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 May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was wrongfully convicted of murder and executed by the state of South Carolina. The 14 year old was the youngest person to be executed in 20th century America.
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Episode Sources
- Court Acknowledges Wrongful Execution of 14-Year Old George Stinney, Accessed March 30, 2023. https://eji.org/news/george-stinney-exonerated/
- State v. Stinney, Brief of Amicus Curiae, Accessed April 10, 2023.
- Justice is Done: George Stinney Jr.’s 70 Year Old Conviction is Vacated, April 10, 2023.
https://lawlibrarybarrister.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/justice-is-done-george-stinney-jr-s-70-year-old-conviction-is-vacated/ - New details emerge about an alternate suspect in Alcolu girls’ murders. Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/special_reports/new-details-emerge-about-an-alternate-suspect-in-alcolu-girls-murders/article_2b2069f0-2933-11e8-9997-7b67df562df5.html
Episode Music
Dark Times by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
A sensational tale of obsession, murder and a secret lover were front page news in the summer of 1922. At the center of it all was Walburga Oesterreich, more commonly known as Dolly. Detectives worked for over a decade to solve the mystery of the murder of her husband, Fred. A scorned lover revealed the answers and Dolly's secrets shocked the country.
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Website: southernmysteries.com
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Episode Sources
The Story Of Dolly Oesterreich – The Woman Who Kept Her Secret Lover In The Attic For Years. Accessed Dec 12, 2022 https://allthatsinteresting.com/dolly-oesterreich
The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. A True Story. Accessed Dec 29,2022. https://laist.com/news/la-history/hidden-history-of-la-the-murderous-lover-who-lived-in-a-silver-lake-attic
The Legend of Milwaukee’s Most Infamous Love Triangle. Accessed December 30, 2022. https://www.milwaukeemag.com/the-legend-of-milwaukees-most-infamous-love-triangle/
Music
It's the Talk of the Town. Public Domain. 78rpm Collection (1920s 1930s Popular Music) Part JH11
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Easter marked the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of 22 year old Hannah Jane Rowell. Her estranged husband believed Jane abandoned the family to leave Baton Rouge, Louisiana and try to make it in Hollywood. Her distraught and protective brother vowed there was foul play.
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
- Jane Clement Missing Since 1963. The Hammond Star, Bayou Justice. Accessed February 25, 2020. https://www.hammondstar.com/news/jane-clement-missing-since-1963/article_317d206e-c244-53a3-a061-6b13a44b0413.html
- Dental Chart of Missing Woman Studied. The Daily Iberian. December 10, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/image/849587767/
- Jane Rowell Clement. Doe Network. Accessed March 13, 2023. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1373dfla.html
- Jane Clement Rowell. The Charley Project. Accessed March 13, 2023. https://charleyproject.org/case/jane-rowell-clement
- Jane Clement missing since 1963. Bayou Justice. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://bayoujustice.com/2023/03/jane-clement-missing-since-1963-2/
- Jane Rowell buried in concrete tomb. Bayou Justice. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://bayoujustice.com/2023/03/jane-rowell-buried-in-concrete-tomb/
Episode Music
Not Alone by Lee Rosevere. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
In 1920 Lena Clarke made history when she became the first woman to be named postmaster of West Palm Beach, Florida. Within a year, she gained notoriety as “the murdering postmistress when she stood trial for killing her lover to cover up an embezzlement scheme.
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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Episode Sources
Florida history: The story of West Palm Beach’s murderous postmistress. The Palm Beach Post. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2022/01/09/lena-clarke-mysterious-murderous-postmistress-west-palm-beach/9084494002/
Going Postal, 1920s Style – The Strange Case of Lena Clarke. Palm Beach Past. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://palmbeachpast.org/2021/07/going-postal-1920s-style-the-strange-case-of-lena-clarke/
The Murdering Postal Woman, Lena Clarke, 1921. Historical Crime Detective. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/the-murdering-postal-woman-lena-clarke-1921/
Lena Marietta Thankful Clarke. Find A Grave. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23950611/lena-marietta_thankful-clarke
Theft of $32,000 Solved by Lena Clarke but Murder of Miltimore is still a mystery. The Orlando Sentinel. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/313585521/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1
The Life of Lena Clarke In Her Own Pen. The Miami Herald. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/616088404/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1
Lena Clarke Murder Trial. The MIami Herald. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/616088368/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1
Postmistress Called Insane Freed of Murder. The New York Daily News. Accessed February 3, 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/410910479/?terms=lena%20clarke&match=1
Episode Music
St. Francis by by Josh Lippi & The Overtimers. Licensed under Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
There are lesser known stories of enslaved men and women who fought for their freedom in court. Elizabeth Key was at the center of one of the most important colonial court cases involving slavery. Henrietta Wood made history when she sued the man who kidnapped and enslaved her.
