Unearthing the forgotten, the mysterious, and the legendary—one Southern story at a time. Hosted by Shannon Ballard, Southern Mysteries explores the rich and often untold history of the American South through a captivating mix of folklore, legends, unexplained mysteries, and true crime. Each episode uncovers a compelling tale from a Southern state, blending history with intrigue to reveal the fascinating stories that time left behind. While some episodes delve into chilling crimes, others spotlight legendary figures, ghostly lore, or baffling events. Sometimes, the biggest mystery is why you’ve never heard these stories before.
Episodes
Monday Mar 17, 2025
Monday Mar 17, 2025
The Carver Murder Trial of 1930 drew national attention for its brutality and mystery. Ruth Carver, her two-year-old son Lee, and family employee Ben Whitehead were all found dead in their Florida home. Ruth’s husband, William Carver, claimed he killed Whitehead in defense of his family, but shifting testimony and new evidence led to multiple murder trials. Nearly a century later, the true story remains a haunting mystery.
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Episode Sources
- Carver v. State, 101 Fla. 1421, 134 So. 62 (Fla. 1931)
- Criminal Genealogy. (2020, November). William Raymond Carver Murder. Retrieved from Criminal Genealogy Blog
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 4). 1st Degree Murder Warrant for Carver. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 5). More About Wife. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 6). Cleared by Grand Jury but Being Appealed. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 7). Life Insurance Policy. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, April 15). Defense Obtains 30 Day Delay in Case. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 12). Carver Placed on Trial - Court Packed. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Evening Star. (1930, May 14). Jury Tours Crime Scene. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 18). Defense Fights for Carver’s Life…He Testifies at Trial. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 19). Hatchet Shown in Court. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 21). Found Guilty - Motive Was $1000 Life Insurance Policy. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, May 24). Carver Asks for 2nd Trial. Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- The Orlando Sentinel. (1930, June). Last Chance Plea for New Trial (Details of Juror Who Was in Carver Home on Afternoon of Murders!) Retrieved from Newspapers.com
- Find A Grave. Frances Louise Van Midde. Retrieved from Find A Grave
- Find A Grave. Lee Townsend Carver. Retrieved from Find A Grave
- Find A Grave. Ruth Emilie Carver. Retrieved from Find A Grave
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Explore the surprising family ties that connected Abraham Lincoln to the Confederacy. While Lincoln fought to preserve the Union, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had siblings who sided with the South—raising suspicions about her loyalty. Discover how these family divisions reflected the greater turmoil of a nation at war and uncover the personal struggles of the Todds and the political challenges they created for President Lincoln during the Civil War.
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Episode Sources
- Berry, Stephen. House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a Family Divided by War. Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
- Susannah J. Ural (2/26/2025) The War In Their Words: I Do Not Think of Peace. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/war-words-not-peace/.
- Gaton, K.B. (2010). Family Divided: The Todd Sisters Living in Selma During The American Civil War.University of Georgia.
- "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-189)
- "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Elodie Breck Todd Dawson (1840-1877)
- "Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Martha Todd White (1833-1868)
- Life in Civil War America. National Park Service, Civil War Service. Retrieved from https://npshistory.com/publications/civil_war_series/4/sec1.htm
- Scots in the American Civil War. James and Alexander Campbell: Brother against Brother at Secessionville. Retrieved from https://www.acwscots.co.uk/campbell.htm
- Feinauer, J.J. (4/20/2015) Brother against brother: The legacy of divided families during the civil war. Daily American. Retrieved from https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/lifestyle/family/2015/04/10/brother-against-brother-the-legacy-of-divided-families-during-the-civil-wa/116323338/
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Feb 17, 2025
Monday Feb 17, 2025
On a sunny May morning in 1947, a doctor from San Antonio ambushed Willard York and his family near New Braunfels, Texas. The doctor's plan to kill the entire family failed when 13-year-old Ann York escaped. Investigators found that both the shooter and Mr. York faced financial troubles, raising questions about whether the attack stemmed from revenge or a mental breakdown, as the doctor claimed he could not remember the incident.
