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 mystery is: why haven’t you heard the story?
Episodes
Jan 30, 2023
Jan 30, 2023
35 min
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
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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
Jan 16, 2023
Jan 16, 2023
30 min
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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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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Website: southernmysteries.com
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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
Dec 19, 2022
Dec 19, 2022
26 min
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.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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
Nov 14, 2022
Nov 14, 2022
24 min
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.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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
Oct 31, 2022
Oct 31, 2022
33 min
The Bell Witch legend is one of the most recognized examples of the unexplained in Southern American lore. How did the legend take hold of and define a small town in Tennessee?
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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: @explorethesouth
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Bell Witch lore spins dark tale, but could science explain it all?. The Tennessean. October 28, 2021
Tennessee Myths and Legends. Tennessee State Library and Archives.
The Year of the Witch. Tennessee Historical Society. October 13, 2017
John William Bell. Findagrave.
The Mark of the Bell Witch (Documentary). Seth Breedlove, Small Town Monsters. 2020
Historian, descendant recount Bell Witch legend. Associated Press. November 4, 2018
Episode Music
Industrial Music Box. Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons.
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Jul 4, 2022
Jul 4, 2022
16 min
Southern Mysteries is on hiatus. I’m taking a much needed break from researching murders and mysteries this summer. I’ll be back with new episodes in time to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the show this fall.
If you’re a patron of Southern Mysteries, you’ll still hear the Patreon exclusive episodes, The Lesser Knowns, each month. If you don’t already support the show you can check out patreon.com/southernmysteries to catch up on the show archive and hear Patron exclusive episodes like the one I’m sharing today.
Before we say goodbye for the summer, this is the story of a cold blooded killer who became the last woman to die by electrocution in Alabama….Rhonda Belle Martin
Episode Sources
Rhonda Belle Martin. Murderpedia.
A Plot Full of Poison. LIFE. 26 March, 1956
The Penalty Is Death: U. S. Newspaper Coverage of Women's Executions by Martin Shipman. University of Missouri Press.
Governor Holds Murderess' Fate. Montgomery Advertiser. 10 October 1957
Grisly Momma. The Malefactors Register.
Music
Emotional and Alone. Purple Planet Music. Licensed Under Creative Commons
Jun 20, 2022
Jun 20, 2022
22 min
The Shelton Laurel Massacre in January 1863 is a striking example of divided loyalists and complicated battle lines in North Carolina during the Civil War.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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: @explorethesouth
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
The Massacre Men. Scalawag. July 27, 2017
Atrocity at Shelton Laurel. Our State. April 29, 2012
Blood in the Valley: The Shelton Laurel Massacre’s Haunting Legacy. Mountain Xpress Asheville
History and Writing about the Massacre. Vicki Lane Tales of Appalachia
The Shelton Laurel Massacre, Madison County, NC,Winter of 1863. Shelton Family History Blog
Episode Music
Leoforos Alexandras by Dan Bodan. Licensed under a Creative Commons.
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
22 min
In the summer of 1976 two bodies were discovered in rural Sumter County, South Carolina. Their identities remained a mystery for nearly 45 years
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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: @explorethesouth
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Sumter Couple Mystery Website dedicated to the case
Killer Remains Nameless. January 2021.
Sumter County Does. The Doe Network
Sumter County murder victims laid to rest. The Index Journal. August 15, 1977
Episode Music
Long Note One by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Source: http://incompetech.com
Sense of Loss courtesy of Purple Planet Music. https://www.purple-planet.com/
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
May 23, 2022
May 23, 2022
36 min
Some of the oldest true crime cases in America are racial terror lynchings. To understand the history of lynching in the American South you have to know what led to the acceptance of racial terror and the brave people who led anti lynching campaigns in an effort to end the violence and save lives.
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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: @explorethesouth
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century by Jason Morgan Ward. Oxford University Press
The Cross and the Lynching Tree (James Hal Cone and Bill Moyers). The Journal.
Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Public Law No: 117-107 (03/29/2022). This bill makes lynching a federal hate crime offense.
This Bridge in Mississippi Has Hosted Decades of Racial Violence. Vice. April 27, 2016
What happens when we forget? Facing South. May 7, 2018
Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States 1889-1918. NAACP Report on Lynching
Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (3d Ed., 2017).
How one Civil Rights activist posed as a white man in order to investigate lynchings. Fresh Air, NPR. March 30, 2022
Episode Music
“One” courtesy of Ross Gentry. Special thanks to Headway Recordings, in Asheville, North Carolina.
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use
May 9, 2022
May 9, 2022
28 min
The Hillsville Massacre has been described as one of the most bizarre incidents in Virginia criminal and legal history. Floyd Allen, the patriarch of the Allen clan, known for feuding, moonshining and violence, was executed after he stood trial for triggering the 1912 courthouse massacre. But the question remains…who shot first?
Want more Southern Mysteries?
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: @explorethesouth
Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com
Episode Sources
Gunfight in courthouse after guilty verdict left 5 dead, 7 wounded. New York Daily News. July 4, 2021
Floyd Allen (1856–1913). Encyclopedia of Virginia.
Courthouse Tragedy. The Carroll County Historical and Society Museum
The Hillsville Massacre. The Roanoker. November 1982
Floyd Allen. Murderpedia
Episode Music
Loneliest Road in America by Jesse Gallager Licensed under Creative Commons
Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use