.220
and throughout the proceedings, he insisted on his innocence. He
78
00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.360
admitted that he argued with his wife but denied killing her.
79
00:05:25.610 --> 00:05:28.149
His defense attempted to cast doubt on nearly every piece
80
00:05:28.189 --> 00:05:31.069
of evidence suggesting someone else had murdered Mary after he
81
00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:37.279
supposedly left the buggy. The jury wasn't persuaded. The physical evidence,
82
00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:43.180
witness testimony, and Phillips' own changing stories formed a convincing picture.
83
00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:47.759
On July 10, 1868, the jury found him guilty of
84
00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:53.839
first-degree murder. Judge Christian sentenced him to hang. The appeals
85
00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:58.790
lasted nearly two years. Phillips' attorneys fought tirelessly to save him.
86
00:05:59.889 --> 00:06:03.769
Petitions were filed. Legal arguments reached the Supreme Court of
87
00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:07.550
Appeals of Virginia. Supporters claimed errors had been made during
88
00:06:07.569 --> 00:06:10.889
the trial, while critics insisted Phillips deserved exactly what was
89
00:06:10.949 --> 00:06:16.290
awaiting him. Governor Gilbert C. Walker reviewed the case, but
90
00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:22.370
he refused to intervene. Every legal avenue failed. The execution
91
00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:27.899
was scheduled for July 22, 1870. As the day approached,
92
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.199
Phillips became one of the most talked-about prisoners in Virginia.
93
00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:36.939
Thousands wanted to see the condemned man. Reports described crowds
94
00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.829
arriving from across the state eager to witness what many
95
00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:44.970
expected would be Richmond's largest execution in years. Inside the jail,
96
00:06:45.889 --> 00:06:49.569
Phillips experienced what many interpreted as a dramatic religious conversion.
97
00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:54.319
He spent long hours reading the Bible, praying with ministers,
98
00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:59.370
and speaking openly about salvation. Visitors noticed a remarkable change
99
00:06:59.410 --> 00:07:03.509
in his behavior. The once defiant prisoner appeared calm, polite,
100
00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:08.209
and deeply reflective. He claimed he had found peace with God,
101
00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:13.379
and though he still denied murdering his wife. The night
102
00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:18.779
before his execution, Phillips slept peacefully. Jailers remarked that he
103
00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:21.379
appeared more composed than anyone expected from a man who
104
00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:25.230
was about to die. On the morning of July 22nd,
105
00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:30.009
he dressed carefully, prayed again, and met with ministers for
106
00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:32.170
being led into the jail yard where the gallows had
107
00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:36.970
been erected. Thousands packed every available space around the scaffold,
108
00:07:37.750 --> 00:07:40.329
while others climbed rooftops and nearby structures for a much
109
00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:45.360
better view. Standing on the trap, Phillips addressed the crowd
110
00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.829
in a lengthy statement. He declared he forgave those who
111
00:07:48.850 --> 00:07:53.629
had testified against him. He forgave the prosecutors, forgave the
112
00:07:53.670 --> 00:07:56.980
newspapers who had condemned him, and forgave everyone who believed
113
00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:01.199
him guilty. He admitted to many sins committed during his life,
114
00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.579
but maintained until his final moments he had never married
115
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.740
his wife, Mary Phillips. He insisted his hands had never
116
00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:12.600
been stained with her blood and declared he was about
117
00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:17.860
to meet God as an innocent man. When he finished speaking,
118
00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:20.970
the black hood was drawn over his face. The noose
119
00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:25.029
was adjusted around his neck. At precisely the appointed time,
120
00:08:25.069 --> 00:08:28.990
the trap dropped. Witnesses reported that his body fell cleanly
121
00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:32.820
and that death appeared to come quickly. Doctors later pronounced
122
00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.500
him dead, and his body was released to his family
123
00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:39.539
for burial. Ordinarily, that would be the end of the story.
124
00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.159
But instead, it gets a whole lot stranger. Within a
125
00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.970
few years, whispers began circulating through eastern Virginia that something
126
00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.389
impossible had happened after the execution. According to the rumors,
127
00:08:53.250 --> 00:08:57.809
Phillips didn't die on the gallows. Some claim that people
128
00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:01.250
secretly removed his body immediately after the hanging and transported
129
00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:05.019
it to a house in Richmond's Rockets District. Others insisted
130
00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:09.259
an astonishing $ 10, 000 had changed hands, not just for legal fees,
131
00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.370
but for another mysterious purpose. The body, they said, had
132
00:09:13.450 --> 00:09:17.250
vanished before burial. Even more curious was the fact that
133
00:09:17.389 --> 00:09:20.259
no confirmed grave could be found in Phillips' family cemetery.
