The McKinney Center hosted StoryTown Radio Show’s annual Halloween special “Ghostly Stories” on Oct. 24. The event retold a variety of different stories found throughout Appalachia all pertaining to the eerie events people have experienced.
The event is one of many that StoryTown hosts every month. The radio show airs every last Wednesday of each month on WETS, 89.5 FM live from the McKinney Center. Each airing retells the stories found throughout Appalachia, but this event was in lieu of the spookiest season of all, Halloween.
“Every year since we have done the radio show, since 2012, we have always done a haunted Jonesborough or a haunted Eat Tennessee because we have so many fabulous legends around us,” said host Jules Corriere.
The stories were retold on stage by members of the surrounding communities found in Washington County. One Jonesborough man retold the story of how his seventh-great-grandmother was the last person hanged in the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused of being a witch solely for the land she owned. Prominent citizens of Salem knew that upon her death, they could take her land. The local man’s aunt was exonerated twenty years after her death.
Another story was retold about a ghost named “Diamond Eyes,” who ran throughout the mountains near Newport, TN. The story told that when men went upon the mountain to drink moonshine, during the prohibition of alcohol, that they would encounter a ghost with “eyes that shined like diamonds.” Although, the local pastor thought they used this ghost as an excuse to skip church and to continue drinking throughout the night.
During intermission, the David Crockett High School Madrigal Singers performed Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash,” and Fifth Harmony’s “I’m In Love With a Monster.”
Many more stories were told throughout the night including stories like “Corn Night,” when a woman was traveling late at night around Halloween and was bombarded with ears of corn appearing out of thin air. Another story presented by the Heritage Alliance, “O’ Lord Where Will I Put it,” told the story of a ghost that haunted overnight guests by repeating the phrase “Oh lord where will I put it?” throughout the night. The ghost would quickly become quiet after the homeowner replied “By God! Put it where you got it!”
Resident Lisa Holley’s story was retold about one of the times she went through a haunted house. Her family was placed together with a 20-year-old man who had never been through a haunted house before. Her story told how the man was losing his sanity as they progressed through the house until the very end when he encountered a “person’s” guts. Upon seeing the horrifying image, he destroyed the entire haunted house to find the exit. Holley said she never saw the man again.
Corriere is one of the hosts of StoryTown’s Radio Show, which has been airing since 2011. She said that they pull together various stories every month to retell the legends found in the area. She wants to make note that all of the cast members of members of our community. The radio show also highlights different holidays and dedicated months in their shows. For instance, Corriere said that during June they highlight stories told by black community members, highlighting their heritage found in Appalachia.
To learn more about StoryTown Radio Show, visit their Facebook page. They air on WETS 89.5 FM the last Wednesday of every month at 8 p.m. You can find more of their posts on social media by using the hashtags #storytown #McKinneyCenter and #onlyjonesborough.
