Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard brings a distinctly regional focus to the mystery genre with Southern Mysteries Podcast, exploring the rich and often untold history of the American South through folklore, legends, unexplained events, and true crime. Since 2017, she has released 90 episodes that uncover compelling Southern tales spanning ghostly lore, baffling disappearances, and strange historical events. The show has a 4.8-star rating from nearly 1,000 reviews, which is unusually high for a show of this size. Ballard narrates each episode with clear affection for her subject matter. She does thorough research and presents each case with respect, balancing historical context with the human stories at the center. Episodes release biweekly and are clean-rated, making the show accessible to a wide audience. The production is polished but not overproduced -- it sounds like a well-prepared storyteller sharing something she genuinely finds fascinating. Ballard also offers a Patreon with access to over 60 archived episodes and exclusive content. The regional focus is the real draw here. Southern history is full of ghost stories, Civil War mysteries, Appalachian folklore, and small-town secrets that rarely get covered by national podcasts. If you have any connection to or interest in the American South, this show will feel like it was made specifically for you. But even without that connection, the stories stand on their own.