Mississippi Gulf Coast: Dixie Mafia, Hurricane Legends, and the Cowagator | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Dixie Mafia, Hurricane Legends, and the Cowagator | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

A bayou at dusk can make anything sound like a monster, but some of the creepiest parts of the Gulf Coast don’t need imagination. We’re recording from an undisclosed spot in Hancock County, Mississippi, where the water runs toward the Gulf and the quiet has a way of daring you to fill it with stories. For our "creep", we start with a classic local-style scare: a stubborn old-timer, Hurricane Katrina, and a curse that supposedly sticks to the land. Then we pull the rug out on purpose and talk about what’s genuinely unsettling after a storm like that, including reports of bodies surfacing in nearby bayous and the gritty reality of identification through DNA testing and dental records. We even detour into a famous forensic curveball where an implant serial number helped solve an identity, because true crime often comes down to the smallest surviving detail. From there, the conversation turns to a darker Gulf Coast thread: a case tied to a TV appearance and a dancer whose remains wash up on local beaches. For our “crime,” we dig into the Dixie Mafia, including the wild rise of Danny Singleton and how a chance ride can become a criminal apprenticeship. Then we cap it all with a “cryptid” we grew up hearing about, the cowagator, and why the best monster stories sometimes double as a blunt safety lecture about alligators, night water, and life jackets. If you like Southern folklore, Gulf Coast true crime, cryptids, and hurricane haunted history, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who loves swamp stories, and leave a review. What legend should we chase next? ******* Book a Ghost City Tour [ https://ghostcitytours.com] Ghost City Merch [https://ghostcity.shop] More Ghost City Podcasts [https://www.youtube.com/@GhostCityTours] ******* Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids is a podcast by Ghost City Tours, exploring the strange, sinister, and unexplained history lurking beneath America’s most haunted cities. If you'd like to take a ghost tour in this episode's featured city, or to find tours in a city nearest you, visit www.ghostcitytours.com [https://ghostcitytours.com/]!

New Orleans: Superdome Cemetery, Mumford Execution, and the Rougarou | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

A stadium that may still be sitting on human remains. A Civil War stunt that ends on a gallows. A Cajun “werewolf” story that doubles as a cultural rulebook. New Orleans doesn’t just have spooky tales, it has history with teeth, and we go looking for it on the ground instead of only behind a microphone. We kick things off with our CREEP at the Caesars Superdome, digging into the creepy claim that it was built over the old Girod Street Cemetery and that not every body was fully relocated. From the Saints “curse” jokes to the very real Hurricane Katrina aftermath, we talk about why certain places in New Orleans feel charged, even before you add ghosts. We also get into the nasty legacy of John B. Weller, a name tied to violence in the 1800s that some people still connect to the Superdome’s uneasy vibe. Then we head to the old U.S. Mint building (today the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Museum) for a true CRIME moment from 1862: William Bruce Mumford climbs the building, rips down the American flag, and hands out pieces like souvenirs before the Union finds him and makes a brutal example out of it. It’s a reminder that the city’s haunted reputation often comes from what happened in public, not what happened in the dark. Finally, we bring it home with Louisiana folklore with this week's CRYPTID: the Rougarou legend. We trace its loup-garou roots, how it travels with Acadian migration into Cajun culture, and the Catholic Lent rules that helped keep the story alive.  ******* Hit play, drop a comment with where you want us to travel next, and if you like the show, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. ******* Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids is a podcast by Ghost City Tours, exploring the strange, sinister, and unexplained history lurking beneath America’s most haunted cities. If you'd like to take a ghost tour in this episode's featured city, or to find tours in a city nearest you, visit www.ghostcitytours.com [https://ghostcitytours.com/]!

