Strange Bluegrass
In Kentucky, you'll find that we're a different kind of people, that it's a different kind of place. Join S.B. Pearce as she travels around the state to bring you our strangest tales, claims to fame, and other unique facts about the quirky Bluegrass. You can find it on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, and Stitcher. Check out pictures, vids and more on the Strange Bluegrass Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.
Episode 1: There's Magic In Them There Hills!
Sorcery, illusion, sleight of hand and trickery. Whatever you call it, there’s no doubt that most folks love a great parlor trick. But did you know that Kentucky has a uniquely strong connection to the world of magic? From corn chips to Vegas, we seem to be able to conjure up all kinds of hocus pocus, including a 135 year old disappearing act.
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Episode 2: It's Bloody Awful
Xenophobia and yellow journalism prevail in the mid-nineteenth century Louisville. The advertising sucked too. Join author S.B. Pearce as she explores a deadly riot in 1855.
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Episode 3: Kentucky Fried Dinner Party
The internet has a few strange things to say about Kentucky foods so we set out to eat the things that Google says we consume plus the things we actually do love to nosh. Join S.B. Pearce and a bunch of her most favorite people as they plow their way through a smorgasbord of dishes and signature drinks.
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Episode 4: Sutton Farm Visitors
Join S.B Pearce as she and her sister delve into the famous event from 1955 when the Suttons were terrorized by visitors, both of the extraterrestrial and of the human kind. They also sample the delights of the festival now held to commemorate that fateful night in Kelly, Kentucky. Nanu-Nanu, strangers!
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Episode 5: Hubba Hubba!
While combing through the internet, S.B. discovered that one of the most successful pin-up models of the 40's and 50's was born right here in Kentucky. Learn all about this mid-century wildcat and her treasure.
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Episode 6: NBK - The Prequel
Kentucky just so happens to be where America's first serial killers wreaked their worst carnage. They were so bad, that even other hardened criminals didn't want anything to do with them. Join S.B. Pearce as she pieces together the myriad of information that's out there on these brother/cousins.
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Episode 7: Tinderbox Circus Sideshow
Tinderbox Circus Sideshow is one of the last ten-in-one traveling sideshow acts in the country...and they are from right here in the bluegrass state. S.B. Pearce and her most beloved cohort attended their show on Sunday, September 8th at Cosmic Charlie's in Lexington. They were blown away by the raucous, the bawdy, the sexy and the strange the entire night. Hear them chat about the antics of Captain Darron on Awesome, Trashique, and Devereaux Dollface plus a little Kentucky sideshow history to boot! Click the image to listen on Spotify.
Episode 8: Sprinkle Some Silver On Me
The world's greatest "counterfeiter" was from Lewis County, Kentucky. Find out about this strange case that even defied federal authorities. S.B. even shares her questionable singing voice about it.
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Episode 9: Those Kentucky Gems
Arnold Philip and John Slack of Elizabethtown, Kentucky hold the honor of pulling the biggest hoax back in 1872, proving once again, that you should never underestimate a Kentuckian.
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Episode 10: In the Bedroom
For the month of October, S.B. is exploring true paranormal stories of the Bluegrass. Hear her personal story of an event that happened near Soldier, KY.
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Episode 11: Lay Across My Big Brass Bed
Spiritual attachment to objects isn't a new concept. Ghostly encounters can come from many places...and many things. It seems that almost everybody has heard of Annabel, the haunted vessel that was found by Ed and Lorraine Warren. These stories of soul object seem hard to believe...until you experience it yourself. Listen to S.B. Peace interview her parents about a particular object that held more than they bargained for.
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Episode 12: Pancakes, Cornbread, & Modeling
Instead of eight degrees of separation, it's eight degrees of Kentuckiation, the state where everything seems to be connected in some weird way. Like pancakes and the abolition of slavery. Join S.B. Pearce to find out how they are all related.
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Episode 13: Saved By The Bell
This ominous phrase may mean a little something more in the Bluegrass state. Join S.B. Peace as she explores a more macabre side of Kentucky. Be careful where you explore, you might accidentally dig something up.
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Episode 14: Cuz Ya Gotta Have Faith Faith Faith - Ah!
