Ridiculous Regulators
One of the worst episodes of deadly incompetence in southwest Virginia was enacted by a group of men who called themselves “Regulators.” They wore bandannas...
Back from the Dead
Ale Artrip miraculously returned home in 1929. His family was overwhelmed, but overjoyed. Artrip was very much alive and well, even though they’d mourned his...
The Murderous History of Mr. Bray – Part 2
Normally, this site does not cover topics or events beyond the 1960s. This is out of respect for those alive today. The information in this...
The Murderous History of Mr. Bray- Part 1
Normally, this site does not cover topics or events beyond the 1960s. This is out of respect for those alive today. The information in this...
“Bad John” Wright
"Bad John” Wright (1844-1931) was a peace officer for 40 years in and around Wise, Virginia. He was a prominent character in the historic feuds...
Bad Jim Wright (?-Sep. 8, 1902)
"Bad" Jim Wright was an outlaw from Hancock County, Tennessee, serving a life sentence for murder in the Brushy Mountain Penitentiary. This facility was new...
We’re Certain We Have Him…We Think
The mysterious case of Grat M. Walk kept the region in suspense from 1903 to 1910. It wasn’t just your standard murder. It was a...
An Everlasting Faint
Elva Zona Jane Heaster was born in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, around 1873. Records of her early life do not exist. She was the eldest...
From the Pulpit to the Prison
The police waited for Reverend Tipton to finish his sermon on November, in 1892. Attendees were stunned to learn the simple “mountain preacher,” was actually...
The Gouge Tragedy
Harmon Gouge was a businessman in Carter County, Tennessee. A simple business argument with his partner, in 1937, would become a tragedy felt everywhere. Gouge...