Southern Ghost Stories

In March 1988, a riverside hangout in St. Cloud, Minnesota, transformed from a typical teenage party into a scene of ritualistic horror that would grip the nation. Fueled by a relentless obsession with the film The Lost Boys and a steady stream of cheap beer, 18-year-old Timothy Erickson convinced his inner circle that immortality was just one kill away. What followed was the savage murder of Donald Gall, a 30-year-old drifter whose death became a centerpiece of the era’s "Satanic Panic" due to the chilling blood-licking rituals that followed the attack. This episode strips away the supernatural lore to examine the raw, human darkness of the case, from the "Castle Greyskull" apartment where the plot was hatched to the 14-page confession that sealed Erickson’s fate. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Today we’re stepping outside our usual territory to haunt the Pacific Northwest for a tale of 1950s brutality and a lingering, botched justice. We’re digging into the case of Raymond Snowden, a drifter whose alcohol-fueled rage turned a Boise night out into a scene so savage the newspapers branded him "Idaho’s Jack the Ripper." From the frantic, 30-plus stabs that ended the life of widow Cora Lucyle Dean to the chillingly swift one-month turnaround from arrest to a death sentence, this story is a time capsule of mid-century crime and punishment. But the horror didn’t end at the trial; we’re going inside Cell House #5 at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary to recount Snowden’s final, agonizing fifteen minutes on a poorly measured rope. Whether it’s the botched execution or the sheer violence of the act, something still isn’t right within those sandstone walls—visitors still report disembodied whispers and a heavy, suffocating presence in the gallows room. Grab your coffee, or maybe something stronger, because we’re exploring why the man they couldn't hang cleanly might still be wandering the cell blocks. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

From the high-society betrayal of a 3,000-mile "murder by mail" plot in 1898 to the microscopic forensic breakthrough that caught the notorious Route 40 serial killer, Small State, Big Crimes proves that Delaware’s history is written in more than just legislation. Allen take you from the agonizing Victorian-era "Chocolate Box Murders" of Cordelia Botkin to the chilling mobile dungeon of Steven Brian Pennell, finally facing the crimson shadow of "Red Hannah"—the nation’s last judicial whipping post. This isn't a dry history lesson; it’s a visceral exploration of the First State’s most cold-blooded killers, landmark legal battles, and the brutal colonial traditions that lingered well into the modern age. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

In this special Q&A episode, we’re clearing out the inbox to tackle your most haunting questions, starting with a deep dive into Indiana’s most chilling lore—from the "sentient" balloons of the Culbertson Mansion to the ghostly footsteps of "The Gipper" at Notre Dame. I open up about the single creepiest place I’ve ever visited (the infamous "death chute" at Waverly Hills), why I’ve chosen the path of a historian over the manufactured drama of ghost-hunting TV shows, and the touching evidence that our pets might stay with us long after they’re gone. We also head to the desert to explore the "cursed" architecture and mafia burial grounds of Las Vegas’s Luxor, before wrapping up with why I finally stopped avoiding the legendary Bell Witch of Tennessee. Plus, mark your calendars: my new book, Pistols at Red River drops April 30th! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Beyond the majestic skyline of modern Atlanta, Georgia lies a 48-acre "Marble City of Silence" that refuses to stay quiet. This episode of the podcast tears down the red-brick Victorian walls of Oakland Cemetery to reveal a gritty, soil-stained history where the dead were often just in the way of progress. We’re moving past the polished tour brochures to explore the "Social Hierarchy of the Soil," from the nameless "Strangers" and displaced paupers to eccentric elites like Jasper N. Smith, the man who fought a literal stone necktie to a draw. We’ll stand on the high ground of 1864, where Confederate soldiers ducked behind family vaults during a hail of "iron rain," and trace the tragic five-hour promotion of Captain M. Allison. From skeptic cops chasing cedar-tree "ghosts" to the dark era of the "Resurrection Men" snatching bodies for medical schools, we’re digging into the legends, the ironies, and the literal shadows that make Oakland a place where the truth is far stranger than the hauntings. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Step into the humid, neon-lit nights of the Rio Grande Valley, where the line between urban legend and true crime is as thin as the coastal fog. We uncovers the grit and ghosts of South Texas, from the chilling 1993 contract killing of Joey Fischer fueled by curanderismo to the rhythmic clink-drag of Abram Ortiz’s shackles echoing through the Old Hidalgo County Jail. We’re diving deep into the "Hanging Tower," the dark rituals of obsessive socialites, and the bone-white wings of the Lechuza—the witch-owl that mimics a crying infant to lure you into the brush. These aren't just campfire stories; they are the blood-stained footnotes of the borderlands, told with the raw, unvarnished truth of a land where the monsters don't stay under the bed—they sit on your roof. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Forget the postcard version of the "loveliest village on the plains"; we’re digging into the red clay to find the bodies Auburn forgot to mention in the brochure. From a Confederate soldier in the theater basement who demands M&Ms to ensure a standing ovation, to the phantom watchman still pacing the Samford clock tower 160 years after his shift ended, this season uncovers the grit beneath the blue and orange. We’ll navigate the high-stakes superstition of the University Seal—where one wrong step can cost you a degree and curse your bloodline with Alabama fans—and investigate the 1858 cold-case murder of Jethro Walker, whose blood-soaked Bible still haunts the local lore. If you thought Auburn was just about Saturdays in the fall, pull up a chair; the ghosts of the Plains have a much longer memory. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Most hauntings are just shadows and creaks, but the basement of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse offers something far more visceral: the cloying scent of 1940s dime-store perfume and the sharp ozone of an electric chair. This is the story of Toni Jo Henry, a heroin-addicted "insurgent" who executed a stranger in a cold-blooded bid to break her boxer husband out of prison. From the violent "Sporting District" of Shreveport to the rice fields where a salesman met his end, we trace the "grit" of a woman who became a tabloid sensation and the only female Louisiana ever sent to the chair. When the state rolled "Gruesome Gertie" into a cramped basement to claim her life, they didn't just carry out a sentence—they burned Toni Jo into the limestone of Lake Charles forever. Decades later, the lights still flicker, the copy machines start by themselves, and the "Tiger Woman" refuses to vacate the site of her final, 20,000-volt walk. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

