The Tanyard Horror & the Ghost of Herman Schilling

The Tanyard Horror & the Ghost of Herman Schilling

In the autumn of 1874, a forbidden romance in Cincinnati triggered a wave of vengeance that culminated in one of the most gruesome crimes in American history: the Tanyard Horror. After a secret relationship with a saloon keeper's daughter ended in tragedy, young immigrant Herman Schilling was brutally ambushed by a grieving father and an angry cowrker, stabbed with a pitchfork, and shoved into a roaring tannery furnace. Long after the killers escaped the gallows, the ashes of Gamble Alley refused to cool, giving rise to terrifying folklore of a scorched, walking skeleton seeking eternal rest and an apparition that drove a desperate woman to madness. We're taking a deep dive into one of Cincinnati's forgotten ghost stories. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at  https://monstercitymadhouse.com [http://monstercitymadhouse.com/]

Colonial Park Cemetery's 10,000 Forgotten Graves

Step inside the iron gates of Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery, where over ten thousand bodies are packed into just six acres—with entire sections resting right beneath the modern city sidewalks. In this episode of Southern Ghost Stories, American Hauntstorian Allen Sircy reveals that the true darkness of this historic burial ground goes far beyond phantom children and Civil War desecration. Instead, it’s a deep dive into a bizarre historical circus involving two Revolutionary War heavyweights, Button Gwinnett and Nathanael Greene. From a fatal duel at dawn to lost graves, botched exhumations, and the skeletal remains of national heroes being fought over like political trophies—including one founding father who spent a temporary vacation inside a historian's spare bedroom—this episode proves that history in Savannah doesn't just stay buried. It gets weird, loud, and incredibly unsettled. Oh, and there might be a ghost story or two... Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at  https://monstercitymadhouse.com [http://monstercitymadhouse.com/]

Tennessee Tales Tuesday: Benjamin Allen & The Beast Under the Table

If you've ever driven down Ben Allen Road in Nashville, you’ve passed the namesake of one of the most eccentric and feared men in 19th-century Tennessee. Born into immense wealth, Benjamin Allen rejected the family banking business to master the occult, alchemy, and hypnosis. Operating out of a grand mansion on Spruce Street, Allen became a 33rd-Degree Mason by day and a practitioner of the dark arts by night. The rumors surrounding him were wild—from a cursed golden Buddha statue that appeared on his doorstep to his terrifying ability to plant his voice inside people's heads. But the real horror happened in the dining room, where Allen and his wife hosted late-night séances to summon an invisible, sulfur-smelling entity known only as "The Thing." In this episode, we dig into the bizarre life, the midnight Masonic funeral, and the terrifying supernatural legacy of Nashville's forgotten magician. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at  https://monstercitymadhouse.com [http://monstercitymadhouse.com/]

From The Vault: Tootsie's—Nashville's Most Haunted Honky Tonk

Recorded back in 2019 and recently recovered from an old hard drive, this lost episode of Southern Ghost Stories explores one of  Nashville’s most iconic honky-tonks: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Originally opened in 1960 by Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess—and famously painted purple by mistake—this legendary watering hole right behind the Ryman Auditorium became the unofficial green room for country music royalty. From Willie Nelson pitching "Crazy" over a beer to Tom T. Hall streaking through the bar on a lost bet, Tootsie’s has seen its fair share of wild history and music industry legends. But the rowdy behavior didn't stop when the living left. In this classic episode from the vault, we dive into the supernatural side of Lower Broadway, exploring the ghostly sightings of Hank Williams Sr. pacing the back alley, and the spirit of Tootsie herself, who is said to still keep watch over the bar—hat pin at the ready—ensuring the music never truly dies. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at  https://monstercitymadhouse.com [http://monstercitymadhouse.com/]

Dr. Joseph McDowell: The Body Snatcher Guided by His Mother's Ghost

Nineteenth-century medicine was a grisly business where doctors had to break the law to learn their craft. In this episode, we dig into the dark world of "resurrectionists"—professional grave robbers who stalked cemeteries to supply medical schools with fresh cadavers. At the heart of the story is St. Louis’s most eccentric surgeon, Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell, a man who allegedly dodged an armed mob by hiding a stolen corpse in the rafters and posing as a dead body himself. From the terrifying legend of a girl who woke up on the dissection table to the ghostly intervention of McDowell’s own mother, we explore the thin, blood-stained line between scientific advancement and graveyard desecration. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave a review! Check out Allen's books on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3HEf2u9 Got a question or comment? Hit us up on our socials! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/southernghoststories/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southernghoststoriesonline Follow Allen on X https://x.com/ATOAllen Use code SAVE10 for 10% off your order over at  https://monstercitymadhouse.com [http://monstercitymadhouse.com/]