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Mysterious nighttime lights near Brown Mountain in North Carolina''s Pisgah National Forest have intrigued locals and visitors for more than a century. The result of a three year investigation, this book identifies both manmade and natural light sources--including some unexpected ones--behind North Carolina''s most famous ghost story. History, science and human nature are each found to play a role in the understanding and interpretation of the lights people see.

In this first historically comprehensive book on Lost Cove, North Carolina, the author paints a portrait of an isolated yet thriving settlement that survived for almost one hundred years. From its founding before the Civil War to the town's ultimate decline, Lost Cove's history is an in-depth account of family life and kinship in isolation.

Wayne Howard has lived an exceptionally creative life. This biography follows the threads of music and folklore through Howard's life, celebrating his knowledge of the songs and songsters that does much to sustain the interest of those who seek out Appalachian tunes, songs, and stories.

The Highland Summer Writing Conference (HSC) brings together and inspires writers as they participate in the communal art of creating and sharing. This book, a celebration of the HSC, is a collection of reflective essays, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction contributed by 41 authors who have taken part in the conference.

Tommy Thompson was a banjo player, writer, actor, teacher and thinker. Using interviews and writings from Thompson and his loved ones, the author presents to us a life that revolved around music and creativity. Included are appendices on Thompson's banjos, a discography and notes on his collaborative lyric writing.

Native Americans have occupied the mountains of northwestern North Carolina for around 14,000 years. This book tells the story of their lives, adaptations, responses to climate change, and ultimately, the devastation brought on by encounters with Europeans.

Stories from doctors, nurses, and therapists dealing on a daily basis with the opioid crisis in Appalachia should be heartbreaking. Yet those told here also inspire with practical advice on how to assist those in addiction, from a grass-roots to a policy level.

Identifies reasons behind Owsley County's ongoing struggle with poverty, including the county's lack of natural resources, and a centralized socio-political power structure controlled by the elite. This study asserts that Owsley County's economic hardships are representative of a number of similarly-stricken Appalachian counties and towns.

This work carefully examines Trivett's life and photographs, comparing his work to that of contemporary outside photographers. Through Trivett's imagery we can see the everyday reality for most people in rural Appalachia.

Junaluska is one of the oldest African American communities in western North Carolina and one of the few that has persisted into the modern era. These life history narratives adapted from interviews with residents (born between 1885 and 1993) offer a people's history of the black experience in the southern mountains.

Wayne Henderson calls Albert Hash "a real folk hero". A fiddler from the Blue Ridge, Hash built more than 300 fiddles, recorded with a variety of bands and inspired countless instrument makers and musicians. His biography is the story of a resourceful, humble man who dedicated his life to his art, community and Appalachian musical heritage.

Mills Higgins Flack, a leader of the Farmers' Alliance and Rutherford County's first Populist in the state House, was murdered on August 28, 1900, by Avery Mills, an African American. This work documents the murder and lynching of Avery Mills.

Appalachian literature has no small share of silent or non-discursive characters, though the reasons for their wordlessness vary. They capture the reader's attention by what they don't say. This collection of new essays analyses characters who are unable or unwilling to communicate orally, whose lack of voice conveys physical, mental or social hindrance.

Born on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation in Roanoke County, Virginia, Richard L. Davis moved to Rendville, Ohio in 1882 where he became a checkweighman and early mine labor organiser. On January 22, 1890, he was one of only two African Americans who attended the founding convention of the United Mine Workers of America in Columbus, Ohio.

Dwight Hamilton Diller is a musician from West Virginia devoted to traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, and a seminary-trained minister steeped in local Christian traditions. For the past 40 years, he has worked to preserve archaic fiddle and banjo tunes. This book tells of Diller's life and music, his personal challenges and his decades of teaching an elusive musical form.

Few career opportunities were available to minority women in Appalachia in the first half of the 20th century. Nursing offered them a respected, relatively well paid profession and--as few physicians or hospitals would treat people of color--their work was important in challenging health care inequities in the region. Working in both modern surgical suites and tumble-down cabins, these women created unprecedented networks of care, managed nursing schools and built professional nursing organizations while navigating discrimination in the workplace. Focusing on the careers and contributions of dozens of African American and Eastern Band Cherokee registered nurses, this first comprehensive study of minority nurses in Appalachia documents the quality of health care for minorities in the region during the Jim Crow era. Racial segregation in health care and education and state and federal policies affecting health care for Native Americans are examined in depth.

The Appalachian region of the United States sees hunger, poverty, disability, preventable illness and premature death in disproportionally high numbers. Yet, Appalachia also knows the quiet strength of people working together to lift one another up as a community. In this collection of essays, health professionals explore how clinics and communities address the barriers to healthcare that continue to plague this underserved region and discuss theoretical perspectives about Appalachian healthcare. Topics include regional dental care, cancer and diabetes treatment, the integration of primary care and behavioral health, telehealth, the importance of "patient responsibility," and the effects of faith, fatalism and family dynamics on the health of Appalachian youth. Avoiding simplification and stereotype while presenting data, analysis and anecdotes, this volume gives a detailed picture of Appalachia's complex and multi-faceted public health challenges. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Explores the various ways that social, economic, and cultural factors influence the identities and educational aspirations of rural working-class Appalachian learners. The objectives are to highlight the cultural obstacles that impact the intellectual development of such students and to address how these cultural roadblocks make transitioning into college difficult.

How could the peace and quiet of Ashe County, North Carolina turn into a nightmare of crime and drugs, and the old copper mine itself become a dumping ground for the dead? Murder, drugs, prostitution and gangs come together in the history of the Ore Knob Mine. A small Appalachian community became the heart of a vicious drug ring ruled by the Outlaws motorcycle gang from Chicago. This book provides the full story.

Helps you understand various facets of James Still's literary voice and vision. This book collects transcribed versions of interviews and oral histories conducted by James Still.

Asheville, North Carolina, grew from humble beginnings as a hamlet for local livestock handlers to become one of the most culturally and artistically diverse cities in the South. This book is the history of Asheville, complete with an array of photographs.

Best known as the author of the acclaimed novel ""River of Earth"" (1940), Alabama native James Still is one of the most critically acclaimed writers of Appalachian literature. This volume contains essays exploring Still's literary work, with chapters devoted to his short stories, poetry, folkloric writings, and writings for children.

A biography of Appalachian author, John Fox Jr. It draws from personal and family correspondence and covers his entire life, from his birth in Stony Point, Kentucky, in 1862, to his death from pneumonia in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, in 1919.

The Ravenscroft School, an Episcopal boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina, 1856 to 1901, had three distinct phases. It was first a ""Classical and Theological School"" (1856-1864) and then, following the Civil War, a Theological Training School and Associate Mission (1868-1900); in 1887 it split into two departments, a Theological Training School/Associate Mission and Ravenscroft High School for Boys (1887-1901). The purview of this book is from the early days of Asheville (1820s) to the building of Joseph Osborne's mansion in the 1840s (which would eventually house the school), through the years of the school's operation, and thence to the mid-20th century when the campus buildings were sold and repurposed. The book concludes with the efforts by historic preservationists in the late 1970s to save the few remaining buildings. The book includes biographical notes on notable alumni and histories of the churches established by the Ravenscroft Associate Mission and Training School.