Kentucky has a unique way of keeping the faith that is often made fun by other states. How did our churches become the way they are? S.B. Pearce delves into the history of religion in the bluegrass state and how many of our current practices came to be. She also talks about our unique importance in the spread of certain practices to the rest of the nation.
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Episode 15: Cuz Ya Gotta Have Faith Faith Faith - Ah! Part 2
Part two of the exploration of faith and religion in the Bluegrass state. Join S.B. Pearce as she covers the establishment of two more major religions in Kentucky plus several that were formed by actual Kentucky natives.
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Episode 16: 21 Titty 22 Titty
Join S.B. Pearce as she explores the dubious claims of the requirements for women to attend school in 1838. Could we really not use our tits to continue counting after we ran out of fingers and toes?
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Episode 17: Buried With The Monkey
Hot topics are all abuzz in the Bluegrass state and have been since the 1920s. Join S.B. Pearce as she looks to Kentucky's connection to the anti-evolution sentiment in the U.S., a man that wished to be buried with his monkey, and Darwin Award winners.
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Episode 18: Bear With Me
Listen to the tale of a Lexington big shot turned cop turned major drug dealer and how he inadvertently killed an innocent bear. That bear is about to go down in Hollywood history to boot.
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Episode 19: This Ain't About Moonshine
Join S.B. Pearce as she explores sensational stories of lightning strikes and fatalities in the Bluegrass State. From lightning portraits to livestock, lightning plays a frightening role in our every day lives. It's just weird how much it happens in Kentucky.
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Episode 20: Don't Be Coy
Join S.B. Pearce as she explores the life and times of a notorious Kentuckian that worked his way to Alcatraz Prison and what he did once he got there.
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Episode 21: Wine, Chapels, and Little People
Join S.B. Pearce as she road trips through Kentucky with a friend to visit what was once the tiniest church in the world and to check out a mysterious place the supposedly was sized for little people. You'll be surprised at the long historical reach of the chapel.
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Episode 22: Mushrooms & Satan
S.B. Pearce and her sister Carla go on a field trip to a place the invoked fear and intrigue their entire childhoods. Although many may be familiar with the basic history of the "mushroom mines" in Lawton, Kentucky, S.B. managed to dig up a pretty major lost detail about the place that is highly unusual. Join them as they explore the mines on foot and talk about the history and the urban legends or myths that surround this often feared location.
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Episode 23: It Wasn't Jacob Cooley's
Stories abound across the internet of the famous Jacob Cooley's chest, a furniture that carries an evil curse that plagued a Kentucky family for over a hundred years. S.B Pearce and her husband, William, set off on a road trip to look at this nefarious home furnishing as they discover more details that truly bring the story full circle. In a a surprise twist, it wasn't Jacob Cooley's chest after all. It was Moses Graham's, as researched by Virginia Cleveland's grand-daughter: Beverly Kienzle, PhD of the Harvard Divinity School at Harvard University. Sounds like the curse was not just a short story but a real haunting as experienced by generations of the same family.
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Episode 24: Kentucky Highlands
Join S.B. Pearce as she travels to Emminence, KY to explore the only permanent Renaissance Festival in the state. Hear interviews, music, medieval fighting and more from her excursion that took her back in time to 1320. You might be surprised at some of the information she shares!
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Episode 25: Akashic Awareness
This time, S.B. and her sister head to Elizabethtown in Hardin County to visit an unusual store called Akashic Awareness owned by Mark and Shelly James. Check out their in depth interview with Mark that dives deep into the concept of Akashic Records, religious history, science, quantum physics and more! Bonus! S.B. participates in a PEMF session and both have their aura's read. What their biofeedback reveals is fairly accurate!
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Episode 26: Reviving the Corpse
Inspired by the book "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs and Other Questions About Dead Bodies" by author and Ask A Mortician YouTube personality, Caitlin Doughty, S.B. takes a closer look at Kentucky's corpse laws and how some folks just don't give a damn about respecting the dead.
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Episode 27: Let Them Come!
Join S.B. Pearce as she explores the life and times of Mary Ann Haney, a Caldwell County woman who rose to international fame in the 1920s during the heyday of circus entertainment. Mabel Stark was her stage name and she was the ultimate master and trainer of the Sumatran tiger. She was also the first woman to receive top billing and superstar status as a wild animal trainer.
