Happy 51rst Birthday To North Carolina’s Own Country Music Hit Maker Jimmy Wayne

When he comes home to the Tar Heel state, you might find him inviting people to hike with him on Crowders Mountain.  He is also known to treat himself and others to some Tony's Ice Cream in Gastonia.  Happy 51rst birthday to North Carolina's own country music hit maker, Jimmy Wayne.

Jimmy Wayne Barber was born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina on October 23, 1972 and he spent most of his youth in Bessemer City.  He is one of our native sons we are most proud of.  We are not only proud of Jimmy's success in Nashville but of the work he has done over the years to help kids in the foster system.  He knows first hand what's that like having spent years as a foster child.

Jimmy met an amazing woman named Bea Costner who he credits with turning his life around.  He wrote a bestselling book called Walk to Beautiful, emphasis on Bea.  In this incredibly moving and life changing book he details his struggles growing up in foster care and on the streets until be met Bea and her husband.  Bea and Russell changed the course of his life.

We always loved seeing and talking to Jimmy over the years. He never forgets where he came from and he never forgets who helped bring him to the dance. He is a hit making singer/songwriter, best selling author and keynote speaker.  Happy 51rst birthday to North Carolina's own Jimmy Wayne.

This is my favorite time of year.  I love Fall and a good haunted house for Halloween.  Every state seems to have its share of Urban Legends.  But, I ran across 3 of the spookiest North Carolina urban legends that even you may not know.  I certainly wasn't acquainted with them until I read about them in onlyinyourstate.com

First of all, what's an "urban legend?"  Wikipedia defines it as "a genre of folklore comprising claims or stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend of a friend or family member, often with horrifying, humorous or cautionary elements."  And, while it makes for some fun times around the campfire or at a sleepover, there's more than likely very little truth to them at all.  But, we still love to pass them around to scare ourselves and our friends.

So, I find usually the more detail added the better the urban legend.  And, sometimes, the details change depending on the storyteller or how they heard the tale.  But, the basic bones of the legend remain in tact.  I remember growing up in small town Texas, we had our share.  And, there was one we passed around back then that oddly enough seems to pop up in multiple towns or states, including North Carolina.  Although, we called it "Cry Baby Bridge" while the similar North Carolina urban legend has a different name.  We'll get to that in just a moment.

Well, now that we established what urban legends are and why we enjoy them so much, we can get down to examining the ones that haunt us in the Tar Heel State.  Onlyinyourstate.com mentioned 10.  But, I decided to highlight 3 of the spookiest North Carolina urban legends.  So, light the fire, grab your s'mores and prepare for a scare.

Now, I've visited Lake Norman a number of times. But, I never heard about the mythical "Normie" creature. According to onlyinyourstate, Lake Norman was manmade in 1963. And, it's possible that a creature may have gotten "caught" during the process. Supposedly, divers swore off venturing into certain areas due to seeing a massive fish. In fact, they report the fish is big enough to swallow a human. Well, I don't know exactly what "Normie" might be. But, I certainly don't want to find out. Plus, there's also "ghost towns" beneath the lake including an entire 1800s mill and surrounding village.  That's a whole other interesting historical tidbit in and of itself.  But, Normie definitely qualifies as one of the 3 spookiest North Carolina urban legends.

Ok, this was a new one on me.  The Beast of Bladenboro urban legend dates back to 1954. Apparently, as legend goes, huge numbers of animal mutilations and livestock deaths started happening in Bladenboro. There were broken or removed jaws on the animals. And, sometimes their blood completely drained. And, because of that point, it was compared to a Chupacabra. Also, witnesses say it was something like a panther. But, the "beast" for whatever reason disappeared for decades until 2006. However, there's still no explanation for the so called existence of the Beast of Bladenboro.  But, in doing research for this story I ran across the "Beast Fest."  It's basically a carnival type festival celebrating the legend.  It features cornhole, crafts, food and fun October 27 and 28 in downtown.  So, the town folk must not be super scared!  And, this is another of the 3 spookiest North Carolina urban legends in my book!

So, I told you that there was one of the 3 spookiest North Carolina urban legends that I remember telling around the fire as a kid in Texas.  It went by the name "Cry Baby Bridge" in my hometown.  However, in Rowan County North Carolina a very similar tale goes by the name of Gravity Hill.  Both tales share the basic story of a young mother alone on a dark road with her small children.  The car stalls, and she gets out to try and push it up a hill or across a bridge.  However, tragedy strikes when a truck kills her and her child.  And, the legend claims that sprinkling baby powder on the hood or trunk of your car while on the hill reveals handprints.  And, if while sitting in the car in neutral at the bottom you begin to feel it being "pushed."  What are the odds of two nearly identical stories happening in different states?  LOL.  Well, it definitely qualifies as another of the 3 spookiest North Carolina urban legends.  To see more North Carolina urban legends, read the full list from Only In Your State. Happy Halloween!