If you drive through Birmingham at night, the skyline is dominated by a rusted, steel ribcage that looks more like a skeletal remains than a landmark: Sloss Furnaces. From 1882 to 1971, this wasn't just the "Magic City's" industrial heart; it was a high-heat purgatory where the "Big Three"—ore, coal, and limestone—were forged alongside a brutalized workforce of convict laborers and desperate men. This isn't just a ghost story about "Slag" Wormwood’s spectral shoves or the phantom boots clanging on catwalks; it’s a documented history of a "blood price" where men like Theophilus Jowers were vaporized into 3,000-degree molten ore. Today, we’re peeling back the rust on this National Historic Landmark to honor the men who didn't just build the South—they were quite literally baked into the steel that holds it together. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

From the restless shadows of Greenwood Cemetery to the exorcised hallways of Gonzaga University, Spokane is a city built on layers of secrets that refuse to stay buried. This episode takes you beyond the Lilac City’s scenic bridges and into its darkest corners: we’re climbing the "1,000 Steps" to meet the silhouettes watching from the basalt cliffs, investigating the violent hauntings of Monaghan Hall, and tracing the tragic, final steps of the lady who fell through the Davenport’s glass ceiling. We’re also diving into the modern-day folklore of Jimmy Marks and the "Gypsy Curse" that turned City Hall into a permanent haunt for a local king’s vengeance. It’s a deep-dive into the Inland Northwest’s most bone-chilling legends—where the history is documented, the sightings are undeniable, and the truth is much weirder than the ghost stories you heard as a kid. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Forget the polished monuments and the polite plaques—early Toronto was a swampy frontier town where a bruised ego was often a death sentence. This episode dives into the mud of 1817 to unearth the Jarvis-Ridout duel, a tragedy that started with a misunderstood schoolhouse bill and ended with a teenage boy’s blood soaking into a cow pasture at Yonge and College. We’re breaking down the terrifying "Code Duello," the claustrophobic hour four men spent waiting for a storm to pass in a barn, and the grieving mother who spent the next decade screaming curses at her son's killer on the steps of the cathedral. It’s a gritty look at the "founding fathers" of the city and the violent, petty grudges that are still literally etched into the stone walls of downtown Toronto. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

This episode of Southern Ghost Stories peels back the "honest" facade of Thomas Piper, a church sexton who used a house of God as a personal hunting ground. We’ll also confront the chilling legacy of Jesse Pomeroy, the "Boy Fiend" whose schoolboy cap hid the mind of a serial killer, and row out into the harbor to find the "Lady in Black" at Fort Warren, where a Civil War rescue mission ended in an eternal haunting. From the gas-lit streets of the South End to the solitary cells of history, we’re exploring the monsters that look exactly like the people you're supposed to trust. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

This podcast dives into some twisted true crime and lingering spirits that haunt the streets of Kansas City. It kicks off with the heavy-hitting story of Robert Berdella, a local "pillar of the community" who spent his days running a flea market stall and his nights turning his home into a torture chamber. From there, the vibe shifts from the macabre to the supernatural, exploring historic landmarks like the Alexander Majors and the Wornall House, where the trauma of the Civil War and the fierce devotion of past caretakers have left behind more than just memories. To top it off, Allen gets personal, sharing his own creepy, firsthand experiences from stepping inside these haunted locations—proving that in KC, the past doesn't just talk; sometimes, it stares back. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

