Spooky Tunes

The tri-state area of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio is absolutely full of ghost stories and other legends that have found firm roots in our local culture.  Often, these iconic tales become the inspiration and basis for local musicians.  These songs help to preserve and share the stories behind our favorite spooky citizens.  For today's blog, I've compiled a very short list of ghostly-inspired music---three songs from my home state of West Virginia, and one each for Kentucky and Ohio.  Take a few moments to listen...and then hop on over to Theresa's Haunted History Facebook page to let me know any of your suggestions for songs inspired by true events.

1. Behind Red Eyes--A Tribute to Mothman by StellaRising:  West Virginia's favorite cryptid has a number of songs written about and inspired by him, but Behind Red Eyes is probably my favorite.

2. The Being:  The Being, by Argyle Goolsby is an awesome tribute to The Braxton County Monster, which has for years, been lost in the shadows behind Mothman.  However, I think as the local community of Flatwoods and surrounding areas continues to embrace their weird history, we'll be seeing a lot more from this mysterious creature.

3. Johanna:  Bobby Mackey, musician and owner of the super-haunted Bobby Mackey's Music World in Wilder, Kentucky, has written a couple of songs about his bar's resident ghosts.  Johanna is a tribute to a young pregnant woman who worked at the location in the 1930s.  Johanna is believed to have committed suicide after her father had the father of her unborn child killed.

4. The Greenbrier Ghost:  Johanna isn't the only ghostly girl to have a song written to her memory.  The Greenbrier Ghost, by Steve Schroeder tells the story of Zona Heaster Shue and her untimely end at the hands of her husband.

5. Ghosts of the Moonville Tunnel: This song, by Ron Mash, tells of Ohio's Moonville Tunnel and the ghosts that roam the former train tunnel, taken too early by railroad accidents in/near the tunnel.

Book Review for Haunted Rock and Roll

Title: Haunted Rock and Roll---Ghostly Tales of Musical Legends
Author: Matthew L. Swayne
Published: 2014 by Llewellyn Publications
Amazon Purchase Information

If you're looking for a really fun, fast-paced, spooky summer read, pick up a copy of Haunted Rock and Roll, by Matthew L. Swayne. It's a wonderful collection of all the legends, curses, and hauntings that permeate the rock and roll industry. The book begins where it all started---the strange tale of the Grandfather of Rock and Roll, Robert Johnson, and his mysterious trip to the crossroads. Other tales of interest include the 27 Club (of which you do NOT want to be a member), the Buddy Holly Curse, and Ricky Nelson's haunted house.

The book is divided into four sections: 1. Rock Star Ghosts, 2. Haunted Studios and Concert Venues, 3. Premonitions, Signs and Omens of Rock and Roll, and 4. Rock and Roll's Most Famous Curses and Mysteries. Each section is filled with chapters providing the best examples of each category.

As I said, this is a fun read, and I definitely recommend it for light reading into the subject of ghosts and rock and roll. For the most part, it was well-written and informative without being boring. However, there were some issues with the formatting that bugged me. It seemed like some of the information overlapped pretty hard---sometimes information would be repeated in various places in the book. Sometimes, a story would be broken up over different sections, with references back and forth between the chapters. I personally prefer books of this nature to be a little more clear-cut and wrap up nicely within a chapter. Still, it was a nice way to kill some time and learn about a few things I wasn't familiar with. Of course, most people interested in ghost lore will have heard of many of the spooky things discussed in the book, such as the 27 Club, Led Zeppelin's occult dealings, etc., but there are a few more obscure references (like the Fohn/Foehn Winds) that make the book worthwhile. Give it a read for yourself and let me know what YOU think!

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March Music Series

Once again I have waited until the middle of the month to share with you a little background about the monthly Facebook feature! Sorry about that.  Anyway...

March is Music Month over on my Facebook page, and it is the latest installment in a monthly series of posts designed to share FREE educational resources for paranormal investigators and researchers. In January, I posted videos of different lectures from a variety of paranormal topics and speakers. In February, I posted a series of documentaries, again about a variety of paranormal topics. This month, I'm again utilizing YouTube...but taking things in a slightly more fun direction.

For each day in March, I'll be posting a different song or music video that has something to do with the paranormal field. There are some awesome songs out there written especially about well-known ghosts and hauntings and there are some awesome songs out there written about paranormal topics in general. There are some songs that have been used as soundtracks to movies and television shows about ghosts and ghost hunting that have earned a spot on my list...and there are even a few songs that are kinda paranormal themselves for some reason!

I hope you enjoy this month's feature posts and if you have any favorite spooky songs or songs that you've added to your investigation playlist, please pop on over to Theresa's Haunted History Facebook and share them!