Headless Annie ghost of Harlan County
This baffling and gruesome urban legend, takes place within the foothills and forests of Harlan County, Kentucky. What took place here, was one of the worst killings ever. The locals who live here are quite familiar with “Headless Annie”. This rather spooky tale revolves around a young girl who was brutally murdered in Big Black Mountain.
Years ago, this part of Kentucky was known for its coal-mining industry. A number of mining camps were established around the area. Coal was in big demand back then and anyone able to lift shovel or pickaxe, was destined to become a miner here to earn their keep. As one can imagine, coal mines are dusty and dirty. Many people, suffered long term effects from being inside these mines for long periods of time.
The job was dangerous and the men who worked in these mines quickly became wary. Soon enough, they started to protest…refusing to continue for the measly pay they were receiving. Things quickly took a turn for the worst, as some of the bosses began killing a number of miners who refused to work. These miners stood their ground, while standing on the picket lines in Harlan County. From these events happening, this place earned the name Bloody Harlan.
One day, a 12 year old little girl named Annie would soon face her fate. Her father, worked at the mines and was outspoken about what was going on. He wanted to form a union and resistance to what was happening. The mining companies here, wanted to make an example of him. This was done so that others would fall in line, obeying anything and everything that they were told to do. They figured, that no one else would dare cross them again.
What soon followed was quite gruesome. It was late in the nighttime hours, when the bosses decided to hire and send a group of thugs out towards Big Black Mountain. Soon enough, both Annie and her father crosses paths with them. They were then dragged out into the woods after being taken from their home. Annie’s mother was also grabbed and led from her bed and into the forest.
These men were demented in every sense of the word. They first made little Annie watch her father have his legs cut off. Afterward, they strung up the remains of her father upon a meat hook, which they had tied up high above on a nearby tree. From this, her father would bleed to death much like a pig being slaughtered. Next, her mother suffered the same fate.
Annie wouldn’t live much longer, as these men held her down and then chopped her head off. After this, these men flung her body off of a cliff which ran alongside the roadway. Annie would then lay there for days while wild animals would feast upon her body. The men who killed this family were never found and brought to justice.
Legend says, that if you are on Big Black Mountain after dark you can see the ghost of Headless Annie wandering down the road. People have claimed to have seen a headless ghost dressed in a nightgown being surrounded by an unearthly glow. While driving through here, some have reported their engines actually stalling. It is believed that when Annie jumps onto the hood of someone’s car, they would soon be frozen with fright. If Annie finds that your windows are down, then she soon will take your head off, according to legend. This urban legend, is a grim one and continues to keep people up late at night living in Kentucky.
(Source: Cool Interesting Stuff)
