WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:11.279 The Appalachian Trail is more than just a footpath. It's 2 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.119 a twenty two hundred mile artery of dirt rock posting 3 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:18.199 through the heart of the oldest mountains in America. For 4 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.120 those who walk it, it becomes a world, and to itself, 5 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.399 a green tunnel, if you will, of whispering leaves, grueling climes, 6 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:30.839 and breathtaking visitas. But beneath the worn earth and beside 7 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:35.600 the iconic white blazes lies another path, one woven from 8 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:40.520 centuries of whispers, warnings, and strange encounters. This is the 9 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:45.320 Trail of legends. These ancient mountains have been home to 10 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.399 countless generations, each leaving its own ghosts and stories etched 11 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.679 into the landscape. From the deep hollows of the South, 12 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:56.640 where the Cherokee tolltales of life stealing witches and benevolent 13 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.479 little people, to the misty peaks of New England by 14 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.680 the spirits of colonial settlers and protected by powerful nature gods. 15 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:09.840 The trail is saturated with folklore. In this collection, in 16 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:13.680 no particular order, we'll step off the physical path and 17 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:17.239 onto the trail of legend. We'll seek out the creatures 18 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.760 that defy explanation. Listen for the lonely ghosts of pioneers 19 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.400 and soldiers, and feel the unnerving presence of entities born 20 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:31.480 from the modern hiker's deepest spheres. So quite your footsteps, 21 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:35.480 Listen to the wind, and look closer at the shadows 22 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.519 between the trees. The trail of legends is all around you, 23 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:45.159 and the first story is just ahead. Join me, I'm 24 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:49.560 Steve Stockton. Let's take a walk and see these legends 25 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:58.920 of the Appalachian Trail. First up, the Wampus Cat. I 26 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.519 fear some half way A woman half cat creature of 27 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:04.799 Cherokee origin. The wampas cat is set to stalk the 28 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:09.000 remote woods of the Appalachians. Legends tell of a woman who, 29 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.919 after spying on a sacred tribal ceremony, was cursed to 30 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.680 roam the mountains as a monstrous, supernatural Panther descriptions vary, 31 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:20.840 but she is often depicted as having glowing eyes and 32 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:25.439 immense power. Hikers have reported hearing her blood curdling screams 33 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:30.199 echoing through the night, and finding unnaturally large beeline tracks 34 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:37.280 along the trail. Next the moon eyed people. According to 35 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:41.800 Cherokee lore, the Appalachian Mountains were once inhabited by mysterious 36 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:45.319 race of fair skinned, blue eyed people who were unable 37 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.120 to see in the daylight. These moon eyed people were 38 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.159 said to live in underground tunnels and only emergent night. 39 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:55.639 Legend has it that they were eventually driven from the 40 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.919 region by the Cherokee. Now some theorists have even speculated 41 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:02.439 that these tales could be a distant memory of pre 42 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:07.199 Columbian European explorers. Ancient stone structures found in the region 43 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:13.360 are sometimes attributed to this enigmatic group. Next, the Brown 44 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:18.360 Mountain Lights. For over a century, mysterious ethereal lights have 45 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:20.960 been witnessed dancing above the peaks of Brown Mountain in 46 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:25.000 North Carolina and are visible from parts of the Appalachian Trail. 47 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:29.960 I've seen these myself, and they are very, very strange. 48 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.319 These ghost lights very in color and intensity, often appearing 49 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.599 as floating orbs that hover and then vanish. While scientific 50 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:42.400 explanations have been proposed, from trained lights and cars to 51 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:46.719 swamp gas, the Cherokee have their own legend. They believe 52 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:50.159 the lights are the spirits of ancient warriors their torches, 53 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.520 still searching for their well and comrades from a great battle. 