Cryptid Classics #11: The Appalachians' Rawhead

By: Jeffrey B. Miley

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Appalachian Mountains come with a set of rules.
1. Never be in the woods from dusk to dawn.
2. Never leave the marked trail. It is marked for a reason.
3. If you hear voices close to you, they're far away. But if the voices are far away, then they're near.
4. Don't lean on, sleep near or take wood from a witching tree.
5. Don't whistle or sing in the woods.
6. Never look too hard into the trees. Never!

Violating any of these rules is dangerous. Especially if you are in western Virginia where the people believe in a creature known as Rawhead. It is a Celtic boogeyman. But is it real?
Marilyn Brightbill is a county nurse assigned to reach out to the hill people of Pine Mountain. Her driver and bodyguard is Tim Grogan. She needs the bodyguard because people, especially women sent to help the hill people, tend to disappear.
The people of the hills have been called feral. They are a unique breed with a great mistrust of the government and a penchant for moonshine. And most believe in the monster Rawhead.
Marilyn and Tim must navigate the dangerous, uneducated and sensitive inbred population of the hills to keep them and their children healthy. Neither of them believe in Rawhead, but they slowly pick up on clues that give them reason to rethink their disbelief. People's lives depend on it.