#spooky appalachia

[intheholler]

what do you think of all of the people being scared of appalachia? i don't know if this is recent or not, but currently i've been seeing a ton of shit online like "never go to the appalachian mountains, it's so dangerous", and i just don't understand it. my family's lived in appalachia for forever, and none of us have experienced anything paranormal or endangering to us. you're one of my favorite blogs on here and i'd just like to hear your thoughts on it

first off, it means a lot that i'm one of your favorite blogs and im really happy i can contribute something to your experience here :') thanks so much for being here <333

but ok so.

my thoughts on it are many. it's been bothering me a long time and i've been meaning to get it off my chest. this will be long and probably ranty, so it won't hurt my feelings if anyone skims lol

lemme preface this little diatribe by saying the obvious: folklore is an integral part of any culture. the mythos of a place/people is tied directly to their histories and unique experiences and struggles and they are enriching. this is true of appalachia too.

oral folk traditions especially are incredibly historically appalachian.

i mentioned in a post i made yesterday about murder ballads, how the purpose of these was to warn kids away from doing dumb shit and getting lost in the hollers--falling down cliffs n mineshafts and shit at night. gettin got by wildlife.

it spooked us safe. they served a purpose, and once you got old enough to realize they're as real as the tooth fairy, they just become enjoyable and nostalgic. because they're you're culture.

probably every mountain kid has stories about haints n boogers that were told to them by their grandparents, and they grow up to tell them to their own kids, and so on. some of it stuck with me because i grew up with the folklore.

by that i mean, i'm a whole 31 year old woman and i still avoid looking out a dark window at night cause it gives me the shivers. i still get spooked when i hear a big cat yowling in the woods. but the difference is i know there's not really haints out there crying--it's just a product of my childhood. ghost stories are fun.

the problem comes in when someone outside the culture gets their hands on appalachian oral folk traditions. then, it becomes a familiar problem: outsiders cherry picking appalachia and harming us with the mess they make rifling through it all.

it's all about the surface level and the visuals. they all love a good aesthetic blog, run by some local from out west or some shit who's never stepped foot here.

but as soon as the spooky photo filters come off and the real life marginalized person is left standing there just out of frame, we go back to being disgusting examples of what not to be. decrepit churches n buildings are aesthetic and quirky until they stop being on a pinterest board, and then they just become damning images of an impoverished region who deserves to be laughed at.

now, not to holler 'splain you--this is more for anyone not from here who might read this: it's been a systemic issue for decades; there were literal government campaigns to demonize us to the rest of the nation so they could garner support to cut into our mountains and exploit our labor and resources.

well, they were fuckin successful, and we have been falsely made out to be this homogenous nightmare of a place--"welfare exploiting" maga country who deserves everything we get, and nothing we don't.

by going so far as to take appalachian folklore that we tell each other and picking out the "aesthetic" stuff--the haints and general paranormal--they are pruning what they like from our culture--the safe things, like ghost stories--for their own aesthetic use.

but not only that, they are using it to demonize us… yet again.

'appalachia is scary. it's full of things that will kill you. don't look out the window at night cause a booger will get you.' only they don't call them boogers cause they ain't even from here. ask them what a haint is and they'll ask if u mispelled 'haunt.'

it gets even worse when you consider that so much of it has roots in native american culture, and how that continues to be exploited and misrepresented.

i'm not even innocent of that. a while back i had to check myself because i made a comment on here about ~spooky appalachia~ ignorant to the fact that what i was commenting on was actually a deeply important cultural and spiritual element to local indigenous tribes. my comments were harmful by my failure to educate myself and know better, thereby saying things carelessly.

my point being--i'm from the area. i should have known better.

when outsiders start saying the kind of shit they say about what they think they hear in the woods without even knowing where such an idea comes from, they're disrespecting a displaced, abused and exploited people, harming real cultures just for clicks without even knowing. that's on top of the damage they're doing to greater appalachia.

it's fuckin gross.

i think my favorite one i ever seen was this middle aged white lady going through her pristine mcmansion somewhere in suburbia, pulling the million curtains and locking the million doors, going "nighttime routine in appalachia!! 🤪🤪"

i could be wrong about this particular person--i didn't check their other tiktoks because im sick of them accounts and tired of giving them the benefit of the doubt--but it immediately came off as a transplant because:

