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The Terrifying Ghost Towns of Deep Appalachia...
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- Published on Jul 11, 2025
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Hello. In this video, I document my journey through 3 ghost towns located in the Appalachian Region. These locations, their stories, their culture, and their abandonment have always interested me... so I decided to explore them for myself. As an Appalachian myself, this land holds a special place in my heart, despite the Internets involvement in mystifying it.
The hills and trees whisper these stories every day, and few stop to listen. So join me as I explore the ruins of these Ghost Towns, and explain their lore, significance, and abandonment. Thank you for watching, and enjoy the show.
/ @broogli
/ notbroogli
x.com/broogli
Thank you all for your support, below are links to help victims of the recent flooding if you feel inclined.
www.appalachia... 
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Go to buyraycon.com/spoogli to get up to 30% off sitewide! Brought to you by Raycon.
Hopefully you all enjoyed this video. It’s been in the works for months, and I had a blast filming it. This is my greatest accomplishment yet, so I hope to make more vids similar eventually!
Thank you all!
Edit* I misspelled “Tennessee” in the “Elkmont” title card, I’m gonna pretend like i did it on purpose because I’m a kentucky fan😈 (I just suck at typing haha, apologies)
You a real panty dropper huh?
Dun-glen hotel....its a celtic origin double word
Dun from din (dinas= city in Welsh)
Glen ... Scots Gaelic word for valley
ruclips.net/video/0qxg7WaZmNQ/video.htmlsi=v9QdxPsVEFL5wWDt
You sold out to Raycon just like those companies did to Appalachians. Hold this dislike.
Spoogli, you should check out/research Sistersville, WV. It was an HUGE booming oil town back in the day. there are several actual legit mansions along the main road through town and more scattered around, not to mention the many large beautiful “normal“ homes. The mansions are in use and the town is not abandoned but the oil dried up long long ago most of the people, money, and industry left with it.
Sistersville is now lower class bruised and battered tiny little town along the ohio river. It's very odd to see all those big mansions in a town with about 1k people.
There is also a historic hotel there with a cool history and a ton of compelling lore.
If you go exploring the surrounding areas ridges, hollers, creeks n such (Tyler and Wetzel Co.) there are a bunch of cool little abandon spots. One of the bigger ones is The Jug out the road from Sistersville.. it's a good little spot full of history. A little old roadside store/museum is ran by a direct descendant of the people who lived there. It's short hike out back of the store to the abandoned homestead.
Good luck with all you do. Keep up the amazing story telling. It is so important.❤
as a British, the sheer size of your country is impossible to comprehend. SO big that it took decades to reach the other side and whole societies sprang up and collapsed in the process. here everything is built on top of the ruins of something else- you're never more than 7 miles from a road on the British mainland. that you can just wander off the beaten path and go missing forever in a place like this in the rural United States is equal parts enchanting folklore and terrifying mystery. a bit like the fear of seeing the wide open deep blue sea
Out west in the deserts there are places with no towns for 200 miles. Signs posted saying bring extra gas or fill up before driving on.
there was a tumblr post that made its rounds a few years ago that said something like "britain is scary because its old, and america is scary because its big" that i think about a lot
Look up sharps chapel, Tennessee
I've nearly been stranded multiple times with at least 100 miles to the nearest town and I barely fixed my truck enough to get somewhere with people to help me. And that's not even way out west or far north, that was in Maine and the mountains of New York. I can only imagine this in the way more desolate places.
It's a huge country my British friend, daunting by all counts.
@@camcarroll7991 Honestly as a British person that has done coast to coast road trips across the states multiple times, the American West may be my favourite place in the world. Just the feeling of being a hundred miles away from civilisation, sometimes maybe even the only living person for 10 or more miles evokes a serious wanderlust in me. Being able to step out of the car and eat my dinner looking up at a sky free of light pollution and the vast empty void of the desert plains at night. Can't wait for my next trip out there!
Appalachia is older than bones. The history you can find out there is incredible
@@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV the Appalachian mountains were there before Pangea. 750 million+ years ago, the Appalachian mountains were above water when the rest of the world was under.
Life is old there. Older than the trees
@@bubblegamerreally?! Didn’t know this lived here my whole life
@@Waxedem9199yep the Appalachian mountains is one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth, as someone who lived there most my life and want to go back, being up in the mountains you feel how ancient it is, its a crazy feeling
What a beautiful place that is and the fact that it’s still beautifully intact is pretty incredible. Those fireplaces are still in working condition and how beautiful the surrounding area is has my mind wandering about how it used to be to live there a hundred years ago 😮😮😮 thank you for sharing this information with us, I’m truly grateful for this information and journey back in time.
I hate when people say the feeling of nostalgia is just us reminiscing the good parts of our childhood... I'm from Michigan. I've never been to any parts of the Appalachias. I was born in 1996, nowhere close to the 1800s, yet I always feel such a huge sense of nostalgia hearing stories like these. Even about the small villages in my own state. Nostalgia is such an unexplainable feeling yet so comforting...
Hi neighbor! 🥰 I feel exactly the same way! I have always wanted to go to the UP and see some of those ghost towns! Have you been?
Also, if you ever do get a chance to visit any part of Appalachia it is STUNNING!!!! Especially Tennessee imo. Although West Virginia is gorgeous as well. ❤
Michigan is gorgeous, I’ve spent many a days in the “Yooper” lands , and near mackinaw city!
@ oh I love that you love our state! I feel that it’s gorgeous as well but I am bias.😁 what amazing videos you make!
@ I have lived here my whole life but have never been to the UP! I’m scared of the bridge 😂😂😂
The fact that there's not a single tag or piece of graffiti anywhere is mind boggling to me as someone from New York, completely different culture and level of respect it's amazing
It's high trust vs low trust societies. Tagging takes place in low trust areas. People feel free to behave more destructively because few people care. High trust areas have lower crime because most people care. You'll find high trust areas are usually one racial background. That's not the reason they're high trust. It's because everyone is culturally assimilated. Cultural assimilation of immigrants has been fought for "diversity" while only lowering community trust and increasing crime. Another reason there is less crime in high trust communities is you can trust your neighbors to keep secret where troublemakers are buried.
