Southern Gothic

49 minutes 16 seconds

The Mystery of Peter Stuart Ney

On December 7, 1815, Marshal Michel Ney—one of Napoleon Bonaparte's most celebrated military commanders—was reportedly executed before a French firing squad in Paris. Yet in the rolling countryside of North Carolina, generations have insisted that history got it wrong. Instead, they claim Ney escaped his execution, crossed the Atlantic, and spent the rest of his life living under the name Peter Stuart Ney as a quiet frontier schoolteacher.

It's a legend built on battlefield scars, whispered confessions, strange coincidences, and a dying declaration that has fueled debate for nearly two centuries. From nineteenth-century newspaper investigations to multiple grave exhumations and even a modern French forensic team searching for answers, the mystery has refused to fade. Whether it's one of history's greatest cover-ups or simply one of America's most enduring legends, the story of Peter Stuart Ney continues to blur the line between documented history and local belief.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsor: Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

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27 July 2026, 7:00 am

41 minutes 37 seconds

Listener Tales, Volume Eight

Join us for another episode featuring listener-submitted stories!

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25 July 2026, 7:00 am

37 minutes 36 seconds

Pensacola's Haunted Lighthouse | Encore Episode

For almost two centuries, the Pensacola lighthouse has stood overlooking the entrance to Pensacola Bay guiding generations of mariners safely through the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Mexico; but over the last few decades, this historic maritime landmark has become notorious for the purported spirits believed to call it home.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsor: Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

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24 July 2026, 7:00 am

25 minutes 8 seconds

Mystery of the Gurdon Light | Encore Episode

This encore episode originally aired on May 6, 2022!

Travel about 85 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas along Interstate 30 and you come to the town of Gurdon. In a remote area, several miles outside Gurdon sit railroad tracks for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It is along a four-mile stretch of track that sightings of a floating, glowing orb have been reported for the last ninety years, now known as the Gurdon Light.

While there are of course scientific theories that attempt to explain the origin of the Gurdon Light, many instead believe the phenomenon is linked to a single event in history, the murder of a railroad foreman in 1931.

Perhaps not everything seen along the railroad tracks is scientifically explainable, and if not, how long has the area been that way? Is the light something that only dates to the 1930s, or is it something that has been there much longer? Perhaps the Gurdon Light has always been there, it just took people to give it a name…

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsor: Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

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22 July 2026, 7:00 am

36 minutes 18 seconds

Trapped Underwater in the Nickajack Cave | Encore Episode

Just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is the Nickajack Cave, a historic natural wonder flooded in 1967 due to the construction of the Nickajack Dam. Carved by the Tennessee River over millennia, the cave has a rich history filled with tales of the Chickamauga, Confederate soldiers, and even the notorious Man in Black, Johnny Cash. Today the cave is a wildlife refuge for a colony of endangered bats, but back in 1992, after it was shut off to the public for this purpose, a man named David Gant dared enter anyway, becoming trapped in the dark, underwater cavern without any air to breathe.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsor: Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

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20 July 2026, 7:00 am

39 minutes 22 seconds

The Fiery Tomb of Josie Arlington | Encore Episode

Josie Arlington, one of the most infamous Madams in New Orleans’ red-light district, Storyville was born Mary Anna Deubler to impoverished German immigrants in 1864. Theories abound as to exactly why or when Josie entered the world of sex work, but by at least the age of seventeen she was working in the brothels of New Orleans.

Entrepreneurial in spirit, Josie worked to create a life greater than what she knew, first owning the ‘Chateau Lobrano,’ and then with the creation of Storyville she built and operated The Arlington at 225 North Basin Street. The Arlington was considered one of the finest brothels in the city. Yet despite her flourishing business and increasing wealth, what Josie wanted most was to be a respected woman of New Orleans society.

Josie would never get her wish in life, but she left behind a legacy that exceeds just her life. Even her tomb is unique with carved torches and a bronze maiden knocking on the door. And if the stories are true the flames continue to burst into life and the maiden knocks on the door of the tomb, forever attempting to gain entry.

