Unearthing the forgotten, the mysterious, and the legendary—one Southern story at a time. Hosted by Shannon Ballard, Southern Mysteries explores the rich and often untold history of the American South through a captivating mix of folklore, legends, unexplained mysteries, and true crime. Each episode uncovers a compelling tale from a Southern state, blending history with intrigue to reveal the fascinating stories that time left behind. While some episodes delve into chilling crimes, others spotlight legendary figures, ghostly lore, or baffling events. Sometimes, the biggest mystery is why you’ve never heard these stories before.
Episodes
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Savannah is Georgia’s first city and one of America’s most haunted. If you visit Savannah’s historic district and stroll the city squares, at some point, you are walking on the dead. Victims of war, yellow fever epidemics, fires, murder and enslavement who died during turbulent times in the city. Savannah is a city that lives upon the dead and some continue to make their presence known.
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Connect
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Episode Sources
- “432 Abercorn Street: Haunted Mansion Or Just a Rumor Mill?”, The Savannah First-Timer’s Guide. (Viewed October 3, 2023) <https://savannahfirsttimer.com/432-abercorn-street>
- “Savannah Child Killed by Marble Table Top”, The Atlanta Constitution, December 3, 1933. (Viewed October 2, 2023) <https://www.newspapers.com/image/398101049>
- “Man Is Injured in 14-Ft Fall”, The Macon Telegraph, December 13, 1933. (Viewed October 2, 2023) <https://www.newspapers.com/image/826315007>
- “Grand Jury to Probe Wesley Espy’s Death”, The Atlanta Constitution, January 31, 1934. (Viewed October 2, 2023) <https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-atl-constitutio/60239352>
- “Carl Espy Sr”, Abbeville Herald, February 15, 1951. (Viewed October 2, 2023) <https://www.newspapers.com/article/abbeville-herald-obituary-for-carl-espy/67883727>
- “Why is Savannah one of America’s Most Haunted Cities?“, Savannah.com. (Viewed October 2, 2023) <https://www.savannah.com/why-is-savannah-one-of-americas-most-haunted-cities>
- “New report takes a fresh look at Savannah's role in the history of American slavery”, GPB.org, October 25, 2022. (Viewed October 10, 2023) <https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/10/25/new-report-takes-fresh-look-at-savannahs-role-in-the-history-of-american-slavery>
- “Beneath the Surface”, Savannah Magazine, May 15, 2017. (Viewed October 9, 2023) <https://www.savannahmagazine.com/beneath-the-surface/>
- “Why was Nathanael Greene's skeleton kept in a bank vault?”, The Augusta Chronicle, August 1, 2022. (Viewed October 9, 2023) <https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2022/08/01/monday-mystery-skeleton-revolutionary-war-hero-kept-bank-vault/10169971002/>
- “Haunted Crime Scenes: Savannah's 'Most Haunted' House”, True Crime Library, 2007. (Viewed October 3, 2023) <https://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/classics/hampton-lillibridge/1_index.html>
- “Died in the West”, The Atlanta Constitution, February 16, 1896. (Viewed October 7, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/26788699>
Episode Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Dark Times by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Demopolis, a small town in West Central Alabama, is the home to many a tale of ghosts and the unexplained, including at Bluff Hall. There is a dark history associated with the grand old home, including a funeral service for four members of the Smith family. The Demopolis Times called the discovery of their bodies in November 1934 “the most shocking tragedy that has happened in the city of Demopolis.
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Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- “Tales of Ghosts Haunt Demopolis Landmarks River”, The Demopolis Times, Nov 1, 2019. (Viewed September 3, 2023) <https://www.demopolistimes.com/2018/11/01/tales-of-ghosts-haunt-demopolis-landmarks-rive>
- “They Just Weren’t The Kind of People for That”, Crime Reads, February 3, 2023. (Viewed September 4, 2023). <https://crimereads.com/they-just-werent-the-kind-of-people-for-that-the-1934-smith-family-massacre-in-demopolis-alabama/>
- “Shocking Tragedy Here Sunday Stirs Community”, The Demopolis Times, November 29, 1934. (Viewed September 3,2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/539484992/?match=1>
- “Alkire-Smith”, The Demopolis Times, October 11, 1933. (Viewed September 4, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/539386981/>
- “Verdict Found at Demopolis”, Our Southern Home, December 5, 1934. (Viewed September 5, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/551861356/?terms=elsie%20smith&match=1>
- “Bluff Hall”, Encyclopedia of Alabama. (Viewed September 2, 2023).<https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/bluff-hall/>
- “Murder and Suicide Seen in Demopolis Tragedy”, The Selma Times Journal, November 26, 1934. (Viewed September 2, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/570062089/>
Episode Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Peace of Mind and Long Note Two by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
On December 11, 1926 a small town bank near Austin, Texas was robbed at gunpoint by a 21 year old college student Rebecca Bradley. She wasn’t the typical bank robber of the 1920s. What secrets drove this “girl next door” to armed robbery and arson?
