The Magic of Mountain Music

Hello all you lovely followers, and everyone else who stumbles upon this little humble blog. It has been about four months since I last updated it. I apologize for my absence. I have had a very busy summer, and even busier fall. I have been teaching a lot which is amazing. So if you have made it out to one of my classes "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Without you wonderful people who are hungry for real authentic historic teachings I would not be able to do what I love. And that i bring all this information out to the public and share it so that these traditions do not disappear into the mists of the beautiful smoke that pours out of our mountains here in Appalachia.
I would like to say, "I promise to do better with the blogging, and be sure to update once a week, or once every two weeks, or even once month," but I know that I will most likely break that promise. So I won't make you all a promise that I will most likely not be able to see through. I will do my best, however, not to leave such a large time lapse between updates.

Painting by John Haywood, 2014

What I wanted to write about is the power and magic of music. We know that music has a profound effect on our psyches. Turning on the right song or the right instrumental can lift our mood when we are sad, makes us feel sad even when we are having the best day, it can be healing, and inspiring to name just a few emotions. But what about magical?

Singing and playing music has been used by all cultures in all times to express their emotions. Its also been used to worship divinity. There are plenty of verses from the bible stating that song and dance are forms of worship.
1 Chronicles 15:27 "Now David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the singing with the singers. David also wore an ephod of linen."

The original settlers to the Appalachian Mountains brought their songs and dances with them. And those songs continue to be sung today. And while they may not seem worshipful I challenge you to listen to them siting outside in the cool fall air. Allow the words and instrumentation to flow over and through you. Allow the music to meld with your very being, and you will find that you are in a connection with the ancestral people of the mountains. Being connected to them spiritually through their songs, and their instruments (even if you are listening to a modern band) is a form of worship. Allow those tears to fall. Allow shouts of happiness to break free from your throat. Get up and dance if you need to. Even if there are people around. Worship isn't for other people. It is for you and your connection to this place.

Some of the songs I would suggest you sit and listen to are:
Barby Ellen performed by Jean RItchie

High on a Mountain performed by Ola Belle Reed

The Road to Kaintuck performed by Johnny Cash

WIldwood Flower performed by The Carter Family 

Conversation with Death performed by Berzilla Wallin

This past weekend I went back to Wise County, VA to visit my family. In Big Stone Gap they had their 46th annual Home Craft Days which combines local craftsmen and musicians from the area selling their wares and performing their music. I got there a little late, but got to catch the last performance of the day. John Haywood from Whitesburg, KY was playing the banjo and singing the old mountain music. I was mesmerized. I found myself tearing up to almost all of the music. THe instrumental pieces as well as the vocal pieces all spoke out to my hertiage, and to the spirit of Mother Appalachia and Father Alleghany. All the spirits of place were there listening, and I could feel them present. 

Video: John Haywood Playing Banjo and Singing Hook and LIne

You can find more music by John Haywood at Haywood Art and Tattoo

What songs and music stir your soul?

Legends of the Mountains: Woodbooger (AKA Bigfoot)

No one knows where it came from;

its been known 

for generations.

Over the last generation or so the creature has been known as the "WoodBooger". It is said to live in the wilderness of Jefferson National Forest in Wise and Scott County, VA. There are many theories about its beginnings and how it has survived all these years. 

Like any Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or Yeti legend it is believed to be a "hairy man" cryptid left over from some earlier version of man or ape. The WoodBooger lives happily on its own in the mountainous wooded terrain, and tries to avoid humans as much as possible. 

A few years ago a tv show called "Finding Bigfoot" produced an episode in the High KNob area of Wise, VA and the Woodbooger was the creature they hoped to find. 

The first time I ever heard of the creature it wasn't referred to as the "WoodBooger", but just a "hairy creature like the Bigfoot". I was around 7 years old sitting outside on the back porch one summer while my mother sun bathed, and I had just heard about Bigfoot. My mother mentions that we had a Bigfoot here, too! That she remembers hearing her uncles and brothers talking about hearing a terrible screaming sound out in the woods when they would be hunting, and seeing a huge hairy manlike creature running through the woods. It was huge and could jump high and swing from tree to tree using vines and its own long arms. 

From that moment on I started looking out into the woods with high hopes of catching a glimpse of this creature. Every strange sound I was sure was the creature. However, I never did catch a sight of it. 

One account of an interaction between man and the WoodBooger  was recounted in the Kingsport Times News (July 26, 2013; reported by Greg Peters):

"William Dranginis heads the Virginia Bigfoot Research Organization. Based in Aldi, Va., he takes reports of sightings, does interviews and even goes onsite looking for the elusive “hairy man.”Dranginis works full time for defense contractor Northrop Grumman and had little or no interest in Bigfoot until 1995.In March of that year, Dranginis and two friends were trying out a new metal detector in Culpeper County, Va. The three were looking for treasure in and around old gold mine shafts in the area. The mines were active during the Civil War.After a long morning of searching with no luck, they were returning to their vehicle on a country back road.“The two guys with me were FBI agents, one of them did three tours in Vietnam. Suddenly he threw up his arm and stated that there was a man behind a tree up ahead,” said Dranginis.Both agents drew their guns and pushed Dranginis to the rear.“I was looking in the area where a man’s head would be and then about three feet above that a black hairy face came out from behind the tree,” Dranginis added.The creature then moved across the road from left to right and made its way into the forest.“It moved with a fluid motion, it was covered in black hair. The shoulders were huge and you could see an area of gray on the upper back.”That event led him down a new path and into his current role as VBRO director. A search of his website found several reports of sightings in and around Southwest Virginia.Currently Dranginis is working an active case in Washington County near Saltville.A couple from North Carolina bought remote property in the area and were using it for camping. “The area is remote and can only be accessed by ATV. Their first night camping, they began to hear screams close by and got scared. They jumped on their ATV and left everything at the campsite,” said Dranginis. “As they drove off the husband turned around and saw something dark and close to 8 feet tall running behind them.”The couple waited over a week before returning for their equipment."

Since the episode of "Finding Bigfoot" aired Norton, VA has hosted a WoodBooger festival. It is a yearly event in October, and is slowly finding a larger audience. The City of Norton has also named the Flag Rock area of High Knob as a Bigfoot and Sasquatch Sanctuary.

Does the WoodBooger really stalk the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia? I like to think so. Growing up with stories and having my own experiences with boogers, haints, witches, and everything else that goes bump in the night I wouldn't disbelieve in this creature. 

I honestly think there might be a small clan or tribe of these creatures still living in relative anonymity in the almost impossible to reach areas of the wooded mountains. Just every once in a while man gets too close or one of the WoodBoogers wanders to far, and a glimpse is caught.

Just look at this small section of the mountain area that they can hide in!:

What do you think? 

Do you think there are WoodBoogers living in the mountains? 

Have you ever ran into one?