#appalachian myth

[intheholler]

what do you think of all of the people being scared of appalachia? i don't know if this is recent or not, but currently i've been seeing a ton of shit online like "never go to the appalachian mountains, it's so dangerous", and i just don't understand it. my family's lived in appalachia for forever, and none of us have experienced anything paranormal or endangering to us. you're one of my favorite blogs on here and i'd just like to hear your thoughts on it

first off, it means a lot that i'm one of your favorite blogs and im really happy i can contribute something to your experience here :') thanks so much for being here <333

but ok so.

my thoughts on it are many. it's been bothering me a long time and i've been meaning to get it off my chest. this will be long and probably ranty, so it won't hurt my feelings if anyone skims lol

lemme preface this little diatribe by saying the obvious: folklore is an integral part of any culture. the mythos of a place/people is tied directly to their histories and unique experiences and struggles and they are enriching. this is true of appalachia too.

oral folk traditions especially are incredibly historically appalachian.

i mentioned in a post i made yesterday about murder ballads, how the purpose of these was to warn kids away from doing dumb shit and getting lost in the hollers--falling down cliffs n mineshafts and shit at night. gettin got by wildlife.

it spooked us safe. they served a purpose, and once you got old enough to realize they're as real as the tooth fairy, they just become enjoyable and nostalgic. because they're you're culture.

probably every mountain kid has stories about haints n boogers that were told to them by their grandparents, and they grow up to tell them to their own kids, and so on. some of it stuck with me because i grew up with the folklore.

by that i mean, i'm a whole 31 year old woman and i still avoid looking out a dark window at night cause it gives me the shivers. i still get spooked when i hear a big cat yowling in the woods. but the difference is i know there's not really haints out there crying--it's just a product of my childhood. ghost stories are fun.

the problem comes in when someone outside the culture gets their hands on appalachian oral folk traditions. then, it becomes a familiar problem: outsiders cherry picking appalachia and harming us with the mess they make rifling through it all.

it's all about the surface level and the visuals. they all love a good aesthetic blog, run by some local from out west or some shit who's never stepped foot here.

but as soon as the spooky photo filters come off and the real life marginalized person is left standing there just out of frame, we go back to being disgusting examples of what not to be. decrepit churches n buildings are aesthetic and quirky until they stop being on a pinterest board, and then they just become damning images of an impoverished region who deserves to be laughed at.

now, not to holler 'splain you--this is more for anyone not from here who might read this: it's been a systemic issue for decades; there were literal government campaigns to demonize us to the rest of the nation so they could garner support to cut into our mountains and exploit our labor and resources.

well, they were fuckin successful, and we have been falsely made out to be this homogenous nightmare of a place--"welfare exploiting" maga country who deserves everything we get, and nothing we don't.

by going so far as to take appalachian folklore that we tell each other and picking out the "aesthetic" stuff--the haints and general paranormal--they are pruning what they like from our culture--the safe things, like ghost stories--for their own aesthetic use.

but not only that, they are using it to demonize us… yet again.

'appalachia is scary. it's full of things that will kill you. don't look out the window at night cause a booger will get you.' only they don't call them boogers cause they ain't even from here. ask them what a haint is and they'll ask if u mispelled 'haunt.'

it gets even worse when you consider that so much of it has roots in native american culture, and how that continues to be exploited and misrepresented.

i'm not even innocent of that. a while back i had to check myself because i made a comment on here about ~spooky appalachia~ ignorant to the fact that what i was commenting on was actually a deeply important cultural and spiritual element to local indigenous tribes. my comments were harmful by my failure to educate myself and know better, thereby saying things carelessly.

my point being--i'm from the area. i should have known better.

when outsiders start saying the kind of shit they say about what they think they hear in the woods without even knowing where such an idea comes from, they're disrespecting a displaced, abused and exploited people, harming real cultures just for clicks without even knowing. that's on top of the damage they're doing to greater appalachia.

it's fuckin gross.

i think my favorite one i ever seen was this middle aged white lady going through her pristine mcmansion somewhere in suburbia, pulling the million curtains and locking the million doors, going "nighttime routine in appalachia!! 🤪🤪"

i could be wrong about this particular person--i didn't check their other tiktoks because im sick of them accounts and tired of giving them the benefit of the doubt--but it immediately came off as a transplant because:

1) mcmansion, 2) i dont know nobody here that locks their shit down like that (not locking up could even be argued as a part of my local culture, a reflection of our deep sense of community and trust in our neighbors).

and then the comments was all like "i don't know how you guys live there" and it actually broke my heart and pissed me off because even if--especially if--you're one of us, why the fuck are you harming us for likes? why are you turning people against us in a brand new way?

and to the transplants that do this--why?

you're not even from here, you moved here to this place you hate and made it worse just so your front porch would have a nice view, and are now benefiting socially from perpetuating bullshit about us?

you buy up all the land, land we often had no choice but to sell in the first place to survive instead of passing it on to our families, land we originally took from the indigenous peoples your content comes from.

you overdevelop it and turn it unrecognizable to make it more like the comfortable cities you come from. you gut a mountain town of its local businesses and cultures, you price people out of their homes...

...and then once you settle in all cozy like, you go tell everyone else how scary it is? how you can't trust the hills? like it's a cool paranormal bravery badge to wear? fuck off entirely.

so idk, in short my personal thoughts are: i personally enjoy a little myth as a treat, because the folklore is a part of the gothic, a part of our culture and a part of my childhood. i don't (intentionally) wield it as a weapon or use it as a pedestal to get the weird brand of attention that people like them are after.

and those who do this can get got by them haints for all i care.

[wiillatree]

ok underland chronicles fans how do we feel about the moon eyed people

[tngolfplayer]

The Wendigo

The Wendigo is a mythical creature that is said to inhabit the forests of the Algonquian people of North America. It is typically described as a tall, thin creature with a deer-like head and antlers. The Wendigo is said to be incredibly strong and fast, and it is often associated with cannibalism.

The Wendigo legend is thought to have originated in the Algonquian tribes of the Great Lakes region, but it has since spread to other parts of North America, including the Southeast. There are many different variations of the Wendigo legend, but they all share some common elements.

One common belief is that the Wendigo is created when a human is driven to cannibalism by hunger or greed. The Wendigo is said to be a manifestation of the person's darkest desires, and it is driven by an insatiable hunger.

Another common belief is that the Wendigo is a spirit that inhabits the forest. It is said to be a trickster spirit that lures people into the woods and then kills them.

The Wendigo is a feared creature among many Native American tribes, and it is often used as a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and selfishness. The Wendigo legend is also a reminder of the importance of community and sharing.