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- “Drop Co-Ed Bandit Charge as Rebecca Becomes Mother”, El Paso Herald-Post, October 25, 1933. (Viewed on August 23, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/796631421/?clipping_id=131550098>
- “The End of an Unusual Case”, Wichita Falls Times, October 27, 1933. (Viewed on August 23, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/article/wichita-falls-times/131148529>
- “Amarillo Attorney Tells of Marriage to Bandit Suspect”, Ft. Worth Telegram Star, December 14, 1926. (Viewed on August 28, 2023). <https://www.newspapers.com/image/634535367/?terms=rebecca%20bradley>
- “Rebecca Bradley Girl Bandit”, ScandalsandSweets.com.(Viewed on August 21, 2023). <https://scandalsandsweets.com/rebecca-bradley-girl-bandit>
- “Texas Girl Bandit Accused of Arson”,The New York Times, December 12, 1026.(Viewed on August 20, 2023). <https://www.nytimes.com/1926/12/16/archives/texas-girl-bandit-accused-of-arson-buda-bank-robber-is-arrested-for.html>
Episode Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Dixie Outlandish and Castleshire by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Meet sisters Caroline Martin, Virginia Wardlaw and Mary Snead. They left a long trail of devastation and death of family members from Kentucky to Tennessee and Virginia on to New Jersey where they were implicated in the mysterious death of a young family member.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
“Soule Sisters Series”, Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 2009. Accessed March 2, 2028. https://rutherfordtnhistory.org/rutherford-county-hosted-three-wicked-witches/
“Three Sisters in Black: The Bizarre True Case of the Bathtub Tragedy” by Norman Zierold. Accessed March 1, 2018.
https://books.google.com/books?id=wqdLDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
“Ghosts of past still frighten New River Valley”, Collegiate Times, October 31, 2006. Accessed March 10, 2018.
https://www.collegiatetimes.com/lifestyle/ghosts-of-past-still-frighten-new-river-valley/article_0b71ec43-ff02-5af4-a83e-8016c081891a.html
“Sister Act: The Bizarre Drowning of Ocey Snead”, The Lineup, July 19, 2018. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://the-line-up.com/the-bizarre-drowning-of-ocey-snead
Episode Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Colorless Aura by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Otto Wood was a self–proclaimed one armed-bandit from North Carolina. He made a name for himself as a bootlegger who loved stealing from the rich. Being sent to jail only heightened his fame. He escaped prison so many times he was nicknamed the Hillbilly Houdini.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
‘They started popping bullets’: Eyewitness recalls the day Otto Wood died. Salisbury Post. January 2015. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://www.salisburypost.com/2015/07/30/they-started-popping-bullets-eyewitness-recalls-the-day-otto-wood-died/
Wood, Otto. Life history of Otto Wood: inmate, State Prison. Raleigh, N.C.: 1926.
Otto Wood: North Carolina’s One Man Crime Wave. Old Hat Records. Accessed August 3, 2023. http://www.oldhatrecords.com/ResearchOttoWood.html
The not too well-known desperado. Accessed August 3, 2023. http://kronsell.net/woodenglish.htm
McKenzie, T. (2021). Otto Wood, the Bandit: The Freighthopping Thief, Bootlegger, and Convicted Murderer behind the Appalachian Ballads. University of North Carolina Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469665672_mckenzie
Episode Music
The Colonel by Zachariah Hickman. Licensed under Creative Commons; Otto Wood: The Bandit by The Carolina Buddies, Columbia Phonograph Recordings, 1931. Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
In June 1964, the Ku Klux Klan conspired with law enforcement in Neshoba County, Mississippi to kidnap and murder three young civil rights workers. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered in an effort to preserve segregation in the state and deter further civil rights activism. Despite dozens of indictments and a few trials, was justice served? What role did the state of Mississippi play in their murders?
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “Sovereignty Commission Online website”. (Viewed on July 29, 2023). <www.mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/>
- Mississippi Encyclopedia. “Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission”. (Viewed on July 29, 2023). <https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/mississippi-state-sovereignty-commission/>
- African American History. Cozzens, Lisa. "Brown v. Board of Education." (Viewed on July 29, 2023). <http://fledge.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html>
- Wisconsin Historical Society Freedom Summer Digital Collection. “Edward Hollander recordings [sound recording], 1963-1964; Audio 369A; WIHVH2870-A.” (Viewed on July 28, 2023)<https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/p15932coll2/id/11990>
- Jackson Free Press. “FBI Celebrates Civil-Rights Heroes”. (Viewed on July 30,2023) <https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/21/fbi-celebrates-civil-rights-heroes/>
- Famous Trials. “Mississippi Burning Trial Chronology.” (Viewed on August 1, 2023) <https://famous-trials.com/mississippi-burningtrial/1959-chronology>
- King Encyclopedia.”Freedom Summer.” (Viewed on August 1, 2023) <https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/freedom-summer>
- Jewish Women's Archive. "Rita Schwerner." (Viewed on August 2, 2023) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bender-rita>.
- Neshoba Democrat. “Mt. Zion to hold annual memorial”. (Viewed on July 31, 2023)<https://neshobademocrat.com/stories/mt-zion-to-hold-annual-memorial,87244>
- Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. “Memorial service for James Chaney.” 1964-08-28. (Viewed July 28, 2023). <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-m901z42919>.
