Some Southern novels announce themselves with gothic excess — creaking houses, Spanish moss, and ghosts that refuse to stay buried. All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby does something quieter and far more unsettling. It opens in the daylight, in a modern Southern town that looks familiar enough to pass without comment. That familiarity is…
SBP Podcast Episode 13 : High Tide, High Times (Part 1): The Gentleman Smugglers & Operation Jackpot
In Episode 13 of the Southern Blueprint Podcast, we begin a two-part series exploring the true story of the Gentleman Smugglers and the massive federal investigation known as Operation Jackpot. This is a deeply Southern story—rooted in the Lowcountry, stretching from South Carolina’s barrier islands to the Caribbean, and ending with one of the most…
The State of Franklin: America’s Lost Four-Year Experiment (1784–1788)
The “State of Franklin” (occasionally referred to as “Frankland” in period documents) was a brief, extra-legal republic created by frontier leaders in what is now East Tennessee. Their aim: to establish the 14th state of the United States. Between 1784 and 1788, Franklin operated a rival government. It held elections, enacted laws, organized courts, negotiated…
SBP Podcast Episode 12: Coming Back to NASCAR After 20 Years — At the Wildest Possible Time
There are times when you return to something familiar and realize it never really left you — it just changed while you were gone. That’s what happened to me with NASCAR. I haven’t truly followed the sport since around 2007–2008. Life moved on. Interests changed. NASCAR, at least to me, stopped feeling like home. But…
LEWIS REDMOND: THE PRINCE OF DARK CORNER — THE OUTLAW WHO MADE THE SOUTH HIS LEGEND
In the years after the Civil War, as the Carolinas nursed wounds still raw from defeat and Reconstruction, federal law felt like a distant threat in the mountain country along the state line. The steep ridges and tight hollers held families who clung fiercely to their land, to their own labor, and—often—the hidden lifeblood of…
Southern Reads: Southern Stock
There’s a certain kind of book that doesn’t just land in your hands — it lands in your life at precisely the right moment. That’s what happened when I picked up Southern Stock by Gena Elliott this month for our Hidden Pine Lodge Book Club. What I thought would be a good Southern racing novel…
SBP Podcast Episode 11: The Rougarou-Beast Of Faith And Fear
In the swamps of Louisiana, where cypress trees rise from the water and fog clings to the Spanish moss, stories still whisper of a creature that walks between man and monster. They call it the Rougarou — part man, part beast, born of sin and superstition. The word comes from the French loup-garou, meaning “wolf-man.”…
The 13 Most Haunted Places in the South — Where History Still Walks at Night
From bayou mansions and lighthouse towers to decaying jails and Civil War homes, these places hum with the echoes of what came before. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s something undeniable about standing in a space where tragedy once unfolded, where whispers linger long after the living have gone. These are thirteen places…
The Ultimate 2025 Guide to Fall Festivals and Haunted Attractions in North Carolina
Autumn in North Carolina is more than a season — it’s a celebration. The first cool mornings bring the smell of woodsmoke, apple cider stands appear along mountain highways, and weekend calendars fill with small-town parades, barbecue cook-offs, and haunted forests that test your nerves. This guide is your one-stop plan for every festival and…
SBP Podcast Episode 10: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story Behind America’s Most Infamous Family Feud
Few stories in American history are as dramatic, violent, and enduring as the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys. What began with Civil War bitterness and a dispute over a hog spiraled into a decades-long conflict filled with betrayal, gunfights, and tragedy along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. In the latest episode…