Appalachian Trail Mystery | True Paranormal Stories & Spooky Folklore | Ep #49

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I'm using every bit of willpower
to not look it up.

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OK, I can't.
I got to look it up.

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Welcome stranger to Madam
Strange ways, where I Madam

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Strange Ways narrate your true
strange stories of the

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unexplained.
Whether you are a skeptic, A

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believer or some secret third
thing.

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Stick around after the story
where I will share my strange

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thoughts and strange research
about said strange story.

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Along the way I'll also drag you
down a slew of strange rabbit

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holes, kicking and screaming if
needs must.

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But before we get to today's
true strange story or any sort

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of kicking or screaming the
strangest of shout outs to my

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Patreon patrons, TJ Hotter of
the Tapes of Trepidation

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podcast, G Man music Ted Keith
and Tori, thank you so much to

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my Feral Fiendish 5 for
supporting the show.

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Hear your name at the beginning
of every episode, get a free

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sticker and get bonus Madam
Strange notes episodes for

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joining the Patreon today at
patreon.com/madam.

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Strange ways.
Oh, was that Thunder?

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It must be about to rain
Hellcats and Hell Hounds outside

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then, so you know what that
means.

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Settle in for a true strange
story here with Madam

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Strangeways.
Haunted hike by Poppy the Masked

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Keaton.
I'm not going to hide my friends

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names because I just forget
halfway through the story.

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Anyway, this is the tale of the
time me and my childhood friends

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went on a haunted hike in the
Appalachian Trail.

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My best bud, Tim, and I live in
Northeast Tennessee and every

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year our friend Carrie and her
kids come up to visit us.

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Earlier in the year, Carrie lost
her cousin.

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The cousin had many pain related
chronic issues that often

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required medical marijuana
simply to function.

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It was her cousin's wish to have
her ashes spread around various

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locations because her illness
made it difficult to travel.

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It was for that reason that we
decided to hike to the waterfall

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at Laurel Falls to spread her
ashes.

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Tuesday morning we headed out.
It was a great day for it.

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Carrie had her cousin's ashes
and we hit the trail.

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It's not an easy nor a short
hike, but we were determined the

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view at the end is worth it.
After a while, our group of five

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split up.
The two in better shape took the

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lead and split up, leaving the
three hefty fellows behind.

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But then Tim got a burst of
energy and took off, and that

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was OK.
Carrie's boy Thomas and I wanted

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to discuss a video game Tim
hadn't played yet, so this way

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we could talk without fear of
spoiling anything for him.

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After 15 minutes, we see Tim
standing in the trail next to a

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fallen tree and looking puzzled.
He looked at us and said

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something, grabbed my backpack.
I was walking by this tree and

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something grabbed my backpack so
hard I almost fell over.

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Now Madam, I know what you're
thinking.

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Tree branch grabbed his
backpack, except this tree had

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been trimmed to prevent things
like that from happening.

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I'm as skeptical as the next
person.

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So I examined this tree and my
buddy is on the shorter side and

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this tree was leaning up at an
angle and there wasn't a way his

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backpack got caught on it.
Whenever something told him to

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stop, he listened and the three
of us headed on together.

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I wish I could tell you why he
was held back.

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I would love to tell you that we
saw a bear leaving the trail

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ahead of us, or that a tree fell
and and Tim would have been

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under it if he hadn't waited on
Thomas and me, but I can't.

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To this day we don't know what
was up with that.

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Well, we did eventually catch up
with the two faster hikers at

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the falls and after some time
for the heftier of us to

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recover, we decided to spread
the deceased's ashes.

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We said a couple words and then
tried to open the urn and it was

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stuck tight.
Carrie tried it and the little

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urn wouldn't come undone.
She passed it to me and even

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though I have a desk job these
days, I'm still pretty good at

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jar opening.
But not urn opening apparently.

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We even patched the jar around
to Tim and Thomas, who both work

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labour intensive jobs.
And Nope, the urn, which had

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opened easily earlier in the day
was stuck closed.

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So we took that as a sign that
this wasn't the deceased's

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choice to have ashes spread here
and packed her back up and

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started the trip back, playfully
teasing her that we wish she

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would have told us this before
we spent two hours hiking to

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this place.
Remember how I casually

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mentioned that the deceased had
needed marijuana to handle her

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pain?
Well, on the trip back we all

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noticed the smell of pot
following us back.

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The trail wasn't very populated
and we barely passed anyone else

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on it, so it wasn't people that
we passed reeking of reefer, and

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it stayed with us for about an
hour.

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Carrie took that as a sign her
cousin wanted to stay with them.

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So now whenever Carrie goes on
trips, she'll take the urn with

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her so her cousin can travel
along.

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Poppy the mask Keaton, thank you
so much for allowing me to read

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your story on the show.
In fact, thank you for emailing

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me your story to
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

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Hint, hint.
If anyone else has the story,

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that's how you get it on the
show.

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Thank you so much, Poppy the
mask Keaton.

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Actually, Poppy, can I call you
Poppy?

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I'm going to call you Poppy.
Not like, not like I Poppy, just

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Poppy, like the flower, like
your name.

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It's fine.
So thank you, Poppy, for sending

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in your story.
What a touching, heartwarming

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story.
You know, also spooky.

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Also spooky.
We love a spooky story here.

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Obviously a strange story, but I
like it when it's also when it's

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strange and it's sweet.
Love that.

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So thank you for sending it
because it does sound like

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Carrie's cousin definitely did
not want to be left in the

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Appalachian on the Appalachian
Trail or in the Appalachian

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forest.
I can't blame Carrie's cousin,

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you know, like, OK, so Carrie's
cousin is saying I wish I

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travelled more, you know, travel
with me.

