Waving Alien Shack

 

 

I always come across something unusual while I am out riding around in search of something else.In This case One recent weekend I was in the Red River Gorge Area .Red River is a big destination spot for Hikers ,Rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts.In my search for landmarks to the location Of Swift's Lost Silver Mines[ a story which I will do more on in future posts] I ran across this weird little shack or shed.I had to get a picture as in all honesty it looks like someone is depicting an Alien Gray waving through a painted on window. Maybe its just me but either the artist was painting a human silhouette and just did not get the head proportionate or they were quite the'' cosmic'' joker.

 

 

 

The Shack is located on a road which leads to some rental cabins

The Abandoned Thing

 

 

 

 

    The Object, which is over twenty feet long and six feet wide is a baffling sight. I must admit I don't know what it is,It lays abandoned on a country road called Columbia In Bath County.

    One Of my Gigs these Days is delivering books to rural areas and I regularly pass this strange object on my book route .It seems it has been there for some time and I finally stopped and got a few pictures of it. Inquiries brought forth the notion that it was most likely brought there to be used as a makeshift culvert ,but for some reason instead it was cast aside in a field at the mouth of the road. It is strange since it appears so industrial looking [as if it was part of something else ]and the surrounding area is about half wilderness .It is made of sheet metal covering a steel frame and now partially tagged with graffiti .What it was originally and why it was abandoned still remains a mystery.

The Ruth Mullins Fire

                                             Underground Mine Fire In Kentucky




The Tiptop Coal Seam fire in Kentucky Is named "the Ruth Mullins fire" for the resident who  discovered it In the area of Breathitt County .This massive underground fire is burning out of control at this very moment just below the Earth's surface, and It is basically unstoppable.

As it turns out No one seems to know how long the mine has been on fire, or how many miles it covers ,but it has already extended over a huge area that occupies both Breathitt and Perry counties. In those counties There are several outgassing areas in the ground where the subterranean conflagration is spewing out Hot Carbon monoxide and tar.

The Mystery Of Lincoln's Cabin

 

The Author at Abe Lincoln's Cabin 

   I have to admit I seem obsessed with visiting the Iconic homes of famous Kentuckians, So it is no wonder I would eventually visit the Birthplace of President Lincoln - our Nation's as of this writing only Kentuckian President. This particular stop was a must since Having for a long time noticed [and I will write about it more it in the future probably]That Kentuckians today have this sad tendency to not get out and travel and see every corner of Our great State. I don't ever want to be that way so I make sure I always have a bucket list of places to be and see.Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park Is basically Two farm sites in LaRue County,  where Lincoln was born and lived until he was seven. He was born at the Sinking Spring site south of Hodgenville Then the family moved to the Knob Creek nearby in Hodgenville .The Sinking Spring site is the location of the park visitors center and that has the Memorial Building with the ''original'' Cabin. Is It The real thing or not? Let us look into History and see.

 

   The original log cabin that Lincoln was reputed to have been born in was Supposedly taken down sometime before 1865.Now as it turns out  Local lore held that some of the logs from the cabin were used in construction of a nearby house. A New York businessman A.W. Dennett purchased the Lincoln farm in 1894 and used the logs from this house to construct a cabin similar in appearance to the original cabin where Lincoln was born. Unfortunately the cabin was dismantled and re-erected for exhibition.  Soon the logs for this cabin went on a National tour which also had a replica cabin of logs That may or may not have belonged to Jefferson Davis's birthplace .At some point the cabins were dismantle so many times and moved around they got mixed up. After the tour Most of the logs were purchased by the Lincoln Farm Association (LFA), which believed they had acquired only Lincoln logs. Workers tried to reconstruct the cabin in the Memorial building but it was quite large and had to be reduced from 16-by-18 feet to 12-by-17 feet. Today, historians say former claims that these logs were from Lincoln's birth cabin was essentially Incorrect .

   Knowing this, it is strange when you go to the Park and walk up the steps and  into the huge Memorial building ,Then go check past a park ranger who sits and watched over the Room. There are even ropes around the cabin and it seems it is almost treated like the Ark of the covenant.

 

 

Sinking Springs

 So Is it a really Lincolns cabin? my opinion is it really does not matter, The Park is a great place to visit and there is a museum that is great and lots of hiking trails all over. Go ahead and Visit as soon as you get the chance.