Key West: Robert the Doll, Carl Tanzler, and Florida Keys Cryptids | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

Key West [https://ghostcitytours.com/key-west/] looks like paradise until you listen closely. We begin with the Creeps that give the island its edge, from the folklore-soaked walls of Captain Tony’s Saloon to the legend of Robert the Doll, one of the most infamous haunted objects in America. Stories of permission, bad luck, and eerie encounters have followed the doll for decades, but we also examine when those claims actually began and how a single artifact can evolve into a full-blown legend. Along the way, we touch on the Conch Republic and the island’s talent for turning history, rebellion, and humor into something that feels larger than life. The Crime pulls us into one of Key West’s most disturbing true stories: Count Carl von Cosel, also known as Carl Tanzer. A man who presented himself as a doctor, became obsessed with a young woman who died of tuberculosis, and crossed boundaries that still shock nearly a century later. It is a case that blurs delusion, control, and obsession in a way that feels almost unreal. We close with the Cryptids and sea legends of the Florida Keys, including the Lusca, the Key West Sea Ape, Goat Man, and the Wrecker’s Phantom, stories born from deep water, isolation, and imagination. ******* Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids is a podcast by Ghost City Tours, exploring the strange, sinister, and unexplained history lurking beneath America’s most haunted cities. If you'd like to take a ghost tour in this episode's featured city, or to find tours in a city nearest you, visit www.ghostcitytours.com [https://ghostcitytours.com/]!

Boston: Lady in Black, Whitey Bulger, and the Dover Demon | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

Boston [https://ghostcitytours.com/boston/] has a way of turning every street corner into a story. We begin with the Creeps and the legend of the Lady in Black, a Civil War era ghost tale tied to heartbreak, imprisonment, and one of the city’s most enduring haunted fort stories. The details sound perfect for a classic haunting, but when we look closer at the historical record the story begins to unravel. We explore how ghost legends take shape, why communities embrace them, and how a compelling narrative can grow even when the documentation stays thin. The Crime brings us to one of Boston’s most notorious figures, Whitey Bulger of the Winter Hill Gang. His decades long relationship as an FBI informant allowed him to eliminate rivals and operate with remarkable protection while the city absorbed the consequences. The story opens the door to broader questions about secrecy and power, touching on conspiracies surrounding elite societies and the lasting mistrust created by programs like MKUltra. We close with the Cryptid that briefly turned Massachusetts into a hotspot for high strangeness: the Dover Demon. Reported by three teenagers over two nights in 1977, the creature’s glowing eyes and spindly form sparked theories ranging from misidentified wildlife to something far stranger. ******* If you like your paranormal and true crime with humor, skepticism, and a few unhinged side quests, hit play, subscribe, share the show, and leave a review. What’s the most believable part to you? ******* Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids is a podcast by Ghost City Tours, exploring the strange, sinister, and unexplained history lurking beneath America’s most haunted cities. If you'd like to take a ghost tour in this episode's featured city, or to find tours in a city nearest you, visit www.ghostcitytours.com [https://ghostcitytours.com/]!

Charleston: Old City Jail, Lavinia Fisher, and the Boo Hag | Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids

Charleston’s pastel facades and cobblestone streets hide a darker story just beneath the polish. We begin with the Creeps at the Old City Jail, a fortress that once held pirates, prisoners of war, and people caught in a justice system that often blurred the line between order and cruelty. Bread and water rations, solitary cells in swamp heat, and the weight of centuries have turned the jail into one of the city’s most persistent haunted landmarks. We also trace Charleston’s pirate past, from the misadventures of the Gentleman Pirate Steed Bonnet to the fierce reputation of Anne Bonny and her ties to Calico Jack, stories that helped shape the city’s maritime legend. The Crime centers on Charleston’s most infamous figure tied to the jail, Lavinia Fisher. Official records describe highway robbery, but legend paints a darker picture involving poison, trap beds, and a chilling final speech delivered in a wedding dress before execution. We examine the thin historical record and why certain stories grow louder with time as communities shape identity through myth. To close, we turn to the Cryptid of the Lowcountry: the Boo Hag, a Gullah Geechee spirit said to slip through keyholes, wear borrowed skin, and ride sleeping victims through the night. The legend carries a striking modern parallel in sleep paralysis, showing how folklore and lived experience intertwine.  If you love haunted history, pirate lore, and the crossroads of myth and evidence, hit play and come along. Then share your take: legend-builder or record-keeper—where do you stand? Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us which city or story you want next. ******* Creeps, Crimes & Cryptids is a podcast by Ghost City Tours, exploring the strange, sinister, and unexplained history lurking beneath America’s most haunted cities. If you'd like to take a ghost tour in this episode's featured city, or to find tours in a city nearest you, visit www.ghostcitytours.com [https://ghostcitytours.com/]!