1) mcmansion, 2) i dont know nobody here that locks their shit down like that (not locking up could even be argued as a part of my local culture, a reflection of our deep sense of community and trust in our neighbors).

and then the comments was all like "i don't know how you guys live there" and it actually broke my heart and pissed me off because even if--especially if--you're one of us, why the fuck are you harming us for likes? why are you turning people against us in a brand new way?

and to the transplants that do this--why?

you're not even from here, you moved here to this place you hate and made it worse just so your front porch would have a nice view, and are now benefiting socially from perpetuating bullshit about us?

you buy up all the land, land we often had no choice but to sell in the first place to survive instead of passing it on to our families, land we originally took from the indigenous peoples your content comes from.

you overdevelop it and turn it unrecognizable to make it more like the comfortable cities you come from. you gut a mountain town of its local businesses and cultures, you price people out of their homes...

...and then once you settle in all cozy like, you go tell everyone else how scary it is? how you can't trust the hills? like it's a cool paranormal bravery badge to wear? fuck off entirely.

so idk, in short my personal thoughts are: i personally enjoy a little myth as a treat, because the folklore is a part of the gothic, a part of our culture and a part of my childhood. i don't (intentionally) wield it as a weapon or use it as a pedestal to get the weird brand of attention that people like them are after.

and those who do this can get got by them haints for all i care.

#asks #appalachian culture #spooky appalachia #appalachian folklore #appalachian myth #appalachia #appalachian #txt

[weeeeeped]

another picture from the abandoned cabin.

#southern gothic #woods #appalachia #spooky #abandoned

[bugcowboyart]

Nantahala National Forest

Wanted to create a small artbook/zine thing about how I feel when in the mountains of west North Carolina (small and weird)

#zine #creepy #appalachia #appalachain gothic #naturecore #appalachain mountains #so out of my comfort zone!! #but I’m proud of me #blue ridge mountains #blue ridge parkway #north carolina #spooky season #spooktacular #drawtober #nantahala national forest #nature #landscape #the watcher

[chaoticdesertdweller]

📸 Kevin Byrne

#rural america #rural gothic #rural appalachia #appalachia #southern #southern gothic #american gothic #small town america #abandoned #abandoned house #empty spaces #abandoned homes #original photographers #photography #black and white photography #spooky #trees #in the country #in the south

[beano-no-know69]

hey can anyone give me recs for good spooky audio dramas?

Also bonus points if there’s gays in it (although honestly at this point I go into podcasts assuming there will be, and am hardly ever wrong)

Ones I’ve liked and listened to are: the Magnus archives, the box, king falls am, old gods of Appalachia, darkest night, limetown, spines, the bright sessions, wolf 359, all the public radio alliance ones, Alice isn’t dead, archive 81, life after, the message, the far meridian, the bridge, mirrors, the 12:37, penumbra, strange case of starship iris, girl in space, the leap year society, Mabel, and the white vault

#it’s been awhile since I’ve listened to a good spooky podcast #also going through this list just reminding me that the leap year society is another podcast that just dropped off the face of the earth?? #podcasts #podcast #kfam #king falls am #girl in space #girl in space podcast #the Magnus archives #wolf 359 #the bright sessions #the white vault #archive 81 #the black tapes #tanis #limetown #Alice isn’t dead #the far meridian #the 12:37 #the penumbra podcast #old gods of appalachia #darkest night #the strange case of starship iris #the bridge #the bridge podcast #public radio alliance #podcast recommendations #audio dramas #audio drama #audio drama recommendations

[chubbie-bunnie-96]

10 Rules That Just Make Sense In Appalachia:

Close, lock and cover your windows at dusk

Never go outside in rural areas at night, especially not alone

If you hear something strange outside, no you didn't

If you see something out of the corner of your eye, no you didn't

Never whistle at night, even indoors

Cover your mirrors at night

Never look up into the trees

If you think something is following you, DO NOT RUN. Get out as calmly as possible

Never respond to your name being called unless you know where the voice is coming from and are positive of who said it

Never leave the hiking trails in the woods

#Appalachia #folklore #cryptids #monsters #creatures #spooky #Appalachian Mountains #mountain monsters #mimics #spirits #don't let them see you see them

[pumpkincrow31]

Scout loves october 🍁

#fall vibes #fall season #halloween #autumn #october #appalachia #fall aesthetic #spooky #fall #pumpkin

[aperiodofhistory]

The mysteries of the Appalachian forest

I have been reading a lot about the Appalachian mountains recently. They are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. It ranges from the Island of Newfoundland to Central Alabama. So they are huge and by the words of folklore, hold many mysteries.