There’s definitely efforts by the park system to protect and preserve the buildings and I’m sure tagging does happen, just at a much smaller rate and it’s painted over. These buildings are clearly well maintained and tended to. If people thought they could get away with it, I’m sure this place would be trashed. It also helps that it’s remote and in the mountains. I wonder what their real situation with squatters is though. In a country in housing crisis, it makes you wonder how they manage that
@@russiannpcbot6408 i know that feels nice to say, but youre wrong. Most third world countries are ethnically homogenous and theyre actual hell to live in. We create the same set of circumstances everywhere we go, as do they. Only difference is that ours are worthwhile and theirs are not.
Resident here ( alittle past knoxville in a place youd never see on a satellite.
A lot of people from here are most likely scared of going there in general. Folklore plus their parents always telling them not to venture off the beaten path. Theres folks who lived there 70+ years and never left their property except the store runs every once in a while. But most people especially these days are always going where supposed "monsters" are and yet no ones seen anything...
Its mostly just old stories told as truth because theyve been around for longer than the towns and most residents know its baloney..
The arguement of low vs high trust populations is crap. 9 times out of 10 some type of meth cooking white family have been there scrapping copper or just stealing old window panes for cash and are constanly destroying and stealing stuff in the actual towns. When it comes to respecting stuff id say knoxville and nashville are just like new york. Just more annoying homeless addicts
There is so much graffiti in the moonville tunnel
Something about Appalachian ghost towns just feels heavier… like the land remembers everything. Incredible footage-fellow explorer here, and this is exactly the kind of place that pulls you in and doesn't let go. Anyone else feel that strange stillness?
As a foamer and C&O railroad fan, what killed Thurmond was the transition from steam engines to diesels. Thurmond was a service stop for steam engines to refuel their tenders with coal, get water, and make minor repairs. The giant cement tower was not a cistern but a coal tipple that released coal into the tenders. Most of the townsfolk were workers for the railroad who had to service the steam locos. That steam engine on the historic plaque at 31:47 was a 2-6-6-6 Allegheny, one of the most powerful steam engines ever built and controversial to boot.
Once the diesels came in, they could go farther and require less servicing, so the yard and buildings were demolished thus dooming the town.
I was going to get into the mechanical reasons like you mentioned, but I thought it might not translate well haha. Cool information though, I appreciate it
The 1953 C&O 1642 boiler explosion disaster incident
@@matthewfawbush7731 Wasn't thinking about that but you are correct.
I was thinking about the fact that engineers back in the day were paid based on the weight of the locomotive. Heavier weight=more money. The crews were noticing that the pay rate wasn't matching what they thought they should be getting so they went to C&O management to complain only for them to go to Lima, the manufacturer, and had a court case that the C&O won because Lima did not weigh the locos properly thus were forced to pay the C&O so they could backpay the workers.
Fellow foamer here, love Thurmond, I live in Cass and used to work on the Shay's there, would love to see steam through Thurmond again. Also, side note, the movie Matewan was filmed there and had I think Nickle Plate 765 in the movie.
awesome that it was still getting occasional Amtrak service a few years ago
I love the idea of reviving a ghost town, I remember hearing some guy in... California? bought an entire ghost town and has not only been restoring it but preserving it. He's the only one that lives there.
Yep Cerro Gordo :)
It's honestly something that could reasonably happen in our lifetimes as internet infrastructure for rural areas becomes better, but only if corporate America begins a wider adoption of remote work positions. These remote areas have very inexpensive property and would be very attractive options for those who wish to own a home and don't feel the need to live super close to a large city. These towns became ghost towns because the industries they supported dried up and technology moved our economy largely into services that required being near large population centers - now that we can decentralize, these areas no longer need to be supported by a local industry.
He's a grifter who has almost gotten himself and others killed several times doing that, ebegging the while way
@@DrezninIt’s being done here and there! People can actually be hired to live on site, restore and maintain some of the structures, also (obviously) keeping it safe and offering tours and history lessons to folks who find them. It’s a career I would absolutely be thrilled to retire in!
Omg. Your channel is right up my alley! I love exploring, so this popped into my feed. I’m glad I clicked on it.
I’ve got folks down south, a brother with a ranch not far from Lafayette and McMinnville TN. Wonder if he’s poked around any of the Smoky ruins.. what a shame what the feds did.. there’s MANY abandoned towns because of their land grabs..
But yeah, me and my siblings and I would run the woods looking for old confederate stuff. Found a few arrow heads, but when we we kids it was pure magic to run the woods.
We’ve lived in the PNW for decades now, grew up without a TV and no government indoctrination “schooling” either, so my mind is sharp and my love for mystery and adventure keen. New sub here now!
As someone who lives in West Virginia, this has always been so interesting to me. As you travel through the state, you'll come across what are essentially ghost towns now. Yes, there might be 100 people scattered around. And yes, those people might still live in and around this town. But that's it. No businesses, anymore. Nothing like that. You won't actually SEE anyone. But as you drive through these shells of towns, you'll see like six giant, Victorian style houses up on a hill. You'll see faded advertising painted on the sides of old buildings. You see all these signs, if you look, that this place you're passing through used to actually be a destination for people. A "town" you've never heard of used to be a place people dreamed about making it to. They would dream about someday building a house up on that hill. It's so strange to stand in place that, clearly, used to be bursting with people and activity. But now? Fucking nothing.
When I see these it just makes me so angry for our state. There’s a documentary called King Coal that talks about how a lot of families migrated out of WV once the Coal Companies started shutting down.
Diversifying investments may have made the shift away from coal a lot less painful … I med a man from WV that got into oil as well as coal.