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Like that'll be my final resting
place is, you know, is

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travelling going somewhere else?
Take me somewhere.

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I love that.
I think that's so sweet.

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But then also being left in your
final resting place on the

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Appalachian Trail, which is
really scary.

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And on top of being scary, it's
outside.

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So like, you know, I didn't get
to travel a lot, so I kind of

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wish I could travel kind of like
in the afterlife that does.

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Traveling is different.
Traveling is like you get on a

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plane and you go somewhere that
has good food and then you get a

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hotel room and it's not out in
the haunted Appalachian Trail.

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That's all I'm saying.
I feel like Carrie made the

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right call reading into that,
reading into how the urn was

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just unable to be opened.
But I just, it does feel like

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Carrie's cousin was sending
y'all a message like this, ain't

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it?
Like, I love, I love where your

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heart is at.
I love where your head is at.

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Maybe let's not do this though.
And I do appreciate that you're

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like, well, that would have been
nice to know before we did the

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hike.
I also would not do well on a

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hike personally.
I've said before I am an indoor

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cat, not a hiking cat.
I don't know if there is a type

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of cat that hikes.
I guess that would be like like

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a like a bobcat or like a
cougar.

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Maybe those are maybe those are
the cats that take hikes.

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I'm not I, so I'm with you.
I'm with you, Poppy.

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I'm in the same boat as you.
I did love how you were like

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now, Madam, I know what you're
thinking.

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It didn't get snagged on a
branch.

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The backpack did not get snagged
on a branch.

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I did.
That made me that just made my

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day reading that line because Oh
my gosh, like you're talking to

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me.
That's so exciting.

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You knew what I was thinking.
It's great.

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So thank you for that.
It is scary, though, that it

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wasn't a tree branch that you
that you examined it

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skeptically, checked out the
area, didn't see any tree

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branches, didn't see any way
that that backpack could have

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been pulled, yanked.
Very scary even in broad

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daylight.
Scary because what was that?

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What do you mean?
Something?

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Grabbed someone's backpack on a
hike?

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No thanks.
I'd be I'd be done.

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Bye.
This is a sign, and luckily you

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said your friend Tim was super
smart and listened to intuition

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and listened to signs like that.
So really glad.

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Even if you said like, oh, I'd
really like to say that.

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Like, Oh no, we narrowly missed
a boulder.

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You know where we narrow?
I don't know.

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Are there boulders falling on
the Appalachian Trail?

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I don't know.
Let me know,

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metastrangeways@gmail.com.
Are you a boulder that has

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fallen on someone on the
Appalachian Trail?

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Let me know, let me know.
I'm curious, you know, I'm just

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saying because like, oh, you
know, you'd like to have said

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that because that would have
made a really cool story, but

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nothing ended up really
happening.

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Except you don't really know
that something, you know,

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because this is what I think
about a lot.

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I don't know if y'all think
about this.

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I don't know if this is how
y'all's brains work.

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My brain, my brain, my brain
works like I will think.

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I wish I could save my game, my
life, you know, right now,

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Pause, save, then play another
save file from that point and

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see what would have happened.
You know, because that's how I

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play.
That's how I play video games.

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If I'm, if I'm able to do it,
like Fallout 4 or like

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Morrowind.
I was going to say Skyrim, but I

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didn't play very much of Skyrim,
but I played a lot of Morrowind

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and that's why I played those
games.

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It's like I get to a point where
I need to solve a puzzle or I

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get to a part where it's
difficult and I'm going to pause

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it, I'm going to save it and
then I'm going to allow myself

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to potentially fail and then
I've got my save point.

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So that's what I that's what I
think about all the time IRL.

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It's like, Dang, I wish I could
pause.

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So you can't do that.
So there's we'll never know if

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there actually was something
that y'all avoided by waiting

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and like listening and and so
we'll just never know.

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We'll never know.
I think that's kind of even

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creepier, honestly.
Not knowing.

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Oh, I hate not knowing.
Not knowing is the worst.

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It's so scary and it feels like
you're not in control anyway.

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I, I, I like thinking that
Carrie's cousin was really just,

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you know, like, no guys, that's
it.

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I think honestly, this could be
a one and done.

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This could potentially be my
shortest episode because I like

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that explanation.
Carrie's cousin said Nope, I

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would like to continue
travelling with you.

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I did not ask to be spread along
a spooky, haunted, scary hiking

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trail.
But I still enjoy talking about

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Appalachia, even though I've
talked about it a couple times

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already and I'm going to talk
about it more.

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So here we go, We're going to
jump in.

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I have talked at length about
Appalachia, specifically the

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mountains in episode 32, Chased
in Appalachia.

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So if you want to hear a deeper
dive into the specific

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Appalachian Mountains
themselves, please go listen

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because I learned a lot of stuff
that I had not known about

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Appalachia in that episode, but
I'm not going to really rehash

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it here.
But this is also more about the

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Appalachian Trail, which is
where this was set.

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And so yes, the Appalachian
trails on the Appalachian

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Mountain, we're going to get
into it.

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OK, First we're going to kind of
discuss and, and, and talk about

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the Appalachian Trail,
Appalachian Mountains briefly.

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Then we will get into our
theories.

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I will share some limited
mundane slash skeptical slash

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naturalistic explanations for
what could have happened.

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And then, as always, I will
share some paranormal options

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that may not be entirely due to
Carrie's cousin.

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I still think I still think
that's the best theory.

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00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:14,720
I think we're I think honestly
close the book on it.

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00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,240
However, you know me, I yappers
dilemma.

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00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,960
I'm going to keep yapping
strange yapping all day long.

