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 Sep 27, 2021
Monday Sep 27, 2021
Duels were common in America until the end of the Civil War. They were most common in the south where the slightest offense could result in a challenge with duelists following a “polite” code of honor.
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Episode Sources
Field of Honor: A Complete and Comprehensive History of Duelling in All Countries. 1884
Savannah Duels. Chatham County GaArchives History. 1923
Dueling. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 15 March 2013
8 Legendary Duels. History
"Mourn Columbia!": The Death and Legacy of Stephen Decatur. White House History. November 25, 2019.
The History of Dueling in America. PBS American Experience.
In the Defense of Honor: The Rise and Fall of Dueling in America. Ultimate History Project.
Before Burr shot Hamilton, this 1800s Kentucky duel ended in bloodshed. Courier Journal. June 13, 2019.
Episode Music
Lost, Almost in F Tranquility and Lost Frontier by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com
Northern Lights by Chris Haugen, Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher and Alone with my Thoughts by Esther Abrami Licensed under Creative Commons
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Monday Sep 13, 2021
The ruins of Windsor are among the most photographed historic sites in Mississippi. 23 towering columns that cast long shadows on the history of the once grand mansion and places like it across the American south.
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Episode Sources
Windsor Ruins National Register of HIstoric Places Nomination. 1971, updated 1992
"Burning of the Daniell Residence." The Southern Reveille. February 21, 1890
The Ruins of Windsor. WLBT. April 30, 2011
Cotton. Mississippi Encyclopedia. July 10, 2017.
The Creation Of The Cotton Kingdom. African American History and Culture.
United States Census, 1860. Claiborne County, Mississippi. Population Schedules
Windsor Ruins, Mississippi – A Silent Sentinel to the Magnificent South. Legends of America. November 2019.
The Windsor Ruins of Mississippi. Parker Studios. June 11, 2019.
Episode Music
Sense of Loss by Purple Planet Music. Purple-planet.com. Licensed under Creative Commons
Fresh Fallen Snow by Chris Haugen and I Need To Start Writing Things Down and I Am A Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor by Chris Zabriske. Licensed under Creative Commons
Autumn Sunset, Relaxing Piano Music and March of the Minds by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com
Devouring the Whole by Ross Gentry. Special thanks to Headway Recordings, in Asheville, North Carolina for permission for use
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
On a sweltering day in the summer of 1925, Rudolph Disse went on a shooting spree in Richmond Virginia killing the woman he loved, his rival and a cop
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Episode Sources
Boy Slayer Cool, Little of Criminal About Him. The Richmond Times Dispatch. July 29, 1925
Marvin W. Peers Had Won Divorce. The Richmond Times Dispatch. July 30, 1925
Trial of Disse Underway. El Paso Herald. August 14, 1925
Disse Case Again Postponed. The Danville Bee. August 15, 1925
State Rests in Trial of Disse. The State News and Observer. August 18, 1925
Disse Sentenced to Electric Chair. The Danville Virginia Bee. August 20, 1925
Rudolph Disse Must Die in Chair. The Newport Daily Press. August 21, 1925
Beauty Fatal to Two. Casper Star-Tribune. September 27, 1925
Has Condemned Man Lost Calm at Trial? The Richmond Times Dispatch. November 18, 1925
Drug Addict Slew Girl He Loved and Other Man. The New York Daily News. July 24, 1927
Episode Music
Tranquility Base and Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com
Gloomy Night by Marwan Nimra Licensed under Creative Commons
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Monday Aug 16, 2021
Monday Aug 16, 2021
Lester Brocklehurst, Jr was a Sunday school teacher who grew bored of his life. In 1937 he and his girlfriend hit the road on a multi state crime spree that ended with dozens of armed robberies and three murders
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Episode Sources
Officers of Four States Hunt Pair. Anniston Star. May 9, 1937
Holdup Killer Caught in N.Y. Abilene Morning News. May 14, 1937
Three States Attempt to Get Brocklehurst. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 14, 1937
Killer Gives Own Story of Crime Career. The Sacramento Bee. May 14, 1937
Sanity Question Stirs Anger of Accused Slayer. The Daily Oklahoman. May 27, 1937
Brockelhurst, Ordered to Die, Falls in Faint. The Richmond Times Dispatch. June 26, 1937
Killer’s Companion Freed of Murder. The Richmond Times Dispatch. June 26, 1937
Bernice Felton Is Indicted by U.S. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 25, 1937
Brocklehurst Fights for Life As Child Is Born. Kenosha News. December 17, 1937
Girl Begins Time for Crime Tour. The Wichita Eagle. May 29, 1939
What’s Behind the Man Behind the Thumb? The News Tribune. July 30, 1939
Gangsters, Mobsters & Outlaws of the 20th Century. Legends of America. February 2020
Gangsters During the Depression. American Experience PBS.
Bernice Felton, Half of a Serial Killer Couple – Illinois, 1937. Unknown Gender History. January 2, 2021
Episode Music
Ossuary 1 The Beginning, Dark Times, Despair and Triumph, Ambient by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com
No 2 Remembering Her - Esther Abrami Licensed under Creative Commons
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
How do you celebrate the milestone of one million downloads of Southern Mysteries? You share a story! Hear the Southern Mysteries Shorts featuring the odd true crime story of the Meeting Street Murders
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Episode Sources
“Sue Stidham Logue”. Murderpedia.
“How A Mule Kick Killed Eight People”. Who’s On The Move, Midlands Biz. November 1, 2013.
“From a dead calf to the South Carolina electric chair”. The Newport Plain Talk. October 10, 2014.
