People standing on rocks

            People love to stand on rocks in the South. Maybe it’s because our mountains are tired after years on this earth, resting gently to let the moss grow on their backs as opposed to the majestic heights of the Rocky Mountains to the west with its sharp precipices and mighty peaks. In the South, there aren’t that many grand places to step out on to. (Considering Southerners and their love of hijinks, that could be a good thing.) But life in the South is more like a soft Blue Ridge vista or an Ozark overlook sporting fall colors down a gentle slope.

            I hail from the Deep South, a land created by mud deposits of the Mississippi River where rocks are purchased at lapidary shops. So naturally, I’m all about shooting a photo of me on top of Lookout Mountain.

            “Offbeat Tennessee” writes about one such place that has drawn visitors for years, Umbrella Rock on Lookout Mountain above Chattanooga, Tenn., where up to 30 people at a time can pose on the formation — and have! Even presidents Theodore Roosevelt and FDR (must be a Roosevelt thing) have visited Umbrella Rock for a photo opp. Of course today taking one’s photo would be too dangerous so the rock formation is currently off limits.

            You can view a collection of photos taken on Umbrella Rock here. And even more here.

            And by the way, visitors standing on Umbrella Rock can view seven states from that impressive rock collection! On a clear day.

            I’m going to end with a couple of my own. My grandparents took my father on a road trip to the Ozarks and visited Pivet Rock and Natural Bridge outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas (that's the threesome in the photo to the right). When I visited the area, I stopped at the park and gazed upon this rock formation that I knew I had seen before. No, my family didn’t climb on top for their immortal photo — my grandfather would have never allowed it — but they did bring home a photo nonetheless. 

             And guess what? So did I.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Interstate Mullet Toss may be Gulf Coast’s greatest beach party

            Question: What fish is named for a hairstyle, is the only fish to have a gizzard and some say, at least in Orange Beach, Alabama, that it owns mystical properties. This fish is also the star of a massive party held every April.           

            It’s the mullet, of course. And every spring it gets tossed about at the annual Interstate Mullet Toss at the Flora-Bama Lounge and Oyster Bar in Orange Beach — or Florida, depending on where you stand on the famous bar’s property.

            Mullets are actually eaten along the Gulf Coast but at the Flora-Bama it’s another reason to party, with the annual Mullet Toss becoming one of the largest beach parties on the coast. Basically you toss a dead mullet over the state line — the bar sits on the Florida-Alabama line and on each side (read Weird South’s blog on the multi-state bar here) — and the one who tosses the fish the farthest wins.

            Don’t believe us? Check out the photos from past events.

            This year’s event is April 24-26, 2015. The fun begins at noon Friday, April 24 and again at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26. It costs $15 to sign up to throw a mullet in various age groups and there’s an additional cover fee to get into the bar. There will also be live music with alcohol flowing freely.

            For more information, visit FloraBama.com or call (850) 492-0611.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

They are out there — in the Ozarks!

  

          Eureka Springs is known for its quirky side. Nestled in the Ozarks on the side of a mountain, the town attracts a variety of followers — including a few from outer space!

            The 28th annual Ozark Mountain UFO Conference, the oldest UFO conference in the United States, kicks off Friday, April 10, 2015, in Eureka Springs, bringing together experts and investigators in the field of UFOs, extraterrestrials and ancient and lost civilizations. The conference takes place at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center at 207 W. Van Buren St. in the heart of town.

Peter Davenport

            The event was the brainchild of the late UFOlogist (I didn’t make that word up, it was in the press release) Lucius O. Farish. Since his passing in 2013, the conference has been helmed by metaphysical author and researcher Dolores Cannon.

            The event opens with a lecture by Peter Davenport, another UFOlogist and director of the National UFO Reporting Center since 1994. He’s also a current member and former costate section director and Director of Investigation for the Washington State chapter of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). Also on April 10, Thom Reed will recount his childhood ET/UFO encounters from the 1960s. Several of Thom's childhood sketches from 1969, depicting what he witnessed first-hand, are displayed at the Roswell UFO Museum in New Mexico, and the Great Barrington Historical Society of Massachusetts will also include Thom’s extraterrestrial encounters in their collection.

            Psychic Nikki Pattillo, author of “Children of the Stars: Advice for Parents and Star Children and A Spiritual Evolution,” will also speak on day one of the conference, giving her lecture titled “Star Children and a New Earth.”
            On April 11, Kewaunee Lapseritis, researching the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon, will give his presentation “Overwhelming Evidence for a Bigfoot/UFO Connection” and Barbara Lamb, veteran crop circle researcher and author of “Crop Circles Revealed,” will speak on “Crop Circles: A Worldwide Mystery.”