54 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.439 Next the Mothman, though his infinous debut was in Point 55 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:02.840 Pleasant Way, Virginia in the nineteen sixties. Sightings of a 56 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.520 winged humanoid creature with glowing red eyes have been reported 57 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:10.439 throughout the Appalachian region. Described as being as large as 58 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.000 a man with a massive wingspan, the moth man is 59 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:17.879 often seen as a harbinger of doom, its appearance preceding 60 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:22.160 tragic events through hikers who have shared tales of unsettling 61 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.639 red eyed figures glimpsed in the twilight hours in the 62 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:31.959 more remote sections of the trail. Next the gray Men 63 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.040 of the one hundred Mile Wilderness. The one hundred Mile 64 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.560 Wilderness in Maine is the most remote and demanding section 65 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.839 of the entire trail. It is here that hikers push 66 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.120 to their physical and mental limits. Speak of the gray Men. 67 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:50.040 These are not true ghosts, but personification of the extreme 68 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:56.319 caloric deficit and exhaustion hiker's face. The legend says, these silent, gray, 69 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:59.120 spectral figures walk at the edge of a hiker's vision 70 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.680 when their presence is felt as a supernatural drain, making 71 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.439 food feel less nourishing than miles feel twice as long. 72 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:12.240 They are the spirits of overwhelming hunger, are unique haunting 73 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:18.680 born of pure physical depletion. Next the Snarly Yow. German 74 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.720 immigrants to the Appalachian region brought with them tells of 75 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:26.439 the Schnellerjack or snarly Yow. This creature is described as 76 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.879 a massive black dog with glowing eyes and a terrifying 77 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.120 howl that can be heard from miles. It's said to 78 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.199 be a shape shifter capable of disappearing and reappearing at will. 79 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.079 Encounters with the snarly Yow are often reported in the 80 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:44.399 more isolated stretches of the trail in Maryland and West Virginia. 81 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:49.079 We're just said to stalk lone hikers. Now we have 82 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.279 the flat Woods Monster. In nineteen fifty two, in the 83 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:56.519 town of flat Woods, West Virginia, a group of children 84 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:59.680 and a local woman encountered a terrifying creature that has 85 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.680 since become a local legend. Described as a tall, metallic 86 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.920 figure with a spade shaped head and glowing eyes, the 87 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.560 flat Woods Monster was said to emit a sickening, misty vapor. 88 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:14.720 While the original sighting was not directly on the Appalachian Trail, 89 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.319 the story has permeated the folklore of the state, adding 90 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.319 to the roster of strange beings. One min encounter in 91 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:27.600 the West Virginia Wilderness portion of the trail. Next the 92 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:32.519 Ghost of Addie Powell. In the late nineteenth century, a 93 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.759 four year old boy named Ottie Powell wandered away from 94 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:38.800 his schoolhouse in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and 95 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:42.959 was never seen alive again. His body was eventually found 96 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.600 by a hunter on the slopes of Buff Mountain, near 97 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:49.040 the present day route of the Appalachian Trail. Since then, 98 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.079 hikers have reported seeing the ghostly figure of a small 99 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.079 boy in the area, sometimes hearing his faint christ for 100 00:06:55.160 --> 00:07:02.839 help carried on the wind. Next, another chilling figure from 101 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:07.319 Cherokee mythology. Spearfinger was a shape shifting witchlike creature with 102 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:10.240 a stone finger that she used to pierce the livers 103 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.959 of her victims, primarily children. She could take on the 104 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.759 appearance of a loved family member to lure a prey. 105 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.920 Her stony skin made her nearly invincible, though legend says 106 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:25.720 she was eventually defeated. Her terrifying story serves as a 107 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.439 cautionary tale for those who wander too far into the 108 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:35.160 deep woods. And how about the mysterious tunnels of the trail. 