Up  the road a bit is Knob Creek which has another replica cabin

Open Graves

       The Following Series of Photographs Reveal some very interesting Above ground Burial sites. It seems wherever I go I always turn up Things worthy of a Good photo session .This all started when residents Next to Longview Cemetery In Bethel, KY reported ''strange goings on'' at night .Intrigued I set out to take a few pics with both B/W Film and Digital from the same angle hoping to at least catch a few Orbs or some mists. Interestingly I did not detect anything paranormal that night but it is so strange that these ancient sarcophagi are so dilapidated [ in some cases completely collapsed] that the corpses are no longer within.This is a very old section of the Cemetery, and as for What ever happened to the bones I can only speculate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharks In The Ohio River

 A fisherman found a shark already dead on a boat ramp in 2010 In the Ohio River . It appeared the shark washed up after flood waters receded. At first it was thought to be a species of Bull shark since they can survive in fresh water and have been known to travel up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico."Bull sharks are pretty much the only species that can get that far up river," according to Chris Pierson, director of husbandry at the Newport Kentucky aquarium ."As It turns out after further examination experts agreed it actually was spiny dogfish shark not a Bull shark .Since a Dogfish shark is not as fresh water tolerant The Aquarium examiners theory was more likely that a boat worker caught it in the Gulf of Mexico and dumped it in the Ohio River. The fin was cut off, which is common in the Gulf where people catch them and cut of the sharp fin.


                                                      A second Shark found

 In 2014 another Shark was found at the Manchester boat launch In The Ohio River.
 A Mr. John Bays Went Fishing and found a shark, measuring  2-feet, 9-inches long along the shoreline, and appeared to have been struck by a boat motor prop. It was decided that a bull shark was the likely species in this case, They Do Migrate apparently and follow any source of food. In my assessment Unless a live one is caught or seen swimming in the river we may never know the full truth behind these cases, I guess we will have to wait and see if anything else comes up .

Strange Sounds In The Woods

 In 1996 I went bow hunting with a landowner near Olympia state forest in Bath County called Olympia Springs. It was once a famous Health spa in the nineteenth century. Crystal clear pools of healing Mountain spring water still dot the area [Interestingly there is a Large Hill nearby called Mount Olympus]. It was dusk; we were in a Valley in an area where a jeep trail finally peters out into nothing more than a deer path. This was directly on the border with Government land; we were in a very deep isolated valley, with no one else for miles and no other trails or roads leading in. We were both crouched on the side of the trail waiting for deer. After a while I realized there was an uncanny silence in the woods. No Birds, no small animals, nothing, and complete silence. On the hill to our rear we heard a bizarre sound. Whatever was making the sound had to have been close and it was happening repeatedly .This sound can best be described as sounding like a man screaming in a high pitched - YAH! Directly followed by a rhythmic, almost mechanical clapping sound about five times then stop, and after a few seconds it would repeat the exact same thing like a recording. This went on for at least twenty minutes and we looked at each other in amazement. We are both experienced woodsman and began whispering back and forth and I asked him had he heard anything like it before. He shrugged and it was obvious he was just as perplexed as I was.

The Author high up in the Olympia State Forest in 2000

 

 

             Listening, I remember at the time, I had speculated it was possibly an exotic bird imitating a human voice, or even an escaped monkey of some sort since it sounded so much like a person. I decided to stand up and get a closer look and he stayed behind not moving. The sound was coming from above us, I was taken back but determined to investigate this and not let another chance to investigate an unusual occurrence go. It was comforting to know I had a compound bow as a talisman to accompany me in this scenario. On the edge of the unknown I quietly eased up the hill as this strange racket was going on. I saw nothing and could not seem to pinpoint the actual location of the sound. There was still some ambient light on top of the hill to guide my way, and soon the strange noise ceased all together. I stood there scanning the woods for a while, I wanted to keep listening in case it had been by some chance, a person and so maybe I could see or hear them slip away. However, it was getting dark so I went back down to the trail and we made our leave, both of us thoroughly intrigued but confused.