There’s a town near where I grew up that has blocks of really nice historic homes, a courthouse, a library/sheriff dept and a gas station. The way it’s set up makes me believe that it had to have been something special at one point but there’s not even a grocery store within 30-40 mins of the town. I never see people walking the side walks. I always wonder what it was like back in the day to walk those same side walks right after they were made. There’s nothing but swamp and farm land for miles and miles until you run into this one little town out of nowhere. I grew up 15 mins from the little “downtown” area and never even seen the area until a few years ago. I’m 31 now.
It might come back someday. I live in the Denver area and so many people say that their dream is to live in the mountains, away from people. Granted, the whole point is that these places used to have vibrant community, but my point is that there are people who would love to move to rural areas...if they can make money of course.
F bombs NOT called for 😡
Personal history is very important. I'm from Miami. People say Miami has no "history".
I'm adopted. The records were sealed back then. I had no family history. And my adoptive parents' history just didn't seem to fit. Plus certain relatives reminded me that I wasn't in fact entitled to "their" history.
So I became an amateur historian. Miami history exists and its fascinating!
I found my birth family! They're awesome! And now I know my history! Turns out I'm a Scots Irish Cherokee hillbilly from the TN Appalachian area. I'm really blessed. And thankfully, from the South lol.
This is by far, the best channel featuring abandoned towns because you give us the social
History of the places. You bring the past alive. Thank you!
So crazy how different the world was just a few generations ago. I think that sense of nostalgia we are all experiencing when watching films like these is our souls pining for simpler times and small communities, cut off from the world at large. We didn’t evolve to be hyper aware of everything that’s happening on earth all at once. It’s not natural.
Whatever humans do is what's natural for humans to do
@@gwils7879 I get what you mean but I’d disagree. Things like doomscrolling on Tik tok is not natural for human beings. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
@@gwils7879humans still lived in smaller groups and lived much simpler lives. A lot of modern stress and disorders may be aggravated greatly by being disconnected from nature and other humans. We are innately social and revert to emotional or "primitive" ways pretty easy. Though, not a lot of people even get much beyond the basic social stuff we have always done for our entire existence...
Yup, being more connected has made us more isolated.
I miss listening to the stories of my childhood 😢 my parents grew up in Oklahoma, and my paternal grandparents were from Arkansas. During the Depression my grandfather passed away, and Grandma raised her children and worked doing whatever she could do to make ends meet.
Just an interesting piece of information from a Scottish lady..
The other half of the Appalachian Mountains is the Scottish highlands.
They were one and the same but got ripped apart as the earth moved .
I have a British friend, who said that Scottish people are just like Appalachian people!
@ what you guys swear, drink and don’t give a damn as well as us Scots !! 😂😂
I love that and knew that because my Daddy’s side came from Ireland and Scotland, something else that I love is the fact that our way of speaking and our language is unique to Appalachia and it is interspersed with words and sounds that are Scots Irish in origin…. I traced my Irish roots back to Antrim Ireland and Scotland, my Mama on the other hand is Native American and English….i like to think that I never left the Appalachian mountains, I just moved further down the chain to the US, lol…
@@lolashelle 💕
@@lolashelle
I have Scottish and Cherokee and Irish ancestry which I am so very proud of
Dang I’m also from eastern Kentucky. Sometimes I feel trapped here because the lack of opportunities and I don’t drive, but watching videos like this make me realize how beautiful and rich the history here truly is. No matter what I’ll always be proud of we’re a came from.
I’m also from eastern Kentucky, well north eastern which does have a lot more opportunities than eastern and southeastern but this is very true
My grandparents one from Harlan co and the other from Leslie Co both back in the 50's came to Detroit for that same reason zero opportunities down there.
@ryan8430 My dad's side of the family is from Leslie, my mother's side is from Perry. I love seeing the big mine up on the mountain when I visit.
@Banshee_Queen there's a family cemetery down there. Woods-couch cemetery I haven't been down there since 05'. Leslie Co, Tim couch were related somewhere down the line
I'm from South Central KY and my wife's from Pikeville. I followed the money for years. CO, ND, and TX specifically. But we got tired of the rat race and retired in far Eastern TN. Appalachian has always been home. I wish I hadn't left at times. But you gotta do things you don't want to at times. Def be proud of where you are from. There's no place like it.
I am from Western Kentucky, but my grandfather is from Eastern Kentucky. He was a coal miner and told stories about his childhood in Appalachia. I have a deep love for those mountains. Also, really enjoyed this urbex video through Appalachia!
In 2019 me and my friends went to the back skirts of Pennsylvania all the way down to West Virginia. What an experience, the air is different than I can put in words. The whole vibe and atmosphere was just different and amazing. Seeing an abandoned firehouse , train carts, football fields it’s just wow
Nice dude
So injoyed finding this channel today. I'm a 65 yr old widow in Tuscaloosa. My great grandfather, grandfather and father were all coalminers in Va and my son is a coalminer here in Tuscaloosa. There's no harder and braver men out there that do what they do just to put food on the table. Thank you so much❤
all my love from a fellow widow in t-town, i'm 55, grew up in coal country in walker county, al just ne of tuscaloosa. please tell your son i said thank you for what he does.
I just found you.Wonderful History!:Keep it up!😊❤
God bless ❤@@notrlybad
U looking for.someone to accompany you im ur man
Bros trying for that inheritance speedrun @@lordmoncef5494
Also from Kentucky, the amount of ghost towns where I am is horrifying. They all have their own story's but can't tell them sadly. Glad I could hear this one! ❤
why can’t you tell them?
Just ask them lol
My mother's people were West Virginians. Almost all gone now, but I was there so often as a child. I remember thriving towns even in the 1950s and early 1960s. I remember kind people.
I've spent my adult life masking my own accent, in order to do well in my jobs. I know what you mean. Now I'm retired, and it's so nice to be free from that.
Thank you for honoring a place I loved.
My mom and her family are/were from the holler in West Virginia. They lived in Lingo County. They were the Counts, Ball, and the Brooks. I loved and drank all the stories I would get to hear. And want to hear more! It's awesome to hear of others stories! It makes me feel more bonded, and who they were back in the days! I wish I did live back there. But I love these mountains, my moms family migrated to Montana. 😊 Take care and thanks for sharing
Woah how old are you?
My dad's family is from the Appalachian region (his mother did genealogy and we're distantly related to the Fugates), I'm born and raised in Oregon and I've never been, but always had a deep love and fascination with Appalchia's history and folklore - can't express my appreciation for videos like this enough 💕 just learning about Appalachia gives a strange comfort I can't really get elsewhere
East TN boy here, and I remember going into the mountains with my dad and uncles when I was a kid. You are right about the Appalachians. They are old, and the land is alive with memory beyond what mortal man can fathom. There is nowhere like them in the world, and I'd never want to make my home anywhere else.
My dad grew up in West Virginia, and we go there to visit relatives every so often. Going deep into the mountains and hollers is definitely an experience. It just feels uncanny but comforting. Every town you visit feels like it's frozen in time.
The internet’s defamation and spread of misinformation and delusions regarding Appalachia will never cease to sadden and offend me. It’s one of the most beautiful regions and biomes in this country, and it sucks that so many people are hell bent on ruining that notion.
It used to bother me until I realized the bad rep keeps many people away. Let them think want they want as long as they stay out!
@@ericawood9714I agree!
@@ericawood9714💯 agreed. I live in a little isolated holler and keep lots of chickens." Neighbors" aren't a thing, and I think the rest of the community thinks I'm the crazy chicken lady. Keeps unwanted company away😂
Well, they're the ones who are missing out. Stay away from us.
I'm from the area and I tell everyone it's bad because they won't disturb the peace if they think it's a bunch of country bumpkins screaming at each other all the time 😂
(But some of the impoverished areas are actually pretty bad and don't need revived)
The steel and coal are gone, let the remaining settlers live in their peace. The oil rigs destroyed a lot of mountain sides in my area, don't need more of that.
I'm right here with you in Appalachia, and I gotta say it's so good to hear someone speaking on our mountains outside of stuff like: "a land of people poor in finance, but rich in community" or "Don't go outside at night time! Don't look in the trees!" I can hear the love you have for these mountains in your voice, and the specific way of life we've been raised in! I subbed so fast!
As someone who grew up near the mysterious Appalachia, it is fantastic. It's such a good and beautiful place full of intrigue and rebirth. There are lost buildings, houses, barns, and entire villages just left to rot. It's creepy, it's unnerving, you feel like you're being watched. Though in a way, you are. You're watched by those who came before you to live in those places. Pay them respects.
Born and raised in a coal camp about four miles from Appalachia Va. Been a coalminer here for 45 years. Just wanted you to know that I thought this was a Great video. You cant beat living in these mountains and most of all, home to some of the greatest people on earth. Wish you the best young man.
Wow. 😎Dude. My grandad and many family members were miners ...but in the uk ) "oright duck ?"..is what they say 😂
Not as cool as the Appalachian accent
Born and raised in Appalachia, plan on dying here. I love the mountains and every time we travel I can’t wait to get back here. Doesn’t even have to be my hometown, just in these mountains in particular. I just love it here.
You know you are home when the green starts encroaching on the road. ♥️
@@lindseybridges341where the pavement ends and nature begins
Exactly. I’ve moved away and always came back and now don’t wanna leave. It’s a physical longing as well.
I read that the upside down cross stands for mental health problems. Is that what's wrong with you?
It’s impossible to feel bad when you’re in the mountains.
When I was 21 (30 years ago) my grandmother took us to the holler she was raised in.
It was a wagon trail, so we hiked in.
The foundation and fireplace/chimney still stood.
She told us so many stories of being raised in that tiny home down in the holler ❤️
There was a little stream nearby that had the most gorgeous clean water ... I splashed my face with it , then ended up soaking my hair . I wanted the energy of that lil stream on me ❤️
So very grateful for that journey into my grandmother's holler.
East Tennessee, deep in the hills
What a Blessing!♥️💞♥️
@sherryblanton2029 it was magical to me ✨️ and so happy she showed us
@@NashvilleRachel That memory will never leave you! Too Precious! ♥️💞♥️
North Carolinian here, from a county that’s the very edge of what’s considered Appalachia. - So the foothills.
I was lucky enough that my parents used to cart me and my sisters all around the state as kids. But there’s just something so special about the mountains.
I’ve always said (about the Appalachians) “You can just FEEL the ghosts there.” And not necessary human; just a rich history. I think you put it extremely well when you said that those mountains are sentient. They really, really are. ❤
And they call to me often.
I’m from Washington state but last summer I went to visit Thurmond with my grandfather who was born and raised in rural Tennessee and was very fond of the western movie “Matewan”, it was so fun to hear him talk about old western shows and local history while we were visiting this small town in the middle of a forest, I’ll cherish those memories forever ❤
I'm from Massachusetts and last year I moved to Black Mountain, NC in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I absolutely love living in Appaliachia, from the people to the beautiful mountains. It's a place I think everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.
Hiya im from the uk & I apologise for my ignorance in regards to the Appalachian mountain/region, I've only just scratched the surface of this subject. First of all my thoughts & prayers to all the people who suffered during the terrible hurricanes, ive always had a fondness for America & all the states, so I'm so glad I came across your channel of which I have subscribed & I hope will educate me with Appalachia region & the wonderful people.
I’m an ecstatic subscriber to “The Appalachian Storyteller”. The stories JD has collected are wonderful and his daughter, Sarah, takes part with him. I think you love it too!♥️
Well you don't have to worry about hurricanes touching anywhere close to Appalachia.
@@thecianinatorI mean, they did pretty recently. It was super strange, but it happened.
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee would politely disagree about the hurricanes not touching us
We hope you come visit
Your love for Appalachia really shines through, your words really warmed my heart.
I’m from England originally but moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2016 to marry my wife. We’re just outside the Ozark Mountains and watching your video made me think so much of the land here. It really is beautiful and I absolutely got what you meant about the place having its own Spirit that you can feel, how it feels wise, it’s like that here too.
The people here are also very kind, hard working, always want to bring you in and feed you and tell stories. My wife grew up in a rock house her Dad built up on the mountain, and now we own it. There’s such magic here, thank you for sharing places like this.
I got to visit where my Dad was born and grew up in WV in a little town called Panther. he was born there in 1926 and told me he remembered walking on the railway and picking up coal to help with heating and cooking. it makes me realize just how cushy we have it today. Cheers and Subscribed
i had a neighbor from panther once when i lived in oceana, wv
Like and subscribed myself!!! Let's get this fearless chap all the way to a Milly!
My grandpa told me they did that as kids too!
its so funny how you explored this place, you were basically like “wow, look at this fireplace. people used to sit around it, getting warm, now they dont. fascinating”
amazing video
Love this video! As a person that drives through the Appalachians and seeing all the ghost towns I truly wondered the stories behind those towns. Thank you for shedding some light on them.
I was born and raised in Fayette County, WV. I lived in Fayetteville for the last few years before we moved to Florida… Kaymoor was right in my backyard and we were all over those mountains and hollers…my Daddy, my Grandpa, my Brother, my Brother in law and my Nephew were and are coal miners, it’s a HARD life but a very GOOD life….my Grandfather Emery Lark McCoin was a 2nd or 3rd generation Irishman and my Daddy, James Edward McCoin, followed him into the coal mines after he returned from WW2, then my brother Edward Lee McCoin wet to serve in Vietnam then spent some time in construction before he came home from Kentucky and followed Grandpa and Daddy into the mines, his son Edward Lee McCoin Jr worked several jobs before he finally followed the family tradition into the mines, where he works now….this is my home and the stories are my story and I’m so proud to be a WV Coal Miners Daughter. I loved your video, and since you’re from Kentucky, Praise the Lord, you KNOW how to correctly pronounce Appalachia, lol….thats my number 1 of all time pet peeve. Say AppaLayshia and 😝😜😡🤬🤯 lol….btw, it’s the New River and it’s the oldest river in North America and the second oldest in the world, its headwaters are in North Carolina and it ends there in Fayette County at Gauley Bridge where it joins with the Gauley River to become the Kanawha river. Thurmond also has tines with the Hatfield’s of Hatfield and McCoy history, as well as a rich history of the coal mine wars….you may already know all of this, if so, sorry to bend your ear, but I find the history of my state and area so fascinating, if you don’t know this little bit of info and you’ve never seen the movie, I highly recommend watching the movie Matewan, they used the town of Thurmond in the movie and that green house on the hill behind you that was still standing was used in the movie as well as some more of the buildings and houses, most of the houses have fallen down now but the green one is still standing….thanks for the wonderful video, Michelle McCoin Warner
Nice read dear. Lincoln County wv. Is where I was raised. I thought back then "I cant wait to get out of here!" Now all I think about is " I wish like hell I could live back home in them mountains"!
With that said. Hope you have a wonderful new year! And a very merry christmas..
God bless you sir. Amen.
Can tell you were never properly taught how to write. Fuck. And all of that was such meaningless, mundane bullshit. Who gives a fuck about your family.
I lived a LOT of my life in Fayette County too! My whole family is from there!
Grew up in fayette County. Miss it
Thanks for a WONDERFUL tour. I’m old now but am from Ky. My folks and g-folks told many stories about places I yearned to know. That never happened until you shared this video with your loving & poetic thoughts. I DO HOPE you have written a book-or plan to - to preserve this history while it is still available. It is so important to document what is quickly fading. Today we ride on the backs of the strong and courageous people from these hard working areas. I love that you vocalize your love & respect to an area & people that is so often misunderstood and happily forgotten. Thank you again!
I’m from southwest Virginia. For as long as I can remember I’ve always been so fascinated by the history of the area and how so much of it is just… dead now. Most of my county were boomin coal towns back in the day, hell, what was once the worlds largest producing coal mine back in around the 50s is like 5 minutes from where I live! You wouldn’t be able to tell nowadays though. So much of this area is dead. It’s genuinely kinda heartbreaking to see just how many abandoned houses and businesses are around here. I can’t help but find the beauty in all those old buildings, though. Both because of how nature gradually takes over and because the mind wanders on what sort of things happened within those walls, what kinds of stories have been told, what kind of people might’ve lived there, etc. it’s sad to see these places rot away, but even if they can’t be saved or restored, the least we can do is keep the memory and history alive, somehow. Seeing this pop into my feed brought a smile to my face.
Only about a third of the way through the video at the time of writing this, but I won’t be too surprised if some of the places I’m familiar with get mentioned, lol
Absolutely! I certainly share that sentiment.
Same, I come from a small town called Rural Retreat, used to be the cabbage capital of the US
@@Saved-by-Gracerural retreat you say? been there a few times passing few
Reminds of Rural Oregon, except for us it was logging not coal mining
Sounds like Drill VA where I'm from. Russell County
just need to express gratitude for how great of a video this was. i watch a plethora of docu style videos on youtube regularly and always use them as podcasts i just put on to listen to, but something about your style of content had me pausing everytime i had to take my eyes off the screen. this was so well made. i love the narration, the pictures providing visuals, and the current day exploration. this is an amazing video. so glad i found this and can’t wait to go through your channels videos!!!
I’m from south eastern West Virginia and there are abandoned coal and logging towns all over the place. This video definitely brings back memories of home.
I live in Arizona, but I got the incredible opportunity to march with Music City Drum Corps from Nashville this summer and let me tell you, I have fallen in love with the Appalachians. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Arizona, and I love the Rockies, but the Appalachians just feel different. That’s why I fell in love visiting places like Sevierville, Asheville, and Knoxville. I love the natural beauty of the land we live in!
I am a simple man. I see a fellow young Appalachian man who appreciates what these hills and valleys offer. I subscribe.
God Bless man. Much love from Pennsyltucky and WV.
I’m in North Carolina and there is nowhere more beautiful and perfect than Appalachia 🧡💜
Hello fellow North Carolinian!!!!!
Whenever I’m far from home and I bump into another North Carolinian I always callem brother or sister
Amen, Western NC is where I'll live and die just like my family before me,East TN is the only other area that feels like home and that's because of Granny and Papaw.
patagonia and the columbia river
Hello fellow North Carolinians
i love watching these type of videos because i knew nothing about Appalachian history until 2018 while watching a lifetime series movie. everyone does such a good job with explaining the history it’s so cool and throwback and warm 😫
This man made a heathfelt documentary about the place he grew up and loves... and he did it all in a baseball cap with "Your hole is my Goal" on it. What a LEGEND
Watching from Australia 🇦🇺 it sure is a different world over there. Great video. I love learning about these places. Its so different to over here.
You'd absolutely love it, just don't tell anyone, lol.
Live from America! 🇺🇸 I used to have a friend in Australia I would play with on ps4. There are a lot of hidden places and things here in America.
Another area that is beautiful and has a lot of rich history, is the Ozarks
All Australia has is the goon of fortune and you have to keep yourself harnessed to the ground to keep from falling into the sun. Also to eat you have to hunt kangaroos and koalas with boomerangs.
@WizzleTeats69 that sounds wild but not true haha
Appalachia is truly one of the few places I would love to visit in the US. I loved the video.
You should its absolutely beautiful. Grew up here in NC and I'm always impressed with its beauty.
The internet really messed up on a LOT of the rural US and not even just the Appalachia's. Their constant lies and stereotypes about people who live in the Appalachia's or southern US has gotten so bad lately that it really just seems like these people live in an alternate reality and will never bother to talk to anyone actually from these beautiful parts of the US. I've got family in Casar, NC and all along the southern US and I have friends I personally know from Appalachia. They're not 'stupid hicks' and the same stereotyping even reached into my birth country and is the reason most of us from Saskatchewan are referred to in the same manner by those in eastern Canada. At least their own ignorance keeps those mean-spirited folk away from the towns.
Completely agree. I’m from the suburban south of a northern state and people have regularly badmouthed everyone living in the forests up north. But I’ve been staying there intermittently all my life and know that nobody up there is like that at all. The only good that comes from their ignorance is the forest stays standing, immune from tourism.
I hope this isn't Internet Hate :( - I do agree the Internet has affected many places BUT you don't need to say THAT PLACES LIKE THIS CAN'T EXIST in this modern age or EVERY SMALL TOWN IS SCREWED, and Kansas and Indiana seem to be doing fine - THE INTERNET IS NOT EVIL, it is A TOOL, I do not want it to make towns close, TV go extinct, make CDs irrelevant, KILL radio... I believe all these things can Co-exist
Let them be with their potty mouths and arrogance, we know what's what 😊
Blame Hollywood and movies like deliverance
I have friends in other countries. They see these things and THAT IS OUR REPRESENTATION .I live in Florida, and it's notorious for crazy people and bad things . My friend in the Netherlands assumed we were all like honey boo boo in the south!!! That's all he had seen and what he compared things to.
I just found you for the first time and man... Your storytelling is topnotch, i grew up in the city in my early childhood then moved out into the country with my father as i was getting into my teen years. I appreciate both lifestyles truly.
Truly cannot believe this is the first time I've come across this channel. Thanks for your content! 😁
I grew up 5mins from the Appalachian Trail. The history and abandoned things, stories of multiple old hotels, a trolley from town, large band stand area. Would be a good time to live in.
I've been watching Spoogli for years now. It's so cool to see him go to Thermond which is literally 15-30 minutes from where I live. I'm so glad WV is getting recognition. ❤❤❤
Specially when all of WV is in the Appalachian mountains, I always hear about other places in the Appalachian but rarely hear any in wv❤
@tammy484 Exactly!! It's so weird to see all of this creepy Appalachia stuff pop up but none of it is West Virginia. I mean we even have Moth Man for crying out loud!
You should do more! From filling us in on the history (which you HAVE to have the backstory ) which connects us to the past.
And then going in feet on the ground to take us to the current times is 🤌🏽
Great job! Sounds like you have PLENTY of material as you live in the area and are a native. Very cool. Keep it up! New sub 🙌🏼
I love your love for this land, but something about this vid twists my heart.
I love what you said about there being a sense of wisdom in the trees.
I came here from my recommendeds after watching "The Appalachian Rainforest" by Aidin Robbins. I highly recommend it (only 19 mins) as it goes deeper into the history of its old growth forests, native peoples, and the injustices committed there that shape the state of the forest today (and can inform its ecological conservation.) He does a shitton of research, even sourcing records of old newspapers and stuff. Not to mention the breathtaking cinematography.
Eastern PA mountains here ☺ I'm so glad to see people covering these stories. I still get so homesick at times, missing the mountains, valley, animals... I also lived in Eastern TN for awhile, near the Cherokee Nat. Forest in Karns.. an outskirt of Knoxville.
I live in West Kentucky, on the Ohio, but my family is from Appalachia. All farmers, all hardy and loving people. I loved visiting them, and the feeling of being in those ancient mountains and hollers was unreal. My heart calls out to those woods, always has and always will.
I'm an amateur railfan and historian who finds a great interest in researching the entirety of the South, all of it from the smallest little communities, to the nooks of the big cities like Bham and Atlanta. I'm nearly from a town just like these, one that was once planned to be booming that ended once the stagecoaches stopped rolling through this corner of western Alabama, so I relate a lot to these stories of the bygone eras of the backwoods and hills, even if I ain't exactly from Appalachia myself. I just find the mountains peaceful, much more beautiful than people have any idea of. There are people who love it out there, have a Canadian friend who's even in love with the region. So there's definitely a charm to it that few can fathom. I have been to Elkmont, at least what's still there, the region's beautiful, all around those parts of Sevier County and the rest are, much nicer than Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg nearby, as much as they ain't bad, there's no beating the small towns like those the Little River Railroad served. Ain't ever seen your channel before, but if it's more of the same as this, I plan to keep on watchin', fella. Keep it up and you have yourself a nice evening, or whenever it happens to be for ya.
