The Talking Appalachian Podcast
Talking Appalachian is a podcast about the Appalachian Mountain region's language or "voiceplaces," cultures, and communities. The podcast is hosted by Dr. Amy Clark, a Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The podcast is based on her 2013 co-edited book Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community. Her writing on Appalachia has appeared in the New York Times, Oxford American Magazine, Salon.com, on NPR, and Harvard University Press blog. She is also founder and director of the Appalachian Writing Project, which serves teachers, students, and the communities of the central Appalachian region.
The Talking Appalachian Podcast
The Haunting of Bertha Sybert
What did you think of this episode?
The Legend of Bouncing Bertha was a story I heard straight from an eyewitness several years before he passed away, but I'd heard about little Bertha my whole life as a ghost tale, told and retold at spooky season. What made this Depression-era Appalachian ghost tale so scary was that by all accounts it was true. Years later, I researched and wrote about her, collecting photos and interviewing her cousin, Ralph, who went to school with Bertha and lived nearby. He recounted seeing the events you'll hear about in this episode....events so ghastly, no other family wanted to talk about them. News of her haunting spread worldwide, making her a child celebrity for a short period of time. Listen and decide for yourself: hoax or haunted?
Original article published by Amy Clark in Blue Ridge Country Magazine
Photo by: Virgil Wacks courtesy of son Stephen Wacks
Music from Just Off the Wilderness Road
*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support us on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Paypal to support the show: @amyclarkspain
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: aclark@virginia.edu or message me at the link here or on social.
Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain
