Blog

  • The Hidden Folklore of Ashe County, NC

          Tucked away in the quiet ridges of Ashe County, the mountains don’t just hold history, they hold stories and sometimes more. Not the kind you’ll always find written down. The kind that get passed along in low voices, across kitchen tables, or mentioned just enough to make you think twice before walking into the…

  • ​The Quiet Masters: Finding the Hidden Artisans of the High Country

    In an age of assembly lines and mass production, there is something revolutionary about an object made by hand. In the hollers and high ridges of Ashe County, there is a community of makers whose work is rarely seen on a gallery wall or a social media feed. These are the “unknown” artists, the rustic…

  • mountain masonry& Carpentry Quality Craftsmanship Built to Last

    With over 30 years of experience, Randall Wooten brings expert skill and local reliability to every project. Whether you are looking for the timeless strength of custom stone and brickwork or the detailed precision of professional carpentry, we deliver results that stand the test of time. His Specialized Services Include: Why Choose Mountain Masonry? Contact…

  • ​The Bell in the Hollow

    The mist usually settles in the valleys of the Blue Ridge like a thick, woolen blanket, but some nights it feels less like weather and more like a curtain. The old man always said that the mountains don’t forget a name once they’ve heard it spoken aloud in the dark. We lived so deep in…

  • Welcome to my World

    Step on in.  Set a spell.Not much here is loud or hurried. Just the steadiness of mountain life, the kind that settles into your bones and stays awhile. This is the place where stories are born: between creek rocks and early mornings, in the quiet of the holler, in the strange and beautiful corners of…

  • The Holler Handbook (part Two) A Dictionary of the Appalachian Language

    A Book of Sayings of the Appalachian Mountains. “If his brains were dynamite, he wouldn’t have enough to blow his nose.”“She’s as fine as frog hair split four ways.” Appalachian English is not slang, it is a living, breathing, time capsule. Due to the centuries-long isolation of the mountains, the language of the Scotch-Irish settlers…

  • The Holler HandBook: a dictionary of the Appalachian Language

    Book overview The Holler Handbook: A Dictionary of Appalachian Language By Stephanie Woodie Step into the heart of the high country, where the air is ‘airish’ and the stories run as deep as the ‘hollers.’ This book is a vibrant tribute to one of America’s most distinct cultural treasures: the Appalachian language. For centuries, the…

  • I am Darkness

    Book overview I Am DarknessBy Stephanie Woodie I Am Darkness is a chilling collection of interconnected horror stories that explore the vast, cold reach of an ancient, primordial entity. In the Prologue, you will meet Darkness a sentient, eternal force that predates time and matter. Forged in ancient fury after the intrusive birth of Light and the “parasitic” life…

  • Ghost:Round Three

    GHOST: ROUND THREE Angie has won a small battle: temporary custody of young Jen. But the victory is hollow. Haunted by the horrors of the desert and betrayed by a system that has jailed the man she trusts, Jen has retreated into a terrifying, silent world of trauma. As Angie fights a mountain of red…

  • Ghost: Round Two

    Book overview The desert was a nightmare. The wilderness is a trap. Neil survived the unthinkable: an illegal human-hunting game where he was the prey. He didn’t escape alone. He rescued “Ghost,” a traumatized toddler left for dead in the dust. Now, living under new identities in forty-eight acres of isolated timberland, Neil is determined…