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slash Spotify. T's and C's apply. Southern Gothic is a podcast that explores the history behind some of the American South's darkest days,

greatest mysteries, and most chilling ghost stories. Y'all, today we are going to flip the script and do something a little bit different.

You see, back when I started Southern Gothic, I had three guiding principles that, I mean, they've evolved a little over the years, but they've really become this metric by which I measure all the topics that we decide on for the show.

And, you know, the first one was that Southern Gothic was designed to essentially be like a ghost tour, you know, tell the stories of places all

over the South that, you know, most people aren't ever going to get to go to. And the reason that

was important to me was that I wanted to show the power of place. I wanted to highlight different

historic buildings and structures and cemeteries, places that I just think are awesome. And I wanted to

do it through storytelling and sound design that would really help transport you specifically to

that location in your mind, make you feel like you're there without actually having to be out in the

humidity for it.

And whether we've done that, well, I'll let you decide.

But second, I wanted the overall vibe of the show to live or die by this one line.

Okay, you're ready?

Let me tell you a story that someone's mama told him growing up, and then we'll explore the history around it and take a look under the hood

to see what's really going on there. That was the line. That was my elevator pitch in some ways at

first, and again, it's changed a little, but just good old-fashioned storytelling. That's what I wanted

to do with some veggies mixed in for good measure. It's haunted history. It's a history

...