Daddy Long Legs (From The Dark Recesses Of Appalachian Folklore) Part 3

     The weeks leading up to the events of September 9th, 1938 were marred by an unusual streak of summer heat that seemed to bear down on the already volatile atmosphere that had taken hold of the townsfolk of Ashmore. A series of strange events began to unfold that slowly added to the dark cloud that seemed to loom over the town. Noticeably several weeks before September 9th many of the pets and local livestock owned by the the citizens of Ashmore disappeared without a trace.  Several citizens reported visible agitation and other unusual activity from their animals that indicated some sort of disturbance had began to affect them before the animals vanished. As many at 56 reports of missing pets and livestock were filed to the police department from a period of two weeks prior to September 9th.  Suspicions as to who may be involved quickly spiraled out of control.  Strangely though many of the animals returned within days after September 9th. No suspects were found or reasons given as to why the animals had disappeared so suddenly in unison only to appear back weeks later. An eerie quietness seemed to have taken a hold of the forest as well with many of the citizens remarking about the disappearances of much of the fauna. An article appeared in the Ashmore Gazette on September 2nd, 1938 mentions that local hunters were finding little in terms of game in the nearby woods in which were normally covered with deer and other sources of game. The only animals that remained were the local birds that largely seemed to have lost their voices in the midst of the heat wave.  Large groups of bird had begun to settle in the trees that lined main street without uttering a noise. Adding to the disturbing events were reports from local farmers that most of their reserve grains were being overtaken by some sort of fungus that were quickly ravaging their supplies. It seemed as if the land itself was becoming polluted by something seeping in from the outside. The devil or something similar had made it's way to Ashmore.  Whispers of eerily similar correlations between the unusual events around the town and those stories involving "Daddy Long Legs" were made in jest by the townsfolk, but a fear lingered in the back of their minds as to what ungodly force had turned its gaze towards the town. The strange events that were slowly consuming Ashmore would come to a terrible end on the evening of September 9th, 1938.

Ashmore, South Carolina 1938. Courtesy of the Ashmore Gazette Archives Ashmore, South Carolina 1938. Courtesy of the Ashmore Gazette Archives      Travis Grady, a 92-year-old retired mill worker and part-time town historian of Ashmore was 14 at the time during the events leading up to September 9th,1938. Mr. Grady can still recall how the town of Ashmore was during the days leading up to the tragedy that claimed the lives of Sheriff Julian Redford and Rev. Garon Talley.  Mr. Grady had been a youth in Rev. Talley’s congregation and had become close to the reverend and his family before his death. Garon Talley was at the time the reverend of the only African American church in the town of Ashmore, the Bells Branch Heritage Baptist Church. What made Garon Talley unusual among many of those in his congregation was the fact that he had gained a formal education in his youth and was one of the first graduates from The "American Baptist Theological Seminary", a now historical black college located in Nashville, Tennessee. "Reverend Talley and his wife taught many of us in his congregation the importance of education. We had never made it through basic grade school before we were called to the local mills and fields to work for our family.  We really were blessed to have him. I'm not sure though the Mayor and the others that controlled the town liked that fact.  I think they wanted to keep us ignorant. It kept us from wanting more than what the mill owners and those that were on the town council thought we should want."  Mr. Grady's recollections paint a southern town that at the time was deep in the throes of bigotry and interracial hostility. “Back then everything was divided by the Carolina and Northwestern Railway line that cut through the town.  It was expected that we kept our business on the western side of the tracks while the white folks kept theirs on the eastern side.  Save for us coming in to buy groceries or goin' to work.  I remember how cruel some of the white folks were to us. How we weren’t allowed in some stores while they had white customers in or the fact that we had to eat outside even if it were raining if we came in to grab a bite at the local diner. There were a lot of good white folks though. Same as us.  Just poor folk tryin' to make it through the way so they could come home to their families with a little food on the table. It kind of seemed that we had traded chains in the fields to chains on the mill floors. Many of the whites were right beside us though.  For us poor folk color didn't matter much."  In many ways Ashmore was no different than many of the towns that dotted South Carolina. The citizens were largely united by their poverty. A glimmer of hope had come to the citizens of Ashmore from the southwest in the form of a new sheriff.