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00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,520
All right, here we go.
So since this story was set in

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00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:28,480
Northeast Tennessee, what that
puts it near is actually not

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00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,120
just Tennessee.
If you listen, are you good at

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00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,720
geography?
As you may know, if you've

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00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:38,480
listened to the show, I am a
geography genius.

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00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,800
I am really good at geography,
so I didn't even need to look

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00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,400
this up to know where it is on a
map.

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00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,200
I could point to it on a map
100% right now.

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00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,320
I don't know if you can tell.
Obviously, I probably wouldn't

234
00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,600
be able to identify Tennessee on
a map prior to my research of

235
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,560
looking very closely at
Tennessee today, however, I

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00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:58,280
could have gotten really close
to it.

237
00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,320
Anyway.
Tennessee borders northeast

238
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,000
Tennessee borders North
Carolina, Virginia, and

239
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,440
Kentucky, and of course it has
the Appalachian Mountains

240
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,880
running through it.
So here's from Wikipedia.

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00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,200
The Appalachian range runs from
the island of Newfoundland and

242
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:19,840
Canada 2050 miles southwestward
to central Alabama in the United

243
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,920
States, which is really far.
It's really far.

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00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,040
OK, this is what I thought was
crazy.

245
00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,040
I didn't know this even from my
previous research.

246
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,320
South of Newfoundland, it
crosses the 96 square mile

247
00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:37,680
archipelago of Saint Pierre and
MI Cullan, an overseas

248
00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,200
collectivity of France, meaning
it is technically in three

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00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,160
countries.
Did you know that I had no idea

250
00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,240
that there was a 96 square mile
archipelago?

251
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,040
Archipelago was also one of
those words that I read when I

252
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,800
was really young in a book and
no one had ever said it out loud

253
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:55,240
to me.
And so I went years and years

254
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,400
and years really unclear on how
to say it.

255
00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,520
And I would like 5050 shot
whether or not I said the right

256
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,520
way.
So let's hope, let's hope that I

257
00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,040
said it the right way.
All right, Wikipedia continues.

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00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,080
The range is older than the
other major mountain range in

259
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,600
North America, the Rocky
Mountains of the West.

260
00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,640
Some of the outcrops in the
Appalachians contain rocks

261
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,320
formed during the pre Cambrian
era, really long time ago.

262
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,560
The geologic processes that led
to the formation of the

263
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,400
Appalachian Mountains started
1.1 billion years ago.

264
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,440
Billion with AB crazy long time
ago.

265
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,160
And in my previous Appalachian
Chase and Appalachia episode, I

266
00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,640
do kind of talk more about
because you may be thinking

267
00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,720
this, I may be reading your mind
right now.

268
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,040
You may be thinking that you've
heard that the Appalachian

269
00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,520
Mountains are so old.
How old are they?

270
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,840
That's this is this is Madam
from the future.

271
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,880
While editing, I couldn't, I
couldn't resist.

272
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,760
OK, back, back to your scheduled
strange program.

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00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,920
That the Appalachian Mountains
are so old that there must be

274
00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:04,120
some reason why humans are so
scared of the Appalachian

275
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,160
Mountains.
And that it's some sort of like

276
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,400
primal instinct that we have
that something is there and it's

277
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,240
been so long that it's been
there, that maybe there's

278
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,120
something lurking there that's
not human.

279
00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,880
Very spooky.
I love that sort of angle.

280
00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:24,800
Gives me goosebumps.
I do talk about it in depth in

281
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,400
the Appalachia, chasing out
cash.

282
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,720
I can't remember the name of
this episode in the Chasing

283
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:31,640
Appalachia episode, which is
it's really interesting.

284
00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,880
So go back and listen.
Not right now, wait till you're

285
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,200
done, then go back and listen.
I'll allow it.

286
00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:38,520
And OK, enough about the
Appalachian Mountains, because

287
00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,760
we are on the Appalachian Trail,
otherwise known as the AT,

288
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,160
shortened to the AT.
If you're in the know, if you're

289
00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:50,600
nasty, you can call it the AT.
OK, this is for Wikipedia.

290
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,560
Again, the Appalachian Trail,
also called the AT that's what I

291
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,000
just said, is a hiking trail in
the eastern United States,

292
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,280
extending almost 2200 miles
between Springer Mountain in

293
00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:08,680
Georgia and Mount Kataton in
Maine and passing through 14

294
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,440
states, 14 states.
The Appalachian Trail

295
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,240
Conservancy claims that the
Appalachian Trail is the world's

296
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,680
longest hiking only trail.
Of course they would say that.

297
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,280
It feels like the Appalachian
Trail Conservancy would be the

298
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,040
first person to make that claim.
Anyway, more than 3 million

299
00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,520
people hike segments of the
Appalachian Trail or the AT each

300
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,600
year.
That's a lot of people from

301
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,480
South to north.
The AT passes through Georgia,

302
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,240
North Carolina, Tennessee,
Virginia, West Virginia,

303
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,880
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, Connecticut,

304
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,200
Massachusetts, Vermont, New
Hampshire, and Maine.

305
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,960
Fun fact, Native American hunter
gatherers first arrived in what

306
00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,920
is now Appalachia over 16,000
years ago.

307
00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,720
That's so long ago, 16,000,
that's so many years.

308
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,240
Let's put this in, let's put it
in perspective, 5000 years ago,

309
00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:11,240
5000 years ago, around 3000 BC,
you had major civilizations like

310
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:15,320
Mesopotamia and Egypt beginning
to form.

311
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,240
This is also the beginning of
the Bronze Age.

312
00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,480
So like humans are just starting
to work with bronze and making

313
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,840
tools and we're, we're just
getting out of the Stone Age.

