Have you seen the horror movie where the three teenagers go someplace they’ve heard is extremely haunted, at night, and then encounter these inexplicable, paranormal events so bizarre that you wonder if they’ll make it out alive?

What if that isn’t just a movie? Listen to this episode to hear the real-life paranormal tale of the hauntings at Abbotts Creek.

How long would you last in such a place?

For Clarence Carter, that all-too-familiar horror movie trope became a reality when he and his friends wandered into the haunted woods around Abbotts Creek. At night. After someone’s Dad told them the place was freakishly haunted. What he encountered (including hellhounds!) terrified him and his friends, so much so that years passed before he could talk about it. Lucky for us, he was willing to sit down and chat about his real life paranormal experiences with us. Listen now to hear his strange tale.

Episode Show Notes

About Clarence Carter

Our guest this episode is a podcaster and an author, and he uses his storytelling gifts to keep us on the edge of our seat as he tells us his horrifying, real paranormal experiences from his time in North Carolina.

Want to hear more from Clarence? Be sure to check out his podcast, The Writers Block, where he discusses writing and storytelling.

You can also purchase his latest book, No Honor Among Thieves, at Amazon. And, if you just want to get to know the guy, be sure to follow his Facebook page.

But wait, hellhounds?

Were those hellhounds Clarence saw, walking like sentries across the silent bridge? And what were they protecting? Because, when you listen to the episode, you’ll note that it really does seem like they’re protecting something.

Long before the Christian notion of Hell, different mythologies spoke of a dog or dog-like beast that would guard the entrance to the Underworld. Cerberus, bearing three heads, stood sentry at the mouth of Hades, and Cŵn Annwn, the hounds of the ancient Welsh Annwn, or land of the dead, would help guide souls to the the other side.

The American South also has its slew of legends about large black dogs that roam the countryside, though many of these legends show these beasts as ominous creatures that attack travelers and others wandering alone at night. A notable exception is the legend of Long Dog, a story I grew up with in east Tennessee. Long Dog has been sighted for over 150 years along the highway of Surgoinsville, Tennessee, and means no harm to the people who see him. Long Dog is just looking for the family he tried to protect the night the highwayman John Murrell killed them all.

Can ghosts be animals?

One of our goals for this season is to feature more stories of non-human, animal ghosts. So far, we did see a manifestation of a cat in Episode 15. Stay tuned for more stories this season because, yes, the animal ghosts are coming!

Until next time, have a spooky day!