109 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.879 Whispers and online forums among Appalachian Trail hikers speak of 110 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:45.000 a more modern and unsettling legend, the existence of secret 111 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:49.399 man made tunnels that intersect with the trail. These stories 112 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:53.360 often involved strange, pale, human like creatures emerging from these 113 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:59.360 hidden entrances, sometimes described as escaped experiments from clandestine underground labs. 114 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.519 While there is no concrete evidence for such tunnels, the 115 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.959 tales add a layer of contemporary paranoia to the ancient 116 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:13.199 mysteries of the mountains. Next, the Spirit of Pamola. At 117 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:17.000 the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail looms the formidable 118 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:21.959 Malcatoden in Maine. According to the Panobscot nation, this sacred 119 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:25.160 mountain is protected by a powerful and fearsome spirit known 120 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:28.439 as Pamola, described as having the head of a moose, 121 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:31.160 the body of a man, and the wings and feet 122 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:34.240 of an eagle. Pamola is the god of thunder and 123 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.840 the master of the mountain. He is said to be 124 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.720 intolerant of mortals who venture into his domain, capable of 125 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:45.600 conjuring fierce storms and blizzards to drive them away. For generations, 126 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:49.080 the Panobscot people have treated the mountain with deep respect, 127 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:52.799 and many hikers who have faced the notoriously unpredictable weather, 128 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.559 Acotodden can attest to a palpable wild power that seems 129 00:08:57.559 --> 00:09:02.120 to emanate from the peak itself. Next the ghosts of 130 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:07.559 Gathlan State Park. The Appalachian Trail passes directly through Gathlan 131 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:11.879 State Park in Maryland, a site steeped in Civil War history. 132 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:15.519 The park was once the mountain home of George Alfred Townshend, 133 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:19.759 a journalist and war correspondent. During the Civil War, he 134 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:24.000 erected the War Correspondent's Memorial Arch, a unique and imposing 135 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:28.480 structure dedicated to journalists who died in conflict. It is 136 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.120 around this arch and the restored ruins of towns in 137 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:36.240 the state that hikers have reported ghostly encounters. The apparitions 138 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.639 of Civil War soldiers are said to appear in the 139 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:42.679 midst still marching along the old mountain roads. Others have 140 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:46.120 claimed to see the spectral figure of Townshend himself wherever 141 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:49.120 bound to the monument he created to honor the fallen 142 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:53.559 story tellers of a nation's bluiesst convict. The area's heavy 143 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:57.200 history lends a somber and erie atmosphere for those passing 144 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:03.120 through on the Appalachian Trail. Next up the haunted Van 145 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:09.159 Deventer's Shelter, located in northeastern Tennessee. The Vandavinter's Shelter is 146 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:13.039 known among THRU hikers for more than justice rustic accommodations. 147 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:16.200 It's widely considered to be one of the most haunted 148 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.759 locations on the entire trail. According to legend, a young 149 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:24.039 woman died in or near the shelter long ago. Her 150 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.159 spirit is said to remain, and her tragic story is 151 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:31.360 sometimes found scrawled in the shelter's logbook. Hikers who have 152 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:35.519 spent the night have reported slew of paranormal activity, including 153 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:40.320 hearing disembodied whispers, feeling an unseen presence, and finding strange, 154 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:45.200 unsettling entries appearing in the logbook Overnight, allegedly written by 155 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:51.600 the ghostly inhabitant herself. Next the Ghosts of Sidling Hill Tunnel. 156 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:56.200 While not directly on the at, the abandoned Sidling Hill 157 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.320 Tunnel is a popular and chilling side quest for hikers 158 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:04.759 passing through Pennsylvania. Part of the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpipe, this massive, 159 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:09.320 decaying tunnel is infamous for its oppressive atmosphere and paranormal claims. 160 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:13.559 Visitors and ghost hunters report hearing the disembodied voices of 161 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.000 workers who died during its construction, seeing shadowy figures darting 162 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.159 in the gloom, and experiencing sudden, inexplicable drops in temperature. 163 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:27.480 For at hikers looking for a truly terrifying detour, this dark, 164 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.960 echoing remnant of the past offers a potent dose of 165 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.840 local ghost lore. Now we have the Jersey Devil. As 166 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:39.440 the Appalachian Trail winds through the northwestern corner of New Jersey, 167 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.679 it enters the periphery of territory claimed by one of 168 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:47.039 America's most bizarre encryptids, the Jersey Devil. For over two 169 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:50.960 hundred and fifty years, tales have circulated a bizarre winged 170 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:54.799 creature with a horse like head, leathery wings, and a 171 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.840 blood curdling scream. While its primary stomping grounds is in 172 