Episode 162: Vanished in the Smokies - The Mysterious Disappearance of Polly Melton

Once a thriving community along the Natchez Trace, Rocky Springs, Mississippi, has nearly vanished into the woods. An old brick church, a cemetery, and a handful of remnants are all that remain of a town once home to thousands. In Part Three of The Devil's Road, Southern Mysteries explores the forgotten history and haunting legends of one of Mississippi's most intriguing ghost towns. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources

In the early 1800s, travelers carrying money north from Natchez became targets for highway robbers along the isolated Natchez Trace.In Part Two of The Devil’s Road, Southern Mysteries follows Samuel Mason and Joseph Thompson Hare, two notorious land pirates whose robberies, violence and encounters with the law helped shape the road’s dangerous reputation. Mason’s story ends in mystery, while Hare’s own confession reveals how he preyed on unsuspecting travelers. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources

Today, the Natchez Trace Parkway is a peaceful road through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. But the old Trace was once known as the Devil’s Backbone, a dangerous route marked by robbery, murder and stories that became legend. In The Devil’s Road, a four-part October series, Southern Mysteries explores the darker history and folklore of the Natchez Trace. Part One begins at ancient Native American mound sites along the route and at Pharr Mounds in northern Mississippi, where a brutal murder in 1992 brought a much more recent story to this ancient landscape. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources

In February 1972, Bryce, Virginia and Bobby Durham were found murdered in their Boone, North Carolina, home during a heavy snowstorm. Within months, four men were charged and two were eventually indicted for murder, but the case against them collapsed. Nearly fifty years later, a story remembered by the son of a Georgia criminal led investigators to four entirely different men and an unexpected explanation for what happened that night. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Instagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources

In this updated and remastered Southern Mysteries Classic, we revisit the strange disappearance of Connie Franklin and the mystery of the man who returned from the dead. In 1929, five men in Stone County, Arkansas, were charged with the murder of Franklin, a drifter who had vanished from the Ozarks. A teenage girl said he had been brutally attacked and his body burned in the woods, and investigators believed they had found his charred remains. Then, just days before the murder trial began, a man appeared claiming to be Connie Franklin. The bizarre case drew reporters from across the country and became known as the Arkansas Ghost Trial. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Episode Sources