Our Numinous Nature

Brian Jeffrey is a paranormal investigator in Farragut, Tennessee, who's served in the US Army and as a former Park Ranger. After historical readings about wild men & feral children, we open on Knoxville's urban sprawl. From there we get to the topic at hand, feral people of Appalachia, more specifically, within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: from Brian's adventures searching them out & finding tracks; to rumors of cannibalism; strange tunnels; accounts from an attacked ginseng digger & a homesteader who claims she shot one. Interwoven is the mysterious local story of a boy named Dennis Martin who vanished in 1969 while on a family camping trip. Beyond the feral, Brian shares his own frightening  paranormal stories that took place on Black Mountain where we hear of portals; a witch's burned down cabin; and a nightmarish murderer. We close on Brian's ruminations on both the intoxicating & yet taxing effects of supernatural research with examples from a shocking photograph & dark memories from the US border.  Check out Brian's Black Mass Paranormal YouTube channel where I sampled clips from his Black Mountain portal experience, witch hauntings & a paranormal attack. Music provided by Navajo Witch "Black Curse"Written & Performed by Navajo Witch"Ghost Sickness"Written & Performed by Navajo WitchSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Tyler Estep is a local historian, former tobacco farmer & Baptist pastor at the oldest church west of Appalachia, in Adams, Tennessee; home of the infamous Bell Witch! After a reading from a 1904 newspaper that summarizes the Bell Witch mystery, we open on the region's tobacco farming culture. Then we turn to the topic at hand, the Bell Witch. We explore various explanations for the 19th-century hauntings: John Bell & an eccentric neighbor, Kate Batts; The Great Awakening & the demonic; ventriloquism & murder; an Indian curse & land-based hauntings; and lastly, a slave overseer's ghost. Throughout, Tyler openly shares his own strange encounters and spiritual battles with both mental health & the supernatural. For the official story, we hear of town folks' mysterious black dog sightings that harken back to the original accounts by the Bell family slave, Dean. We end on the area's cave systems and a potent warning not to take anything from them!Check out the seasonal plays including Spirit in Adams, Tennessee: BellWitchFallFestival.comBlack dog story reading from An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch  by M. V. Ingrim Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Bill Hardwig is a Cormacian scholar & associate professor of English at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. This episode is devoted to the early Appalachian Tennessee novels of the late, great, literary master, Cormac McCarthy [best known for No Country for Old Men, All The Pretty Horses, & The Road]. We begin by defining and discussing the literary genre: the southern gothic. From there we lay out the synopsis & inspiration behind three of Cormac's outstanding southern gothic novels: Child of God about a depraved serial killer roaming the Tennessee hills; Outer Dark about an incestuous brother & sister & their baby that's left for dead; and Suttree, Cormac's first acclaimed masterpiece about a shiftless fisherman living amongst the river & street life of 1950's Knoxville where he befriends the likes of petty-criminals, drunks, vagrants and prostitutes. Throughout we will hear of Cormac's upbringing in Knoxville with tidbits on trapping, taxonomy, hellhounds, regional flora & fauna, a folder of local stories, and city landmarks one can visit from Suttree. Bill reads us two passages to illustrate Cormac's ability to capture the region's voice, and finally, we end on highlighting the importance of ambiguity in great works of fiction. Check out Bill's map of literary landmarks in Knoxville:  LiteraryKnox.comSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Doug Elliott is a naturalist, herbalist, storyteller, musician, author, illustrator and something of a living legend in Rutherford County, western North Carolina. After a story about deciphering the secret language of trout, we open on Doug's early career as a 1970's traveling forager. Now, no Doug Elliott conversation would be right without a 101 on groundhog-ology ranging from how to make groundhog shoelaces to understanding the medicinal properties of groundhog grease. The natural next step from groundhogs is opossums, Doug recounts the time he befriended an eccentric Alabama mayor who happened to be the president of the Possum Growers & Breeders Association of America. From there its on to folkways & more encounters with the natural world: doctoring a wounded hunting dog with strips of bark; a life lesson learned from a spruce grouse; eating poison ivy; folk names for regional plants & birds; and the inspiration for his latest book about bees.  