You have a lot of videos on the internet telling you what not to do when you are out at night in the forest. Or even if you have a house near the forest. You must not whistle, you must not run, you must not call your name or the names of your companions, and many more rules. All of those things attract stuff above your comprehension.

It is known that once the Appalachians and The Scottish highlands were one mountain range. That explains why both of them hold immense mystical powers.

Have you ever experienced anything weird walking in the Appalachian forest? Do you have more tips on what not to do when you are there?

#spooky vibes #spooky #spooky season #writing #inspiration #mythology #hiking #history #halloweencore #halloween #spooky szn #halloween aesthetic #appalachain trail #appalachain mountains #appalachia #appalachain gothic #forest #north america #scotland #mountains #dark #dark aesthetic #dark fantasy #eerie #gothic

[throatofdelusion12]

me little spoookums

#old gods of appalachia #michael distortion #tma #malevolent #kellin holeman #spooky #Spookums ahead

[captain-lonagan]

big fan of The Boy. he’s neither malevolent or benevolent. he’s, to my current understanding, a spirit of vengeance dedicated to getting back at people who cut the lives of children short (particularly mine bosses who oversee child labor). he’s not Sweet he’s not Soft but he’s not Awful either. he’s also pretty chill to the army of ghost kids that travel with him. like he just goes around and does his shit scaring the hell out of and sometimes killing child murderers. don’t kill kids and he won’t be a fuckin problem for you

#ogoa liveblog #he's like spooky weather #he's just here #bring an umbrella and don't fuckin worry about it too much #it's fine #he hangs out #11/10 most chill vengeful spirit ive ever seen #old gods of appalachia

[black-wolf-spirit-art]

Old Gods of Appalachia/SpookyMonth crossovers anyone?

#old gods of appalachia #spooky month #bob velseb #digital art #fan art #Bob wold absolutely be a hollow man!

[ao3-shenanigans]

5, 11

5. Favorite platonic pairing?

Oh this is really hard; I’m the kind of aro-spec person that reads nearly all romantic ships as platonic with out really realizing it, I do love a good platonic Loki + Tony Stark or Loki + Peter Parker

Loki + anyone in the avengers era really

11. Most unique merch you have for a fandom?

I hand painted the logo of the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast onto a mug once and that was really cool. I plan to do a bleached hoodie with their logo/design at some point too

#go listen to old gods of Appalachia please I beg you #it’s a horror narrative podcast set in the old appalchains #(1800-1900s) #very nicely unsettling but not too spooky #anyways #thanks for the ask! #Loki #avengers #old gods of appalachia #fandom #ao3 shenanigans ask

[weeeeeped]

living room wall

#southern gothic #appalachain gothic #appalachia #spooky #woods #america

[thepalecrawlers]

Footsteps in Appalachia

#high strangeness #thepalecrawlers #interdimensional #spooktober #spooky #cryptid #crawler #crawler sightings #crawlers #appalachain mountains #appalachia #scary stories #campfire stories #fae folk #faery folk #fae #faeries

[chaoticdesertdweller]

Augusta County, Virginia

📸 Ed Monger

#abandoned #spooky #rural gothic #rural america #rural appalachia #rural #in the south #in the country #in the woods #october #2023 #virginia #photography #original photographers #ed monger #life #creepy doll #piano

[beano-no-know69]

also speaking of audio dramas with disappointing ends, can we talk about how the box podcast dropped off the face of the planet

#I loved that podcast so much and it’s straight up gone now #the last like 4 or 5 episodes are there but the first 39 aren’t anymore??? #and as far as I know there’s been 0 update on whether it’s ever coming back #and the last few episodes were spaced out by months and months #😩😩😩 #this podcast was the perfect level of spookiness for when your walking to the 24 hour grocery store at midnight #the box podcast #the box #audio drama #podcast #podcasts #horror #horror podcast #audio dramas #king falls am #the Magnus archives #old gods of appalachia #the black tapes #the bright sessions #archive 81 #Alice isn’t dead