Reverend Garon Talley with his daughters Elizabeth & Georgia Talley. 1935

Reverend Garon Talley with his daughters Elizabeth & Georgia Talley. 1935

     Those that still remember Sheriff Redford recall a man who was unusual in his straight shooting, no nonsense attitude. He was known by many in the town for his evenhanded treatment of all citizens no matter the color of their skin or their class. A transplant from the southwest, 52 year old Julian Redford had come from a long line of peacekeepers.  His daughter Grace Redford revealed that his move to Ashmore was partially motivated by seeking something less violent and dangerous than his work had been for the past 27 years on the United States/Mexico border. Ultimately Sheriff Redford was seeking a quieter life away from the rough world of law enforcement he knew for 27 years prior. With his wife and daughter in tow Sheriff Redford traded his dusty home in the southwest for one in an Appalachian mountain town. Unfortunately he would find no peace in his decision.

   From his arrival Sheriff Redford found himself in an uphill battle against a system of elitism that has kept many of those in the town lingering just above and on the poverty line. Worse yet there was a distinct distrust of the police in Ashmore by many of the citizens of the town, particularly among the poorer whites and blacks that were often neglected by the town's law enforcement.  It was well known that many of the crimes committed against the poorer citizens were often ignored by the police. Sheriff Redford began his house cleaning of the police department's more corrupt officers and began his outreach to those that represented the interests of the town's citizens. In this outreach Sheriff Redford made the acquaintance of Reverend Talley. 98 year old Rebecca Pennington recalls the type of relationship shared between Sheriff Redford and Rev. Talley.  "I remember Sheriff Redford and how he tried to bring change to the town.  Him and Rev. Talley weren’t particularly on friendly terms when they were first introduced, but I think it was because of Rev. Talley’s experiences with the police prior to Sheriff Redford coming into town.  There was a good ol’ boy mentality among the police before the previous sheriff killed himself over the scandal of him having a mixed child with a black woman. Times were rough for all of us but I reckon tough times bred tough people with tough feelins'. We were all tryin' to eek out a livelihood and I think our prejudices were able to take hold of us easier. There was a certain fear that held us before Sheriff Redford took over. A lot of us began to see some changes for the good come over the town when Sheriff Redford and Rev. Talley started working together. I think maybe if both him and Rev. Talley had lived after that night it wouldn’t have taken so long for change to come to this town.”

