My step-mother is from Eastern Kentucky, and always told me the best ghost stories when I was growing up. I thought I might share them, these stories, to me, are like family heirlooms.

in 1938 my mom was 1year hold. Her older sister Janice was 3. They lived in a small house in Harveyton, a coal camp in Easter Kentucky right next to the Blue Diamond Mine. Often times her mother, who everyone called "momma" would get up in the night because she would hear toddler's footsteps running across the wood floor. The house was very small, two or three rooms, and thin walled. Momma thought it was Janice getting up in the night, but when she would look, both Janice and baby Gwinna would be fast asleep. They heard these little footsteps all the time they were living in the house. Now, this house had no running water, you had to draw water and keep it in a bucket. If you wanted a drink in the night, there was a bucket by the door with a dipper in it. One night Momma got up and got a drink, she opened the door to toss out what was left in the dipper. There on the porch, in the middle of the night, stood a coal miner. Now, Momma was not afraid of anything. She was 5'2" of pure dynamite, a real tough little lady. She demanded to know what he was doing on her porch. He didnt speak, and so she dashed the dipper of water at him. It went right through him and landed on the wood porch. He turned and walked away, and she followed him (told you she was brave). He walked across the camp and right into a coal bank and dissappeared.

Another story my mom always tells is the one about Uncle Matt's mule. It was the early 30's, and her uncle Matt Spencer had gone to a dance in Jackson, Kentucky. He was riding his mule back home at night along the trail. The trail had a high bank, and standing on the bank was a girl. She didnt speak, but hopped on the back of the mule. Uncle Matt just figured she needed a ride. The mule kind of grunted when she jumped up, and unvle Matt noticed it was kind of dragging in the back end a bit, like it was having trouble. a little ways down the road, the girl hopped off and dissappeared into the woods. He just figured she was near home. The mule still seemed draggy in the back end, and Matt took him home and put him up. When he came out the next morning, the mule was dead. He never did see that girl again. Uncle Coy, Matt's brother decided to play a trick on Matt, because he had heard the story and thought it was funny. So one day Matt was walking through the woods and uncle Coy jumped out to scare him. Uncle Matt freaked out and hit Coy on the back with a lantern he was carrying and set Coy on fire. Moral of this story... Dont scare someone who has just seen a ghost (or a real heavy, mule killing girl).

And finally... this one is funny, and goes to show you can scare yourself if you arent careful. When my mom was younger and living in Harveyton, they lived in a place called Dead Man's Holler (there is a set up for you), she was sleeping one night, and right about before dawn she woke to a woman standing at the foot of her bed. She tried to speak to her, but the woman didnt talk, just turned and walked out of the room and dissappeared. In the morning my mom told everyone she had seen a ghost. Of course everyone said "no you didnt ." She kept insisting, and finally got everyone believing it, and they were all spooked and talked about it all night long... the next day, some folks from the camp found my mom's "ghost." She was hung up in a fence at the top of the hill. She was a mentally ill woman who would often wander into people's houses and all around the area!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I and my family have everytime my mom and Aunt Jan tell them. 

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