Kewaunee Lapseritis

            Linda Moulton Howe, recipient of the Lucius Farish Foundation Award for excellence in UFO research, TV producer, documentarian, author and Earthfiles.com editor, will speak as well as a keynote speech by UFO author, investigator, researcher and reporter Richard Dolan, who hosts the Richard Dolan Show on KGRA Radio, is a frequent guest to Coast-to-Coast AM, and is featured in the new television documentary series, “Hangar One.”

Melanie Young

            On April 12, Melanie Young, a neonatal nurse, will speak about her research into The Starchild Skull, a 900-year-old bone skull found in Mexico in the 1930s that is strangely shaped and exhibits possible qualities of an extraterrestrial origin.

Sherry Wilde, author of “The Forgotten Promise,” will return this year as the final speaker at the 2015 Ozark Mountain UFO Conference to further discuss her decades-long encounters with extraterrestrials in the presentation “The Esoteric Life of a Volunteer.”

            The final day of the conference will also include a tribute to the late Dolores Cannon, who passed away in October 2014 after writing dozens of books based on her nearly 50 years of investigations into UFOs and metaphysics. She obtained information about ETs and UFOs from thousands of past life regression sessions and developed her own technique of hypnotherapy, Quantum Healing Hypnosis Therapy (QHHT), which also enabled her to directly communicate with extraterrestrials. Dolores was involved with the Ozark UFO Conference since its inception.
             For more information, visit www.ozarkufoconference.com.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

'Walking Dead' may close for season but tours will not

Season 5 is ending! How will we survive?

            Once again the advent of spring brings sad news to “The Walking Dead” fans. The 90-minute finale of the most popular show in television airs Sunday, March 29, and will disappear for months!

            But it doesn’t have to mean the end of Rick, Carol, Daryl and the rest of those heroes until fall rolls around. You can visit film sites in Georgia and recreate the dark apocalypse all year long.

            Atlanta Movie Tours offers Big Zombie Tours that includes the hospital where Rick, our favorite sheriff who’s gone off the deep end this year, was first seen when the series debuted. There’s also the Center for Disease Control (it really didn’t blow up), downtown Atlanta and other location hot spots.

            The Southern Hollywood Film Tour also offers a Dead walk and includes the town of Harralson where 17 episodes from seasons 2-5 were shot.

            A lot of the series was filmed in Senoia, a small, quaint town outside of Atlanta that’s now being doubled as a film backlot. Fans can call Senoia “Woodbury” since it was the location for the Governor’s cozy little enclave, but seasons 3-5 of “The Walking Dead” were filmed here. Senoia — if those of you dead heads care — was also the backdrop of films “Drop Dead Diva,” “Fried Green Tomatoes” and many more.

Well, maybe not everyone is friendly.

            The Georgia Merchantile tours Senoia film locations, and guests can pick up some Georgia-made products at the same time. A great place to s"pend the night is The Veranda Bed and Breakfast where its believed author Margaret Mitchell interviewed Civil War veterans when she was doing research for “Gone With the Wind.” And don’t miss shopping at the Woodbury Shoppe, which sells “Dead” paraphernalia such as a Daryl Dixon claimed banner and “Walker Bait” caps as well as books on where the series was filmed so you can do your own touring. You can even become a member of The Woodbury Shoppe and be first in line for autograph sessions with cast and producers of the show, discount on products and other special privileges.
            One of our favorite stops in Senoia is the Senoia Coffee & Café, which not only serves up a mean cup of java, such as the Zombie Dark, but a tasty menu too — try the Senoia fried green tomato BLT!

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Little cemetery houses a grave affair in Louisiana

Credit: Stacey Scarce

            In South Louisiana, even the dead want to come in from the rain and cold.             

            There are two cemeteries that contain grave houses, structures that cover the graves of South Louisiana residents. At the Talbert-Pierson Cemetery near Pitkin, a row of graves are sheltered by identical houses. In Mermentau Cove, the Istre Cemetery contains grave houses that include windows and locks on the doors.

            Grave houses, although rare and usually found in older cemeteries, were simply structures designed to protect a gravesite or several graves from the elements. According to the historical marker at the circa-1889 Talbert-Pierson Cemetery, “the origins of grave houses are uncertain — some tracing the beginnings to European or Native American roots. Other sources simply attribute the custom to a form of protecting the graves before cemeteries were commonly fenced. Grave houses were a part of the Upland South tradition: this custom also included decorating the graves with shells.”

Istre Cemetery

            The houses had to be built before sunset on the day of the person’s burial, the marker claims. Since there was additional cost involved in creating both a grave and a house, the grave houses were reserved for important members of a family or community. The 15 grave houses at Talbert-Pierson were built from hand-cut wooden pickets with gabled roofs, the construction dating between 1889 to 1949.