Sheriff Julian Redford. 1937      The increasingly volatile and bizarre events that surrounded Ashmore came to a head on the night of September 9th, 1938. Official records state that Sheriff Redford was called out that evening in reports to suspicious activity in the abandoned remains of the the original settlement of Ashmore.  The current town of Ashmore had been built in the mid 1800s after the original location was abandoned in order to grow the town towards the direction of a planned railway line. This left partial remnants of the old settlement now as a ghost town.  Local vagabonds and derelicts from the railway used the place as camping grounds in which were routinely patrolled by police. Rumors of illegal moonshine operations in the area lead the place to eventually gain a negative reputation as well. With tensions between Ashmore's African American and Caucasian citizens at a boiling point due to recent cases of the vandalism of many of the properties owned by Ashmore's black citizens, every potential report to the police were treated with the utmost importance.  Ashmore's "Old District": 1939. From the Ashmore town archives      The slew of crimes seemed in response to local ordinances that were pushed by Sheriff Redford to partially desegregate the town and it's citizens. The backlash was loud and immediate with crimes against both groups increasing in severity. There was fear among the police that the violence could turn potentially deadly so any reports of suspicious activity were to be immediately investigated.  For reasons unknown Sheriff Redford made contact with Rev. Talley prior to investigating the suspicious activity at the old side of Ashmore and proceeded with the Reverend in tow to the abandoned settlement.  Around 10:30 p.m. several citizens reported seeing orange lights and smoke from the direction of the settlement ruins. A group composed of local police and volunteer fire fighters rushed to the area in what would be nearly a two day battle of quelling the fires that were spreading beyond the bounds of the abandoned settlement.  What the group found afterwards would haunt many of the citizens for decades.  Within the ruins of the settlement's church were the bodies of Sheriff Redford, Reverend Talley and hundreds of birds nearly burnt to ash with what seemed to be the remnants of some sort of ritual.  Surprisingly a survivor was found in the church's basement; a teenage girl by the name of Madeline Sinclair.  The girl despite suffering from first and second degree burns had miraculously survived the fire. Madeline was quickly taken to a local hospital and treated for her injuries.   Madeline Sinclair. Photo provided by her sister Lisa Sinclair Madeline Sinclair. Photo provided by her sister Lisa Sinclair      When pressed by investigators, a bizarre story emerged concerning how the girl had been tortured over weeks by the entity known as "Daddy Long Legs" and how the Sheriff and Reverend had managed to somehow subdue it before it could take her away. Madeline's tale became increasingly more bizarre claiming that somehow the local legend was slowly killing the town and only the sheriff and reverend were able to stop it. While there was no medical history to show that Madeline Sinclair had any history of mental illness, the teenage girl was quickly carted off to the "South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane" at the request of Ashmore's town doctor, Dr. Jacob Fields. Rumors circulated that the doctor and several prominent members of Ashmore had attempted to quickly rid themselves of the girl as well as suppress the true story as to what happened to Sheriff Redford and Reverend Talley.  The official report in the records of the Ashmore Police Department state that Sheriff Redford and Reverend Talley were killed upon investigating rumors of an illegal moonshine still operating out of the old church.  Madeline Sinclair had supposedly stumbled upon the operation and had been held hostage by the moonshiners.  Due to Madeline being a member of Reverend Talley's congregation the good reverend was brought by the sheriff in order to ease the situation in negotiated the girl's release.  While outside investigator took the story for face value many of the citizens of Ashmore quietly held firm that it was a blatant lie to cover up the actual true and terrifying story.  The years have not been kind to the memory of those still alive from those days with many of those citizens refusing to talk about anything from that period save those few mentioned in this post.

     The Talley family still remain in Ashmore with Garon Talley's grandson Brandon Talley the current Reverend of the "Bells Branch Heritage Baptist Church". Sheriff Redford's widow and daughter moved back to the southwest and severed all contact with anyone from Ashmore.  Madeline Sinclair was released in 1948 and returned to her family in Ashmore where she remained until her death in 2009.  Madeline refused to speak on the events of 1938 up to her death.

Daddy Long Legs (From The Dark Recesses Of Appalachian Folklore) Part 4

Folklore associated with “Daddy Long Legs”

1.  If you find a harvestman in your house (the name for the arachnid traditionally known as a Daddy Long Legs) then you should think happy thoughts as you remove it from indoors unharmed.  If not the harvest man will return to Daddy Long Legs and tell him of your sorrows. He will come to visit you soon after
2. Never kill any crow or other bird around your home as it can be an invite to Daddy Long Legs as he is naturally antagonistic towards birds and takes it as an invite.
3.  Daddy Long Leg’s does not like the smell of burning rabbit tobacco (Gnaphalium obtusifolium) and will not venture near it.  Likewise a bundle of rabbit tobacco over a doorway will ward him away.
4. An obscure piece of folklore involves people leaving tallow candles inside a tree hollow with the name of those whom they wished Daddy Long Legs to visit carved on a piece of bark placed right behind the candle.  Supposedly Daddy Long Legs would make his rounds through the woods and if he spotted the candle and read the note then that person would soon die.
5. If you run into a spider's web then you should offer an apology to the spider or else Ol' Daddy Long Legs will come to give you sleepless nights until the spider is able to rebuild it's web.

Daddy Long Legs (From The Dark Recesses Of Appalachian Folklore) Part 2

The Obscure Legend Of "Usonvi-Kahnanesgi"

Long before the appearance of the French Huguenots and their settlement, the area surrounding and including modern day Ashmore was once part of the vast territory of the Cherokee Nation. Despite the fact that this land, a roughly circular area of 5.6 square miles lied in the heart of their hunting territory the Cherokee people avoided the area citing a legend about the "Usonvi-Kahnanesgi" (The Corrupt Spider) as well as their belief that the area was cursed by the "Azgen" (The Moon-Eyed People).

