Lost Towns and Ghost Stories: A Conversation with Heather Leah
About this episode
Heather Leah discusses the importance of preserving local stories and shares insights into her research on lost towns and ghost stories.
In this episode, local storyteller, historian, and author Heather Leah shares how she began writing online more than a decade ago, grew a large following by blending deep research with engaging “hidden history,” and why preserving local stories matters as places vanish. She discusses mysteries like the Village Subway beneath Cameron Village, underwater communities beneath Jordan Lake such as Seaforth, and how towns can be erased from maps and memory. Heather explains balancing fun, shocking history with heavier subjects, her approach to ghost stories as cultural history, and why the Dorothea Dix property feels especially haunted. She also describes her research process, how followers contribute leads, and how she turned her work into her first book, “Lost Towns of North Carolina,” built through travel, photos, and interviews with people connected to lost communities. 00:00 Meet Heather Leah 03:15 How It All Started 04:56 From Community to History 06:21 Vanishing Places 09:03 Jordan Lake Ghost Towns 13:00 Towns Wiped Off Maps 14:00 Balancing Light and Heavy 16:29 Ghost Stories as Culture 18:18 Dorothy Dix Haunted History 20:11 Crybaby Lane Investigation 21:49 Paranormal Tours…
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