Purchase Doug's books at Dougelliott.com Music by Doug Elliott"Oh Groundhog"Written & Performed by Doug Elliott"West Virginia"Written & Performed by Doug Elliott"Aint No Bugs on Me"Written & Performed by Doug Elliott"Wonderful to be be Alive"Written & Performed by Doug ElliottSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Luke Manget is an author, historian, and assistant professor of history at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. After a reading from an 1870’s newspaper about a strange race of beings known as “saugers,” we dive straight into the significance of ginseng on the American frontier [1780’s], specifically in southern Appalachia: Va, WV, NC. We get into such topics as: the commons vs private property; old world mandrake folklore; & deterring poachers with traps. Luke then describes the ginseng digger stereotype as perpetuated & mythologized by newspapers of the late 19th-century, opening a discussion about class in Appalachian society. For the last third of the episode we hear about the other roots and herbs that were dug for profit besides ginseng; the counter-medical-establishment herbalism movement of the 1800's; and lastly, newspaper accounts of The Wild Man of the Woods.Reading from Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia by Luke Manget. Check out Luke's site The Southern Highland where you can purchase his book, Ginseng Diggers. Music:"Ginseng Sullivan"Written by Norman BlakePerformed by Andy & Graham FerrellCourtesy of Old Home Place Recordings"Ginseng Blues"Written by the Kentucky RamblersPerformed by The Bird Family Band"Weary Blues"Traditional SongPerformed by Andy & Graham FerrellCourtesy of Old Home Place RecordingsSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Bobby Baranowski is a past life practitioner, author & former professional musician residing in Asheville, North Carolina. We begin this metaphysical trek in the mountains of "Sedona East" with its many vortexes; then dive headlong into Bobby's Asheville Past Lives Project in which he practices a non-hypnotic past life regression method called The Awareness Techniques. He walks us through the steps and speaks to one's emotional responses as the key to validate the imagery. Bobby shares his own visionary experiences with his "time awakening" and past and future lives, as a 29th-century south-westerner, an ancient monk, a cruel rich man and a shamanic drummer.  We explore the mystery of creativity and its ability to tell the future; and ask metaphysical questions like: Do we choose our incarnations? Have we ever been the perpetrator? Do we have a spiritual journey across many lifetimes? Does genealogy matter? Do the dead pass knowledge to the living? And so on, culminating in Bobby's most profound past-life story about a light being 30,000-years-ago.  Check out The Asheville Past Lives Project to book a sessionReading from Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives by Roger J. Woolger, Ph.D.Music by BAILE"The Lamb" (BAILE REMIX)Sampled Vocals by John Tavener & Music by BAILE"Magic"Written & Performed by BAILE"Confronting the Monster"Written & Performed by BAILE"I Loved You"Written & Performed by BAILE"Out of Sorts"Written & Performed by BAILESupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Eric "Mubita" Sheppard is a U.S. Air Force veteran, family historian, and the visionary founder of Mubita LLC in Williamsburg, Virginia. We open on Eric's early life in Baltimore and the events that led up to his spiritual genealogy quest, one in which he was guided to the slave narrative of an ancestor unbeknownst to him, Moses Grandy. Born into slavery in North Carolina, we hear of Moses' life [1786-1843]: working the canals in The Great Dismal Swamp; the nightmarish death of his brother; cruelties of slavery; and finally, buying his freedom. Eric tells of guiding trips to Lake Drummond to share this history with the likes of formerly incarcerated men. We end on Eric's profound trip to Zambia where he met the Litunga [king] of Barotseland & founded a partnership to connect descendants of American slavery - especially in Virginia - to their African heritage.  Check out Eric's mission at Mubita LLC.Reading from Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America.by Moses GrandySupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