There are no confirmed sightings of the Wendigo in the Southeast US, but the legend persists. Some people believe that the Wendigo is a real creature, while others believe that it is a myth. However, the Wendigo legend continues to be a part of the cultural heritage of many Native American tribes in the Southeast.

Here are some additional details about the Wendigo legend:

The Wendigo is said to be able to mimic human voices, which it uses to lure its victims.

The Wendigo's breath is said to be so cold that it can freeze a person to death.

The Wendigo is said to be immune to fire and bullets.

The only way to kill a Wendigo is to destroy its heart.

The Wendigo is a powerful and terrifying creature, and its legend continues to fascinate and frighten people today.

[twacn]

Ooo i might finish 3 books in one day. How exciting

[siffrins-therapist]

I did it lmao

Summary: Matthew's invited to stay at his family's estate in North Carolina to attend his aunt's funeral and finally meet his cousin Alfred. He isn't too interested in getting close to anyone from his family, not after everything his mom had said about them after running away from them almost 2 decades ago. However, as things in Scarlet Hollow go from weird to horrifying to deadly, Matthew discovers secrets his family had tried to keep buried for over a century.

How much does Alfred know? And what's his real reason for inviting Matthew in the first place?

[mask131]

I had never heard of the "Not a Deer" thing - but I also had never heard of the whole fake Greek goddess of Tumblr, and I never go near the cesspool that is TikTok so this does not surprise me.

The ‘Not Deer’ thing

So as some of you have probably caught on by some of my posts: I am a huge fan of many things mythology and cryptid. I love learning about local folklore of an area, I love cryptozoology, I love learning about myths and legends, the whole shabang. But recently I was made privy to it by a coworker (and by Tiktok shoving it down my throat) to the “not deer” (or Deor as they are sometimes called) and its supposed foothold on Appalachian folklore. But does it really have this? Is this really an actual cryptid? You guys know me, so I used some of my research time in the office to do some digging and the following is my consensus (as a historian and casual fan of all things spooky)

Its not real. Its not a real legend, being, spirit, or story. It originated on Tumblr and was adopted by tiktok and is being passed off as an actual legend. 

I am aware this might be an inflammatory statement to some but it is true: Not Deer or “Deor” are not a thing. And when you look at the evidence it becomes clear that this is more of a “that time tumblr created a whole Greek goddess” situation mixed slightly with the whole “slenderman is real” thing with a DASH of cultural appropriation (do not worry, we will get there).

POST DATES

One of the BIGGEST giveaways to me that this is not a real legend is that most of the postings and documentation that I can find on “Not Deer” or “Deor” (not the poem but the creature being referenced here) do not precede 2019 at the earliest. That, and no documentation can be found about them outside of tumblr and a few other select sites. 

Using google trends I typed “Not Deer Legend” and these were the results:

Most of the search queries happen around 2019-2021. There is a small blip of searches in November of 2015 but this lends me to believe that this was when the story was originally published online or it could be some bizarre mashup of search terms. It could be either or. 

Things generally stay the same when I typed in “Not Deer Cryptid”. Again, note the very large spike during the time between 2019-2021

Same thing goes for “Not Deer Appalachia”  (again please note that large spike)

When you just type in “Not Deer” however things get more interesting. You can see here that numbers across the decades have stayed pretty consistent. However, this does not mean that “Not Deer have been around for decades and I am just stupid”. I would also like to note here that the simple search term “Not Deer” can be apart of several other search terms related to just deer in general.

The first 2 related queries are related to the creature I am talking about, but the rest are directly related to other queries involving things that deer cannot do. This makes up a majority of the related queries. 

But to make sure I am not missing anything I went onto the “Not Deer” tag to try to find the earliest mention of the creature and although the tag has been active since 2012 the first ACTUAL MENTION of something similar to what we know of the Not Deer today was made on January 10th 2020. The post can be found HERE. However there is another post that predates the one I linked that seems to be the original story (linked here) that was published back in 2019 (August 21st 2019). This is the EARLIEST definitive mention of it that can be found on the internet (and that lines up with the google analytics page).

And around the same time of that first post I linked, the creator of the story actually commented on a reddit post asking about the not deer (which I will link here):

ENCOUNTERS

The next thing I would like to point out is how people describe encounters with Not Deer. 

This is a normal White Tailed Deer (the kind found in Appalachia, along with a large chunk of the rest of North America). 

Here is a size comparison. 

They are large but not to the point where its unreasonable. They are kinda clunky, kinda creepy, and very stupid. 

They can also look at you like this. Its creepy but its normal deer behavior. 

Most of the Not Deer encounters I have heard described consist of a few different types:

The Deer was not afraid of me/was not behaving normally

The Deer had proportions that looked off

The Deer looked like a fucking hellspawn (aka not like a deer)

The Deer’s antlers were weird

The Deer attacked me

Most of these things can be explained by “CWD” or “Chronic Wasting Disease” (which is a neurodegenerative prion disease that can be contracted by Deer and other cervids that causes them to have profound neurological problems, not eat, and eventually die). 

Here is a map of where CWD is, and look, its in part of  Appalachia along with a bunch of other places. 

If you see a deer that is emaciated, spinning in circles, showing no signs of fear towards you, wondering aimlessly in public spaces, salivating a lot, or other strange behaviors it PROBABLY HAS CWD. Brain abscesses, deer warts, brain worm, mange, and blue tongue can also cause similar physical or neurological symptoms of CWD (or in some cases explain these deer sightings). 

If you see a weird deer in the woods your first thought should not be “OMG ITS A CRYPTID” it should be “why is that deer acting strange” and then a call to your local game warden since CWD is incurable, spreads fast, and is pretty serious. 

Most of the videos posted “catching Not Deer on camera” also follow this same pattern. They are either filming a deer with some kind of disease or just a deer doing normal deer things. People are looking for creepy material and are finding it because deer themselves are kinda weird to begin with. And if you are not around deer often: of course them swivel staring at you to running away at mock 9 is going to be unsettling. But unsettling does not equal cryptid. And likewise, diseased does not equal cryptid either. 

Skinwalkers and Wendigos

I have heard the argument many-a-times that “Not Deer” are just code for Skinwalkers or Wendigos (2 creatures originating from native folklore). This is also not true (and this is where cultural appropriation comes in). 

Lets take a look at skinwalkers first since these are brought up the most.

Skinwalkers are a being originating from Navajo folklore (keep in mind native culture is not one homogenous thing and can vary GREATLY geographically) who were once medicine men/woman who abused their healing gifts for evil and thus became a skinwalker. They have the power to transform into (or wear the skins of) animals (usually animals that are predators or ones that carry some form of relation with death). They are essentially the complete opposite of a medicine man/woman who exist to heal, and yes they ARE people (or were once people anyway). 