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16 July 2026, 7:00 am

16 minutes 17 seconds

Showdown at the Sure Enuf Hotel | Minisode

In our last episode, we explored Gallatin Street—the notorious waterfront district where Bridget Fury and some of nineteenth-century New Orleans' most dangerous criminals made their names. But Gallatin wasn't the city's first den of vice. Decades before the steamboat transformed the riverfront, there was another place where gamblers, thieves, prostitutes, and rivermen gathered on the ragged edge of the Crescent City. They simply called it the Swamp.

Hidden in the city's old backswamp stood rough saloons and gambling houses built from cypress planks and dismantled flatboats, where fortunes disappeared as quickly as they were earned. Among the district's most notorious establishments was the Sure Enuf Hotel, where an afternoon card game between a towering Kentucky flatboatman named Bill Sedley and two gambling brothers erupted into one of the bloodiest stories ever told about old New Orleans—a tale that perfectly captures the brutal world that gave rise to Gallatin Street itself.

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15 July 2026, 7:00 am

32 minutes 38 seconds

Bridget Fury and the Vice of Gallatin Street

Gallatin Street was once the most dangerous two blocks in New Orleans. Just steps from the bustling French Market, the city's notorious waterfront vice district was a place where gamblers, sailors, thieves, and sex workers collided beneath the glow of dance halls and saloons—and where violence was simply the cost of doing business. Among the larger-than-life figures who carved out a reputation there, few were more feared than Bridget Fury, a fiery red-haired woman whose name became synonymous with knives, crime, and survival in one of America's most lawless neighborhoods.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsors:

If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://square.com/go/gothic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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13 July 2026, 7:00 am

38 minutes 13 seconds

Carl Pruitt's Cursed Headstone

In the summer of 1938, a Kentucky man named Carl Pruitt purportedly murdered his wife in a jealous rage before taking his own life. According to legend, he was buried in a lonely cemetery far from the woman he killed, but not long after, visitors soon began noticing something deeply unsettling about his grave leading to whispers of a lethal curse.

Over the decades, the legend of Carl Pruitt's cursed grave has become incredibly popular online, inspiring countless podcasts, and YouTube videos. But where did the story actually come from? Was there ever a murderous man named Carl Pruitt, or has one of the internet's most enduring ghost stories fooled us all?

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsors:

If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://square.com/go/gothic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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9 July 2026, 7:00 am

32 minutes 14 seconds

Samuel Jocelyn's Restless Spirit | Encore Episode

It was a chilly evening in April of 1810 when Alexander Hostler sat alone in his room with a single candle flickering in the darkness. Only days before, Hostler’s lifelong friend Samuel Jocelyn, Jr. had been found dead, leaving the young man absolutely devastated. But on this particular night, his suffering was interrupted by the sound of a voice calling to him from the stillness– a voice all too familiar.

Join us as we explore the lore behind this classic Wilmington, North Carolina legend.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsors:

If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://square.com/go/gothic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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6 July 2026, 7:00 am

41 minutes 18 seconds

Orna Villa's Family Spirits

For generations, the stately white columns of Orna Villa have overlooked the quiet streets of Oxford, Georgia. But inside the historic mansion, residents have long described strange occurrences that defy explanation: doors that slam on their own, mysterious green lights drifting through empty rooms, pictures crashing from the walls, and the unmistakable sound of someone pacing the back porch late into the night—only for no one to be there.

The stories surrounding Orna Villa have been passed down for well over a century, not by ghost hunters or paranormal television shows, but by the families who have actually lived within its walls. Some believe the restless spirits belong to the children of the home's original owner, each forever replaying the moments that defined their lives. Whether that's true or not, the legends of Orna Villa have become one of Georgia's most enduring—and deeply personal—ghost stories.

This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsors:

If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://square.com/go/gothic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

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2 July 2026, 7:00 am