314
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:29,360
And that was 5000 years ago.
So 16,000 years ago.

315
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,040
Crazy long.
Anyway, back to the AT.

316
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,560
The trail was conceived by
Benton McKay, a forester who

317
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,000
wrote his original plan called
an Appalachian Trail, a project

318
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,400
in regional planning.
Snooze fest.

319
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,600
So boring.
Shortly after his wife's death

320
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,360
in 19210.
That's sad.

321
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:50,160
I probably shouldn't have made
fun of that.

322
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,680
Mckay's idea detailed a grand
trail that would connect a

323
00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,040
series of farms and wilderness
work slash study camps for city

324
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,000
dwellers along the Appalachian
Mountains from the highest point

325
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,120
in the north, Mount Washington
and New Hampshire, to the

326
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,080
highest in the South, Mount
Mitchell and North Carolina.

327
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,080
Hiking was an incidental focus
of his plan.

328
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,320
So this man McKay is like, I
don't even hiking.

329
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,760
Why would anyone hike?
He's not even considering

330
00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,360
hiking.
So I still don't fully

331
00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:18,880
understand why he wants to make
a trail.

332
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,840
But you know, what do I know?
I didn't know this.

333
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,960
Here we go.
Throughout its length, the AT is

334
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,760
marked by white paint blazes
that are 2 by 6 inches.

335
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,800
If you're curious, a white paint
blaze is literally just someone

336
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:42,040
just slaps some white paint on a
on a tree trunk like it's 2 by 6

337
00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,000
inches.
That's it.

338
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,920
That's how you mark whether or
not you're on the trail.

339
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,160
That seems dangerous.
Does someone seem dangerous?

340
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,360
Like I feel like what if I
wander or if I miss it?

341
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:59,560
What if I blink right as I'm
passing a tree that has a 2 by 6

342
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,160
inch spot of white on it?
You see what I mean?

343
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,280
I listen.
Have you been to the AT?

344
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,640
Obviously Poppy, you have, so
let me know.

345
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,400
But if anyone else if you're
listening.

346
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,200
Have you been to the AT?
Did you get thrown off by the

347
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,640
fact that that's the only thing
that keeps you on the trail?

348
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,760
It's just, I feel like I would
get lost and then I would wander

349
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,400
off and die.
Like, OK, this isn't a true

350
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,760
crime podcast, but I found this
in my research.

351
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:31,960
This woman wandered off the
trail, probably because she

352
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,200
blinked as she was passing a
white paint blaze.

353
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,280
And then she survived 26 days in
the wilderness.

354
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:39,440
She got lost.
I couldn't find her.

355
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,920
Nobody could find her.
She survived 26 days, and then

356
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,280
she eventually died because she
was not prepared to be lost in

357
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,440
the Appalachian Mountains.
She was not prepared to be lost

358
00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,280
on the trail.
That would be me.

359
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,880
So that's why you're never going
to see me there.

360
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,360
I'm never going to set foot on
the AT.

361
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,680
That's just a fact.
OK, so we're going to get into

362
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,720
some theories now.
So theories as always, I do like

363
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,760
to look at it through two
lenses.

364
00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,800
One more of a skeptical lens and
then the other more of a

365
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,880
believer lens, paranormal.
So obviously I have a lot of

366
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:19,800
paranormal ideas here and I have
but one, but I feel strong

367
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,480
theory from a mundane angle and
we're so we're going to open

368
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,120
with that.
So as you know, as I've said, I

369
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,960
am not a big hiker, so I don't
have a lot of personal

370
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,000
experience hiking to be able to
say, oh, I've actually

371
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,600
encountered something like that
before.

372
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:39,200
And it was this, this easily
explainable mundane explanation,

373
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,120
but it was still spooky.
So Nope, I don't have that.

374
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:44,880
What I do have is an
imagination.

375
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:53,080
So picture this, there is like a
like a, like a thorny vine, you

376
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,880
know, some sort of thorny vine
situation.

377
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:57,840
I think that's the ideal
situation here.

378
00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:02,760
And it just so happens to catch
on your friend's backpack.

379
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:08,240
And it it's, it's just enough,
it's just strong enough to kind

380
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,360
of like tug on his backpack to
bring to tug him back, right.

381
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:18,440
And then because of physics, I
don't know, I'm not a physicist,

382
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:23,480
but because of physics, this
vine kind of snaps back up into

383
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,200
the brush and it's no longer
hanging down anymore.

384
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,000
I don't, you know, like a rubber
band.

385
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,840
Is that how is that how vines
work?

386
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:31,680
I don't know.
Let me know.

387
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,640
Do you know, are you a vine
ologist?

388
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:39,360
And I don't meet someone that
used to post on vine.

389
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,320
Is that something?
Anyway, let me know Madam

390
00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:45,480
strangeways@gmail.com.
Could this happen?

391
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:51,040
Could this be what possibly
tugged on Poppy's friend's

392
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:52,920
backpack?
Could it happen?

393
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,640
I feel like not.
I don't, I'm not there.

394
00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,320
I can't test it.
I feel like it's possible.

395
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,640
I feel like it's AI mean strong
is maybe the wrong word, but I

396
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,080
feel like it's a contender.
Maybe not the strongest, but I

397
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,280
feel like it's a contender.
But before we get into the

398
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:16,400
paranormal and folkloric
explanations, do you have a

399
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,000
theory on what could have
happened, on what might have

400
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,640
tugged on
poppysfriendsbackpackletmeknowimighthavestrangeways@gmail.com.

401
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,200
OK, now we get to move on to the
fun stuff.