This legend is pretty isolated to the western half of the states, only appearing in Navajo oral tradition along with the oral traditions of peoples who are in that same geographic area. I would also like to note that historically the Navajo people have been extremely reluctant to go into much detail on the story with outsiders. The Not Deer are supposedly an Appalachian legend (which for those unfamiliar, Appalachia is a region on the EASTERN half of the US). Geographically things are not lining up. Along with that white tailed deer are viewed as symbols of peace, prosperity, and other VERY positive things. Skinwalkers can turn into any animal they choose, but they usually present as  coyotes, wolves, foxes, cougars, dogs, and bears. This is why wearing pelts of those animals specifically is taboo in Navajo culture. 

Also as a quick aside: why would a Navajo witch be running around in the forests of Appalachia terrorizing teenagers? They are people who have committed the evilest of deeds to get where they are now, why would they be wasting their time across the country fucking with tiktokers and tumblr users specifically?

This brings us to the Wendigo. 

Wendigos ARE native to the eastern half of the continental US and originate in the Algonquian language family of peoples. HOWEVER, as I have mentioned before Wendigos ARE NOT deer creatures. This is a false Hollywood portrayal. Nowhere in the original legend do Wendigos ever have deer parts, antlers, or have become Cervine. 

They look like this (more or less).

Wendigos are also a story about the corruption of the soul. You become a Wendigo by committing a act of greed (like cannibalism or murder) and you become insatiably hungry, forever. Wendigos go for the kill, they dont just stand there and kinda watch you like not deer do. They straight up kill you on sight which is also why they are so terrifying. They have no restraint. 

Saying “Oh, Not Deer are just these native monsters” is kind of insulting since its clear by making that statement you have not even bothered to read those legends and become familiar with them. At this point its just another way to sensationalize and profit off of a perverted and meaningless portrayal of native oral tradition. As a historian who values native culture: that’s kinda bullshit. By doing that you are actively destroying those stories by diluting them with fake stories that have nothing to do with the actual point of the original ones. You are not helping by doing this, you are hurting.

The Slenderman situation

The final part to my unholy post-rant is this: “remember the slenderman thing, this is like that”.

For my fellow internet youngins who are unfamiliar with what I am talking about: the slenderman stabbings took place back in 2014 and happened because people could not discern between fiction and reality. 2 girls lured their friend into the woods, violently stabbed her 19 times, and tried to sacrifice her to “Slenderman” (a creepypasta character) and become one of his proxies. This was on the news when it happened and lead to some major ripples throughout the Creepypasta community (including major crackdowns on people encouraging similar behavior). 

To me this is very much like that (only with less violence). 

A fun story was written online (and props to the OG author, I love it) and people literally took it and ran with it (so much so that a bunch of chronically online teenagers are saying they are seeing/being stalked by these things). By continuing to feed into the story and people’s fears about Not Deer, we are feeding into an issue where reality and fiction are broken down. Its fine to enjoy things, but it gets a bit extreme when individuals that already struggle with separating reality from fiction are being told these beings are real, and could possibly kill them or hurt them. It gets extreme when we are posting videos in all seriousness saying we spotted these creatures. It gets extreme when we feed into those anxieties of the unknown. 

Stop it. 

We have already determined by the info above that this is not a real legend. This is not actual folklore. This is not a code name for a vastly different native legend. This was just a fun story that blew up in 2020 and has made its rounds in popculture. 

You have not seen this. You probably saw a diseased deer or just a normal deer doing deer things. 

Tiktok is not a source, kids, and this is a prime example of why. It helped invent an entirely new legend based off of a tumblr post published in 2019. 

Always fact check. 

[lilydalexf]

🌲👽 X-Files Survival/Wilderness Fic Recs

Here are some very good X-Files survival or wilderness fics. Because @thatsaprettycoolposter and @pookie-mulder asked! This list does not include post-colonization fics, which are also all survival fics of a sort. Enjoy!

Alligator Moon by jordan big monster in swamp attacks FBI agents

Antidote by Rachel Howard and Karen Rasch Strange doings in a tiny western town bring Mulder and Scully out to investigate. Once there, they uncover a deadly experiment that may cost both of them their lives.

Backtracking by Kel and Scetti What do Charlie Scully, the Alien Bounty Hunter, and Jesse "the Body" Ventura all have in common? Last April you could have found all three of them in Minnesota.

By the Wind Grieved by Karen Rasch Months have passed and Mulder is back. But things are not as they once were. He doesn’t know who he is or what Scully and he are to each other. Together they must reclaim the past before their enemies take away their future.

A Cabin in the Woods by @leiascully Mulder and Scully, on the run, stay for a while in a cabin in the mountains in Montana. A series of interlacing vignettes.

a cabin in the woods by @monikafilefan Being stuck in this rustic cabin, clearly left to age among the wilderness had Scully feeling wild herself, and it felt as if their bodies danced to an ancient song among the elements.

Camping by Amperage and Livengoo Fox Mulder and Dana Scully have survived abductions, serial killers, mutants and aliens but the Partner Cooperation Program Wilderness Encounter may finally do them in. After poison ivy and catfish, who wouldn’t long for a nice, safe killer mutant?

A Change of Seasons by Jo-Ann Lassiter A search for a mythical beast in the woods of Pennsylvania takes an alarming turn for the worse when Mulder's minor in ury escalates into a life-threatening disease.

Changing Tides by QofMush Who says change is all bad?

Circumnavigation by Suzanne Schramm Sometimes you don't know where you're going until you get there.

Coming Back by Karen Rasch Mulder gets a call from Mrs. Scully, who fears for Dana's safety. Following her instructions, he tracks his partner to a cabin in the mountains where he finds that she does indeed need his help. Memories of her time away have come back with a vengeance. (Sequel: The Calm After The Storm)

Dark Water by Suzanne Schramm Prehistoric insects. Mothmen. Now it’s a publicity-shy tribe of murderers. Just another nice trip to the forest with Mulder.

Falling Snow by Snark Mulder, Scully and a mysterious woman from Mulder's past crash in the snowy landscape of the Colorado winter.

Frozen by @dashakay The end of a case, and a stay in a log cabin during a blizzard, lead Scully to take the biggest risk of her life.

Last Chance Falls by @slippinmickeys A man. A women. A forest. A hit squad. An adventure.

The Lost by Wintersong Mulder and Scully are trapped in the remote wilderness and the art of surviving was not what they expected.

Old Growth Forest by Andrea Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearances of homeless people in Madison, Wisconsin and seemingly end up suffering the same fate.

A Path of Salt by Analise Mulder ditches Scully yet again to help an old friend in the Park Service. But Scully has never been one to sit and wait.