            The Talbert-Pierson Cemetery contains graves of the Talbert and Pierson families who first came into this area of Louisiana known as “No Man’s Land” in the 19th century. Vernon Parish and the region along the Sabine River that borders with Texas was once a land of dispute between the Louisiana Territory belonging to the Americans and the Spanish in Texas. Pioneers of this “Neutral Ground,” many from the Upland South, attempted farms while criminals, runaway slaves and military deserters were attracted to the lawless country.

Istre Cemetery

            Meanwhile, over at the Istre Cemetery in Mermentau Cove, down in deep Cajun Country, “Petite Maisons” cover the graves of Cajun settlers. These cypress structures resemble homes that live people use — only on a miniature scale. The houses the size of a child’s playhouse one might see in a backyard often include windows, doors and working locks and shingled roofs. Peek inside and you’ll see the graves.

            Istre Cemetery is one of the last remaining examples of this unique custom; there used to be grave houses all over Cajun Country. The cemetery began in 1886 and was home to nearly 40 of these petite maisons, but today only three remain. South Louisiana filmmakers Zach and Jeremy Broussard examine these last remaining houses and the culture surrounding them in their documentary, “Little Houses.” Proceeds help preserve the remaining structures.

            Broussard has also written a book about the phenomenon.

            "There are theories that they were purely practical, to protect the graves from animals or the elements,” Broussard said in a 2013 interview with WVUE TV in New Orleans. “And there are theories that they were meant as shrines."

Talbert-Pierson Credit: Stacey Scarce

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Why visit England? Stonehenge right here in America

      Stonehenge and those other rock-enhanced spiritual sites of the British Isles have always been a dream of mine to visit. In typical fashion, however, Americans have made it so we don’t have to cross The Pond to experience such ancient relics.

      Mark Cline has created a full-size replica of Stonehenge located in Natural Bridge, Virginia, which has to be just as good as the English model, even if it’s made entirely of Styrofoam. You don’t have to worry about upsetting an ancient site, either, because these babies emerged on April Fool’s Day, 2004. So get up close to Foamhenge and touch those stones.

      Another place to satisfy your ancient Anglo lust is Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska, built by Jim Reinders as a memorial to his father. This replica of Stonehenge was created by burying vintage cars painted gray in just the right places — they even celebrate the summer solstice here. The circle consists of “three standing trilithons within the circle, the heel stone, slaughter stone, and two station stones and includes a ‘Car Art Preserve’ with sculptures made from cars and parts of cars,” according to the web site.

      Mark your calendars for Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, when the moon will align with the sun for a total eclipse and Carhenge and Alliance will be in the centerline of the eclipse’s path. The viewing is expected to be excellent.

      So save your pennies. Stonehenge and all its astronomical powers exist in America.

For Valentine's Day, try some love mojo

            Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, so why not do something unique for your loved one with a little mojo magic?

            Gris gris bags, mojo bags, root bags — whatever you name them, they offer conjuring magic in a small pouch. Using amulets and charms to attract love has actually been in practice for centuries and in many cultures. In the South, Africans and African-Americans collected a variety of ingredients — usually “sticks, stones, roots and bones” — and placed them inside a flannel cloth, preferably red, as a magical amulet. These “gris gris” or “mojo” bags were used for luck in gambling, attracting love, stopping gossip, warding off evil and many other charms and spells.             So being in the spirit of the Valentine season, we’re going to show you how to create a love gris gris or mojo bag, based on the popular book, “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets” by Jude Bradley and Cheré Coen, (yes, your Weird South blog author).

            The best day to create a love gris gris is a Friday on a waxing (growing) moon. A full moon works as well. When the moon is waxing, it is time to create intention for things or people that you wish to come into your life. When the moon is full, the pull of the moon’s energy is at its highest, but a waxing moon works nicely too.

            Start with a pink or red bag, the color of love and passion respectively. You can make your own bags but simply sewing together three sides and connecting the top with a string pull or purchase these bags at craft stores. The pink ones you see here were bought at Michael’s.

            Choose your ingredients. Some of the most popular ingredients for love include roses, rosemary, lavender, basil, cinnamon and rose quartz. You can also include a photo of the person you love or wish for you to love you, or write that person’s name on a piece of paper and either include in the bag or burn and place the ashes in the bag. (Burning the paper releases your intention into the universe.)

            Add the ingredients into the bag, but make sure there is an odd number. Any number of items can be included in a gris gris bag, as long as the combination of elements adds up to an odd number and there are at least three items in the bag and no more than thirteen.  

            Carry your love gris gris with you, smell its earthy scent and know that love is on the way.           

            Want to learn more? Our book contains information on the use of bags throughout the world, what natural elements such as herbs and stones mean and how to create a variety of gris gris bags.