402
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,680
So the unexplained or paranormal
or folkloric or etcetera,

403
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,960
etcetera, etcetera.
The cool, fun stuff.

404
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,320
Now we get to do that.
So starting off strong, we're in

405
00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,800
Tennessee.
So I can't not talk about the

406
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,640
Bell witch.
Hello.

407
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,320
Now I haven't done a full
episode on the bell witch but I

408
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,280
know that I have talked about
her before I just don't know

409
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,720
when and I think it's been a
minute.

410
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,480
So OK in a nutshell, the bell
witch isn't really honestly it's

411
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,360
not even really a witch.
Like everyone talks about the

412
00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,840
witch but like honestly it's
just kind of a poltergeist.

413
00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:04,560
Basically, just imagine a
poltergeist situation, but they

414
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,560
attribute it to a witch, but the
witch is invisible.

415
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,760
And also sometimes you hear the
story told us if there is no

416
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,320
witch and it's just a
disembodied voice, some sort of

417
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:18,600
some sort of spirit.
And in in the story, a man dies

418
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,800
and it's blamed on the on the
bell witch.

419
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,480
Very, very scary, very spooky.
And in fact, of course, my

420
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:31,280
beloved Blair Witch Project
movie was kind of based on like

421
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,920
loosely the bell witch.
So, you know, and I love a

422
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,720
witch, any witch.
I'm into it.

423
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,720
Any which way you slice it.
I love a witch.

424
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:48,200
But here's the thing with the
Bell witch, her, she is based in

425
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,320
I think central Tennessee, like
North Central, not Northeast

426
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,880
Tennessee.
So I don't think it's really

427
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,720
close enough to the story.
I don't think she had anything

428
00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,280
to do with this.
You know what, hold on a second.

429
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,640
Let me double check where she
is.

430
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,320
Hold on.
OK, I'm back.

431
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,400
Terrible news.
Terrible news.

432
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,360
Here, listen to this.
Some accounts record the Bell

433
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,560
Witch.
Also, to have been clairvoyant

434
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:14,000
and capable of crossing long
distances with superhuman speed

435
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,480
or of being in more than one
place at a time.

436
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,720
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no, no.

437
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,960
This, you know, it could be.
No, she's a contender.

438
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,480
She's back in the running
because it's very possible that

439
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,800
with her superhuman speed, which
I am picturing the Bell Witch

440
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,960
running like the Flash or like
Superman when he does, is like

441
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,640
super fast running.
You know, he's turning the axis

442
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:41,680
of the world.
OK, it's fine.

443
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,760
That's what I'm picturing.
But the witch, so she, it sounds

444
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,880
like she could have been there.
She could have been on the

445
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,280
Appalachian Trail with Y'all, or
she could have just been in two

446
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,440
places at once.
You know, it's possible.

447
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,960
It's possible.
Except I mean the bell, which

448
00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:02,520
was evil and potentially killed
someone, Jury's out on that one.

449
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,160
So, you know, I don't know, I
guess if she was there, she

450
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,840
probably would have done
something more evil than just

451
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,760
tugging on a backpack.
But here's possible.

452
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:12,160
It's possible that it's the Bell
Witch.

453
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:14,400
All right, moving on to another
theory.

454
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:20,760
This is from mythfolks.com.
This is the Giant of Taylor

455
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:25,280
Ridge.
Now, Taylor Ridge is a place

456
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,240
that is not too far from
Northeast Tennessee.

457
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,080
It's closer than the Bell Witch
was.

458
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,120
But I will say spoiler alert,
the Giant of Taylor Ridge does

459
00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:38,640
not have superhuman speed.
So just keep that in mind.

460
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,760
But it's a giant, so it has
longer strides.

461
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,280
So it can.
It just moves faster I guess.

462
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,000
OK, here we go.
Listen to this Deep in the

463
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,920
mountains of Taylor Ridge,
Legend has it that a giant once

464
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,280
roamed the land, towering over
men and animals.

465
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,400
This giant was said to be
peaceful, living in harmony with

466
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,280
the environment until settlers
moved into the area.

467
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,640
Is this just an allegory?
This is just an allegory for

468
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:07,680
indigenous peoples.
We're going to continue.

469
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,000
Sensing his time was over, the
giant simply walked off into the

470
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,040
mountains, never to be seen
again.

471
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,480
OK.
Some say his spirit still

472
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,840
watches over the riches, a
silent protector of the natural

473
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,800
world he once called home.
Oh, OK.

474
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,000
I mean, it could be him.
It could be the giant of Taylor

475
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,280
Ridge.
It's his spirit, so you wouldn't

476
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,600
see him because he's invisible,
just like the Bell Witch.

477
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,000
So we've got 2 invisible,
invisible entities.

478
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,600
But I don't know that the Giant
of Taylor ritually has a

479
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,880
motivation, so we're just going
to.

480
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,000
I'm just mentioning him because
he exists.

481
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,200
OK?
Now I will admit to you that

482
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,400
this next idea is even less
possible than the Giant of

483
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,920
Taylor Ridge.
But there wasn't a chance in

484
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:55,600
hell I wasn't going to talk
about this.

485
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,520
The greasy witches of the Rhone
Highlands.

486
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:04,040
I told you, I love a witch, and
these are greasy witches.

487
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,120
I I don't understand.
Let's get into it.

488
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,800
The Rhone Highlands, by the way,
are technically in North

489
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,840
Carolina.
However, they are very close to

490
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,120
northeast Tennessee.
They're very close to the border

491
00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:19,240
of Northeast Tennessee.
So I'm going to say it's a

492
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:23,120
possibility.
Again, in this story, the greasy

493
00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,920
witches do not have superhuman
speed, but they are greased, so

494
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,160
that may help with their
aerodynamics, and they may just

495
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,280
be able to, like, slide really
quickly.