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.120 the pine barans to the sightings have been reported in 173 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:06.279 the state's northern forests and highlands. Hikers on this stretch 174 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.320 of the trail have sometimes reported hearing unearthly shrieks in 175 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.960 the night, or catching fleeting glimpses of a dark winged 176 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:16.879 shape moving through the dense canopy, a chilling reminder that 177 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:23.200 some legends have very long legs and wings. Now the 178 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:28.159 Haunting of Blood Mountain, located in Georgia. Blood Mountain is 179 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:30.840 the highest point on the Appalachian Trail in the state, 180 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.679 and its name carries a heavy history. The mountain is 181 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:36.320 said to have been the sight of a fierce and 182 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:40.399 bloody battle between the Cherokee and Creek nations. Legend holds 183 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:43.360 that the souls of the slain warriors never left, and 184 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:47.240 their spirits still halt the slopes. Hikers climbing the mountain, 185 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:50.519 particularly in the fog and at dusk, report hearing war 186 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.639 cries and phantom footsteps on the trail. Some have even 187 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.039 claimed to see fleeting, shadowy figures darting between the trees, 188 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:05.039 rever locked in their ancient conflict. Next the Nunnahe. Now, 189 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.759 not all legends of the Appalachians are terrifying. The Cherokee 190 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.879 people tell stories of the Nunnahe or the Little People, 191 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.519 a race of benevolent human like spirits who live in 192 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:19.399 the mountains, said to be invisible unless they choose to 193 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:22.639 be seen. The Nunnah are known to be friendly helpers 194 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:25.919 and protectors of the Cherokee. There are many tales of 195 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:29.480 them guiding lost hikers, especially children, safely out of the 196 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:33.960 woods or leading hunters to game. While an encounter is rare, 197 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.320 a hiker who finds themselves inexplicably back on the right 198 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:41.000 path after being lost might just have the nunnahe to 199 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:47.879 thank next. The White Lady of Raven Rock in North Carolina, 200 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.799 near the town of Lynnville, falls as a tower and 201 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.960 cliff known as Raven Rock. This landmark is home to 202 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.559 a classic Appalachian ghost story, that of the White Lady. 203 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:02.679 As the tale goes, a young woman, distraught over a 204 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.440 lost love, either fell or threw herself from the precipice. 205 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:10.440 Now her spectral white road figure is said to appear 206 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.960 on the cliffs on misty nights forever wondering the spot 207 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:17.559 of her demise. Hikers on the nearby trail have reported 208 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.120 seeing a faint, luminous shape and hearing the sorrowful cries 209 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:22.679 of a woman carried. 210 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:22.919 On the wind. 211 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.480 Now the Ghost of Mount Greylock. As the Appalachian Trail 212 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:34.799 crosses its highest point in Massachusetts, its summits Mount Greylock, 213 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.559 this peak has a resident ghost with a particular affinity 214 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.639 for hikers. Known colloquially as the Old Coot, he is 215 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.679 said to be the friendly spirit of a farmer who 216 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:48.320 once lived on the mountain. He often appears as a ghostly, 217 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:52.679 old fashioned hiker near the summit, particularly at Bascomb Lodge. 218 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.159 He is sometimes seen as a harbinger of the mountain's 219 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.960 notoriously foul and sudden weather, appearing just before a storm 220 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:03.679 rolls in, perhaps as a final spectral warning the fellow travelers. 221 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:09.480 Now we have the Dueyo. While the Snarly Yao stalks 222 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.840 parts of the trail, Maryland has another monster in its woods. 223 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:17.399 The Dueyo, first reported in the nineteen sixties in Frederick County, 224 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.600 a region the at passes through. The Dueyo is described 225 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:25.039 as a bipedal wolf like creature with shaggy black fur 226 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:29.000 and a bushy tail. Often considered a counterpart to the 227 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.879 Snarly Yoo, with which it was said to have had 228 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.960 a legendary battle. The Dueo is Maryland's unique version of 229 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:40.399 a werewolf cryptid. Local reports and hiker tales speak of 230 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:44.320 strange howls and encounters with a fast moving, upright canid 231 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:50.000 in the deep woods. And now what about the punk Wedgies? 