The Legends of Reelfoot Lake

“Suddenly the beat of the drums was drowned out by a roar louder than any noise Reelfoot had ever heard. The earth vibrated from the sound waves, and then it heaved in mighty spasms that splintered giant trees and sent them crashing down into newly formed crevices. Then came a rushing wall of water that swallowed up the village, covered the whole countryside, and formed a great lake.””

— Kathryn Tucker Windham, "Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey"

“it has been discovered that a lake was formed…”

Along the northwestern edge of Tennessee sits Reelfoot Lake. The only natural lake in the state, it's a flooded cypress forest that has more in common with the bayous of the deep south than other more open and expansive lakes of the surrounding area.

Yet this lake dates back only two centuries and owes its creation to the massive New Madrid earthquakes that rocked the area in 1811-1812 and caused the Mississippi River to temporarily flow backward. Yet according to local legend the cause of those earthly upheavals was more than simply nature. Legend says that the origins of Reelfoot Lake can be traced back to the actions of a Chief of the Chickasaw people who once inhabited the now submerged land.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

Center for Earthquake Research and Information. “New Madrid Compendium Eyewitness Accounts.” University of Memphis. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.memphis.edu/ceri/compendium/eyewitness.php.  

Eastwood, Vera. “The Legend of Reelfoot Lake.” The Taylor-Trotwood Magazine, XII, no. 1 (November 1910): 155-159. GoogleBooks. 

Jillson, Willard Rouse. “The Discovery of Kentucky.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 20, no. 59 (May 1922): 117-129. GoogleBooks. 

Nelson, Wilbur A. “Reelfoot - An Earthquake Lake.” The National Geographic Magazine, 43, no. 1 (January 1923): 94-114. Accessed September 9, 2022.

“Notes & Comments.” The Bulletin: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Interests of Hoo-Hoo XV, no. 157 (November 1908): 3-6. GoogleBooks.

“The Legend of Chief Reelfoot.” Reelfoot Outdoors. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.reelfoot.com/legend_1.htm. 

“The Murderous Night Riders.” Collier’s The National Weekly, November 14, 1908. GoogleBooks. 

Vanderwood, Paul. Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2003.

Walker, Emma. “The Fascinating Story Behind Reelfoot Lake.” RootsRated. December 12, 2016. https://rootsrated.com/stories/the-fascinating-story-behind-reelfoot-lake. 

Windham, Kathryn Tucker. Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2016.

Wright, George C. Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and “Legal Lynchings.” Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1990.

The Great Leech of Tlanusi’yĭ

“The Leech Place…”

According to Cherokee folklore, a deadly creature lives at the confluence of Valley and Hiwasee Rivers in Murphy, North Carolina. It is known simply as the Great Leech of Tlanusi’yĭ.

This minisode is a companion to The Legend of the Moon-Eyed People.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Be sure to get your tickets today over at Franklin Walking Tours by booking their August 30th Grim & Ghostly Tour!

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

Bluewaters. “Cherokee Legend of the Moon-Eyed People.” October 5, 2018. Blue Waters Mountain Lodge. https://bluewatersmtnl.com/cherokee-legend-of-the-moon-eyed-people/. 

Cherokee Videos. “Cherokee History & Stories - What Happened Here: The Leech Place.” YouTube video, 5:03. June 14, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WODyfMglc8. 

Mooney, Jame. Myths of the Cherokee. Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1900. Reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 2012.

The Legend of the Moon-Eyed People

“There is a dim but persistent tradition of a strange white race preceding the Cherokee, some of the stories even going so far as to locate their former settlements and to identify them as the authors of the ancient works found in the county.””

— James Mooney, "Myths of the Cherokee"

“These Wretches they expelled…”

Atop Fort Mountain, in the northwestern corner of Georgia, is an 885-foot-long rock wall that zigzags its way through the curves of the mountain. Though the ruins were constructed with stone from the surrounding region, the story behind it, when it was built, and by whom, remains a mystery. Theories arose to explain the structure’s origin, today most agree it was likely completed by Native people who lived in the area. But who were they?

Legend says that a unique, ancient race of people once inhabited the highlands of lower Appalachia– a group known simply as the Moon-Eyed People. Often, described as light-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes; they were uniquely handicapped by their inability to see during the day

The legend exists most prominently from the oral tradition of the Cherokee people, who purportedly encountered the ancient race upon their arrival to the region; however, the mystery as to who they were and where they went is far more complex.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

Barton, Benjamin Smith. New Views on the origins of the Tribes and Nations of America. Philadelphia: John Bioren, 1797. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/newviewsoforigin00bartarch.  

Greenwood, Isaac J. The Reverend Morgan Jones and the Welsh Indians. Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1898. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/revmorganjoneswe00gree. 

Haywood, John. The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee: Up To The First Settlements Therein By The White People In The Year 1768. Nashville, TN: George Wilson, 1823. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/naturalaborigina00hayw. 

Johnsen, Bruce E. and Barry M. Pritzker, eds. “Ohio Valley Mound Culture.” Encyclopedia of American Indian History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Ltd., 2008. 

Koster, John. “Caitlin Was Not the First but Perhaps the Last to Believe the Mandans Wew Welsh Indians.” Wild West, February 2012. https://www.historynet.com/catlin-not-first-perhaps-last-believe-mandans-welsh-indians.htm. 

Mooney, Jame. Myths of the Cherokee. Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1900. Reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 2012.

“Mystery Shrouds Fort Mountain.” Last modified October 21, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=46359.

Rome News-Tribune (Rome, Ga.). “Whites built myth of Fort Mountain - but not stone wall.” August 28, 1994. https://news.google.com/newspapers.

Wafer, Lionel. Edited by George Parker Winship. A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America. London: The Crown in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1699. Reprint, Cleveland, OH: Burrows Brothers Company, 1903. Google Books. https://books.google.com.