Cherokee Sculptures Depicting the "Azgen"

The "Azgen" or as they are referred to today as "The Moon-Eyed People" were a mythical race composed of a small human beings of diminutive stature that once called the area of Southern Appalachia/Cherokee territory home.  The "Azgen" were a particularly strange race in both their appearance and practices.  The "Azgen" were described as having skin as pale as the moon with large eyes that failed to work during the day. The males of the race kept beards but both the males and females had hair as white and fair as snow.  The strange people called the various underground caverns that dotted the mountain landscape home.  When the Cherokee people began to settle the area a conflict arose between the Azgen and the Cherokee leading to the Azgen eventually being wiped out entirely. Their history and culture presumably disappeared with their deaths as no written records or items pertaining to the mysterious people have been found.  Strange structures and carvings however have been found throughout Southern Appalachia that some anthropologists believe may be actual remnants of the mythical Azgen.  Others suggest that they point to the possibility that the area had once been inhabited by settlers from Europe hundreds of years prior to what conventional historians believe today.  The general consensus among most anthropologists are that any stories about the Azgen people are more than likely just myths and folktales that exist in the Cherokee mythology.  

Though a curious if obscure piece of folklore that has been discovered through one of the last interviews with an elder of a tribe of Cherokee located in Cherokee County, South Carolina may hold one of the last wisps of information regarding the Azgen and the first reports of the mythological entity "Daddy Long Legs"  The tale states that during a migration by the Cherokee into the southeast United States that stories from encounters with the Azgen emerged that dealt with an entity known simply as "Usonvi-Kahnanesgi" a rough translation being (The Corrupted Spider). The Cherokee upon entering the area known today as Ashmore noticed markers that had been left by the Azgen.  The markers were described as great slates of stone carved with symbols and signs unknown to the Cherokee.  Though even to the Cherokee the markers seemed incredibly old even by that time.  The Azgen despite calling the area home for presumably hundreds if not thousands of years were strangely absent in this area save for small groups scattered around and about.  The Azgen themselves made attempts to warn off the Cherokee from the area. The legend goes that upon arriving at the area the Cherokee scouts discovered the dead bodies of several Azgen whom seemed to have expired from sheer terror. Their bodies were twisted and left as mere husks. Despite the horrors around them the scouts chose to make camp.  Their courage left them blind to the horror and warnings around them. There were no animals in sight and an eerie quiet befell the men. The forest and it's spirits had abandoned this place.  As the night fell deeper into darkness the scouts discovered what had killed The Moon Eyed People.

 "Daddy Long Legs"

From The Folk Art Collection of Donald Seagrave

What came upon the Cherokee scouts that night was not described in exact detail, but the lone survivor of the scout party had referred to it as "Usonvi-Kahnanesgi" (The Corrupted Spider). The eldest Didanawisgi (Medicine Man) of the tribe known as "Oukonunaka" (White Owl) traveled to the area with a group of warriors to survey the land.  Upon entering the spot in which the scouts had been killed a terrible dread fell upon them. From the silence of the forest appeared "Usonvi-Kahnanesgi".  The entity tainted the land with each step as it approached. Each warrior stepped forward to defend the Medicine Man as he began to perform an obscure ritual he had learned as a child from his own encounters with the Azgen. Soon after the ritual began the forest filled with crows and various carrion birds that began to pick at the flesh of the entity.  Though as each bird tasted the corrupted flesh of the entity their feathered bodies withered and dropped from the sky dead. The entity escaped but its corrupted touch upon the land could not be dispelled by the medicine man alone.  Knowing that the thing could not be completely vanquished the medicine man brought forth others from his tribe to seal the borders of the land through incantations originally from the Azgen.  Nothing in concerns to the rituals and incantations used by the medicine man exist today from what modern Anthropologists have been able to discover. It is known that even today the area is still considered tainted land by the local Native American people. This story has largely fallen into obscurity and has been chalked up as merely another tale from their mythology. However this obscure tale seems to echo similar events as to what happened to Doctor Bradford and his party hundreds of years after this supposed encounter by the Cherokee.  Local folklorists have noted similarities to this and to an event that occurred in a segregated section of Ashmore in 1938 known as "Shadytown" in which many of the town's African American citizens lived until the abolishment of segregation in the south during the 1960s.