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Episode Sources
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: San Antonio Broker’s Hearing Here April 17, April 11, 1947
- Shamokin News-Dispatch: Girl Identifies Texas Physician as Slayer of Four, May 25,1947
- Valley Morning Star: Arraignment of Dr. Ross In Killing of W. York Postponed. May 27, 1947
- Corpus Christi Caller-Times: SEC Drops Action Against Broker Willard H. York, June 24, 1947
- The Tribune: Venue Change Given in York Murder Trial, September 13, 1947
- Corsicana Daily Sun: Girl Survivor of Shooting Says Dr. Ross Slayer of 4, October 16, 1947
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: State Rests Its Case at Ross Trial, October 17, 1947
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Ross ‘Scared’ Her, Patient Tells Court, October 18, 1947
- The Tyler Courier-Times: Ross’ Claim Money Taken is Revealed, Oct 19, 1947
- Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light: Other Doctors Tell Jury Ross “Insane” on Shooting Date, Oct 21, 1947
- Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Ross is Given Death Penalty for Slaying, October 24, 1947
- The Salem News: Rule Doctor in Murder is Insane, June 17, 1949
- The Brownsville Herald: Court Affirms Damages to York Family, June 19, 1950
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Doctor Denied Writ of Error, October 5, 1950
- Lubbock Morning Avalanche: Board Allows Death Sentence to Stand for Dr. Lloyd Ross, August 7, 1957
- Case Text: Ross v. York, 233 S.W.2d 347 (Tex. Civ. App. 1950)
- Daily News: JUSTICE STORY: Betrayal at the hands of Dr. Death, March 21, 2020
- History.com: SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission
- FindAGrave.com: Dr. Lloyd I. Ross
- FindAGrave.com: Gertrude Ann York
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Feb 03, 2025
Monday Feb 03, 2025
One of the strangest cases in all their years of police work. Those were the words of seasoned detectives in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the Torture House case. A century ago, this case made national headlines when Richard Heaton was murdered by William Gates, who had been kidnapped and held in a home on 34th Street in Louisville.
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Episode Sources
- New York Times: Shackled to Bed, Man Gets Free Kills Captor, March 9, 1924
- New York Times: Slayer of Heaton Cleare; Coroner's Jury Finds Killing Justifiable to Escape Mutilation, March 15,1924
- Paducah News-Democrat: Gates freed of murder charge, March 16, 1924
- Florence Morning News: Gates admit visit with Heaton to Lake City, March 16,1924
- The Winchester Sun: Gates arrested after freedom on new warrant, March 17, 1924
- The Owensboro Messenger: Gates is held on fugitive charge, March 18, 1924
- The Frankfort State Journal: Gates Tells of Trips to Texas and South, April 9, 1924
- The Louisiana Herald: Lake City Expecting William Gates, April 24, 1924
- The Lousiville Courier-Journal: Gates Bares Torture Plot Details; Hidden Pistol Saved Victim From Heaton;, March 10, 1924
- The Louisville Courier-Journal: Frank Cordell on Trial, April 9, 1924
- Historical Crime Detective: The Torture House 1924
- FindAGrave.com: Richard Hartwell Heaton
- FindAGrave.com: Mary Leahy Wiesen Heaton
Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Over 80 years ago, a coal mining town in Tennessee was rocked by the murders of two wealthy sisters and their 16-year-old houseworker. Who had the motive to kill the sisters, and why would someone harm the teenager who worked for them? In 2001, a former police chief claimed to have solved the case and named several suspects, but it remains shrouded in mystery.
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Episode Sources
- The Commercial Appeal: Mystery Surrounds Tennessee Murders, Feb 6, 1940
- Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Hint Murder Tale Not Yet Told, Feb 7, 1940
- Knoxville Sentinel-Times: Oliver Springs Divided Over Theories of Sisters’ Slayings, Feb 8, 1940
- The Knoxville Journal: Sheriff Offers Slaying Case Reward, Feb 8, 1940
- The Knoxville Journal: Jurors reject Murder-Suicide Theory, Feb 14, 1940
- The Knoxville Journal: Slain Sisters Cousin was Mysteriously Killed, Feb 18, 1940
- Oliver Springs Historical Society: Historical Timeline of Oliver Springs
- Oliver Springs Historical Society Newsletter: The Richards Sisters Murders
- The Tennessean: Clearing of suspect deepens 60 year old mystery, January 27, 2001
- Seattle PI: The cousin did it, investigator says, November 15, 2001
- WBIR 10 News: Appalachian Unsolved: Murder in the mansion, May 22, 2023
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Dec 16, 2024
Monday Dec 16, 2024
On Christmas Day in 1929, the community of Germanton, North Carolina, was forever changed by the tragic murders of seven members of the Lawson family. One fact remains indisputable: Charlie Lawson was responsible for the deaths of his family. However, the question that has lingered for nearly a century is: why did he commit such a heinous act?
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Episode Sources
- Greensboro Daily News: Stokes Farmer Murders Family, Dec 26, 1929
- Greensboro Daily News: Victims to be Buried in Single Grave, Dec 27, 1929
- Statesville Record and Landmark: Only One Member of Family of 9 Left, Dec 30, 1929
- The Sentinel: No Report on Brain of Charlie Lawson, Jan 7, 1930
- Statesville Record: Commercializing the Lawson Home, Feb 3, 1930
- PlanetSlade: So hard to die: Murder of the Lawson Family
- Murderpedia: Charles Davis Lawson
- CLEWS: Christmas Murders and the Lawson Family Massacre, December 2006
- M. Bruce Jones with Trudy Smith: White Christmas, Bloody Christmas, 1990.