“Edgefield County Sheriff W.D. “Wad” Allen. EOW: November 16, 1941”. South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame Facebook.November 19, 2019.
“Edgefield County Deputy Sheriff W.L. “Doc” Clark. EOW: November 18, 1941”. South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame Facebook
Episode Music
Cryptic Sorrow, Clean Soul by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com; Plantation by Audionautix. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Connect
Website: southernmysteries.com
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Twitter: @southernpod_
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Monday Aug 02, 2021
On May 9, 1981, Ricky Merrill and Dori Colyer left Hilltop Lounge in Brooksville, Florida. They never returned. 40 years on, their families are still waiting for justice
Anyone with information on this Cold Case Homicide is asked to contact Detective George
Loydgren at 352-754-6830.If you would like to remain anonymous – Please call Hernando County Crime Stoppers at 1-866-990-TIPS (8477) or submit your tip online at
hernandocountycrimestoppers.com
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Episode Sources
Who Killed Rick Merrill and Dori Colyer? RickAndDori.com
Father of car’s owner fears worst. St. Petersburg Times/Hernando Times. May 12, 1981
Families complain of delay in identifying bodies. Tampa Bay Times. May 14, 1981
Services planned, but car-fire victims' identities still unconfirmed. Tampa Bay Times. May 15, 1981
Identities confirmed of 2 found in burning car. Tampa Bay Times. May 16, 1981
Cause of death still unknown in care fire. St Petersburg Times, Hernando Times. May 19, 1981
Police have four suspects in murder of two persons found in burning car. St Petersburg Times/Hernando Times. August 1, 1981
Quest remains unfulfilled as tragedy strikes again. St. Petersburg Times/Hernando Times. September 9, 1988
Case of double murder, vehicle arson still cold after 38 years. Fox 13 Tampa. May 10, 2019
Deputies need your help solving 39-year-old Brooksville cold case. WTSP. May 8, 2020
Cold Cases: Ricky Merrill & Dori Colyer. Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. October 12, 2020
Episode Music
Tranquility Base, Clean Soul, Slow Hammers, Virtutes Instrumenti, Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com; Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher. The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriske Licensed under Creative Commons.
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Monday Jul 19, 2021
17 year old Shari Faye Smith and 9 year old Debra May Helmick were kidnapped and murdered in neighboring South Carolina counties in the summer of 1985. Their killer taunted the Smith family and police until a piece of evidence Shari Smith left behind led police to her killer.
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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 with Southern Mysteries
Website: southernmysteries.com
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Twitter: @southernpod_
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Episode Music
Organic Meditations, Despair and Triumph, Almost in F Tranquility, Reawakening, Ambient, March of the Mind by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com; Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher and God Be With You Til We Meet Again by Chris Zabriske Licensed under Creative Commons.
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Episode Sources
State v. Bell. South Carolina Supreme Court Decisions. February 26, 1990
We May Never Find Missing Woman. UPI. October 7, 1996.
Larry Gene Bell. Murderpedia
The Genesis of a Murderer. The Herald. October 20, 2007
Keep on believing: Dawn Smith Jordan on hope after tragedy. South Carolina United Methodist Advocate. March 26, 2019
The Summer of Shari. The Chrysalis Chapters. May 21, 2019
Kidnapper Forces Victim to Write Last Will and Testament Before Killing Her. The True Crime Edition. November 11, 2020
Larry Gene Bell: The Murders of Shari Smith and Debra Helmick. Talk Murder With Me. December 27, 2020
Denise Newsom Porch. The Charley Project.
Monday Jul 05, 2021
Monday Jul 05, 2021
In June 1959, the discovery of two dismembered torsos terrified residents in North Alabama. The unknown victims were dubbed Mr. X and Mr. Y until a tip led investigators to a farm where they met the woman behind one of Alabama's grisliest crimes. See photos and sources for this episode at southernmysteries.com
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Sources
Drawings Were Sure to Break Torso Case. The Birmingham News. July 17, 1959.
Mr. X and Mr. Y Source Materials. Jacksonville State University Digital Commons Special Collections. 1959.
Redeemed in the Valley. The Anniston Star. January 14, 2009
Notorious 'Torso Murders' blood trail revealed in AL.com Vintage photos. Al.com February 11, 2016.
Music
Despair and Triumph, Lost Time and Brethren Arise by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriske, Meditation 1 by Audionautix, Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallager. Licensed under a Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use.
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Walter Samples was a retired engineer who lived a quiet life in Memphis. That was until someone left a poisoned bottle of milk on his front porch in February 1941. His murder investigation revealed the 69 year old had been living a double life and dozens of people had motive to kill him. See photos and sources for this episode at southernmysteries.com
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Relaxing Piano Music, Lamentation, Long Note Two, Concentration and Colorless Aura by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com Slow Hammers by the Mini Vandals. Licensed under a Creative Commons
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
The body of 19 year old Nell Cropsey was found floating in North Carolina’s Pasquotank River over a month after she disappeared in 1901. Her boyfriend was accused of killing her. But three people in the Cropsey home the night Nell disappeared later took their own lives. Were they hiding the truth behind her disappearance and death? See photos and sources for this episode in the show notes at southernmysteries.com
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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
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Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Music
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use; At Rest, Ambient, Reawakening, Echoes of Time and Organic Meditations Three by Kevin McLeod Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com; I Am A Man Who Will Fight by Chris Zabriske. Licensed under Creative Commons; Alone by Purple Planet Music https://www.purple-planet.com/ Licensed under Creative Commons