Tri-State Time Machine

🕯️👀 FRIDAY THE 13TH. APPALACHIAN HORROR. YOU KNOW WE HAD TO. 👀🕯️

This Friday, February 13th, we’re heading deep into the hills with Princeton, WV author Joshua Bish — and trust me… this one feels perfectly timed.

Joshua writes Appalachian horror rooted in:
🌄 Local legends
📜 Hidden West Virginia history
👻 Regional ghost stories
🧠 Psychological terror
🕯️ Trauma, myth-making, and cultural memory

We talk about how our mountains shape fear…
Why early 1900s Appalachia was peak storytelling era…
Concord University folklore…
Strange encounters across the Tri-State…
And why this region carries its own kind of haunting.

If you’ve ever felt like Appalachia has secrets buried in the soil — you’re going to love this episode.

🎙️ Tri-State Time Machine
📅 Airs Friday, February 13th
🎧 Available wherever you stream podcasts

➡️ Appalachian Horror, Campus Hauntings, and Family Legends: A Conversation with Joshua Bish

Mark your calendar.
Turn the lights low.
And maybe don’t listen alone.

A mining cart full of men went to work that morning, and only one would come back out alive.

On January 2, 2006, in Sago, West Virginia, an explosion ripped through the Sago Mine in Upshur County, becoming the deadliest U.S. mining disaster since the 1968 Farmington Mine tragedy.

At 5:50 a.m., a mine professional conducted an examination and cleared the mine for operation. Shortly after, two carts carrying miners entered the mine to begin their shift. Around 6:30 a.m., the first cart passed the point where the explosion would occur. One miner was killed instantly in the blast, while twelve others attempted to take shelter from deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

The second cart, carrying fourteen men, escaped the initial explosion. The foreman, whose brother was on the first cart, along with four others, attempted a rescue. They were forced to stop nearly 9,000 feet into the mine when carbon monoxide levels became too dangerous to continue.

Emergency calls began around 7:40 a.m., including requests for a specialized mine rescue team. MSHA was notified at approximately 8:30 a.m. and arrived around 10:30 a.m., with the first rescue crew arriving shortly after. It took rescue teams 41 hours to reach the trapped miners.

Only one miner, Randal McCloy Jr., was found alive. He was removed from the mine around 1:30 a.m. on January 4th. He was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple other injuries.

The twelve miners who lost their lives were:
Thomas P. Anderson, Alva M. Bennett, James Bennett, Jerry L. Groves, George J. Hamner, Terry Helms, Jesse L. Jones, David W. Lewis, Martin Toler Jr., Fred G. Ware, Jackie L. Weaver, and Marshall Winans.

Initial theories suggested a lightning strike from a nearby thunderstorm ignited methane gas. However, the Charleston Gazette reported that the Sago Mine was known for roof falls and had been cited 208 times by MHSA for safety violations.

The Sago Mine disaster remains a painful reminder of the human cost of mining, and the importance of safety, accountability, and never forgetting those who paid the ultimate price.

✨ Tri-State Time Machine: 2025 Wrap-Up ✨

What a year.

In 2025, Tri-State Time Machine became more than a podcast — it became a place. A place for memories, local voices, hard truths, laughter, nostalgia, and stories that don’t always get told.

This year we:
🕰️ Sat down with incredible guests
🎙️ Talked local history, culture, businesses, and real life
🖤 Acknowledged the heavy stuff instead of skipping over it
😂 Laughed more than we expected
📻 Remembered where we came from — and why it still matters

Some episodes were fun. Some were emotional. Some surprised us. All of them reminded us that the Tri-State isn’t just a location — it’s people, memories, and moments that deserve to be preserved.

Thank you to every guest who trusted us with their story.
Thank you to every listener who shared an episode, sent a message, or said “that one hit close to home.”
And thank you for sticking with us as we grew, learned, and figured things out in real time.

We’re heading into the new year with more stories to tell, more voices to amplify, and a deeper commitment to doing this the right way — honestly.

Here’s to the past, the present, and everything still ahead.
🕰️✨

💬 Tell us your favorite episode of the year
⭐ Rate & review the podcast
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