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Appalachian Murder, Mystery And Legend · Larry Bentley

The Ghouls Of Old Rag Mountain

·16 min·1 clip
The state's eugenics board treated the Harlow clan like livestock, tricking women into forced sterilization during fake appendectomies.
Host Larry Bentley delves into the dark legend of the Harlow clan, an isolated family in Virginia's Old Rag Mountain known for extreme inbreeding. The story explores the resulting physical traits, the Virginia government's brutal eugenics and forced sterilization campaign against them, their forced removal for Shenandoah National Park, and the local folklore that evolved—claiming some descendants became pale, cave-dwelling 'ghouls' who still haunt the mountain.

As heard by us

A mountain legend where hidden silver, family ghosts, and state cruelty move along the same trail.

Old Rag Mountain becomes a crossroads for Appalachian folklore, family memory, and forced sterilization in this episode of Appalachian Murder, Mystery And Legend.

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Why you'd press play

You want an Appalachian mountain legend where hidden treasure sits beside a brutal history of forced sterilization.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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