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have become tourist traps that no longer resemble true Appalachian life. It’s happening all over the mountains because of the lack of jobs and the popularity of the beautiful mountains. It’s sad to see these places change so much. People come here because they love the mountains and the culture but immediately start changing it into what they left. It has happened in Asheville,NC too. These mtns. are so special and there is always room for improvement but I hope the culture survives the newfound popularity.
Love this type of video from ya, hope to see more in the future. I’m from Appalachia too, and it’s cool to see it covered in a historical and factual way without the preconceived notions, stereotypes, and urban legends.
This was an amazing video! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am constantly searching RUclips for Appalachian "true" stories and history. I am a 70-year-old retired market analyst and was born in a tiny Appalachian town in southwest Virginia, near the border of KY. Most of my family and ancestors worked in the coal mining and lumber industries. I have an uncle who was born in a lumber camp where my grandmother and grandfather lived at the time. My family lived in this region until I was about 10 and then moved us all to Ohio, where I have never truly been happy. But life happens and you roll with the punches. When you talked about how the mountains have an intelligence about them and how they pull you in and make you part of them, I knew EXACTLY what you meant! Once they are a part of you, you NEVER forget them and never want to leave them. Throughout the years I tried to get my family to move there with me, but with no success. So, I just go visit every chance I get. Each time it becomes more difficult to leave. You are also so VERY right about the people being the salt of the earth. There are no bigger hearts than you will find in Appalachia. Thank you so much for putting this out there. I encourage you to keep up this type of work. Your love of what you are doing and for the area surely shines through. (Sorry this was so long.) 🙂
I love the way you talk about Appalachia!! I live near these mountains in VA all my life. People go crazy about the spooky legendary tales, but those tales of wondering through the woods, hunting, fishing, moonshine. These aren't just tales, its a way of life. Gathering at grandma's for Sunday supper. As a child I'd listen to the old timers on the porch tell the most hair raising stories and warnings. Tales of fae folk, witches, healers, and wild animals. I always loved listening to these tales. I also listened to their warnings. If you didn't you might not come back from your walk in the woods. I've never experienced anything myself, but I do believe some of the rules.
Exemplary video-everything about it! The opening with its intriguing pairing of music, visuals and succinct, articulate summation of the place, context and adventure ahead. The well-told story, with relevant context, without bloat. Your straightforward delivery and meaningful sharing of your own history and interest in the Appalachians. Seamless and captivating!!
Thank you-from Seattle. ☘️
There’s this one spring/waterfall in SC that was an old abandoned water mill and in the pictures I never saw train tracks but deep in the water on top of the water fall, you can almost see broken train tracks that go through it, that end at the water fall. I still don’t know what it was but it was like perfectly parallel and straight lines like that tracks. Except broken up in areas
There's evidence of a global civilisation existing before our era.
would you happen to know where the waterfall is? or have any other information about it? would love to see what that looks like
Wow the train horn echoing through those trees and mountains is so beautiful
I’ve lived in East Tennessee for almost 30 years. I love the beauty and the rich history of this area. I watched the Heartland Series w/ Bill Landry on WBIR for several years and then had the great fortune to work with him. You remind me very much of Bill and his love for this area of the world. I subscribed and look forward to more history of the Appalachian area! GREAT JOB!
As an urban explorer, this video is compelling... I myself would love to visit such interesting locations and explore the vast bygone land. The rural parts of North America are so enchanting and serene.
Thank you so much for the upload, Sploogli.
T
I’m from southwest Virginia and I live in the Appalachian mountains(the trail is right above my neighborhood) and I’ve always felt like people watching me everytime I go outside at night to take my dog out, I was taught 3 rules as a child growing up in the Appalachian mountains: 1.dont go outside or hike at night.2.dont go outside without a buddy, you may think you know what’s out there but you don’t.3.if someone calls your name and your hiking alone, you didn’t hear anything just keep walking.
Sorry y’all I yap a lot
My great aunt told me the same thing. She lived in galax Virginia.
I live in national forest (Sugar Grove) and there are certain roads you don't go down at night. The trees move when the forest is quiet. Also the bears aren't shy at all lol
I've heard all my life to ignore the call or if I hear my name no I didn't. What is the reason or why of that? I know you'll end up gone or missing if ya do...but why!? Is it an old entity or entities, ancient creatures like skin walkers or what?
Don't whistle and if you hear a whistle, no you didn't! I remember that. As a kid I'd yell "just walking to my grandma's"
I come from a coal mining family in Clintwood, VA.
I live in Texas, but when I die, I'll be buried on a mountain top in Virginia.
19:42 the wendigoon reference 😭
Wendigo in Canada. Native Legend has it it's a cannibalistic human-like monster. Could be anything, but one story was that certain Indian tribes in Northern Canada would take their crazy people that couldn't be cured out far into the woods with no shoes and let them loose. Presumably to starve to death but some apparently came back to eat children. It may have been one of those bugaboos that was used to scare children into not running into the forest alone
@@LS-ot4hoWendigoon is a reference to another youtuber
It’s Mr. Wendigoon to you! 😂
19:25 - Any minute now, Dougie Corrado will emerge from the portal on those stairs with a cannibal still chawin' his arm.
20:55 My grandfather was born in Thurmond , WV (1920) and my grandmother in Scarbro (1932). My father told me about how my grandfather could have a folding knife open and out of his pocket in the blink of an eye. I was also told a story about him unaliveing someone in a bar with his knife and the bar just wrapped the guy up and dragged him into the woods.
Yeah your grandfather was telling you a nice story there but that's all it was just a story
That's badass
@@jeep1987 Nah, it was my dad that told me. I believe the cutting someone up as that’s not uncommon, but I always took the killing part more skeptically.