496
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,320
And so then that's maybe how
they can get from point A to

497
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:43,640
point B really quickly.
Oh, man, here we go.

498
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,440
This is from the Johnson City
Public Library.

499
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:49,080
This is long, but I'm going to
read it.

500
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,520
Sorry.
The tale goes that a young

501
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:52,840
drifter.
It's not that long.

502
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,400
How long can it be $5?
Michael, listen, it's not a lot.

503
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,760
It's not long.
It's it's taking longer.

504
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,120
Me telling you it's long.
Here we go.

505
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,280
The tale goes that a young
drifter made his way into

506
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,320
Jonesboro, Tennessee, in the
town's early years.

507
00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,240
During a particularly cold
December, he racked up a

508
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,920
significant debt to several
parties and was aware of the

509
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,320
harsh punishment handed to
bankrupt debtors.

510
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,160
So he decided it was high time
to move along.

511
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,360
The Drifter began a trek through
the Rhone Highlands, planning to

512
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,200
crossover to North Carolina near
Sunset Rock.

513
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,760
Rhone's bald mountains were
bitterly cold in December, and

514
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:33,360
thinking himself near death from
cold exposure, the Drifter found

515
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,000
himself at the door of a cabin
by sheer luck.

516
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,560
But don't do that.
If you find a cabin by sheer

517
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,600
luck in the mountains, it's not
going to be good.

518
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:47,680
It's not.
They're not going to be.

519
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,360
It's not going to be good, OK?
2 old women welcomed to men,

520
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:53,640
feeding him and providing him
with a place to sleep.

521
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,280
Thinking himself quite lucky,
our protagonist decided to sleep

522
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,400
away the cold December night.
The drifter awoke to his hosts

523
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:05,360
coating themselves head to toe
in lard.

524
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,040
OK.
And upon chanting a magic spell

525
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,920
they flew out the little cabin's
chimney.

526
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:17,120
Now, this, that could have gone
in a couple directions.

527
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,200
OK.
But this next part, I'm kind of,

528
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,520
I'm at a I'm more at a loss of
this next part.

529
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,600
The drifter decided to follow
their example.

530
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,880
Up the chimney he went.
Now, it doesn't say did he

531
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:31,800
grease himself up before the
chimney?

532
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,840
Did he say a spell he must have
to go up the chimney?

533
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,520
I don't know.
How hard is it to climb up a

534
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:39,520
chimney?
It doesn't matter that he

535
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,880
followed the ladies over the
Bald Mountains back into

536
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:44,760
Jonesboro.
There he found them shopping,

537
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,280
quote UN quote, filling sacks to
the brim with the general source

538
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,760
food and whiskey.
He had a particular liking for

539
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,400
whiskey, especially free
whiskey, and he awoke sometime

540
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:54,920
later beneath a large barrel of
it the next morning.

541
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,840
As you can imagine, the
townsfolk were not happy with

542
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,360
this thievery, and the man's
punishment was arranged to be

543
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,800
carried out quickly.
As the tale goes, our

544
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:07,400
protagonist was visited in his
jail cell by the greasy witches

545
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,640
who struck a bargain in exchange
for his freedom.

546
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,280
Now, on cold winter nights,
folks in small Tennessee towns

547
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:18,520
say they occasionally wake up
with lighter cupboards and empty

548
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,840
bottles.
I don't know where.

549
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:25,920
What?
Why?

550
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:30,840
Who, What, when, Where, why?
The deal that they struck is

551
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,120
that they get to steal stuff
from people and then they let

552
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:36,360
this guy out.
I'm not following.

553
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:37,320
Let me.
Do you follow?

554
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,640
Are you a greasy witch?
Let me know.

555
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,920
Mind of strangeways@gmail.com.
We'll have you on the show.

556
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,600
OK, so I don't think the greasy
witches were involved, but

557
00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:47,560
they're called the greasy
witches.

558
00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,120
What was I supposed to do?
Not talk about them?

559
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,000
Are you kidding me?
What?

560
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,240
Come on.
Do you know me at all?

561
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,000
All right, and perhaps an even
less likely connection.

562
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,800
This is about the Manhattan
Project.

563
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,600
So if you're not familiar with
the Manhattan Project, you

564
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,960
clearly have not played
Civilizations 5 at a minimum.

565
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,120
That's the only one I really
played, and I played a lot of

566
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,080
it.
And I just remember the

567
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,320
Manhattan Project when you're
getting to the end of the game,

568
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:20,680
and I was, I played a lot of
that game.

569
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,400
I was not very good at it, but I
tried anyway.

570
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,960
The Manhattan Project was a
research and development program

571
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,840
undertaken during World War 2 to
produce the first nuclear

572
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,960
weapons.
Listen, Why?

573
00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:35,800
What does this have to do with
Tennessee, you may be asking?

574
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:41,080
Well, close to northeastern
Tennessee is the Oak Ridge

575
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:46,320
National Laboratory and the Y 12
National Security Complex in Oak

576
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:51,400
Ridge, TN, which I'm saying is
not that far away from the place

577
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:55,160
of the story in Northeast
Tennessee with the Manhattan

578
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,800
Project and advancements in
supercomputing and nuclear power

579
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,200
happening at both of these
places.

580
00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,840
So what else was going on?
What else is the government not

581
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:09,400
telling us?
What else is happening in those

582
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,720
places?
Maybe some sort of telekinesis.

583
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:16,440
Telekinesis technology, you
know, who knows?

584
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,720
It could be, don't you?
Don't know, It's possible.