Part 3 will discuss the events of 1938 as well as the numerous modern folktales attributed to the entity known as "Daddy Long Legs".

Daddy Long Legs (From The Dark Recesses Of Appalachian Folklore) Part 1

     The cultural region of Appalachia has long remained shrouded in mystery by the depths of fog ensnared forests and mountainous terrain that primarily make up a region that stretches from the southern tip of New York to the upper regions of Mississippi.  

                                          Appalachia Region: Map Courtesy of Appalachian Regional Commission

     Serious studies of the patchwork history and folklore of the region has often been hampered by enduring myths and distortions about the various peoples that comprise this region.  When the term "Appalachian" is brought about in most conversations today, typically what follows are tales and visions of moonshine stills and uneducated clans of people often just above the intelligent levels of mongoloids due to inbreeding that's reclusive nature hints at insidious acts hidden from the eyes of most "Urbanites".  Since the early 20th century these prevalent ideas were brought about by sensational journalists whom crafted tales of a reclusive people prone to violence and inbreeding as well as various illegal activities.  These myths and stories surrounding the people of Appalachia still endure to this day.  While serious academic works looking into the history and sociological aspects of Appalachia have made progress in attempting to make sense of the various cultural norms and structures that bind these people together there is uncertainty as to how long this region will remain as it has been for nearly 200+ years.  

One of the biggest cultural aspects of Appalachia is the complex mythology and folklore that has culminated overtime from the melding of various groups of people that have come to settle the land.  These groups range from the original Native American tribes of the region, European immigrants (including Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, and German), and African Americans. With each group came bits and pieces of their own cultures and beliefs that overtime have melded into unique beliefs and mythologies.  While Christianity is still prevalent in the region (represented by numerous subgroups including but not limited to Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics (Mostly Northern), and Mennonites) there still exists Native American groups that practice and teach their own traditional religion depending on each tribes own doctrines and beliefs.  Interesting enough despite the obvious divides religion wise these groups may have many archaic and paganistic myths and folktales that have managed to root themselves into the common culture of many of those whom call the Appalachian region home.  Some of these myths and folktales are rooted in very obscure corners of the region and have only been hinted at and barely recognized by Anthropologists and Historians studying Appalachia.  These specialized beliefs and practices have managed to survive despite the onset of modern technology and living standards that are slowly reaching the region as a whole. When discussing regional specific folklore one of the most unusual folk character to emerge from Appalachia, specifically from the area around the small town of Ashmore, South Carolina is the spirit known as "Daddy Long Legs", a particularly terrifying and bizarre denizen that supposedly haunts the town and has been responsible for the disappearance of various people in the region for hundreds of years.  The stories and tales tied to "Daddy Long Legs" can be traced back even to peculiar snippets from oral traditions of the local Native American tribes that called the region home prior to the arrival of European settlers.

The Haint Folktales of Daddy Long Legs

"He has a web like a spider's web,
Made of silk and light and shadows
To hold your fears and dangle them so.
It's a web made to catch a man,
To hold em tight til the end
When he relents and gives his soul away
So ol' Daddy Long Legs can haunt another day"
From The Ashmore Heritage Society's "Folktales and Folksongs of Oconee County" compiled by Hugh Wise

                                            Daddy Long Legs from "Haint Tales of Appalachia" by Annabelle Bishop

The first written account of "Daddy Long Legs" appears in the journals of Dr. Giles Bradford; a colonial doctor from Charleston (known as Charles Town at that time) in 1735 whom wrote of his accounts with a group of French Huguenots as he returned from studying the medical practices of a tribe of Cherokee Indians that were involved at that time in trade with the colonial port city. As Dr. Bradford and his party were making their return trip they stumbled upon a search party of men scouring the area for a missing child.  This search party was from a nearby French Huguenot village that had settled into the region decades prior during a mass exodus from England. Offering their village as a rest point for the Doctor and his party in exchange for assisting with some medical concerns of the settlers, Dr. Bradford and his group made camp at the settlement. What he witnessed during his time there would be immortalized in the pages of his journal.  

