Episode Details

This is one of the original Tell Me A Ghost Story calls from the early days of the show. Short, raw, and exactly where it all started. This call was later incorporated into a longer compilation episode with full host commentary, if you want the complete experience.

Hey, it's Michelle, and this early episode belongs entirely to Beth from Kentucky, who called in with a true ghost story rooted so deeply in the landscape and culture of Appalachia that it could not have come from anywhere else. This is a story about a baptism, a whole town gathered at the water, and something that showed up in the photographs that nobody had invited.

Doug's baptism was a community event, the way baptisms tend to be in small Appalachian towns. Everyone came. The whole town turned out to witness it, which means there were a lot of eyes on that water and a lot of cameras capturing the moment. When the photographs were developed, something was in them that had not been visible to any of those eyes when the pictures were taken. Something that had apparently decided to attend as well.

Eerie photographs documenting paranormal phenomena have appeared throughout Appalachian history in numbers that researchers find difficult to dismiss as coincidence or photographic error. The region has one of the richest and most distinctive supernatural traditions in American folk culture, shaped by centuries of Scots-Irish spiritual belief, Cherokee and other Indigenous traditions, and an isolation that allowed those belief systems to develop on their own terms without being smoothed out by outside influence. When something shows up in a photograph in Appalachia, the community tends to know exactly what it is looking at, and Beth's town was no different.

Everyone came to Doug's baptism. Everyone and everything. This is where Tell Me A Ghost Story began

If you have a real ghost story of your own, a haunting experience, something you heard, something you cannot explain, I want to hear it. Call 1 (701) 484-2666 or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tellmeaghoststory.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share your story.

You might end up on the show.

Support us with official merch at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newmanmedia.shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, catch us on YouTube at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @tellmeaghoststory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow along on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tellmeaghoststorypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Theme music is Sexy Sax by Cool Cascade.

Production by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newman Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.