Nearly every small town has its own backlog of folklore, creepy occurrences, and dark history. Staunton is no different! In this episode, we bring some of those stories to you, just in time for Halloween.
The Staunton train station is a central place for local spooks. Its long history has a number of troubling events.
Appalachian Jack Tales were brought over by English settlers, often telling a moral or teaching a lesson. Jack and the Beanstalk or Jack the Giantkiller are by far the most widely known, but here, Alex relates a lesser known Jack Tale.
The Western State Mental Hospital has gone through many iterations. The one Makayla relates in this episode is right on museum property. The DeJarnette State Sanitarium has a dark and troubling past.
Just as immediate to the museum as the DeJarnette buildings, the twin hills or ‘mounts’ of Betsy Bell and Mary Gray loom over the 19th century buildings on the Frontier Culture Museum. Listen to the Steeleye Span version of Child Ballad 301, which should give you perfect chills down your spine!
Banjo Strings and Drinking Gourds 