585
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,440
Or maybe you do know.
Do you know, do you have secret,

586
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,560
top secret whistle blower
information about what the

587
00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:30,680
government is up to in
northeastern Tennessee?

588
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,440
Don't e-mail me.
I don't want to hear about it.

589
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,960
I don't want to get disappeared.
So please don't e-mail me if you

590
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,680
have that secret information.
OK, moving on.

591
00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:46,320
I feel like I talk about this
guy almost every episode.

592
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,760
At least if you're outdoors,
he's probably going to come up.

593
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:50,440
And that's right.
It's everyone's favorite.

594
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:54,720
It's Bigfoot.
It's Bigfoot or the Tennessee

595
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:56,960
Wildman.
And I'm going to be honest, it's

596
00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:02,480
unclear if it's just what people
in Tennessee call Bigfoot or if

597
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,960
the Tennessee Wildman is
actually a separate entity from

598
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,520
Bigfoot.
Maybe they're distinct cousins

599
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,199
or step brothers.
TBD.

600
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,080
Unclear if you know, let me know
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

601
00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:17,880
But we've talked enough about
Bigfoot in multiple different

602
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,719
episodes and this is not a
typical Bigfoot thing.

603
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,120
Like Bigfoot's like to throw
rocks and and scream, which is

604
00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:27,800
probably why Bigfoot's have some
of the lowest levels of stress

605
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,880
amongst those living in North
America.

606
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,239
But they don't grab backpacks,
so it's probably not Bigfoot.

607
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,600
OK, I've got one more
possibility for you.

608
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:44,800
And this is a figure known as
Sewell Kalo and he is a figure

609
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:49,320
in Cherokee mythology.
His name apparently apparently

610
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:56,600
translates to the slant eyed or
sloping giant, which is maybe we

611
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,640
don't name.
What is it with naming all of

612
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,160
these figures after just their
one obvious physical

613
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:10,080
characteristic?
Like Bigfoot, you know, or

614
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:14,120
greasy witches?
It's interesting.

615
00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:16,600
Interesting.
OK, this is from the World

616
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:20,680
History Encyclopedia, written by
Joshua J Mark.

617
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,480
Joshy J, as his friends call
him.

618
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:29,320
If you're nasty then you can
call Joshy J that on the AT.

619
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,640
So here we go, we've got Sewell
Kalu.

620
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,440
The Slant Eye Giant is a myth of
the Cherokee Nation and is among

621
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:40,160
the most popular.
The legend relates the story of

622
00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,600
the great giant Sewell Kalu, his
marriage to a Cherokee maiden,

623
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,840
and how the people broke trust
with him so that ever after he

624
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,400
could not be seen though his
presence could be powerfully

625
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,680
felt.
I said that sentence wrong, but

626
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:56,720
I was feeling the vibe though
his presence and power could be

627
00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:00,760
felt.
So did you catch that he's also

628
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,080
invisible?
Why are there so many invisible

629
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:07,960
characters in Tennessee?
I feel like in particular

630
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:09,560
Tennessee is a lot of invisible
people.

631
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,320
And so apparently this is what
this is what Joshie J goes on to

632
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,480
say.
As a spirit, the giant is

633
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,560
invisible.
And this is hardly unusual as

634
00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:20,560
Native American Lord generally
and Cherokee tales specifically,

635
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:24,840
abound with unseen spirits.
Isn't that interesting?

636
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,400
Hmm, I want to learn more about
this, but I'm also looking at

637
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,520
the clock like, oh, we're over
40 minutes, so let's let's maybe

638
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:36,000
not.
OK, So Seoul Kalu is from the

639
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,760
Tennessee Bald Mountain in
modern day North Carolina.

640
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,160
Again, this is really close to
like the border though.

641
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,080
So it's close to Northeast
Tennessee.

642
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:48,200
But I did say Tennessee.
I didn't say Tennessee with an

643
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,600
accent.
I said Tennessee.

644
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:57,080
It's spelled TANAS EE.
I wanted to know where is this

645
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,760
Tennessee Bald Mountain
specifically to make sure that

646
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:01,760
it's, you know, close enough to
the story, which it is.

647
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,840
But listen to this.
It says it's near a mountain

648
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:08,200
near the Blue Ridge Parkway in
western North Carolina on the

649
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:12,000
Haywood slash Transylvania
border.

650
00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:15,520
Hold up.
What do you mean?

651
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:21,120
I didn't know that there was a
Transylvania, North Carolina.

652
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,440
Was anyone going to tell me that
you're just out here gatekeeping

653
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:29,240
Transylvania's South Carolina,
North Carolina.

654
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,360
Sorry, North Carolina from me.
You were going to tell me.

655
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:38,640
And I I'm using every bit of
willpower to not look it up.

656
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:39,320
OK?
I can't.

657
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:40,680
I got to look it up.
All right?

658
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,640
According to
transylvaniantransylvaniacounty.org,

659
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,800
Transylvania County is located
in beautiful western North

660
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:51,080
Carolina and it's called the
Land of Waterfalls.

661
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,360
Well, isn't that nice?
There's no vampires mentioned,

662
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:58,040
which is disappointing is a word
I might use.

663
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:00,880
OK, we're OK.
We're we're back, back to

664
00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:04,520
Tennessee.
So Soul Kalu is invisible, like

665
00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:06,640
we said.
And apparently he can also read

666
00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,520
minds, like from far away.
He doesn't even need to be near

667
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,480
you.
He can read your mind from far

668
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:14,360
away.
So you'll hear me out.

669
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,880
Maybe this just occurred to me.
This is not in my notes.

670
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:19,440
This just occurred to me.
Hear me out.