Upon arriving at the settlement Dr. Bradford and his party were welcomed by the cawing of several crows caged throughout the settlement in wicker baskets hanging off of posts. Upon inferring as to the reason behind this many of the settlers shied away from answering.  Only the town's blacksmith and a watchman offered hints as to the bizarre practice.  It was explained to Dr. Bradford as being part of a ward against something.  When questioned further the two men offered only silence.  The rest of the day consisted of Dr. Bradford examining various members of the town for ailments before him and his party rested for the night.  Dr. Bradford had noted that an unusual quietness had seemed to overtake the woods around the settlement.  The various native fauna had all but disappeared save for the cawing of the crows. What awoke Dr. Bradford and his party that night is described in detail...(translated from Colonial English to modern)

"A terrifying cacophony arose steadily throughout the settlement as a feeling of dread filled our hearts. We were frozen in our beds as the cries from the black birds rose higher and higher in the night sky.  It seemed as if the birds were in a harmonious chant that grew louder as whatever had frightened them so came closer and closer.  It had dawned upon me that we were bearing witness to something ghastly beyond our understanding.  Whatever had brought itself into the settlement was not a mere animal as we knew it. The pitch and rhythm of the crows' song began to change as their voices began to relent to silence.  The fear that had overtaken us moments before was gone.  Gathering our courage and pistols we made our way outside.  By the time we made it outside the local settlers were already outside cowering in their doorways while we made our way to the nearby caged crows to see their condition.  None of the birds were alive.  It seemed as if their bodies had been crushed by a force that left no signs on the cages themselves."



Dr. Bradford's journal continues to describe what the settlers referred to the presence as the "arachnide horribles" the horrible spider. The settlers described something that at first seemed an entity that haunts the pages of mythology or superstition literature. Though the feeling of dread that had fallen upon him and his party as well as the strange events that had overtaken them moments before lent some credence to their tale. The entity described wore the vestiges of human appearance at first appearance with a hunched and shambling pose.  It's figure was covered in tattered leather and cloth with strange carvings hanging from pieces of twine from it's belt.  The thing's face was covered in a mask of wood that seemed to have been carved by the hands of some primitive savage.  Gnarled roots still remained protruding from the wooden mask.  None of the thing's limbs could be seen by those that glimpsed it first until the entity had fully made itself known to it's victim.  Slowly the entity would  reveal its true nature.  From the rantings of those haunted by the frightening spirit came a potential reveal of its true form.  While the description differed slightly from person to person a general consensus was that the thing had three sets of spindly armlike like appendages similar to those of a spider with each appendage ending in decrepit hands like those afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite it's shambling appearance the entity could move with an unnerving and supernatural grace in order to track it's victims. It was relentless in it's torture of those it had chosen and left only ruin for those poor souls.

         A Depiction of "Daddy Long Legs" from "Bizarre Tales From the Dark Corner"

by Robert Bachman 

The settlers go into further details as to how the entity had set upon them soon after they had established the settlement, and had driven several settlers over the past two decades to either suicide or to pack up and attempt to leave the settlement. It seemed to pick only one of them each season, often driving the victim to insanity before the specific settler would take his or hers own life over a period of that season.  While many of the settlers had held firm to stay and somehow deal with whatever the thing was, the settlement had eventually shrunk from its original 423 settlers to 130 by the time the doctor and his party had come across them.  In desperation the settlers had reached out the local Native American groups for any possible help against the entity. Whatever rituals described by the settlers that were used to ward away the thing were never cataloged by Dr. Bradford in his journal outside the mentioned caged crows.  Upon his return and subsequent retelling of this bizarre event to local newspapers, Dr. Bradford began plans to return to investigate more into the case.  Unfortunately the good doctor would never make his return as his life was claimed soon afterwards by an outbreak of typhoid in the area.  The story would eventually evolve into the folktale known as "Daddy Long Legs".  The Huguenots settlement would eventually become the town of Ashmore with the story of "Daddy Long Legs" gaining an even more bizarre history throughout the years.  Recent archaeological studies of the region trace the origins of the thing known as 'Daddy Long Legs" to oral tales from the local Native American tribes that once called the area home.  The proto-mythology that may have originated this tale will be discussed further in part 2 of this investigation.