       I since have not heard anything like that sound we heard on that day, and still have no idea of what it was. After discussing the incident over many years since with Old Timers, Outdoorsmen and Enthusiasts of the strange and unusual, each put forth different possibilities. One explanation was that it may have been a quail or pheasant call, another theory more fantastic explanation was that it was a Mule Skinners Ghost. Several have told me that it was actually a, ‘’time slip,’ that we had walked into, hence the eerie silence preceding the sound. 

WHAT WAS IT? I may never know. I am not fully convinced that it wasn't human even as we were in an area few ever go. Did we disturb something out there that evening back in 1996?

I have seen Strange tracks and Heard other unexplained sounds in the area

Ohio River Monster

  August 21, 1955, A Bizarre Incident allegedly took place in the Ohio River between Henderson, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana that we need to take a look at here .As I stated in my Article on Indian Head Rock, The Ohio River actually is KY territory up to the water line. So even since this case involves people swimming in the river from the Indiana side it is still a KY case. I have always suggested to people do not go into water where you can’t see the bottom. You never know what is in there. This particular Case involves a woman named Mrs. Naomi Johnson and she had a - to this day ,still unexplained encounter with what she claimed was a creature beneath the surface of  the water While taking a swim in the Ohio River. She had with her that day a friend and witness and her children who were hanging around on the safety of the bank.At one point ,as she swam out to about 15-feet away  Johnson said that she was suddenly clutched around the knee from below by what felt like a large rubbery claw-like hand. whatever it was tried to yank her down and would not let go no matter how much she  struggled to disengage herself .Her companion was on the shore and could only watch in fear as Johnson flapped her arms and gasped for breath in the river.

 Just before she went totally under Mrs. Johnson managed to kick her leg free and then headed for the shore, but almost instantly she was seized again, this time her ankle.
 A nearby inner tube helped her to stay afloat and finally the hand retreated back into the murky depths. Finally Exiting the river Mrs. Johnson was treated for Bruises at which point it was discovered that she had a greenish, slimy ,palm-print on her leg. Even Stranger the green print left a stain that  could not be removed and only went away after several days. Johnson the next day stated to news reporters that the incident solidified her decision to never go swimming in the Ohio ever again and I sure bet she didn't.

Louisville's PURGE

                                                                 


                                                          THE PURGE
                                                              The Louisville Edition


 This Recent News Story made my files and just begs to be included in My Blog. Lets roll back to 2013 and recap the movie THE PURGE with Ethan Hawke. If you have not seen it you should as it is  an instant classic. It is a thriller set in a very near future where All Laws in America are suspended for one night and one night only each year to help lessen the overall crime rate. Murder and mayhem takes place that night and any crime is fully pardoned [so every citizen can supposedly get violence out of there system] .Thugs run amok and take advantage of the free for all, so The More upscale people in the Movie choose to simply wait out the night safely inside fortified residential areas.

  Louisville KY, in August of 2014 an internet hoax took place costing businesses money and struck fear into some residents, as "Louisville Purge" hysteria swept over the city. I will say This is a fine case to further demonstrate that people really need to be careful about what they post on social media. It all started when a Louisville high school student posted on Twitter That there would be a ''Purge'' taking place over the weekend starting Friday night and ending early Saturday morning. Some took it seriously and the idea that there would be a real purge went viral .Many residents posted that they would be armed and certain business closed when they would be normally open. Law Enforcement went on high alert and many social functions were cancelled for that Friday night.

Footage of a real Louisville flash mob 

 The City had been dealing with real flash mobs earlier in the year so many expected something serious ,but the Purge never materialized. Police tracked down the student who posted the original tweet, but after questioning him they strangely did not press any charges and never released his identity. The Police stated that the tweet had been ''non threatening in nature'', The student had explained to authorities  that it was all a joke. Now since I cant find a copy of the original Twitter posting I don't know what it actually said but it sounds very odd to me why they would let him by with that one.

Chinn's Cave

 A recent Trip  to Harrodsburg KY brought an unexpected bonus.Had I not mentioned to my Dad [always an endless file on local History, the archaic, the obscure and the forgotten ] That I was heading there to see fort Harrod,I would have missed one of the most fascinating things I’ve come across recently. He told me near Harrodsburg are the ruins of an old restaurant/gas station/gambling establishment built inside a cave along the cliffs of the Kentucky river.