671
00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,960
He can read minds and he's
invisible.

672
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:27,600
He knew.
He knew that Carrie's cousin in

673
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,280
the urn did not want to be left
there.

674
00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:34,720
So he was trying to tell you
guys he was like, guys, y'all

675
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:36,120
are.
This is a waste of time.

676
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:38,120
She doesn't want to be left
here.

677
00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:40,240
He was tugging on your friend's
backpack.

678
00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:42,960
Like, uh, uh, uh, he's trying to
save you some time.

679
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,120
He's trying to save you the
effort of going all the way

680
00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,040
there.
You know, I don't know.

681
00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:50,760
I think it's possible.
I think it's possible.

682
00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:55,800
It's possible that one of the
many, many invisible

683
00:38:56,280 --> 00:39:00,280
supernatural slash mythological
figures might be involved.

684
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:03,520
But here's the thing.
I don't want to end on a bummer,

685
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:08,920
but I'm gonna because I have
mentioned indigenous cultures

686
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:13,120
multiple times on the show and I
feel like I would be remiss if I

687
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:16,760
didn't acknowledge, especially
in this episode, the Trail of

688
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,600
Tears at a minimum.
I'm just going to do the bare

689
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:22,720
minimum here, which is
mentioning the Trail of Tears

690
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:25,840
which affected the Five
Civilized Tribes as they were

691
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,600
called, which is the Cherokee,
which is the most relevant in

692
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:34,680
this story, the Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Muskogee and Seminole

693
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,960
nations.
So the trail of Cheers this is

694
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,760
from Wikipedia was the forced
displacement and ethnic

695
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:44,000
cleansing of about 60,000 Native
Americans, including their black

696
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:48,640
slaves between 1830 and 1850 by
the United States government.

697
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,600
American settlers had been
pressuring the federal

698
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,360
government to remove Indians
from the southeast.

699
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,040
Many settlers were encroaching
on Indian lands while others

700
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:00,800
wanted more land made available
to the settlers.

701
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,160
Me, me, me, me.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Gimme.

702
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:06,760
Although the effort was
vehemently opposed by some,

703
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:11,080
including US Congressman Davy
Crockett of Tennessee, President

704
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,720
Andrew Jackson was able to gain
congressional passage of the

705
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,920
Indian Removal Act of 1830,
which authorized the government

706
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:22,720
to extinguish any Indian title
to land claims in the Southeast.

707
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,360
Andrew Jackson, as it turns out,
is kind of a villain.

708
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:30,720
Not kind of he is a villain, but
my excitement and hearing Davy,

709
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:32,840
Davy Crockett, it's like, what
do you mean?

710
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,960
Hold on a minute.
Because, you know, I was born

711
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,320
and raised in Texas.
And at least when I was going to

712
00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:45,080
school, Texans in public school
had a special Texas history

713
00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:47,880
class in addition to American
history.

714
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:52,480
They were separate classes.
So when I tell you I heard an

715
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,600
awful lot about Davy Crockett
when I was going to public

716
00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,560
school, I did because he was
involved in the Texas

717
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,880
Revolution, and Texas loves
Texas.

718
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:05,240
Texas is such a narcissist.
So we learned a lot about

719
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:06,920
Texans.
So what do you mean?

720
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:11,360
Davy Crockett is not only in
Tennessee trying to advocate for

721
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:14,280
indigenous Americans, but then
he goes and he's involved in the

722
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:17,640
Texas Revolution.
So I don't know how I feel about

723
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:19,720
this man.
Hmm.

724
00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:21,360
I'll tell you what I do know,
though.

725
00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:27,480
Davy Crockett was not involved
in the mysterious happenings on

726
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:33,120
your hike on the AT Poppy.
I can tell you that 100%

727
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:36,480
certainty.
I have no question it was not

728
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:40,640
Davy Crockett, but I don't know
what it was other than, like I

729
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:45,880
said, Carrie's cousin, Carrie's
cousin trying to let y'all know.

730
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,200
This ain't this ain't it, This
ain't it.

731
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:51,040
So Poppy, again, thank you so
much for allowing me to read

732
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:53,840
your story on the show.
And for anyone else, if you're

733
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,880
listening and you have a story
that you would love to send me

734
00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:59,400
to hear read on the show, I
would love to hear it.

735
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:04,280
You can e-mail me at
madamstrangeways@gmail.com and I

736
00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:17,560
can't wait to read it.
Remember that you can feel

737
00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:21,680
afraid and not be in danger.
You're safe here with me,

738
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:25,880
probably.
Thank you for joining me for

739
00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:29,120
more true strange stories of the
unexplained.

740
00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:33,320
I'm running A1 Madam Show here
though, so please do me a

741
00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:37,400
strange solid and follow the
podcast or leave me a rating on

742
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:41,280
Apple or Spotify and or maybe
even consider joining the

743
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:45,680
Patreon at patreon.com/madam
Strangeways for more bonus

744
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:48,280
content.
And Please remember, tell your

745
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:53,240
friends and foes about the show.
It would mean the world to me.

746
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:58,040
The underworld, obviously.
Madam Strangeways is produced

747
00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:02,480
and narrated by me.
Madam Strangeways theme music is

748
00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:08,200
by marina.ryan@marinamakes.co.
Cover art is by Andrea Shiselle

749
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:11,160
Roldan at Cult of Teddy on
Instagram.

750
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,440
Every strange story is shared
with the permission of the

751
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,360
author.
You could submit your own true

752
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:21,080
strange story to
madamstrangeways@gmail.com or on

753
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:26,000
madamstrangeways.com.
See you soon, she said

754
00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:27,200
ominously.