WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.819 They say the Devil's house still stands, though 00:00:03.819 --> 00:00:07.879 the road to it's almost forgotten. Hidden deep 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.400 in the woods off Highway 89 in Estill County, 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:14.039 there's a place where even the bravest won't 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:17.960 linger past sundown. Folks claim it ain't just 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:21.719 haunted, it's cursed. The kind of place where 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:24.539 your skin crawls and the silence watches you. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:29.960 And tonight, we're taking y 'all there. Welcome 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:34.399 to Kentucky Melody, where every whisper has a 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.100 past, and every path leads somewhere you shouldn't 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:44.740 be. Just off Highway 89, down a gravel path called 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:48.560 Drowning Creek Road, there's a rusted gate that 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.399 blocks off what remains of a narrow trail through 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:55.579 thick brush and shadow. If you hike far enough 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:59.259 in, past where the trees seem to lean in a little 00:00:59.259 --> 00:01:04.000 too close. You'll find it. A decaying two -story 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.099 farmhouse, barely holding itself up. The boards 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:11.299 are sun -bleached and split, the windows are 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:14.659 black as pitch, and even the birds go quiet when 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:18.079 you step near the porch. It's about 10 miles 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.060 south of Irvine, out where cell phones quit working 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:25.099 and the only sound is the wind. And maybe something 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:29.950 else. The house that locals now call the Devil's 00:01:29.950 --> 00:01:33.230 House wasn't always shrouded in whispers and 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:37.250 rot. Back in the early 1900s, it was a modest 00:01:37.250 --> 00:01:40.810 homestead on the edge of civilization, nestled 00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:43.689 deep in the hills off what's now Drowning Creek 00:01:43.689 --> 00:01:47.590 Road. Folks said the family that built it, the 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:51.629 Wade's, were quiet, God -fearing people, kept 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:55.200 to themselves, didn't cause trouble, didn't seek 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.180 it either. But sometimes trouble finds its own 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:03.239 way in. After a suspicious fire claimed the family's 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.680 barn, and with it the lives of Thomas and Mary 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:10.259 Wade, the land passed down to their two sons, 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.159 Eli and Nathaniel. That's when the dark started 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:19.280 settling in. Neighbors, few and far between out 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.460 that way, said the brothers were never quite 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.479 right after the fire. Something changed in Eli. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:29.319 He quit church, started muttering to himself, 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:33.659 kept to the woods at night. His eyes took on 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:37.219 a hollow, mean look, like a man seeing something 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:41.060 the rest of us couldn't. Nathaniel tried to hold 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.719 the place together, but you could tell the house 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.300 had turned sour. Even the animals were restless. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:52.199 Dogs howled at nothing. Crows perched on the 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:56.460 roof and just stared. Then came the screams. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.500 One cold autumn night, two sharp cracks echoed 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:04.740 through the valley like thunder that didn't belong 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:08.840 to no storm. When a neighbor hiked out the next 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.219 morning to check on the Wade place, what he found 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:16.639 was a nightmare burned into county memory. Nathaniel 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:20.159 Wade was laying in the parlor. shot clean through 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.939 the head. Blood had pooled under his chair and 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:27.280 soaked into the floorboards. Eli was sitting 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:31.020 across from him, eyes wide open and glazed over, 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.780 his own shotgun resting limp in his lap, like 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.360 he'd just handed himself over to whatever horror 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.840 lived in that house. But it wasn't just the bodies 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:47.819 that chilled folks, it was the walls, symbols. 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:52.379 Carvings. Strange spiral -like sigils etched 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:55.879 deep into the wooden beams. Some were crude, 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:59.580 others intricate, like notches from a language 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:02.960 long dead. No one could say what they meant. 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:06.520 One preacher said it looked like a gate that 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:10.039 had been opened and never shut. The sheriff called 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:14.439 it suicide and moved on fast. Too fast, some 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:18.189 said. An old woman from nearby Spout Springs 00:04:18.189 --> 00:04:21.290 claimed Eli had been reading from a book bound 00:04:21.290 --> 00:04:25.350 in deer hide, filled with rites older than Christianity, 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:29.230 some kind of Appalachian occultism passed down 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:33.569 in secret. She said she warned him, said she 00:04:33.569 --> 00:04:35.850 saw him walking barefoot through the woods at 00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:39.050 night, drawing circles in the dirt, chanting 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:43.629 under his breath. After that night, no one wanted 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:47.459 the land. No one touched the house. The vines 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:51.660 took over, the roof started to sag, but the carvans, 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.079 they never faded. And the smell? Folks who get 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:00.560 too close say they catch it, sulfur and rot, 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:03.699 like something that's been left to fester underground. 