@@wesleyAlan9179 Probably more towards the not right in the head side. He passed when my dad was in his early twenties from some form of brain tumor or disease.
@@RJ_Grendelsiresorry for ur loss but real or not thats a story i would pass down to my kids
Very educational, I love to see people who take time to bring our past and history back to life.
Thank you for this video. From an eastern ky Hollar woman who finds herself living in the big city hundreds of miles from home I greatly enjoy and appreciate views of home
This video is so much appreciated!!! Traveling to Appalachia when we were kids to go see our Aunt Roedi was an adventure, from Roswell Georgia in the early 60's and 70's, tiresome but well worth it!!! Thank you for a brief review of our past, very well listening! So much have come and gone since actually living the good life; so much awh for taking me back!!!!
Love it out here. Live across from Blue Licks, about 10 minutes from Daniel Boones cabin. Peaceful.
No place like it , truly
Wasn't there a battle in Blue Licks way back right after the Revolutionary War?
Moved from Detroit to WNC, to an area rocked by Helene. While our channel is now finding SOME corruption in a handful of people/organizations, the amount of charity that we've seen and love for thy neighbor has been incredibly heartwarming! The landscape is affected in some places and it's sad; some of the water is no longer clear, the soil isn't great (some places) but the feeling and the beauty of this place is unparalleled.
I live in burnville Yancey County N.C. not far from lost cove
Your love of this area, your home, is contagious, and I really, really enjoyed every last minute of this video. I've not ever felt the pull to visit West Virginia, but I do now! The history of the people who lived and died in these mines, mills, these mountains is so important to this country's story - it has gotten lost in politics, I think (for me, at least)... If the folks still there are as kind and welcoming as you, WV is now officially entered into my bucket list. Thank you so much!! (Seems it has performed pretty darn well, too, REALLY great video)
North carolinian here. ❤ the mountains and the history.
From North GA, Appalachian foothills. So beautiful, so much history. Not just our history, but little examples of ancient history everywhere. Like in my hometown of Chatsworth ga. Fort mountain and grassy mountain, bald mountain have scatterings of ancient ruins. Some even coming from ancient mayan culture. Also 'the moon eyed people' legends. Amazing
Ancient Maya culture? I'm interested...
@jordancole4097 just look for 'georgia Mayan history' in search and it'll pull up quite a few different pieces on it. There's been tons of artifacts found that point in that direction. Amazing stuff.
Grew up in Maryville/Knoxville TN so these videos are a taste of home ❤
Thank you for sharing
As an Appalachian myself, i appreciate this video a lot. :) I’m glad i grew up here
Love the intro! Not just the music, but your words as well. What a beautiful location. Geauga County in Ohio had a similar spot, accessible by train, for the wealthy and elite to go dance the night away and stay in small cabins, but it's not as pretty and secluded as the location in your video. Fun times back in the day! I wonder what kind of craziness ensued lol...
oh cool my hometown right after horrors beyond my comprehension 1:06
this made me chuckle thought you should know
I'm from Michigan, but my entire family (and tbh most people from my town), always have seen the Smoky Mountains as the perfect vacation spot. My family doesn't travel a whole lot, but I grew up going on 8 hour road trips to either camp or stay in cabins by Sevierville and Gatlinburg. Truly a beautiful place with a very nice community. I have such fond memories hiking the steep trails, splashing in the rivers, exploring huge storm drains with waterfalls, seeing hundreds of monarch butterflies congregating in a beautiful landscape, just truly life changing moments. It was great learning about some of the history of the area, thank you for this!
Oooh, I’m excited that I stumbled across this! I loved exploring old abandoned homesteads, ghost towns, and farm houses out in the countryside or the woods, imagining the history they hold, what life was like for the people who lived in them.
Definitely subscribing!
As an Australian, I found this video extremely interesting. That whole area looks so beautiful and I hope to visit the region one day and explore!
Thank you for creating this video.
i got so excited when i heard you say you were an eastern kentuckian!!! my family lives there and i was so happy to hear you talk about the hollers and the mountains like that because i feel like eastern ky is overlooked as apart of appalachia, i’m so glad that you’re using your platform to talk about our home and the history of the ancient mountains. makes me beyond happy.
Love the production value and effort put into this video!
I am a volunteer at the local museum, you did a good job.
My family is from Clay City, KY. We would go visit them from Texas every summer when I was a kid. I LOVED going up in the hills. The air was so clean and beautiful. My cousins would tell me stories about those hills and I miss it sometimes.
Very cool to see Appalachia with more of a focus on the history as opposed to the fear-mongering lens I've mostly seen it through. Enjoyed the video
0:12 Tennessee mentioned
You're the only ten I see.
Me when indiana is mentioned
I live on the smokies in TN :)
@Immentallyill29 me too! Actually the foothills of the mountains
Pov Tennessee
I'm sure you mentioned this in the video, but in the ~1920s all of the trees were cut down, causing mass erosion, flooding, and overall environmental damage. Pretty much every tree in Appalachia today are from the 1930s. Less than 100 years old.
Spoogli has posted 🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥
Wow this is so well done. Your narration, your personal story combined with the stories of the region, the video editing…great stuff!
This and another video; I think I seen 2 are very interesting. Coming from being a city person this and all the videos are very precious! It was the highlight of my day.
I'd like to thank sponsor block for blocking this videos sponsor
That opening has to be the best I have ever seen on YT. Excellent work and an amazing story.
hey wendigoon. i know ur in here
Gooner gonna goon
Lmao I immediately thought of the RUclipsr lmao
He be lurkin
My face when I saw the stairs
This was a great video and loved the history of it all.
Would love to live in the area someday. Love country and living there would make my life complete.❤
You are super articulated man. Good job, as a New York transplant to KY I can see the love u have for the Appalachian region. I agree with you, people are very kind over here.
Ooo, a new spoogli upload!