232 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:54.559 Especially relevant to hikers in Massachusetts. The punk Wedgies are 233 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:59.320 creatures from the folklore of the Wampanog and other Algonquin peoples. 234 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:02.840 Described as small, gray skinned, troll like humanoids about two 235 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.720 to three feet tall, they are known to be masters 236 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:09.840 of magic and trickery. While some tales paint them as mischievous, 237 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:14.039 others describe them as malevolent, capable of luring people off cliffs, 238 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:19.399 shooting poison arrows, and disappearing at will. Their traditional territory 239 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.279 is the forests and swamps in New England, and hikers 240 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.679 on the Massachusetts portion of the at have reported feelings 241 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.039 of being watched, hearing strange chattering, and seeing small figures 242 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.120 moving just at the edge of their vision. Next up 243 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:39.279 the Bennington Triangle. As the Appalachian Trail merges with the 244 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:43.759 Long Trail in southwestern Vermont, it passes directly through the 245 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.320 heart of an infamous window area known as the Bennington Triangle. 246 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:52.159 This region, centered on Glastonbury Mountain, is notorious for a 247 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:56.200 series of at least five mysterious disappearances between nineteen forty 248 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:59.720 five and nineteen fifty, including that of an experienced hiker. 249 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.840 None of the missing wherever found a vast array of 250 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.960 supernatural explanations have been proposed, from a man eating creature 251 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:12.599 and interdimensional portals to UFO abductions. Hikers in this section 252 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:17.240 often report a disorienting, weird atmosphere, strange lights in the sky, 253 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:21.519 and an unnerving sense of being utterly alone, even when 254 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.839 with a group. And then there's the ghost of the 255 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:28.920 leather Man. In the late eighteen hundreds, a very real 256 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.440 and enigmatic figure known as the leather Man endlessly walked 257 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:35.319 a three hundred and sixty five miles circuit between the 258 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:39.039 Connecticut and Hudson Rivers, a route that crosses the modern 259 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:43.119 day at in both Connecticut and New York. Clad in 260 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:47.119 a crude, sixty pound suit of stitch together leather scraps, 261 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:49.640 he was a silent wonder who slept in caves and 262 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:52.839 was so punctual that locals would set their watches by 263 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:56.839 his arrival. Though he was a real person, this strange 264 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.680 life is more into legend since his death, His ghost 265 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.720 is now said to continue walking the old circuit, and 266 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:07.200 hikers have reported seeing a silent, leather clad figure on 267 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:11.319 the trail who vanishes when approached, forever, sticking to his 268 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:18.000 unending schedule and Then there's Hexenkoff Rock. Near the Appalachian 269 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:22.279 Trail in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley lies a large stone outcrop 270 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:27.480 known as Hexenkoff or Witch'shead Rock. For centuries, this place 271 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:31.279 was a legendary gathering spot for practitioners of powllowing, which 272 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:34.720 was a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic and witchcraft. 273 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.920 It was said to be a place of immense power, 274 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:41.440 where curses were cast and rituals were performed under the 275 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.119 cover of night. Local lore is built with tales of 276 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.680 strange lights seen dancing around the rock, and farmers blame 277 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:53.400 the hexankof witches for sick livestock or bad crops. The 278 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:57.839 area around the rock maintains a deeply spooky reputation, charged 279 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:03.480 with the energy of its magical history. Next, the feuding 280 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:08.400 Ghosts of Rice Field Shelter. Another of the trails famously 281 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.359 haunted shelters, the Rice Field Shelter in Virginia comes with 282 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:16.559 a story of brotherly hate. According to the legend, two 283 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:19.240 brothers who owned the land where the shelter now stands 284 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.599 got into a bitter argument over the property line, a 285 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:27.200 dispute that ended in a violent, murderous confrontation. Now, Hikers 286 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:29.759 who stayed the night report being woken by the sounds 287 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:33.680 of phantom arguing, angry shouts echoing from the surrounding woods, 288 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:37.400 and the palpable feeling of rage and resentment that seems 289 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:42.519 to have soaked into the very ground next The not deer, 290 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:46.079 a product of modern folklore that has found a home 291 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:50.759 in the Appalachians. The not deer is particularly unsettling creature. 