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.699 They started calling it the Devil's House, and 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:10.540 if you ever do manage to find your way down that 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:14.000 twisted trail and stand on that warped porch, 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:18.600 Listen close. You might still hear them. The 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.040 screams, the shots, or the scratching of something 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:26.480 carving from the inside. Over the years, the 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.819 Devil's House has drawn all kinds. Ghost hunters, 00:05:30.139 --> 00:05:33.060 skeptics, thrill seekers, and the occasional 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:37.060 brave hiker with more guts than good sense. Most 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:40.899 don't make it past sunset. Some never even make 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:44.920 it to the porch. Those that do... They come back 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.759 shaking, some come back crying, and some, they 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.680 just don't talk about it at all. Here's what's 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.660 been whispered around town, passed from porch 00:05:55.660 --> 00:06:01.500 to porch, each story colder than the last. Shadow 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:04.420 figures have been seen shifting behind the busted 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:08.879 windows upstairs, moving smooth and slow, despite 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.620 there being no floor left for anything to stand 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:17.800 on. just rotted beams and black emptiness. There's 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:22.560 a voice, deep, gravelly, not human. Folks say 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:25.720 it calls them by a name, even if they ain't never 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:29.680 been there before. It don't shout, it whispers 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:33.480 like it's already inside their ear. One woman 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.100 said it sounded like her daddy, but he'd been 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:42.819 dead 20 years. One fella A local from over in 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:45.920 Furness swore on a stack of Bibles he heard a 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:49.779 gunshot ring out inside the house. Said he felt 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:53.600 something warm hit his face, a mist like blood 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:56.980 spray. He turned on his light, heart pounding, 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:01.079 but his skin was dry, only to look down and see 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.620 the floor slick and glistening beneath him. He 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:08.079 ran out screaming, didn't even stop to grab his 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:13.100 boots. Others report eyes, glowing, red -orange, 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.319 burning from the tree line. Not animal eyes either, 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:21.259 higher up than a man, blinking slow, watching, 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.560 waiting. And while they stand there frozen, they 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.939 feel the pressure, like the air's thick, like 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:31.759 their chest is being crushed, like something's 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.060 trying to drag their soul out through their skin 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:39.319 and pull it inside that house. And always. Always 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:45.199 there's that smell, sulfur, smoke, and rot. Some 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.860 say it's the memory of the fire that took the 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:51.100 Wade parents. Others say it's the thing that 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:54.779 stayed behind. But if you ever go looking for 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:58.060 it and you catch that scent in the wind, don't 00:07:58.060 --> 00:08:01.420 breathe too deep and don't answer when it calls. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:06.759 So what do y 'all think? Was it madness that 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:09.480 overtook the Wade brothers or something much 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.199 darker? Would you spend a night at the devil's 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.839 house? Have you been there if you've heard a 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:19.660 version of this story or have your own experience 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:23.779 down in Estill County? We'd love to hear it Leave 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:26.720 a comment. Tell us what you think's really going 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:30.220 on and if you've got a ghost story of your own 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:34.090 head over to KentuckyMelody .com and submit it 00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:37.549 through our website. You just might hear it on 00:08:37.549 --> 00:08:42.269 the next episode. Before we wrap up, I just want 00:08:42.269 --> 00:08:47.029 to take a moment and say thank y 'all to every 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:49.750 one of you who's taken the time to leave a story, 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:53.710 a memory, a strange encounter from your past. 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:58.590 Thank you. To those who drop kind words, compliments, 00:08:59.129 --> 00:09:02.240 or just a Keep it up. You don't know how much 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.279 that means to me? You really don't. And even 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:09.440 if you're the quiet kind who don't comment, but 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.919 keep coming back to listen to these tales, well, 00:09:13.299 --> 00:09:18.039 I see you too. And I'm mighty grateful. Your 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.879 support is what keeps this whole thing going. 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:25.019 I love digging into these stories, researching 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:28.100 them, telling them, and sharing them with y 'all. 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:32.980 truth be told one day I'd love to do this full 00:09:32.980 --> 00:09:37.740 -time that's the dream now I know I've been a 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:41.799 bit hit or miss lately and I'm sorry for that 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:44.799 working a full -time job while trying to keep 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:48.620 up with this channel ain't always easy but I've 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:51.700 got a few days off now and I've been busy behind 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:54.539 the scenes getting some real good stories ready 00:09:55.410 --> 00:09:58.669 Just haven't had the time to get them into video 00:09:58.669 --> 00:10:03.169 format yet. If you've got a story of your own, 00:10:03.649 --> 00:10:08.190 something strange, eerie, or downright unexplainable, 00:10:08.649 --> 00:10:11.009 I'd be honored to share it with the rest of our 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:14.809 Backwoods family. You can send it in by following 00:10:14.809 --> 00:10:18.009 the link to our submission page at KentuckyMelody 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:22.269 .com or just click that little card up yonder 00:10:22.269 --> 00:10:26.330 in the corner. Just a quick note, try to keep 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:29.990 the language clean. If a curse word slips in 00:10:29.990 --> 00:10:32.789 because you were scared out of your mind, I get 00:10:32.789 --> 00:10:35.710 it. I'll just swap it for something clean that 00:10:35.710 --> 00:10:39.090 still keeps the feeling of the moment. Alright, 00:10:39.690 --> 00:10:43.330 that's it from me for now. Thank y 'all again. 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:47.990 I truly appreciate every one of ya. More tales 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:51.809 are on the way, and I can't wait to share them 00:10:51.809 --> 00:10:52.730 with y 'all.