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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
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Episode Sources
Elizabeth Key. Women in History. Accessed January 10,2023
Elizabeth Key. Library of Virginia. Accessed January 13, 2023
Elizabeth Key and Her History-Changing Lawsuit. ThoughtCo. Accessed January 14, 2023
The Case of Elizabeth Key, 1655/1656 Northumberland County Record Books, 1652-1658, fols. 66-67, 85; 1658-1660, fol. 28; Northumberland County Order Book, 1652-1665, fols. 40, 46, 49. University of Chicago
Taunya Lovell Banks, "Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit - Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia", 41 Akron Law Review 799 (2008), Digital Commons Law, University of Maryland.
Sweet Taste of Liberty Open Source Notebook. Caleb McDaniel. Accessed January 14, 2023
In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed February 1, 2023
Episode Music
Magic Forest by Sir Cubworth Licensed under a Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
In the 1930s Harry Powers used several aliases to correspond with lonely women he promised to marry. In 1931 five bodies were discovered on his Quiet Dell, West Virginia farm that was dubbed The Murder Farm.
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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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Harry F. Powers. Murderpedia. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/powers-harry.htm
Hanging the Bluebeard of Quiet Dell. Appalachian History. Accessed January 7, 2023.
https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/03/grisly-anniversary-hanging-bluebeard-quiet-dell.html
The Bluebeard of Quiet Dell, Clarksburg Serial Killer. West Virginia Gazette. Accessed January 7, 2023
https://web.archive.org/web/20120324101310/http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/document/2009/03/17/Bluebeard_I090317193022.pdf
Harry Powers' Murder Farm. Morbid Tourism. Accessed February 1, 2023.
https://www.morbidtourism.com/locations/id/606a1c2bc892bc9da3b0864a
Episode Music
Lost by Kevin MacLeod, Licensed under a Creative Commons License; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
On a cold December day in 1909, eight year old Alma Kellner walked five blocks from her parents home in Louisville, Kentucky to St. John’s Church. She promised her mother she would return home after mass but Alma never returned. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain shrouded in mystery
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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Episode Sources
Alma Katherine Kellner. Find A Grave. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95108249/alma-katherine-kellner
Reward of $500 Offered. Lexington Herald-Leader. December 10, 1909. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022
Alma Kellner’s Body Is Found. Los Angeles Herald. May 31, 1910. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022
Triumphed. New York Daily News. July 28, 1935. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022
Louisville’s Church Fiend Becomes Martyr in France. The Louisville Courier-Journal. November 29, 1936. Accessed Newspapers.com December 20, 2022
Killer Priest— Crimes, Trial And Execution Of Hans Schmidt, Mark Gado ( 2006). Accessed January 10, 2023. https://archive.org/details/KillerPriest--CrimesTrialAndExecutionOfHansSchmidtMarkGado2006
Episode Music
Argonne by Zachariah Hickman and Sense of Loss by Purple Planet Music. Licensed under a Creative Commons License; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
In November 2012, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles pardoned three black men who had been wrongly convicted of assaulting two white women in 1931. They were the last of nine young men associated with the case to have their convictions officially cleared from the record. Their arrest and the trials that followed served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
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Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Scottsboro Trials. Accessed December 14, 2022.
“Scottsboro Boys” Trials (1931-1937). Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder. Accessed December 10, 2022.
Without Fear or Favor: Judge James Edwin Horton and the Trial of the “Scottsboro Boys” By Douglas O. Linder. Accessed December 10, 2022
The Saga Of The Scottsboro Boys. Accessed January 2, 2023.
The Scottsboro Trials: A Legal Lynching. Accessed January 2, 2023.
The Scottsboro Boys: Injustice in Alabama. Accessed December 15, 2022.
Episode Music
No 7 Alone with My Thoughts by Esther Abrami. Licensed under a Creative Commons License
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
The 1965 disappearance of Mary Little remains one of Georgia’s most mysterious missing person cases. On October 14, 1965 Mary spent the day working, socializing with friends and shopping. Mary Little never made it home.
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Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show. Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
The Strange Disappearance of Mary Little. Historic Horrors. October 2022
The Mary Shotwell Little Case. The Southern Voice.
Mary Shotwell Little. The Charley Project
The Case of the Missing Bride. Buckhead.com
What Happened to Mary? The Disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little, Woman's College Alumna. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Episode Music
Autumn Sunset by Kevin MacLeod. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons License
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Monday Nov 14, 2022
It’s been 90 years since Mamie Thurman was brutally murdered in Logan County, West Virginia. While investigating the murder of the wife of a local police man, authorities learned Mamie had been leading a double life.
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Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive and immediately access exclusive content when you become a patron of the show. Join now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
Instagram: @shannonballard_
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Mamie’s Husband Didn’t Wait Long to Remarry. Coal Valley News. October 23, 2019
WV: The 1932 Murder of Mamie Thurman. Thoughts and Ponderances. March 10, 2020
The Secret Life and Brutal Death of Mamie Thurman. F. Keith Davis
Episode Music
Evening Fall Harp. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons.Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use