S02E17 The Moon Eyed People

Join Flood and Walker as we dig in and dig up one of the more obscure mysteries of Appalachian Lore: The Moon Eyed People.

According to Cherokee legend, The Moon Eyed People were a tribe of strange people populating the Appalachian mountains. They were described as extremely short, ranging from 3-5 feet, with long white beards, pasty white skin, pot bellies, and pale, piercing blue eyes. Supposedly, they  only came out at night because of their sensitivity to light.

Due to their aversion to light, The Moon Eyed People used the endless cave systems of the mountains to make their homes.

Legend describes them as a separate race of people, rather than the supernatural beings that are fairly common in Cherokee mythology.

The story goes that The Cherokee, particularly the Creek tribe, came up from the South and invaded the territory of the Moon-Eyed People, which extended from the Little Tennessee River north to Kentucky, with stone fortifications along the borders.

The Creek waited until the full moon (when the Moon-Eyed folk would be at their weakest) to attack, and drove them from their caves.

The pale-skinned people ultimately fled west into the Smoky Mountains, never to be seen again.

So were The Moon Eyed People real? 

Is there any evidence to support their existence?

Tonight, Flood and Walker dive off the deep end only to merely scratch the surface of a personal obsession for them both.

We will return to this subject in season 3.