- Trudy Smith: The Meaning of Our Tears
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Meet Kinnie Wagner, a lesser known outlaw of the 1920s. Folk songs were written about him in the 1920s and he gained legendary status by escaping jail several times…even escaping the electric chair in Tennessee.
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Episode Sources
- Scott County Historical Society: Kinnie Wagner, Scott County's Notorious Outlaw
- Murderpedia: William Kenneth “Kinnie” Wagner
- The Paris News: Bad Man of 15 Years Has Escaped Again, November 1, 1940
- The Tennessean: Cowboy Desperado Defiant Under Death Sentence, May 15, 1925
- Nebraska Daily News-Press: Tune Up That Guitar, Wagner’s Outlawing Again, November 29, 1940.
- Kingsport News: Kinnie Wagner Died in Prison, March 10, 1958.
- Kingsport Times: Thousands Flock to funeral Home to See Kinnie Wagner, March 12, 1958
- The Jackson Clarion-Ledger: The Story of Kinnie Wagner, 7 part series. April 6-12, 1958
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
On a sweltering day in August 1925, Mary Vickery vanished from Coxton, Kentucky. Several months later, her remains were found in an abandoned mine located just outside the town. A local taxi driver was apprehended, tried, and sentenced to life in prison for the teenager's murder. In the spring of 1927, a young woman appeared in Harlan County with information that could clear his name.
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Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
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Episode Sources
- The Lexington Herald: Coxton Child Still Missing, August 30, 1925
- The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Vickery Girl Still Missing, September 18, 1925
- The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Dabney Caught: Now in Jail, March 5, 1926
- The Harlan Daily Enterprise: Dabney Given Life for Slaying of Vickery Girl, April 2, 1926
- The Atlanta Constitution: When Justice Triumphed, September 4, 1932.
- Kidnapping, Murder and Mayhem: “She Rose from the Dead”, September 10, 2020.
- The Messenger: Marie Jackson fails to know Mary Vickery, March 22, 1927
- The Park City Daily News: A Woman Scorned, March 22, 1927
- The Lexington Herald: Senate Bill Asks $5,000 to Repay Harlan Man for Erroneous Imprisonment, February 15, 1928
- The Voice: An Act of Revenge, August 17, 1935
- National Register of Exonerations: Condy Dabney
- Edwin Borchard: Convicting the Innocent: Errors of Criminal Justice (1932)
- FindaGrave: Condy Ulysses Dabney, 1895-1966
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Anna Hauptrief was the first known female serial killer in Texas. Her 1924 case was known as one of the most sensational and unexplainable in Texas court history.
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Episode Sources
- The Houston Post: Suspect Mother of Poisoning Five. July 24, 1924.
- The Houston Post: Bodies Taken From Graves. July 31, 1924.
- Belleville Daily Advocate: Woman Held for Death of Five Persons. September 9, 1924.
- The Houston Post: Hauptreif, Although Crippled, By Wife’s Poison, Loves Her. October 14, 1924.
- The Austin American: Anna Hauptreif Hangs Herself in Jail. November 1, 1924
- The Waco News: Mrs. Hauptreif’s Burial Place is Changed By Her Father’s Demand. November 3, 1924.
- The Austin American: Hauptreif Goes to Grave. November 3, 1924.
- Unknown Gender History: Annie Hauptreif, Texas Black Widow Serial Killer – August 11, 2011.
- FindAGrave.com: William Louis Hauptreif
- San Marcos Daily Record: A San Marcos Serial Killer. October 31, 2019.
Episode Music
- Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
Monday Sep 23, 2024
Monday Sep 23, 2024
The Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida is one of the most peculiar historic sites in the American South. This state park showcases the life of Dr. Cyrus Teed, the founder of Koreshanity. Those who joined this religious and scientific movement sought immortality through celibacy and believed the entire universe existed within a giant, hollow sphere. The Koreshan Unity has been dubbed “one of the most bizarre” communal utopian societies organized in the 19th century. They were forced to relocate several times until they found a permanent home in the swamplands of southwest Florida.
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Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
Connect
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Recommended Reading
- The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet by Lyn Millner
- Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage by Jeff Guinn
Episode Sources
- WGCU Gulf Coast Life: The connection between Cyrus Teed and the Koreshans and David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. March 14, 2023.
- The Koreshnans: Archives of former holdings of the Koreshan State Historic Site.
- Florida State Parks: Koreshan State Historic Site
- World Religious and Spirituality Project: Koreshans by Lyn Millner
- WGCU: Florida History: Koreshan Unity: A Quest for Utopia | Untold Stories | Florida History
- US Department of the Interior: Preserving America’s Utopian Dream, 2001. “Dr. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity Movement” by Catherine Anthony Ohnemus.
- Florida Rambler: Koreshan State Park is Florida’s strangest historic site. August 3, 2024.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.