Tam Lin by Pequod When your local young men disappear, only to turn up dead a year later, sometimes it helps to have friends in high places. Myth and murder combine in a remote Scottish village, and Mulder and Scully investigate. The Fairy Queen is out to revenge the loss of her most prized knight, Tam Lin. Mulder believes but Scully’s not so sure, until Mulder takes a walk in the woods.

Tempest by Missy Pennington Mulder and Scully survive a plane crash to find themselves injured and stranded in the Appalachian wilderness. (Sequels: Distance, Wild Places, and Escape Me Never)

Untitled by @o6666666 Prompt: Mulder takes Scully camping and they make love for the second time ever under the stars.

Waiting in Motion by mountainphile After leaving the hot spring (in "Miraculous Manifestation"), Scully and Mulder take an unexpected detour on the way home. Dark secrets emerge when they seek shelter in a raging storm...and an intriguing X-file rears its head... (Sequel: Signs of Life)

Way Through the Woods by Pellinor and Rebecca Rusnak Three months ago, someone noticed something unusual about Scully. Now, in a desperate attempt to stave off the inevitable, Mulder has disappeared, and Scully’s only chance of finding him include an unlikely ally and an untrustworthy informant. As they make their way through the woods, can Mulder and Scully find each other, or is the future lost?

[oolhan]

Everlark: The Classics #6

When the Moon Fell in Love with the Sun by Mejhiren

Published: 2012 Chapters: 15 | Discontinued/Abandoned/Perpetually waiting for an update

Hey, hey! Another entry for my small fic rec series after such a long time. It's been a while so please indulge with fairytale!everlark. Covering my eyes as I write this because I did not do the fic any justice with my amateur mood boarding skills. But bear with me as I gush about my all time favorite everlark fic of all. Okay, so when the moon follows the whimsical tale of victor Peeta Mellark bringing Katniss to his fairytale-like mansion after winning the 74th games. It is heavily inspired by the Norwegian folktale East of the Sun & West of the Moon, a myth on personifying animals and nature. Hear me out! Look at me [proceeds to cup both cheeks in my hands] It sounds incredibly foreign for those not used to reading fanfics but I assure you, this is beyond want. This fic is a need. The world-building of this story brings out the playfulness of Peeta and Katniss, something they were deprived of from canon, especially K. Peeta personified the warmth, hope, innocence, and all things that Katniss needed, especially the cooking. The metaphors of sun!peeta and moon!katniss, of geese and does, the red ribbons, foxes and little prince, the braids, the Appalachian themes, genealogies, even Katniss' obliviousness to Peeta's feelings is hauntingly entertaining--just read it. Although I must say it is quite a long book since it's nearing 400k words in just 14 chapters, I promise you when you're hooked you'll yearn for more.

The vibrancy of its themes is colorful and alive even if the setting is on a cold winter season. Also the writing structure??? God. It's immaculate. It's illegally sublime. The immense joy when I experienced reading this for the first time transformed my insanity. Would 100% sell my soul in exchange for the complete version of this. It's basically a 400k word love poem. That's it.

[pnchinbeez]

For Halloween the miniatures tell scary stories. it starts off with the romans making up stories using mythological creatures but the cowboys (especially jed he supposedly spent alot of time in the appalachian area in real life) start telling stories of cryptids they've encountered skin walkers, Bigfoot, la Lorona. Things of that sort and the romans just think those are their myths, until jed and octavius are hanging out and octavius asks about how they made up those stories and jed just like, "we uh we didnt?" And octavius is mildly horrified

[intheholler]

re: hurricane helene hey, y'all. so... immense survivor's guilt, subsequent depression and an overall helpless malaise has made my presence on tumblr here weaker during this horrific time. but there's nothing like some good ol appalachian rage to light a fire under the proverbial ass so i'm back to push back on some of the bullshit i keep seeing get spread about what's happening in the aftermath of hurricane helene, and in western north carolina especially. 

appalachia has always been low hanging fruit for the rest of the nation, and now that disaster has struck and we are even more vulnerable than we have been in a long, long time, bad actors are using us as a way to further their political bullshit and conspiracies.

please use some of the cited-information below the cut to push back on and educate any family members, friends or otherwise when you see them spreading misinformation. now is your chance to help appalachia, no matter where you are in the united states. myths, rumors and other flavors of horseshit regarding hurricane helene debunked under the cut. please reblog.

Let me just get my heart out of the way before we get into the nitty gritty, cause I got things to say. #1: "Why should we help these people? They get these storms there all the time. They didn't move away or do anything to prepare for this, and now it's our responsibility?"

These storms are not at all commonplace. For much of this area, especially WNC, this level of flooding and damage--spanning an area the size of Belgium between NC and TN--is largely unprecedented. Growing up, we get told our mountains protect us, that they shield us from the really bad, and that's because historically, they have. Hurricanes blow through, and they bring with them hella wind and rain, but nothing like this.

We do not have the infrastructure for this, physical or otherwise. So many of our homes, businesses and everything in between have been standing for more than a century, unkept and brittle. Dams are breaking or near breaking because they are not meant to hold this kind of water. Our roads tend to follow creeks and rivers and thereby have been completely washed out. Keep in mind that in the individual hollers, and in most of these small mountain towns, we only got one road. You go up holler one way, and you don't come out the other side of it; you leave the way you came because it's the only path to take.

We are not built for this. We were not ready for this. We could not have prepared for this. And even if by some miracle we all received some premonition about this disaster, telling us to "just move" is NEVER the answer to vulnerable people living in volatile environments, especially ones as impoverished as Appalachia. Fuck you.

#2 "Appalachians are lazy and just want handouts, anyway."

First off--which one is it? Are we poor, pitiful fodder for concern trolls who deserve more than we're getting, or are we lazy, needy, greedy people who deserve to rot? Can't have both.

Second off--we been hearing that about us since the dawn of time. Wasn't true then, ain't true now.

Appalachia has been verifiably exploited as long as there have been people to exploit, but that is a topic long since discussed here.

We don't WANT anything. We NEED it. Alongside the aid coming in through donations, official search and rescue and organized volunteer services, much of the boots on the ground are Appalachians themselves!! We take care of our own, and it's always been that way.

They got people on foot hiking up into the hollers to bring supplies to cut-off communities. They got pack mules passing otherwise impassable roads where no car nor other vehicle can tread to get lifesaving necessities to the hollers. Look around, and you'll find countless stories. Just in my personal circle alone, I got a sister bringing supplies up by foot, and her hiking group is moving through so much toxic mud that the soles of their fucking boots are melting. I got a brother in law taking chainsaws to downed trees to clear the path for supply deliveries. I got another sister meeting friends of mine at the state line to collect donations and distribute them by hand to counties all over WNC. We can do this, but we can't do it alone.

