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Stories a place tells about itself, passed down and still repeated.
Pineville, KY
Pineville folklore says residents chained an enormous boulder to Pine Mountain to keep it from rolling down and crushing the town. The chain was actually installed in the 1930s as a publicity stunt inspired by the legend, and visitors can hike to the rock from Pine Mountain State Resort Park.
Corbin, KY
Cumberland Falls is one of the few places where visitors can regularly see a lunar rainbow, or moonbow, under the right full-moon conditions. The surrounding gorge also carries the Lover's Leap ghost story of a bride said to have fallen to her death and later appeared in a white dress near the falls.
Covington, KY
Stop on Devou Park, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Middlesboro, KY
Coal miner and self-taught folk artist Henry Harrison Mayes spent decades creating concrete crosses, hearts and religious messages that he distributed across America and envisioned sending around the world. He also constructed his Middlesboro home itself in the shape of a cross; it remains a private residence, with surviving original crosses visible from the public street.
Pikeville, KY
Local tradition says Octavia Hatcher was mistakenly declared dead in 1891 during an illness that left several Pikeville residents in coma-like states. Her husband later reportedly exhumed her and found evidence she had awakened in the coffin; a fenced statue now marks her grave in Pikeville Cemetery.
Georgetown, KY
Local legend remembers Pete as a real talking crow that supposedly shouted "Go!" during early horse races and helped inspire the use of organized race starts. The Georgetown & Scott County Museum keeps the story alive with a mechanical Pete display among its local-history collections.
Princeton, KY
Stop on KY 2618, under the Western Kentucky Parkway bridge, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Louisville, KY
Local legend says a tree once used as a gathering place by witches was cut down before the 1890 tornado that devastated Louisville, and that the witches cursed the city in revenge. The gnarled replacement tree at Park Avenue and Sixth Street has become a neighborhood landmark where visitors still leave small offerings.