134
00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.139
The absence became fuel for speculation. If he had been
135
00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:30.259
buried there, why couldn't anyone locate his graves? Rumors quickly
136
00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:35.659
filled the gap left behind by missing evidence. By 1885
137
00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:39.679
and again in 1877, newspapers were openly discussing stories that
138
00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:44.129
Jeter Phillips had survived his own executions One widely circulated
139
00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:47.220
account claimed that a minister had privately admitted Phillips was
140
00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:50.940
still alive somewhere. Another reported people living near his father's
141
00:09:50.980 --> 00:09:53.659
home insisted they never believed he died on the scaffold
142
00:09:53.700 --> 00:09:58.629
at all. According to one tale, several residents claimed knowledge
143
00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:01.220
that Phillips had somehow escaped death and continued living under
144
00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:05.139
another identity. And there's no proof, but that doesn't really matter.
145
00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:08.799
The rumors spread from paper to paper across the country.
146
00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:14.870
The explanations became increasingly fantastic. Some believed wealthy friends robbed officials.
147
00:10:15.809 --> 00:10:18.629
Others suggested doctors revived him after the hanging with electricity.
148
00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:22.080
A few even claimed the execution had been staged altogether.
149
00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:26.059
Every retelling added another detail until the line between history
150
00:10:26.100 --> 00:10:30.159
and folklore was just about gone. Modern historians have found
151
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:34.679
no evidence that Jeter Phillips survived. Contemporary reports consistently state
152
00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.259
that physicians examined him after the hanging and he was
153
00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:41.309
declared dead. Newspapers that covered the execution described the event
154
00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:45.450
in detail and no reliable documentations ever surfaced showing that
155
00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:50.370
he escaped. But the missing grave, conflicting rumors... and sensational
156
00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:54.409
newspaper accounts created one of Virginia's most enduring post-execution legends.
157
00:10:55.549 --> 00:10:58.149
For believers in ghost stories and strange history, Jeter Phillips
158
00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:02.340
occupies a fascinating space. His tale is remembered simply because
159
00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:05.200
of the savage murder of his wife, or the dramatic
160
00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.320
execution for thousands of spectators. He is remembered because death
161
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.279
itself became part of the mystery. Long after the gallows
162
00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:17.019
fell silent, people continued insisting they had seen it. They
163
00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:19.019
claimed he had walked away from the scaffold, disappeared into
164
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.860
the Virginia countryside, and lived the rest of his life
165
00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.299
beyond the reach of the law. Whether those sightings were
166
00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:27.980
the product of rumor, wishful thinking, or some kind of hoax,
167
00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:34.250
Jeter Phillips became something stranger than a condemned murderer. He
168
00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:37.169
was a man whose legend refused to stay buried, even
169
00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:41.149
after the Haymans' work was supposedly done. If you enjoy
170
00:11:41.190 --> 00:11:43.909
stories about people surviving the gallows, check out my book,
171
00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:47.580
The Resurrection of Knox Martin. It's available over at Amazon.
172
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.679
It's a story about a guy who was hanged in
173
00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:52.519
Nashville and may or may not have walked home to
174
00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.659
Alabama afterwards. It's a crazy story, and there are newspaper
175
00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:58.419
accounts all over the country. I mean, the nation was
176
00:11:58.450 --> 00:12:02.009
just bum-fuzzled about this guy who survived a hanging. Anyway,
177
00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:03.870
it's called The Resurrection of Knox Martin, and you can
178
00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:05.950
find it over at Amazon. All my books are over
179
00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:08.429
at Amazon. They're on Kindle Plus. Kindle Plus, you can
180
00:12:08.450 --> 00:12:11.450
read all of them for free. The Sausage King, The
181
00:12:11.490 --> 00:12:14.389
Resurrection of Knox Martin, Southern Ghost Stories, Downtown Nashville, Southern
182
00:12:14.409 --> 00:12:17.059
Ghost Stories, Franklin, Tennessee. Got so many books over there.
183
00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.549
But anyway, the new book, Arsenic Anna, if you guys
184
00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:22.029
check that one out, it's got a bunch of good reviews.
185
00:12:22.669 --> 00:12:25.250
It's about a serial killer in Cincinnati during the Great Depression.
186
00:12:25.490 --> 00:12:27.549
One by one, she's poisoning old men and taking their money.
187
00:12:27.590 --> 00:12:30.649
It's bananas. But it's based off a real story in Cincinnati.
188
00:12:30.710 --> 00:12:33.529
I can't believe that no one's really done something with
189
00:12:33.549 --> 00:12:37.059
this story before. But yeah, check out Arsenic Anna. And also,
190
00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:38.759
this is the last weekend for the Ghost of Gallatin
191
00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.279
Haunted Tour. If you guys want to come take a
192
00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.120
walk with me around the Gallatin Square, it's always a
193
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:44.440
lot of fun. I mean, I think I've told you
194
00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:47.360
guys Gallatin, Tennessee was occupied during the civil war. They
195
00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:49.700
were hanging men. They said they hanged over a hundred
196
00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.879
men behind the courthouse. He built a gallows and one
197
00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.299
by one, a hundred men were hanged over there. North
198
00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:57.519
water burned the ground three different times. There's an old
199
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.399
governor's house down the street where weird things happen all
200
00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.690
the time. We got surveillance footage that we can't explain
201
00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:05.909
where these orbs show up, start moving, uh, really weird stuff.
