'Mountain Mysteries'
Author's new book explores stories of ghosts, UFOs, more in the region
Larry Thacker embarked on a journey more than 15 years ago, following a trail of superstitions, legends and paranormal topics.
And, hey, Thacker said, "It?s been a lot of fun."
Today, the 38-year-old Thacker?s journey had lead him to become the author of the newly published "Mountain Mysteries" (The Overmountain Press, $14.95), a book exploring stories of ghosts, UFOs, old-time rituals and mystic traditions in the Appalachian Mountains.
A resident of Middlesborough, Ky., and a member of the local city council, Thacker has been enthusiastic about chasing down such stories for years, he said during a recent telephone interview. "I like busting theories as much as I can."
In this book, Cumberland Gap ? the place where Virginia meets both Tennessee and Kentucky ? becomes the epicenter of all the action, Thacker said.
"It goes out about 100 miles in every direction from there," said Thacker, the director of student success and retention at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.
Over the years, he?s found that some stories get changed or watered down.
"The human body likes things to be easy," Thacker said. "And we like our history to be fairly simple. So we like to settle in on one or two things that we perceive to be accurate ... People hear what they want to hear."
One story in "Mountain Mysteries" concerns a UFO seen in the western tip of Lee County. Another takes on the story of the Melungeons in the Appalachians.
"It?s about approaching mystery and legend and paranormal studies as a new form of history," Thacker said. "It?s legitimizing those things as a new form of history."
As far the UFOs go, Thacker explained much of what is seen in the tri-state corner might be attributed to a "mountain light variety of UFOs" from "naturally-occurring electric plasma."
It?s a form of electricity, he said. "Often times, they?re associated with storms, high voltage areas ? electric lines."
At present, Thacker is working on a followup project ? a book about more "Mountain Mysteries."
And that includes ghost stories.
With a twist.
"I was never satisfied with stories," Thacker said. "I think the story behind the story is what I get the most into: ?What were the people doing? What kind of emotional state were they in?? And ... ?How did the story go 20 years earlier?? "
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