From the rhythmic hum of a Welsh hymn that accidentally named a city to the oxblood leather "Death Couch" where a Vice President still lingers, Bangor, Maine, is a place where history refuses to stay buried. Join us as we explore the uncanny intersections of the "Queen City's" past, uncovering the chilling 100-year bureaucratic odyssey of Sarah Ware’s remains and the spectral statesmen who haunt its library rotunda. We’ll peel back the polite Victorian veneer to find the echoes of accidental towns, brutal mysteries, and the restless spirits left in their wake—plus, Allen weighs in on the big question: has he ever actually seen a ghost? Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

In this episode, we’re heading into the backwoods of the Upper Cumberland to talk about an infamous Confederate guerilla fighter, Champ Ferguson. While high-profile rebel calvarymen like Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan were out leading grand cavalry charges, Champ was fighting a much dirtier, much more personal kind of war in the mountains. He wasn't a general in a plumed hat; he was a farmer with a Bowie knife and a long list of people he wanted dead. We’re breaking down his journey from a quiet Kentucky local to the "Butcher of the Mountains," the gruesome trial that captivated the nation, and the persistent rumors that the man who swung from the Nashville gallows wasn't actually Champ at all. Whether he was a cold-blooded killer or just a man pushed to the edge, his ghost still haunts the Tennessee treeline. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

In this episode, we explore some of the darkest corners of Salt Lake City’s history, beginning with the spectacular downfall of Territorial Governor John W. Dawson, whose flight from a scandalous assault led to the exposure of Jean Baptiste, Utah’s most prolific and macabre grave robber. We follow the trail of the "shroud thief" to his medieval branding and exile on a lonely desert island, before fast-forwarding to the modern-day mystery of the "Victim of the Beast 666" headstone. Breaking through the urban legends of Satanic cults, we reveal the poignant and bitter truth behind Lilly Gray’s infamous grave—a story not of demonic possession, but of one man’s lifelong, stone-carved vendetta against the government. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

The holidays are upon us! I'm taking the day off but I wanted to upload a "Best Of" show featuring some fun and eerie moments from the ghosts of Sumner County show from back in the summer. Some of my favorite haunted places- Monthaven, Cragfont and the old Hendersonville Methodist Cemetery are in this episode. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

Trade in your candy canes for birch branches as we explore the terrifying global origins of holiday folklore that prove Santa Claus is the exception, not the rule. From the skin-peeling Namahage of Japan and the child-hunting Nalujuit of the frozen North to the suffocating Christmas witches of France and the original bad cop, Krampus, this episode uncovers the monsters that haunt the Twelve Days of Christmas. Tune in to discover why our ancestors used fear rather than rewards to enforce obedience, how a lack of butter could cost you your life in Scandinavia, and why the "most wonderful time of the year" was historically the most dangerous. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

This episode focuses on Dr. Jules Wallace, arguably one of the most controversial and successful mediums in American history, who perfected the blend of showmanship, psychology, and trickery that defined the Spiritualist craze of the late 19th century. Arriving in St. Louis in 1893, Wallace quickly became a national sensation by staging elaborate séances and "materializations"—where he would ostensibly summon full-bodied apparitions from his spirit cabinet. His career peaked with a spectacular public duel against the rival mind-reader Professor Tyndal. Despite his masterful illusions, Wallace's elaborate fraud was ultimately exposed by reporters and police, leading to his charge of fraud before he vanished with a bag of cash, successfully escaping arrest and solidifying his legacy as the adaptable grifter who exploited the national yearning for proof of the afterlife. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com

This show highlights Houston's most disturbing true crime and supernatural legends, beginning with the Rice Hotel, famous as the last resting spot of President Kennedy and now known for the unsettling apparitions of spectral dancers haunting its grand ballroom. The episode also details the gentle, musical haunting of the Julia Ideson Library by its late caretaker and his dog, contrasting it with the intense, traumatic hauntings of the Old Jeff Davis Hospital and the Black Hope Cemetery, both built over disturbed burial grounds, where residents report screams, poltergeists, and the palpable energy of a curse. Finally,we also revisits the grotesque 1965 Icebox Murders—the unsolved dismemberment of an elderly couple—and the baffling vanishing of their reclusive son, Charles Rogers, whose disappearance fueled decades of sensational conspiracy theories, including claims connecting him to the JFK assassination. Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at https://monstercitymadhouse.com