- History.com. “Freeom Summer.” (Viewed July 27, 2023). <https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-summer>
- Porter, Dawn. “Spies of Mississippi.” (Viewed July 29, 2023). <https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/spies-of-mississippi/>
Episode Music
Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallager. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
This 2020 episode is one of the most popular in the Southern Mysteries archive. It tells the story of Elizabeth Dale. Between the 1830s and 1850s, she was married and widowed, six times. Each husband died following a mysterious illness. When Elizabeth’s neighbor accused her of murdering her husbands, he learned that questioning Elizabeth could cost you your life.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Elizabeth High-Brown-Routt: Hazel Green's First Serial Killer, Memories of Madison County.
Elizabeth Evans Dale. Huntsville History Collection
Federal Writers Project (2013). The WPA Guide to Alabama: The Camellia State. Retrieved from http://books.google.com
"Attempt to Convict Based On The Testimony Of A Monomaniac". Nashville Daily Patriot. [volume], January 22, 1856, Image 2
"Dead Husbands Tell No Tales". Okay, Listen Here. 27 October 2010
"Elizabeth Routt: Did She Murder Her Six Husbands Or Was She a Victim of Misfortune?" Huntsville Times. 26 February 1976
Carrington, Virgil. True Tales of Old Madison County, (1992). Johnson Historical Publications
Episode Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Plantation by Audionautix. Licensed under Creative Commons. One Mile East of Hazel Green by Shane Adkins, from performance at Von Braun Center, Huntsville Alabama on June 7th, 2014 as part of Jim Parker's Songwriter Series
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Monday Jun 19, 2023
In 1959 Osprey, Florida was shaken by the murder of the Walker Family, just days before Christmas. The quadruple murder remains unsolved. Some investigators believe there’s a connection between the murder of the Walkers in Florida…and the Clutter Family Murder in Holcomb, Kansas.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- Walker Murder Investigative Report from Florida Sherrif’s Bureau. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/525057/walker-2.pdf
- The suspects: A litany of names and clues. Herald-Tribune. Accessed June 8, 2023
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2005/12/19/the-suspects-a-litany-of-names-and-clues/28452224007/ - Years Later, Sarasota Murders Tied to ‘In Cold Blood’ Case. Accessed June 8, 2023.
https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2013/05/18/years-later-sarasota-murders-tied/8122891007/ - Unsolved Mysteries: The Walker Family Murders. Accessed June 8, 2023.
https://truecrimedetective.co.uk/in-cold-blood-ii-the-walker-family-murders-d16969e7dac4 - Resurrecting the “Mummy murder’ case. Accessed June 8, 2023.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/03/23/resurrecting-the-mummy-murder-case/ - Clutter Family Murders. Accessed. Accessed June 9, 2023.
https://www.gcpolice.org/about-gcpd/history/famous-cases/clutter-family-murders - No DNA link between Walker murders, ‘In Cold Blood’ killers
https://web.archive.org/web/20151126101903/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130813/ARTICLE/130819868 - Walker investigation shows parts of ‘In Cold Blood’ don’t add up. Accessed June 9, 2023.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130128075855/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121209/ARTICLE/121209622?p=2&tc=pg - Did the Clutter Murderers Kill Again? Accessed June 10, 2023.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323951904578292491087476234
Episode Music
Emotional Alone by Purple Planet Music. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Monday Jun 05, 2023
The murder of Solomon P. Sharp by Jereboam Beauchamp is known as The Kentucky Tragedy. It’s a complicated story of seduction, politics, love and execution.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- Southern Literary Messenger. Encyclopedia of Virginia. Accessed May 30, 2023. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/southern-literary-messenger/
- The confession of Jereboam Beauchamp "(written by himself) who was executed at Frankfort, Ky., for the murder of Col. Solomon P. Sharp, a member of the legislature, and late attorney-general of Ky. To which is added some poetical pieces written by Mrs. Ann Beauchamp, who voluntarily put a period to her existence on the day of the execution of her husband, and was buried in the same grave with him. Accessed May 30, 2023. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/sat1109
- The Kentucky Tragedy in American Literature: From Thomas Holley Chivers to Robert Warren. Jack Edward Surrency, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Accessed May 30, 2023. ttps://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5389&context=utk_graddiss
- Jereboam O. Beauchamp. Murderpedia. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/beauchamp-jereboam.htm
Episode Music
I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honor by Chris Zabriske and No. 7 Alone with My Thought by Esther Abrami. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
The story of Joe Ball has been a part of Texas lore since the 1930s. He’s known to have killed two people but investigators believed he may have killed up to 20. Were nearly a dozen victims fed to Joe’s pet alligators?
Want more Southern Mysteries?
Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
- Joe Ball: The Butcher of Elmendorf. Accessed May 1, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20070916033830/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/joe_ball/index.html
- Two Barmaids, Five Alligators, and the Butcher of Elmendorf. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/butcher-of-elmendorf-alligators/
- Joseph D. Ball Accessed May 1, 2023. http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/ball-joseph.htm
Episode Music
Lost Cowboy by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use