292 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:54.799 Reports describe an animal that looks almost like a deer, 293 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:58.839 but is fundamentally wrong. Its legs may be in the 294 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.440 wrong direction, its eyes may face forward like a predators. 295 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.359 It may move with an unnerving fluidity, or it may 296 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.160 stand on its hind legs. Often, it shows no fear 297 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.960 of humans and evokes a primal sense of dread. Hikers 298 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:16.720 who shared chilling tales have been countering these creatures on 299 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:20.519 remote sections of the trail, suggesting an animal that is 300 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:25.599 either a malformed species, a skin walker, or something else entirely. 301 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:32.559 Now we have the ghosts of Cattalucci Valley. Before it 302 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:35.880 was part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Katalucci 303 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:40.119 was a thriving community. In the nineteen thirties, residents were 304 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:42.200 forced to sell their land and leave their homes for 305 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.599 the creation of the park. Today, the Appalachian Trail passes 306 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:50.359 near this valley of preserved homesteads, schools, and churches. It 307 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:52.440 is said to be haunted by the spirits of those 308 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:57.319 who were displaced. Visitors report seeing ghostly figures looking out 309 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.480 the windows of empty houses, hearing the faint laughter of 310 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.400 children near the abandoned school, in fitting a profound, lingering 311 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:10.960 sadness that permeates the entire valley. Next the Ghost of 312 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.440 the Great Gulf in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 313 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:17.799 Now the White Mountains of New Hampshire contained some of 314 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:21.960 the most beautiful and treacherous terrain on the entire Appalachian Trail. 315 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:26.160 The Great Gulf wilderness of vast glacial cirque east of 316 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:31.200 Mount Washington is home to its own ghost history. According 317 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.279 to legend, the spirit of an early explorer or hiker 318 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.079 who died in the rugged landscape still roams the gulf 319 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:41.319 on quiet nights. Hikers camp near the area had reported 320 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.079 hearing plaintive cries for help echoing from the ravine's depths, 321 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:49.160 a chilling sound in such a remote and unforgiving place. 322 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:55.480 Next the Dover demon. While not directly on the trail, 323 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.039 one of massachusetts most famous cryptis was cited just a 324 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:02.759 short distance away in the town of Dover. In nineteen 325 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:07.400 seventy seven, several teenagers had separate terrifying encounters with the 326 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:11.359 bizarre creature that became known as the Dover Demon. It 327 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.680 was described as small and thin, with a large watermelon 328 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:19.880 shaped head, glowing orange eyes, and long, spinly fingers. It 329 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.079 was seen creeping along walls and roadsides for two nights 330 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:28.200 before vanishing forever. For hikers passing through Massachusetts, the tail 331 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:30.920 is a reminder that the state's woodlands have a history 332 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:36.440 of producing their own unique and baffling monsters. And then 333 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:41.279 there's the moodest noises. The Appalachian Trail runs through the 334 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:44.440 western part of Connecticut, but one of the state's oldest 335 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.559 and strangest legends emanates from the east in the area 336 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:52.039 around East Todame. For centuries. The region is then plagued 337 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:56.720 by the moodest noises, strange booming and rumbling sounds that 338 00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:00.359 seem to come from deep within the earth. Native Mriicans 339 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:02.920 bleet it was the angry voice of a god named Hobomach, 340 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.440 but colonists blamed it on witches, covens, or gas from 341 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:11.920 subterranean gems, while modern science points to shallow micro earthquakes. 