by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 12, 2019 | Appalachian, Hiking, Nature, superstition
It definitely feels like summer today in the mountains of Western NC. But even as I sweat, I’m noticing signs pointing toward a rough winter. Last week I saw my first wooly worm. All black. This morning I saw another just the same. Acorns are already falling and...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 8, 2019 | Appalachian, Nature, superstition
Honeybees aren’t native to WV, but they came to the state with European settlers and, escaping their hives, decided to settle in themselves. Locals soon discovered the sweet treat inside the wild hives and began developing techniques for discovering bee trees....
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jul 25, 2019 | Appalachian, dogs, folklore cures, Nature, superstition
You’ve almost certainly heard this time of year referred to as the “dog days” of summer. But do you know WHY it’s called that? I always thought it’s because this hot, muggy time of year isn’t hardly fit for a dog. And I had a...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jul 18, 2019 | Appalachian, Miracles, Nature, superstition
I love mysteries and unexplained phenomenon. Miracles even. Lately I’ve been reading about the Brown Mountain Lights–a mysterious occurrence people sometimes see on a mountain about an hour east of where I live in NC. Brown Mountain is in the Linville...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 28, 2019 | Appalachian, Family, Nature, superstition
It’s finally March and while we still have redbud, dogwood, and blackberry winters to go (at a minimum), country folks are thinking about plowing the garden. When I was a kid my father and one of the more mature ladies of the church would have pretty much the same...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 21, 2019 | Appalachian, Family, History, superstition
North America has Bigfoot. Nepal has the Abominable Snowman. Ireland their Banshees. Everywhere you go, there are monster stories. Well, West Virginia is not one to be left out. My home state has several mythical monsters of its own. Our uniquely Appalachian monsters...