William Balderson is the Director of Living History & Historic Trades at Jamestown Rediscovery [Historic Jamestowne] in Virginia. After readings from John Smith's accounts about Pocahontas, the local fauna & corn planting, our guest describes his singular life path as a career living historian. From there Willie illustrates the events leading up to the Jamestown expedition including the infamous Roanoke Lost Colony. On this deep dive, we learn of John Smith's life as a mercenary & slave prior to Jamestown; the Pocahontas legend; John White the 16th-century watercolorist of indigenous life in the Carolinas; Powhatan's eagerness for the technological advantages of trading with the English; and other tidbits from Smith's journals such as raccoon capes, birchbark canoes and a native deer hunting technique. We end this history lesson on a reflective note, as Willie describes the feeling of interpreting the past on the actual site where it took place. Plan your trip to Historic Jamestowne Readings from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, & the Summer Isles by Captain John Smith and The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614 edited by Ed Southern Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

David Givens is the Director of Archaeology at Jamestown Rediscovery [Historic Jamestowne] on the James River in the Tidewater region of Virginia. After a nightmarish reading of the trials of the early Jamestown colonists, we start at the beginning of an archaeological quest to find the lost 1607 fort; the first permanent English settlement in America, where the worlds of the English Empire & Powhatan Confederacy clashed, and the legends of John Smith & Pocahontas were born. After describing the rediscovery project, we head over land and water to Chief Powhatan's village, Werowocomoco, to hear of the indigenous preservation efforts underway. Then it's on to artifacts dug up over the decades: English pipes inspired by Native American design; foodways like iguanas and corn cobs found in middens & wells; glassworks; distilling & herbalism. For his story, David tells of his involvement in the disturbing discovery of colonial cannibalism dating back to a harrowing period called The Starving Time [1609-1610]. We end this epic episode on the first English-American wagon road and musings about reincarnation, the wheel of fortune, and Terrence Malick's film "The New World."Plan your trip to Historic JamestowneReading from The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614 edited by Ed SouthernMusic:"Daphne"Performed by The Telemann Society, Richard Schulze "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot"Performed by The Telemann Society, Richard Schulze Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Sissel Morken Gullord is a Scandinavian musician and singer living on a farm in Biri, Norway. We begin this enchanting musical episode by heading up to the saeter - the summer mountain farm - to hear the instruments, songs, and herding calls of the bygone milkmaids and shepherds, starting with the bukkehorn [goat horn]. Sissel describes how they're made and how livestock reacts to both the horn and a whimsical style of calling called kulning [or hujing in Norwegian]. We hear the blasting of a lur, a long wooden horn and followed by her commission by Disney. Opening up the more magical and sublime side of nature, Sissel tells a story about performing for hunters and foresters in which she spoke to them about the folkloric forest nymph known as Hulder and the accompanying huldra-folk [elves]. We wrap up this slice of Norwegian culture on folk song motifs, the nation's famous brown cheese, and bunad [the traditional rural clothing from the 1700-1800's].  Check out more of Sissel's music on Spotify & YouTube. Reading from Folktales of Norway edited by Reidar ChristiansenReference images:- Hans Dahl romantic milkmaid painting- Example of a traditional Norwegian home interior decorated with rosemaling- 2nd Example of folk paintings on walls of home- Norwegian woman playing the lur - Bunad traditional clothing Music by:"Kulokk - Call On The Cattle"Performed by Sissel Morken Gullord"Kråkevisa"Performed by Sissel Morken Gullord"Lokker geitebukker med bukkehorn"Performed by Sissel Morken Gullord"Bukkehorn & Hujing"Performed by Sissel Morken Gullord"Huldrelokk"Written & performed by Saga Sjöberg "Till, till Tove"Performed by Sissel Morken Gullord"Den Bakvendte Visa"Performed by Sissel Morken GullordSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts,