Spearfinger

"I just don't believe that many people could have made up the same story," says Wamsley.

"But what it was they saw I don't believe will ever be truly explained or solved." And now the legend of Spearfinger.

Several creepy legends associated with the Appalachian Trail originate from the Cherokee people.

One of these legend is about Spearfinger, which has been used to frighten children for generations.

Spearfinger is described as a witch-like hag who can disguise herself as a friendly old grandmother or even a family member.

Spearfinger lurks around the Smoky Mountains' highest peaks as she focuses on children who have wandered away from their homes and parents.

These children are usually afraid, which Spearfinger takes advantage of as she tells them she'll help, but her antics to sing them to sleep slowly.

She then uses her finger made of obsidian to gouge out their liver and eat it before them.

In the ancient Appalachian Mountains, there's a legend from the Cherokee people of a creature far more terrifying than any simple beast.

She's known as Spearfinger, or Nutillunsa, a powerful stone-skinned witch who preys upon the most vulnerable.

Spearfinger is a master of deception.

Her greatest power is the ability to shape-shift, allowing her to take the form of anyone she chooses.

Most often, she appears as a loving grandmother or a familiar aunt, a disguise that she uses to approach children who have wandered away from their homes or disobeyed their parents.

Then she uses her stone finger to painlessly extract their liver, which she then devours.

Frightening to think about.

At its heart, the story of Spearfinger is a potent cautionary tale, a vivid and terrifying warning to children to stay close to their community and to beware of strangers, even those with a familiar face in an unfamiliar place.

Google.

We have a very rich culture here, and a lot of the stuff that you are hearing about are probably offshoots of indigenous stories and traditions, like Raven Mocker or Spear Finger.

Do your homework.

And by the way, skinwalkers, inherently Navajo.

Just gonna leave it there.

Not from our region.

The Cherokee have their own version of that, Raven Mocker, Spear Finger, and the deer.

Who gets to define Appalachia? Who gets to tell the story of the region? For decades, popular American culture often defined Appalachia from outside.

[upbeat music] Sheep Squatch, Yahoo, Phantom of the Forest View, Spear Finger, Fire Dragon, Ohio Grass Man, Silver Giant, Footless Hollow, West Virginia Vampire, Coyote King, Hogzilla, Devil Dog, Coyote Killer.

[upbeat music] Cave Creature, Mothman, Smoke Wolf, Lizard Demon, Ash Man, Grafton Monster, Cow-Killing Bastard, Shadow Creature, Dust Man, Cherokee Dirt Cat, Wild Man, Great Fire Ape.

What else do I have to say? Steal yourself some chicken wire, and I'll get some lumber, catch the Thunder Brothers.

Now let me get real there.

What do you mean, "Get real?"

We all know from their climax of defeating Spear Finger that these guys love to build to, like, a giant huge ending.

[laughs] Tie everything together.

Uh, so at the end of the last episode, they had heard an enormous rumble in the hills, which they had heard once before.

In the ancient Appalachian Mountains There is a legend from the Cherokee people of a creature far more terrifying than any simple beast.

She is known as Spearfinger or Utilunta, a powerful stone-skinned witch who preys upon the most vulnerable.

Spearfinger is a master of deception.

Her greatest power is the ability to shapeshift, allowing her to take the form of anyone she chooses.

Most often, she appears as a loving grandmother or a familiar aunt, a disguise that she uses to approach children who have wandered away from their homes or disobeyed their parents.

Then, she uses her stone finger to painlessly extract their liver, which she then devours.

Frightening to think about.

At its heart, the story of Spearfinger is a potent cautionary tale, a vivid and terrifying warning to children to stay close to their community and to beware of strangers, even those with a familiar face in an unfamiliar place.

We've, we've talked about this before on the podcast, so I won't go too deep into it, but there are some wild legends in the Smokies, and a lot of them go back to Cherokee culture.

So you have Spear Finger the Witch.

There's a lot of ghost lights that have been spotted out there since the Cherokee were there.

And it's just a fun, creepy, like, natural, elemental place, and it's wonderful, and the hikes themselves are beautiful.

Are we going to get some kind of actual logical conclusion at the end or is there going to be a supernatural element? Did you always know how it was going to end?

No, because the first draft I did, there was an actual shape-shifting monster in it called Spearfinger, who is a kind of urban legend in that part of the world.

And the legend is that Spearfinger takes the form of an old woman, lures the kid away from the parents, kills the kid, takes the kid's form, goes back to the parents.

as the kid and then in the night transforms and then kills the whole family and I thought this has been an amazing story and so I did it all about that and it just wasn't working at all and it was the more I've read the word spear finger the more stupid it sounded and like a bad Bond villain or something so I was like this can't I have to change this whole thing so it became very very different by the end of it but I wanted to keep that kind of X-Files-y You know, you can read it two ways, the whole way through as much as possible.

And that was really fun.

But what it was they saw, I don't believe will ever be truly explained or solved.

And now, the legend of Spearfinger.

Several creepy legends associated with the Appalachian Trail originate from the Cherokee people.

One of these legends is about Spearfinger.

which has been used to frighten children for generations.

Spearfinger is described as a witch-like hag who can disguise herself as a friendly old grandmother or even a family member.

Spearfinger lurks around the Smoky Mountains' highest peaks as she focuses on children who have wandered away from their homes and parents.

These children are usually afraid, which Spearfinger takes advantage of as she tells them she'll help, but her antic is to sing them to sleep slowly.

I don't believe will ever be truly explained or solved.

And now, the legend of Spearfinger.

Several creepy legends associated with the Appalachian Trail originate from the Cherokee people.

One of these legends is about Spearfinger.

which has been used to frighten children for generations.

Spearfinger is described as a witch-like hag who can disguise herself as a friendly old grandmother or even a family member.

Spearfinger lurks around the Smoky Mountains' highest peaks as she focuses on children who have wandered away from their homes and parents.

These children are usually afraid, which Spearfinger takes advantage of as she tells them she'll help, but her antic is to sing them to sleep slowly.

But what it was they saw, I don't believe will ever be truly explained or solved.

And now, the legend of Spearfinger.

Several creepy legends associated with the Appalachian Trail originate from the Cherokee people.

One of these legends is about Spearfinger.

which has been used to frighten children for generations.

Spearfinger is described as a witch-like hag who can disguise herself as a friendly old grandmother or even a family member.

Spearfinger lurks around the Smoky Mountains' highest peaks as she focuses on children who have wandered away from their homes and parents.

These children are usually afraid, which Spearfinger takes advantage of as she tells them she'll help, but her antic is to sing them to sleep slowly.