#3 "It's a conspiracy/It's not that widespread outside of Asheville because we don't see pictures of anywhere else."

It's happening. It's fucking happening.

You don't see pictures because many of us don't have reliable cell service right now, let alone wifi. Hell, even in perfect weather there's a joke that you better have a friend with a cell phone from each provider when you go out because only one of you is getting service at any given time in any given place. There is no way to document this from the inside for many folks at this point in time, and there is NO WAY IN from the outside.

As I mentioned--you got one road leading up the holler. That road is now gone. No one is making it up the mountain to take pictures of these horrific scenes, y'all. If they're going up the mountain its to care for their neighbors, to bring supplies to individuals and entire communities so isolated by the devastation that the only way they can be reached is on foot (or hoof!).

Which also brings me to my next counterargument: "Nothing is being done to help."

#4 "Volunteers are being turned away/Donations are being confiscated."

Volunteers are being DISCOURAGED from coming in out of state, but they're not being told to leave with a malicious intent. And they are not even being forcibly denied. They can still come, but it's really not a good idea. As I mentioned, these roads wasn't meant to take this kind of damage. They are falling apart, and all this extra traffic coming in on these streets barely hanging on is making them worse and making it harder for organized relief and rescue operations to actually get in there. People are getting stuck and taking away time and resources that could be going to survivors. Outsiders with good intentions are eating up the scarce gas and using up even scarcer water. Some of these places, like Black Mountain, physically do not have enough hands to manage and distribute the amount of donations being brought in in, so they're getting rerouted. Donations are not fucking being confiscated.

#5 "They aren't letting people be rescued/They're closing the airspace off."

The airspace is OPEN, with some temporary restrictions in place by the FAA for civilians and volunteers. Civilians can still access airspace in coordination with officials and emergency responders. What they ain't allowing is people just flying in willy nilly. What they ain't letting in is unauthorized air traffic that is clogging up airspace which otherwise needs to be used by official aircraft to bring in donations/S&R groups. Airspace is still accessible in the area, but it's not safe to just have everyone with a big heart trying to search and rescue, especially with no training, organization or proper skills. What they ain't letting happen is people trying to take trucks up obliterated roads that can't be traveled, no matter how confident you are in your vehicle. Christ, y'all. The point isn't to add more bodies to the count!

#6 "National Guardsmen are being told not to go."

The National Guard HAS been deployed.

And in numbers, too. What you're hearing is rumor of people asking to be deployed and being told no, because that's not how it works. That's not how any of this works. People can't just rush in unorganized. There is a system. There has always been a system.

#7 "But I saw TikToks of people coming to help and locals shouting them out of town!"

Oh, honey. No, what you saw was people doing what they LOVE to do in Appalachia: take poverty tours. Record how we live. Post their poverty (and now disaster) porn with thoughts and prayers and oh those poor creatures to get likes. That's been happening to us since before TikTok. Before the internet.

During FDR's administration, photographers from the Farm Security Administration went down to collect poverty porn and turn it into Hollow Folk, a collection of photographs which was then used by eugenicists and corporations alike to dehumanize us further so we could be exploited and relocated with the favor of the nation behind them.

We're done with it. We been done with it. And now, in this time of crisis where people are DEAD, you're clogging up our roads, taking up our gas, AND shoving cameras in our face. Y'all ain't from here and now more than ever y'all kinds need to get the FUCK out.

✨ FEMA ✨

FEMA deserves its own section, because holy shit. I'm mad that I'm about to defend the man in any capacity but it needs to be done. So, I'm gonna preface this by saying, largely, fuck FEMA. There are many valid complaints against FEMA and their inefficiency, but right now is not the time to use them as a tool of misinformation against Appalachia. We got enough problems without pouring the salt of government conspiracies into these raw, gaping wounds that barely even have bandaids applied to them right now.

SO. Let's get into it.

#8 "This is all planned and by design/Don't evacuate, because FEMA is just gonna take your land and mineral rights!"

If they wanted the fucking lithium or anything else for that matter, they would just enact Eminent Domain. They don't need elaborate schemes and """weather control""" to take it. They can just literally... do it. Did we all fail civics in middle school?

(And this is purely anecdotal so I have no proof of this, but a friend of mine told me a few days ago people were actually being told NOT to evacuate in Lake Lure because they didn't anticipate the flooding to be this bad.)

What y'all SHOULD be worried about are these companies and their "disaster investors" who swoop in like fucking vultures and try to get people to sell their land before FEMA has a chance to assist them. These companies prey on the vulnerable, offering them quick cash for their land and for far less than they'd get if they held out for FEMA's relief instead.

#9. "But... but FEMA is only giving out a piddly $750 in relief!"

Yes, they are giving out $750. INITIALLY. This $750 is initial relief money for immediate needs. Medicine, food, supplies. It is NOT all that's being allocated to folks. From FEMA's website:

This is a type of assistance that you may be approved for soon after you apply, called Serious Needs Assistance. It is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify for to receive and Serious Needs Assistance is an initial payment you may receive while FEMA assesses your eligibility for additional funds. As your application continues to be reviewed, you may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs.

A service being offered in the meantime, for example, is for temporary housing and you can still currently apply for it!

Long-term disaster relief funds are not being released immediately. That does not mean they do not exist.

Here is what FEMA has already allocated for North Carolina alone.

Please note I said "allocated" but not "paid out." Which brings me to my next point.

#10 "FEMA is giving their relief money to undocumented immigrants!"

This is false, and you can verify this for yourself. Cash payouts to undocumented immigrants isn't even a thing, dude. They haven't even paid out to citizens in their entirety yet. From the FEMA page "Questions and Answers for Undocumented Immigrants Regarding FEMA Assistance:"

This is in regards to STATE, LOCAL AND VOLUNTEER AGENCIES. Not through FEMA or any other federal programs. This is probably what people are hearing about, and not even bothering to look into it before running off to tell lies.

And in this, as you can see--undocumented immigrants who CAN receive assistance are not receiving cash. They are not just getting money handed over to them to spend on whatever your racist, xenophobic uncle thinks they are. FEMA is required by law to report on the use of their funds each month by the 5th day. Historically, it looks like it takes about a week for them to be posted. Keep an eye on this page to see for yourself in coming days that FEMA is not giving out money from their funds to immigrants.

#11 "But FEMA has appointees from Biden!!! How can we trust that this is the truth?!"

Please use critical thinking skills. Please, we beg. Yes, there are appointed FEMA officials from this administration, but there are also appointed officials from Trump's time in office. What sense does it make that during Trump's administration, FEMA employees were Good And Pure, and suddenly, just because they are active under Biden's administration, they are suddenly Evil And Corrupt? This is clear bias and has no solid footing.

