Spooky Tales And Sci-Fi, Inside Appalachia

Submitted for your approval, we have a selection of spooky tales for Halloween and beyond.

We have scary stories read by acclaimed sci-fi and horror authors, tales of the supernatural, and we might know someone who says they’ve seen a ghost. 

All this and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

• Mike Allen And “The Button Bin”
• Molly Born And The Spooky Old Tunnel
• A Ghost Story
• Another Ghost Story
• The Return Of The Headless Man And The Murdered Girl

Mike Allen And The Button Bin

Mike Allen is an award-winning science fiction, fantasy and horror writer based in Roanoke, Virginia. Besides writing, Mike also runs Mythic Delirium, a micropress that “specializes in speculative fiction and poetry, with a penchant for writing that’s challenging to classify.”

Mason Adams visited Mike to talk about fantasy and horror and to hear excerpts from one of his stories.

Molly Born And The Spooky Old Tunnel

Spooky stories can be about people, but sometimes they’re just about a place. In Mingo County, West Virginia there’s an old single-lane railroad tunnel that’s become a local legend. 

Back in 2018, reporter Molly Born ventured inside the Dingess tunnel to find out what makes it so unsettling.

Ghost Story

Some people are afraid of ghosts. Others want to figure out ways to communicate with them – like Anita Allen, a writer and paranormal investigator in Roanoke. 

Mason Adams talked to her about a couple of her ghost encounters.

Another Ghost Story

Haunted places dot Appalachia – moonlit hollers, mist-shrouded cemeteries, and dusty buildings that hold unspoken secrets. Playwright and theater director Dan Kehde knows just such a place in Charleston, West Virginia. 

Return Of the Headless Man And The Murdered Girl

James Froemel, an actor and storyteller in Morgantown, West Virginia brought us two stories from Ruth Anne Musick.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Animals, Amy Lavere, Jason Isbell, Gerry Milnes, Sierra Ferrel, Southern Culture on the Skids and Red Sovine.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.