The Moonlit Road

06/14/2026

06/12/2026

The Mirror is told by Rick Baldwin — writer, artist, and storyteller from East Tennessee. His work spans humor, horror, and poetry, rooted in Southern life and Appalachian culture. Award-winning cartoonist and editor of The Leghorn, a journal of contemporary Southern humor.

Listen to “The Mirror” : https://buff.ly/yBAXL0h

06/11/2026

🪞 Some mirrors reflect your face.

Some reflect something else.

Our newest tale, The Mirror, is the first audio adaptation of an original story submitted by one of our listeners. Written by award-winning author Elise Burke Brown, it's a haunting Southern ghost story about a reflection no one should ever see.

Listen now:

Apple: https://buff.ly/KjzOsYE

Spotify: https://buff.ly/qMWK8ap

05/19/2026

The schoolhouse was packed. Folks had come from all over to hear the finest fiddlers in Tennessee compete for the coveted “fiddler’s dram.” 🎻

But by the end of the night, people weren’t talking about the contest winner.

They were talking about Ples Haslock… and the strange feeling that settled over the room the moment he began to play.

Don’t miss *Fiddler’s Dram*, one of the most haunting folktales ever passed down through Weakley County, Tennessee.

🎧 Listen now:
https://buff.ly/QY9SY0c

05/14/2026

If you’ve heard our latest tale “Fiddler’s Dram,” you know the fiddler is a co-storyteller. And that fiddler is Randall Franks.

Listen: https://buff.ly/f6EZGVC

Randall is an award-winning bluegrass, Americana, and country musician, fiddler, actor, and philanthropist best known for his role as Officer Randy Goode on the CBS TV series In the Heat of the Night.

With a career spanning more than 48 years, he has released 26 albums and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. He is also honored as an International Bluegrass Music Museum Legend. Franks is dedicated to preserving Appalachian musical heritage through the Share America Foundation, which provides scholarships for young musicians.

Randall’s latest single, Down Yonder Too, can be found at https://buff.ly/dix9P8e

Website: buff.ly/oOLFX2V.

Radio can find his music at https://buff.ly/U3JCZzW .

Music: “Ragtime Annie” performed by Randall Franks
Courtesy of Randall Franks

05/12/2026

He looked too sick to stand.

But when he raised that bow, the crowd went silent.

The strange legend of Fiddler’s Dram — once told in the Tennessee hills.

Link: https://www.themoonlitroad.com/fiddlers-dram-a-strange-tennessee-folktale/

05/07/2026

Meet tonight's storyteller, David Hirt!

From the foothills of North Carolina to Stone Mountain, Georgia, he’s spent a lifetime honing the rare gift of holding a room spellbound.

What began as sharing stories with anyone who’d listen grew into something more—ghost tales that can make you smile… or leave a chill lingering long after the fire burns low.

David has told 5 stories on The Moonlit Road, including the latest "Fiddler's Dram": https://buff.ly/NARLWHU

05/05/2026

He hadn't been seen for weeks. Then one night, he took the stage.

Ples Haslock was the finest fiddler in Weakley County, Tennessee — a man who could make the meanest men weep and the surliest babies stop crying. But when a jailhouse fundraiser brought the region's best players together, word spread that Ples was too sick to leave his bed.

Then a shadowy figure appeared at the back of the stage, bow in hand.

Fiddler's Dram — a new episode of The Moonlit Road — is out now. https://www.themoonlitroad.com/fiddlers-dram-a-strange-tennessee-folktale/

Storyteller: David Hirt. Soundtrack by bluegrass legend Randall Franks.



🎻 Music: Mississippi Sawyer — Don Richardson (1916) | Public Domain | via archive.org

04/15/2026

The house is gone now.
But some stories don’t disappear with the walls.
Some things don’t need a house to stay behind.

The full tale is now up on The Moonlit Road Podcast. 🌙
https://buff.ly/xpc4m1R

04/13/2026

Meet your latest storyteller Tobias E. Taba III, better known as Tom Coleman, who grew up near Mowata, La., in Acadia Parish. He likes to quip he’s from Rork—or, as he jokes, “across the highway in New Rork.” Taba learned early on that his mouth could get him into trouble as well as out of it, and he’s been a raconteur ever since. He spins his yarns with a hearty Cajun drawl, seasoning them with rich Cajun culture, folklore, and legends. Tom recently returned to Atlanta to share ghost stories for the 40th anniversary of A Tour of Southern Ghosts at .