Besides, the President doesn't even have any sway over FEMA funding like this. That is ALL congress.

H.R. 9747 "Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025," which provides relief funding (among other things) for the 2025 fiscal year, was ACTIVELY VOTED AGAINST by Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene--two people spreading the bullshit the loudest. UGH. Okay. In exasperated conclusion: Please, please, PLEASE leave Appalachia alone and let us get back on our feet without having to constantly dodge dumbass conspiracy theories. We are heartbroken and grieving and would really appreciate a brief reprieve from being the nation's fucking punching bag. Help us, don't hurt us.

[snowbairdweek]

Snowbaird Week Prompts

We have a little over a month before Snowbaird Week! Keep reading (or check the images) for some more information about each of the day's prompts:

Day 1 - Academia:

The created work must involve a school, a place of learning, or similar. This can include canonverse AUs where Lucy Gray goes to the Academy or university in the Capitol, or it can be non-canon modern AUs where they are both students at high school or university. It can even be crossover AUs where Lucy Gray and Coryo are Hogwarts students. All of these fall under the Academia umbrella.

Day 2 - Myths / Folklore:

Mythology and folklore from any culture! For example, this includes retellings of Greek myths, European creatures such as the fae and selkies, or the Korean kumiho. We would love to see inclusions of Appalachian folklore such as the Brown Mountain lights and the Bell Witch! This is probably one category that artists can really go wild. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create!

Day 3 - Canon Divergence:

Basically what it says on the tin. Maybe your work imagines that Coryo stayed in District 12, or that Lucy Gray never left the Capitol. The two of them escape into the woods and find District 13. It could even be earlier, changing something that happens during the Games. It could be much later – perhaps Lucy Gray is captured by the Capitol years later. To be clear, the works for this day’s theme all must be canonverse to fit the prompt.

Day 4 - Free Day:

Free Day is for all works that do not fit with any of the themes for Snowbaird Week. Please do not post any works for Ballads/Musicals, Fortune/Fate, or Non-Canon Modern AU on this day.

Day 5 - Ballads / Musicals:

Remember, “ballads” can also refer to poems. At the simplest definition, a ballad is a narrative poem or song; Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe is a ballad, and of course a number of songs from TBOSAS are ballads! For musicals, any musical is fair game! Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Chicago, Hairspray, Moulin Rouge, etc. You can create an AU, a work inspired by (incorporating the themes, tropes, or characterisations of a musical), crossovers, etc. We do not allow songfics.

Day 6 - Fortune / Fate:

This is the most vague prompt (Sorry folks!). Other ways to describe this prompt could be: luck, soulmates, ‘written in the stars’, chance, prosperity, wealth, destiny. Have fun with it!

Day 7 - Non-Canon Modern AU:

This is your coffee shop AU, rival coworkers AU, flower shop AU, Target/Assassin AU and so on. Anything that’s not school-related (that would place it in Academia) but modern AU can be posted on our final day of Snowbaird Week.

**We’d also like to note that we do not accept any AI-generated content, whether images, text, or otherwise.**

Hopefully that explains everything! Let us know if you have any other questions!

[kimberly40]

The Appalachian region is known for its folklore and storytelling. Stories of myths, monsters, and ghosts. There is currently a trend going around on TikTok where people list the “Rules of Appalachia.” These rules often include: Do not go in the woods at night, do not whistle in the woods, and do not look in the trees.

Should you be scared of these mountains….well, I don’t think so.

The eyes that you see shining in the trees at night..well that’s just an old possum searching for its dinner.

The sounds you hear from inside the forest at night…that’s just the trees talking with the wind.

The shadows you see moving around the bed of the forest…well, that’s just the moonlight pushing through the Laurel.

And if you choose to whistle in the forest at night, the only thing you’ll hear in return is your own echo.

There was a time before technology that people needed a way to entertain each other so they turned to storytelling. There’s a sense of mystery for the unknown and it gives us license to our imaginations.

The Appalachian mountains are old, but they are full of wisdom and I’m surrounded by peace here, rather than fear.

(Kim Wright)

[oddishfeeling]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

[theosconfessions]

For the emoji OC ask game and character of your choice: 🍼, 🍄, 🍉, 🥭, 🍕, 🍯, 🧀, 🥑, 🌸, 🍆, 🥔

Dustin Stephens

🍼 [BABY BOTTLE] What's your OC's first memory?

Dustin: i think my moms face..just carrying me somewhere. [smirks] feeling all protected and shit. that wasnt the case as i got older. but i hope that my babies have a safe memory to look back on too as their first memory. im curious now ill have to ask them

🍄 [MUSHROOM] How likely is your OC to eat random berries/mushrooms they find?

Dustin: no no 0/10.. my husband though....would and has done..so i guess i dont need to [laughs]

🍉 [WATERMELON] What will your OC take to the grave?

Dustin: well something that theo doesnt know is that i did have someone i was seeing in the time that we were apart. i just never brought it up because it was just like some fling you know.. to try and get over him which absolutely failed because all i could do was think of him

🍍 [PINEAPPLE] Pineapple on pizza or not?

Dustin: im sorry but OKAY IM DOWN.

🍕 [PIZZA SLICE] How good is your OC at sharing? How do they share something if there's not enough supply?

Dustin: well with my husband im apparently so good at sharing and i never knew it [shakes head ] that being said if i have control over something im not sharing it. i think maybe thats why. it all stemmed from theo [laughs] jesus christ.

🍯 [HONEY] At what point does someone seem sickly sweet to your OC?

Dustin: i think when the compliments are just like over the top then im suspicious you know ?? like maybe im reading the question wrong and i obviously have some trust issues but im like okay thats suspicious.

🧀 [CHEESE WEDGE] How often does your OC get into situations that rely on pure luck/miracles happening?

Dustin: oh my god. ME when i was younger. nowadays not so much because i have two young twins that i have to be like on my shit for but when i was younger? FUCK ALL OF THE TIME.

🥑 [AVACADO] What will they never back down about, even if it makes them seem bad?

Dustin: i think over the years i had to defend myself and why exactly i stayed married to theo for so long. and we werent together the whole time i did leave him but the fact that we came back together and we had the twins looked OFF to a lot of my family. i get that. i do . theo didnt want a commitment and we stayed married long past we probably shouldve.. but i think one of things i will never back down about is that when he came back into our lives... he made himself WORTHY of having me . i didnt make it easy on him and i know it seems like im just being stepped on by him at leats to my friends it does but its not the case. and i kinda hope to explain that as time goes on.what happend. why were' back together and why we have the twins.