Chinn's Cave House back in the day

 

 It was mostly just a big blasted out hole in steep Cliffside along U.S. 68. One Col. George M. Chinn  a wild and colorful KY character, a military man who loved guns and always seem to have access to explosives decided to build a gas station and restaurant Along the river palisades . It was called Chinn’s Cave House.

                                                            Click above to start Video


  With the Name Chinn people often incorrectly assumed he was Asian but The Chinns are an old   pioneer family from Mercer county KY. The name was French Huguenot and was originally
 de Chiene but over time it was shortened to Chinn. George graduated from MMI [Millersburg Military Institute] in 1920 and was in the (ROTC) program.  Among his accomplishments, At Centre he was a lineman on the team that won the national Football championship in 1921 beating Harvard 6-0. He became a Colonel in the U.S.M.C. and was co-inventor of the Mark 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The Mark 19 was introduced in Vietnam And it is still in use with U.S Forces as of this writing.

Many who pass by here probably don't notice this ruin

 After his Military career Chinn returned to his native Mercer County near the Brooklyn Bridge between Jessamine and Mercer counties. At one time There were four gas pumps out front if you needed fuel and you could enjoy Hot ham sandwiches and foot-long chili dogs, and shoot at the indoor shooting range. Ahh but The cave held a secret, the gas pumps and roadside dining were a ''front'' literally. In the back of the cave, through a secret entrance there were slot machines ,making the place a sort of  riverside, again ''literally'' underground gambling operation.

Eventually the law caught up with Chinn and the place was shut down for good

Blocked off with a fence I could still see there are lavatories and living quarters

With lots of debris laying around it makes me
wonder if the slot machines are still in there

 

You can see a glass Structure added later but now completely collapsed

 

 

 

Ghost Town and Mushroom Mines

 

 

 As a Kentucky Library Associate and Local Historian These days, it is not uncommon for me to be in the Archives or on the net researching  some strange place or scanning old news clippings. However the existence of The Old abandoned Mushroom mines was brought to my attention by a fan that is also into haunted and abandoned places. I was intrigued and put the Mushroom Mines on the back burner, but a definite must look into status item. As it turns out ,One recent weekend I found myself hankering for a quick Sunday trip, just me ,my files  and the road .The Mines came into my mind and doing a GPS  search I discovered they were just down the road from me. Camera in hand I headed off to Carter County in search of the mines.

  

 The Rabourn & Sons Country Store is Fading away with each passing second

Now it is not every day I get two for the price of one but the Mines are located in Lawton, KY a now completely abandoned creepy town. I am not sure how long it has been vacant but there are some sagging electric lines in some places indicating someone lived in the area at some recent point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stairs to nowhere

 

 

A still used back road passes right through the downtown which makes it even stranger. People pass through but rarely stop [Unless they are like me and an enthusiast for the strange, the macabre and the unusual]. So if the Ghost town of Lawton was not enough to get my fill of weirdness, I soon headed up the nearby hills to the Mines.

 

 

 

This was a scouting mission and I did not take a lot of exploring equipment

 Digging for limestone was the Original cause of the Maze of Tunnels 
and then up until the 70's a Mushroom farm

Explorers have posted on there Blogs that the mines are extensive and
that a huge underground lake is deep within

 It was once a big teen hangout and rite of passage and So far local gossip goes ,Occult Groups perhaps Satanists ,gather there on Solstices and equinoxes of the year to conduct rituals. If true this may have been a few years ago since my basic understanding is Satan worship and an interest in magick ritual has not been in vogue in Eastern Kentucky for quite a few years now. Drug deals are also reported to take place at the site, and The Place is reported to be extremely haunted by strange sounds to boot.Even with all that in the background I was completely alone there and really determined to come back when I had more people and some lights and gear. Even on a bright sunny day it was a chilling place to visit, when I stepped into the darkest areas I felt as being watched and it was with that ‘’gateway to the Abyss ‘’sensation.

                                                           VIDEO OF THE MINES

             
                                                                   Click above to start Video



Mine Entrances and rugged cliffs are all along the mountain



 

                               Stone Mountain Data Complex

One of Several half-built structures that were part of a recent failed scheme
to utilize the property for commercial purposes