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Episode 28: The Halloween Sessions Part 1
Kentucky has always had more than its fair share of paranormal happenings but unbeknownst to eight year old S.B., she was about to experience her first...before she even knew what a haunting was.
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Episode 29: The Halloween Sessions Part 2
Some folks have the kind of openness that allows them to experience many different kinds of paranormal or supernatural activity throughout their lives. Brandi is one of those gifted people. Join S.B. as she talks with a dear friend about their many encounters in Kentucky.
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Episode 30: The Halloween Sessions Part 3
Hospitals and care facilities are no strangers to death. Hear what happens when those who have passed on can't seem to find their way out. Join S.B. Pearce as she chats with her sister Carla about the things she has encountered when those residents do more than die in the hallowed halls of healing. Bonus! Carla also shares a couple of her personal experiences from their childhood and together they make a Cryptid connection.
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Episode 31: The Halloween Sessions Part 4
Hear what happens when a very gifted boy in California moves into the family dream house...is it really as wonderful as it seems? Follow him on his journey to Kentucky where he gets a warm welcome from the Bluegrass state's most peculiar residents.
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Episode 32: The Halloween Sessions Part 5
S.B. shares the strange happenings that surrounded her family in their Louisiana home before they finally decided to return to Kentucky. Even her husband was convinced that something was wrong in that house.
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Episode 33: Yes, it's aliens! No, it isn't!
Inspired by comic Corey Ryan Forrester and the recent announcement by the United States government regarding Unidentified Flying Objects, S.B. Pearce was inspired to dive into the phenomena of crop circles in Kentucky. Na-nu, na-nu, y'all!
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Episode 34: The Things That Burn
Where there is smoke, there is often fire, but what if you live somewhere with misty mountain tops? Join S.B. Pearce as she explores the underground coal fires of Kentucky. As it turns out, hell is just a short car ride from here.
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Episode 35: Silent Night
Today marks the 140th anniversary of the worst Christmas Eve tragedy that has occurred in Kentucky. Join S.B. Pearce as she shares the tale of murder, arson, mobs and vigilante justice that rocked the Bluegrass state in the late nineteenth century.
*Sorry for the thumping sounds - kids are home for winter break.
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Episode 36: It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's A Balloon?
An incident that occurred in Franklin, Kentucky in January 1948 was pivotal in the creation of Project Bluebook - a major government study of unidentified fling objects. Join S.B. Pearce as she explores this unique connection to the UFO mania that seized the nation.
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Episode 37: The Sweetest Gal
A happenchance post by her friend, Heather G. brought an amazing character to S.B.'s attention. Her love of dance urged her to do as deep of a dive as is possible for this particular sweet gal from Cloverport.
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Episode 38: A Noble, Nobel, Endeavor
Kentucky has always made significant contributions to the world that progress humanity or community, we just aren't always given credit where credit is due. However, a few notable scientists were certainly credited with the highest honor possibe in the world. Join S.B. Pearce as she explores Kentucky Nobel Laureates.
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Episode 39: Kentucky Meat Rain
We've all heard the phrase "It's raining cats and dogs" and the song "It's Raining Men"is an iconic dance classic. Water spouts can make it rain fish and there was once a blood rain in Tennessee. Have you ever heard of the time it rained meat in Kentucky? Join S.B. Pearce as she interviews Kurt Gohde, the Kentucky Meat Rain Expert. I don't think these folks were stepping on a poodle.
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Episode 40: Apple Valley Hillbilly Gardens & Toyland
I love a good pun. I also groan but giggle at corny dad jokes. Join me at the Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland in Calvert City, Kentucky where I received the coolest tour ever by the super talented proprietor, Keith Holt. Additional images and video footage will be posted to the Strange Bluegrass social media pages.
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Episode 41: Between A Rock And A Hard Place
S.B. Pearce just learned that the state gemstone is the fresh water pearl...or is it? Join her as she discovers something really odd about a few of our state's strange official designations.
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Episode 42: Don't Tell Me What To Do
Join S.B. Pearce as she explores the history of book banning in the Bluegrass State and the challenges facing our Public Library system due to the passing of SB 167.
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