In the early 20th century, a shadowy organization threatened violence on families in an effort to extort money. In 1911, a Black Hand letter appeared in Shreveport, and the case that followed would shock an entire state.

In late 19th century Shreveport, one woman's name appeared in newspaper headlines again and again: Fannie Roos. Known as a courtesan and proprietress of a house of ill repute, she stood at the center of violence, scandal, and the lives of the men who crossed her path.

This is the story of Fannie Roos, the woman at the center of Shreveport's vice district for a decade.

In 1930s Louisiana, one man's violent temper spilled over from his home into the streets of the small town of Gilliam...with deadly consequences.

In this episode, we explore the story of Will Doles, his deadly feud with a neighbor, and the woman who rose out of the violence to create a better life for herself and her son.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

Post-Civil War Louisiana was a hard place. Many men never returned home, others came back changed, and the landscape itself still bore the scars of war. But then...a dancing master came to town.

In this episode, we explore the life of M M Romby, a dancing master, award-winning fiddler, and man whose music crossed social and racial lines in a deeply divided South.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

In 1886, the small town of Arcadia, Louisiana, was shaken by the gruesome murder of a quiet citizen. The entire country would soon be shocked by the mob justice that followed.

In this episode, we briefly cover the life and murder of Johnie Lafelle and examine a moment when small-town justice may have gone terribly wrong.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

In 19th-century journalism, newspaper editors did not just write the news...they fought it. Ink, fists, pistols, shotguns, and even cane swords could be the chosen weapons.

In this episode, we explore the turbulent life of brilliant young newspaper editor, Charles McDonald Puckette, from the proposed shotgun duel that kept the city on edge to the quiet cemetery where he now rests under a tombstone inscribed with poetry.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

In rural 1880s Louisiana, a family fight escalated into a deadly confrontation, leaving one family member dead, and a community searching for answers.

Why had an upstanding member of the community shot his brother-in-law to death?

In this episode, we follow the story of Stephen C. King and a sudden family rift that ended a life too soon.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

In 1935 Bossier City, LA, an argument between two men ended in gunfire, leaving a man known as Smokey Joe dead.

What happened that night would be argues in court and debated across the city.

In this episode, we cover the story of Smokey Joe Feducia, from the deadly confrontation at the Chicken Inn, to the grave yard where he now rests.

Every stone has a story. Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones explores the lives, tragedies, and mysteries hidden beneath the headstones of the American South.

Season One Preview of Southern Souls: Stories from the Stones.

Southern Souls is a narrative history podcast exploring forgotten lives through the stories hidden beneath Southern grave markers.

Each episode begins in a cemetery and follows the story of a life that history nearly forgot.

Season One features stories of murder, music, scandal, tragedy, and survival across the American South.

Hosted by Tarah Thomas.

Music for this trailer is Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie, used under a Creative Commons License.