🌸 [CHERRY BLOSSOM] Does your OC believe in legends/myths?

Dustin: oh my god fuck yeah. you will not catch me in the appalachian mountains.byeeeee

🍆 [EGGPLANT] How are they used by others? How easily are they tricked into this?

Dustin : [smirks]

🥔 [POTATO] What do they have that others see as a flaw, but they don't care about?

Dustin: my trust. i think people think i give too many chances but i only do that if i think you deserve it you know.that being said i warn my kids now.. do not do as i do .

thank you for the questions love! i really loved doing this with dusty! after scarletts bc im going to expand on dustins sides of things some more. where the twins came from all that .

[jackhkeynes]

A Motley Miscellany

The Bahassassin River [1] is the longest river on the continent of Mendeva [North America], with a total length of just over two thousand leagues. The river passes through multiple polities, including Sangathy and Hasiny, and its eastern tributaries descend from the Sturgovan Mountains [the Appalachians]. The largest city on the banks of the Bahassassin is Nadacow, the capital city of Hasiny. The name of the river comes from the Carovacian [Caddo] name báhassássin "mother of rivers".

[1] comprising the Missouri River and the portion of the Mississippi River downstream of St Louis.

---

Mark of Tolose (d. 1453) was the son of King Ambrose II of Vascony, and the father of King Ambrose III of Vascony. Although he was crown prince, he died three years before his father and thus never reigned. He married Margaret of Iscombe [Exeter] shortly before 1435. Along with Ambrose, they had three other children: their first child Alexandra, and two younger children Victor of Astorga and Natalia.

---

Wings Afire (Ale in Fiamme) is an opera written by Venetian Chiarina Bruno and first performed in the Verona Arena in 1824. It was the first work staged in the Verona Arena since it was shuttered at the outbreak of the Second German War. The opera is a retelling of the legend of Icarus which takes place entirely after the events of the myth, with references to the dead Icarus in the dialogue. It follows the matron of a clothiery who meets a grieving Daedalus; she helps him to rediscover the joy of invention. The opera's music features the low-pitched mournful melodies of the graveyard fiddlers from Borlish folklore; Bruno is said to have heard of them from her brother Jacomo.

[immortalarizona]

Died With a Hammer in His Hand: Unpacking the Myth of John Henry 

“John Henry said to his captain:  ‘You are nothing but a common man,  Before that steam drill shall beat me down,  I’ll die with my hammer in my hand.’”  — “John Henry, the Steel Driving Man,” recounted by W. T. Blankenship 

John Henry is one of America’s most well-known mythic heroes, immortalized in song, statue, postage stamp, and multiple movies (including a 2000 Disney animated short film which I vividly remember watching in elementary school). But if you’re unfamiliar with the legend, here’s a brief summary. 

John Henry was a freed slave who found himself working for a railroad company in the years following the Civil War as a steel driver. His job was to drive a steel spike into rock so that dynamite could be placed in the resulting hole, thus opening up a tunnel through the Appalachians. 

John Henry was the best on his crew, and he took pride in his work—so when a white salesman brought in a steam-powered drill, claiming that it could drill better than any man, he decided to challenge that claim. Henry entered into a contest with the machine to see who could carve out the deepest hole in the mountain in a single day. 

His victory cost him his life. 

Henry’s wife—sometimes named Polly Ann, sometimes named Lucy, sometimes not named at all—went to visit him on his deathbed that evening. In many versions of the ballad, Henry’s last words are a request for a glass of water. In other versions, he asks his wife to be true to him when he’s dead, or to do her best to raise their son. Many accounts say that he’s buried by a railroad, where “Every locomotive come roarin’ by, / Says there lays that steel drivin’ man” (lyrics from Onah L. Spencer). 

Bronze statue of John Henry near Talcott, West Virginia, sculpted by Charles Cooper.

The general consensus among historians now seems to be that the ballad of John Henry is one such legend that has its roots in historical fact, although the particulars are long obscured by the centuries that have since passed. Henry was born into slavery in the 1840s or 50s, either in North Carolina or Virginia (some accounts of the ballad lend credence to the latter claim). As for how John Henry found himself working for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway company, University of Georgia history professor Scott Reynolds Nelson posits in his book Steel Drivin’ Man that the man was sentenced to ten years in a Virginia prison for theft at only nineteen years of age, and that he was among many prisoners leased out by the state for labor. 

Did you know that the 13th Amendment makes an exception for slavery which is used “as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”? (This practice continues to this day, and has become an industry worth tens of billions of dollars. Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola or simply “The Farm,” is a good place to begin if you’re wanting to look into chain gangs further.) John Henry the legend was a free worker who took on the backbreaking, often dangerous work of railroad labor under his own power and could demand any wage for his work, but John Henry the man may have lived and died in neoslavery. 

Speaking of Henry’s death, most retellings of the myth say that he died of sheer exhaustion. Some add in the detail that it was his heart that gave out because he worked himself too hard. However, alternate theories have been proposed for how the man died. Some historians say it was a stroke that killed him, while others posit silicosis. 

It’s this latter hypothesis which I find most intriguing. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the American Lung Association describes silicosis as “a lung disease caused by breathing in tiny bits of silica, a common mineral found in sand, quartz and many other types of rock.” It’s been an occupational hazard for construction workers since, well, the time of John Henry. What I find interesting are the implications for the narrative if the real Henry died of silicosis. In the folk ballad, Henry causes his own death by working himself too hard. On the other hand, the ones at fault if the man died of silicosis would be his employers—the ones responsible for the dangerous conditions he worked in. 

So why would John Henry’s cause of death change during the transition from fact to legend? 

The answer, as with many other fictionalized accounts of historical events, is that it simply makes for a more effective story. But not just that—a more effective message. So what might the ballad be trying to tell those who listen to it? 

First, let’s think about who this song was sung by and for. The ballad of John Henry is a work song, its rhythm meant to help railroad workers stay and strike in sync, in the same way a drumbeat helps soldiers march in step. It’s been sung by railroad workers, miners, construction workers, chain gangs, and country musicians. At its core, then, the ballad is a song of and for the American working class—specifically those people doing the same sort of backbreaking physical labor as John Henry himself. Many of these laborers would have been Black, and likely former slaves—especially when it came to Southern chain gangs. (See my above note about how American slavery was only mostly abolished, and then think about why the U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. . . but I digress.) 

An oil painting of John Henry by Frederick Brown. 

We’ve established that John Henry is a hero for working-class Americans during the time of the Second Industrial Revolution. But what sort of hero is he? Is he like Achilles, a paragon of his country’s values and an example for the audience to aspire to? Or is he an Icarus, a cautionary tale sung so the audience won’t repeat his mistakes? 