342 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.119 The sheer history and the unsettling nature of the sounds 343 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:18.279 have cemented the Moodest Noises as one of New England's 344 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:23.720 most enduring paranormal mysteries. And what about the Whispers of 345 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:29.440 Mohusacks Notch? Located in Maine. Mohusack Notch is famously known 346 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.759 as the most difficult and for some, the most fun 347 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:37.240 mile on the entire Appalachian Trail is a deep, dark 348 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:40.720 chasm built with a jumble of gigantic bowlders that hikers 349 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:44.480 must navigate by climbing over, under, and through the cave 350 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:49.559 like passages. The notch is difficulty, isolation and year round 351 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:53.440 ice pockets have given rise to legends. It's said the 352 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:57.720 place itself is alive, and hikers report hearing disembodied whispers 353 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:00.799 and strange echoes that have no source, as if the 354 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:05.640 rocks themselves are speaking. Others have felt the unnerving sensation 355 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:11.799 of being watched from the deep dark crevices between the boulders. Next, 356 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.839 the Curse of the Old Man. For generations, the Old 357 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:19.240 Man of the Mountain, a natural rock formation resembling a face, 358 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:23.799 was the symbol of New Hampshire. The Appalachian Trail passes 359 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.279 through the Franconian Notch, where the Profile gazed out from 360 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.720 the cliffs above Profile Lake. Native American legend tied the 361 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:34.440 stone face to a great spirit who watched over the land. 362 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.559 Though the formation collapsed in two thousand and three, its 363 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:42.720 legend endures. Some believe a curse was unleashed with its fall, 364 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:45.680 while others claim the spirit of the old Man now 365 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.640 resides in the misty waters of Profile Lake. Hikers passing 366 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.359 through the notch still feel the weight of its history 367 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:56.240 and the presence of the mountains lost Guardian. And what 368 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.960 about the phantom hiker now? This legend does not tie 369 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.880 to a single location, but is a widespread piece of 370 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.480 trail folklore shared from Georgia to Maine. Numerous hikers on 371 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:10.279 the at have told stories are encountering a phantom hiker. 372 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:13.759 This figure often appears on a lonely stretch of trail, 373 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:18.759 sometimes looking tired or wearing old fashioned gear. They might 374 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:21.119 walk with you for a few minutes, sharing a bit 375 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:24.720 of trail wisdom, or simply offering a silent covering presence, 376 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:27.880 only to vanish without a sound when you turn your 377 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:30.920 back for a moment. Now, whether these are spirits of 378 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:35.160 past hikers, projections of loneliness, or something else, they are 379 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:40.400 an accepted part of the trail's mysterious human tapestry. Next 380 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:45.680 up the ghosts of the Parisburg Bridge. In Parisburg, Virginia, 381 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:49.799 true hikers must cross a long, swinging pedestrian bridge over 382 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:53.720 the wide New River. This specific crossing point is the 383 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.400 subject of a local ghost story. According to reports from 384 00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:01.000 hikers and locals, the spectral figure will Woman can sometimes 385 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:03.799 be seen on the bridge late at night, often gazing 386 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:07.440 down into the dark water. The most common tale attached 387 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.079 to the sighting is that she is the grieving ghost 388 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:13.319 of a mother whose child drowned tragically in the river below, 389 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:16.920 for ever, waiting on the bridge that crosses over the 390 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:20.759 side of her loss. And now we have the Woody's 391 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:25.559 Knob abduction. While ghosts and cryptis are common, this legend 392 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:29.039 introduces a different kind of visitor to the at In 393 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:32.880 the nineteen seventies, two hikers on Woody's Knob in Virginia 394 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:37.079 claim to have a terrifying UFO experience. They reported seeing 395 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:40.960 a bright metallic craft land nearby, from which strange non 396 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:45.039 human entities emerged. The encounter was followed by a period 397 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:49.480 of missing time, a classic element of alleged alien abduction scenarios. 398 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.319 The story has since become a fixture of Appalachi and 399 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:56.079 Ufo lore, suggesting that those who walk the trail should 400 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:58.200 keep an eye not only on the woods around them, 401 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:03.480