202
00:13:05.929 --> 00:13:08.950
So yeah, ghost of Gallatin.com and check out, uh, ghost
203
00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:11.730
of Gallatin haunted tour on Facebook. It's got a bunch
204
00:13:11.769 --> 00:13:14.970
of followers post stories there as well. Um, Yeah, man,
205
00:13:15.009 --> 00:13:17.149
October has come and gone, but hey, have you guys
206
00:13:17.169 --> 00:13:19.389
been to Monster City Madhouse yet? But one of the
207
00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:20.759
new shirts, man, is a whole lot of fun, and
208
00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:23.000
I may or may not have given Ben the idea
209
00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:26.200
for the shirt. I really did, but anyway. The greatest
210
00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:28.639
cryptid tag team of all time has arrived. Straight from
211
00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:32.220
the deepest forest of cryptomania comes the Monster Powers. Featuring
212
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.159
the Yeti and Bigfoot in an over-the-top tribute to classic
213
00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:40.240
1980s wrestling, monster magazines and larger-than-life personalities. Packed with colorful
214
00:13:40.299 --> 00:13:44.039
retro artwork, outrageous promos, championship gold, and enough cryptid power
215
00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:47.419
to shake the woods. This exclusive Monster City Madhouse design
216
00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.679
is perfect for wrestling fans, cryptid hunters, horror lovers, and
217
00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:56.070
anyone who appreciates old-school cartoon mayhem, brother. Whether you're tracking Bigfoot,
218
00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.389
searching for the Yeti, or just ready to watch the
219
00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:01.090
mega monsters run wild, this shirt was made to stand out.
220
00:14:01.690 --> 00:14:05.570
So when you go to MonsterCityMadhouse.com, use promo code SAVE10
221
00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:09.610
to get 10% off your order. That's right, MonsterCityMadhouse.com, promo
222
00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:12.549
code SAVE10 gets you 10% right off the top. So
223
00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:14.850
be sure you like Southern Ghost Stories on Facebook or Instagram,
224
00:14:15.309 --> 00:14:16.730
and send me some questions. I told you guys I'm
225
00:14:16.750 --> 00:14:18.529
doing a Q & A later this month, probably in
226
00:14:18.549 --> 00:14:21.610
a few weeks. I've got a few questions in the bank,
227
00:14:21.690 --> 00:14:23.549
but I like interacting with you guys, and you guys
228
00:14:23.570 --> 00:14:27.129
send questions about stories or places I've been. But southernghoststories
229
00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:29.629
at gmail.com is where you can reach me. And again,
230
00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:34.370
the southernghoststories at gmail.com. So anyway, thanks for tuning in.
231
00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:37.330
I'm the American Haunt Story, Alan Searcy, and I'll see
232
00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:39.720
you guys back tomorrow for another brand new episode.
233
00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:51.039
200 years ago, Louisville, Kentucky was known as the Graveyard
234
00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:53.980
of the West. Yellow fever hit the town so hard,
235
00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:58.000
gravediggers stacked bodies in mass unmarked graves, their names lost
236
00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:01.399
to time. A century later, the Ohio River rose and
237
00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:04.039
swallowed the city whole. The bodies it pulled from the
238
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.580
ground floated up against the cast-iron storefronts, bumping against the
239
00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:11.620
glass like they wanted back inside. This fall, Old Fashioned
240
00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.110
Express invites you to climb aboard the Haunted Trolley Tour
241
00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:18.590
and take a trip back in time through Louisville's grim history.
242
00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:22.690
Ride a vintage trolley through the gaslit streets of Old Louisville,
243
00:15:22.830 --> 00:15:27.330
the Highlands, and downtown. And, if you dare, abandon the
244
00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:30.379
safety of your trolley to walk the darkened streets where
245
00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:37.019
terrible tragedies occurred. Reserve your seat now at oldfashionedexpress.com and
246
00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:41.799
use the code PODCAST10 for 10% off. We're waiting for you.
247
00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:51.240
Coming October 2nd, the gates open at Smith County's scariest attraction,
248
00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:56.960
Nightmare Hollow. Located at 160 Marina Lane, Carthage, Tennessee, every
249
00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.659
Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10.30, admission starts
250
00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:05.000
at $ 20 with fast pass and VIP options. Nightmare Hollow
251
00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:08.480
is a haunted trail located at Defeated Creek Marina and Campground.
252
00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:12.879
Recently rebranded from Nightmare on Marina Lane, Nightmare Hollow has
253
00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.809
made several upgrades for this season, including... an additional trail,
254
00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:20.899
upgraded scenes, fast pass and VIP options, and a gift
255
00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:25.059
shop featuring local vendors and merchandise featuring our logo and characters.
256
00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.940
Come out and see what all the hype is about.