The answer depends on who’s telling the story. 

Onah L. Spencer is the source for one version which emerged from a Black community in Cincinnati, Ohio. When he recounted the lyrics to Guy B. Johnson for the latter’s 1929 book John Henry: Tracking Down a Negro Legend, he also stated that the song was used to motivate workers: “. . . if there was a slacker in a gang of workers it would stimulate him with its heroic masculine appeal.” 

In cases such as Spencer’s crew, then, John Henry’s death is presented as glorious, and Henry is seen as admirable for working so hard that it kills him. Here, he’s a good example. Taken to the extreme, the Achillean Henry encourages fellow workers to follow in his footsteps—to keep pushing themselves harder and harder until they finally keel over. 

This message doesn’t benefit the workers passing it along; it benefits the employers profiting from their labor. This, I think, is where the story blurs the line between myth and propaganda. And while the ballad of John Henry certainly isn’t singlehandedly responsible for the American tendency to overwork ourselves, it does reflect our attitudes about work in a way that’s worth unpacking. To me, this reeks of the Puritan work ethic. The belief was that you had to be working as often as you could; if you didn’t, the devil would be able to influence you. The Puritans were one of America’s foundational cultural influences—of course those values would have influenced the ballad of John Henry. 

Henry is a hero because he worked himself to death. If we see him as a good example, what does this say about the effects that capitalism has had on American attitudes? About the internalized belief that our worth as humans only comes from what we can contribute to the economy? Why do we see death from exhaustion as a fitting end for a former slave? 

Then again, maybe we’re not supposed to. 

A lithograph of John Henry, from the series American Folk Heroes, by William Gropper. 

Remember how I noted earlier that many of the laborers who first sang Henry’s ballad would themselves have been former slaves? It’s important because there’s a long history of American slaves using work songs as a tool of resistance against their oppressors, and these Black laborers—these “freed” slaves—would have carried that tradition with them into the Second Industrial Revolution. 

The ballad of John Henry, then, might have been sung with the intent of helping other workers survive the brutal conditions on the railroads. Here, Henry becomes an Icarus—a warning of what happens if you push yourself too hard. One version of the ballad recorded by Edward Douglas of the Ohio State Penitentiary contains lyrics which suggest that not every Henry was meant to be emulated. 

“John Henry started on the right-hand side,  And the steam drill started on the left.  He said, ‘Before I’d let that steam drill beat me down,  I’d hammer my fool self to death,  Oh, I’d hammer my fool self to death.’” 

Don’t do what John Henry did, this version warns the audience. Be wiser than he was. Don’t push yourself quite so hard. Think of the people you’d be leaving behind if you’re not careful. 

Perhaps even the creation of this mythos was an act of defiance in and of itself. At this point, I think it bears mentioning that I myself am not Black and can only hypothesize based on what I’ve heard from people who are, but I see something radical in the act of raising up one of your own as your hero rather than venerating the people you’ve been told are superior to you. 

Remember, John Henry’s contest was versus a white man’s machine. It costs him everything, but he triumphs over the expectations of that steam drill salesman and proves his worth as a laborer and a person. John Cephas, a blues musician from Virginia who was interviewed by NPR for a report on John Henry back in 2002, had this to say of the myth: 

“It was a story that was close to being true. It’s like the underdog overcoming this powerful force. I mean even into today when you hear it (it) makes you take pride. I know especially for black people, and for people from other ethnic groups, that a lot of people are for the underdog.” 

Americans love underdog stories. Our own national origin myth is one! John Henry’s assertation of power and skill, the ballad’s declaration that Black people have the right to be proud of themselves too. . . no wonder this myth has resonated with so many people. No wonder it’s survived for a century and a half. 

In this light, then, John Henry once again becomes a hero for us, the audience, to emulate. In the fight against oppression, endurance like Henry’s becomes key. Justice is almost never won quickly. The odds stacked against us may seem impossible, but it’s worth trying anyways, even if we have to fight to our dying breaths. 

Artwork of John Henry as a defense worker by James Daugherty. 

John Henry has meant and been many things to a lot of people in the past two centuries. A representative of capitalist exploitation, a cautionary tale for workers, an inspiration to oppressed people in America, even a communist icon—but I’d like to take a moment to talk about what his story means to me. It’s not something I’ve seen discussed in my research, and I think it’s worth exploring. 

John Henry reflects fears of workers during the Second Industrial Revolution who saw how technology was evolving—how machines were being created that could do their jobs not just faster, but cheaper, because you don’t have to pay a machine like you would a person. They feared that they would be replaced, and that they would be left destitute while their former bosses grew richer and richer. And despite the centuries between us, this is a fear that I can understand. 

Often, I feel it myself. 

As an artist existing in online spaces during this new influx of AI-generated “art” and writing, I have witnessed many fears that we will be replaced by AI. Yes, there is a certain human quality to art that a generative learning model cannot replicate, but who’s to say that the much-vaunted free market will care? We can hope that art as a profession will survive, but we just don’t know. 

In John Henry’s struggle, I see my own. In the steam drill salesman, I see tech bros on the platform formerly known as Twitter showing off their latest batch of beautiful, hollow, AI-generated “art.” I see John Henry’s passion, his pride, his triumph. 

And I see hope. 

By his life and death, the mythic John Henry reassures me that human beings aren’t so easy to replace after all. He tells me that machines can be defeated. That one day, my vindication as an artist and writer will come, and the world will see our worth. 

The ballad of John Henry has endured like a mountain for a hundred and fifty years, and I hope it will survive for hundreds more—that John Henry’s hammer will continue to ring true throughout the ages. But in the midst of American mythos, it’s important not to lose sight of the historical facts behind it. Legends are interesting and inspirational and wonderful, but the real stories have something to tell us, too. 

Don’t forget to listen. 

Works Cited 

American Lung Association - Silicosis 

Ballad of America - This Old Hammer: About the Song 

Constitution of the United States - Thirteenth Amendment 

Encyclopedia Britannica - John Henry 

Flypaper by Soundfly - The Lasting Legacy of the Slave Trade on American Music 

Folk Renaissance - John Henry: Hero of American Folklore 

How Stuff Works - Was There a Real John Henry? 

ibiblio.org - John Henry: The Project 

National Park Service - The Superpower of Singing: Music and the Struggle Against Slavery 

NPR - Present at the Creation: John Henry 

NPR - Talk of the Nation: The Untold History of Post-Civil War ‘Neoslavery’ 

PBS - Mercy Street Revealed Blog - Singing in Slavery: Songs of Survival, Songs of Freedom 

Prof. Scott Reynolds Nelson - Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend 

World Population Review - Incarceration Rates by Country 2024