Kings Tavern

What eerie secrets lurk within the walls of King's Tavern, the oldest building in Natchez, Mississippi, where history and the paranormal intertwine? Journey with me, Carole Townsend, as we unravel the spine-chilling tales of murder and betrayal that haunt this ancient site and explore the historic Natchez Trace, a travel corridor rich with stories of coexistence and conflict. As we gather on my front porch, I promise you'll be captivated by the legends that echo through this historic site, questioning whether the energies of the past still linger. Expect to be both enthralled and unsettled as we connect the dots between history and ghostly encounters.

In our pursuit of dark history, we uncover the harrowing tale of America's first serial killers, the Harp brothers, infamous for their ruthless acts along the Natchez Trace. Their chilling legacy is theorized to influence the ghostly phenomena that make King's Tavern a supernatural hotspot. As we weave through history, we also touch upon the enigma of the lost colony of Roanoke, bringing together elements of mystery that define Southern folklore. With insights from resources like "Paranormal Mississippi Case Files" and "The Bloodthirsty Harp Brothers," this episode offers a thrilling blend of history, legend, and the supernatural, inviting you to share with fellow aficionados of historical mysteries.

Chapters

• 0:06 Hauntings of King's Tavern
• 11:51 Terror and Revenge at King's Tavern
• 26:04 The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Transcript

Carole Townsend: 0:06

Haunted houses and haunted places. Who among us hasn't shared eerie tales about them as children? The very notion that a place is haunted by spirits and happenings intrigues us. It frightens us and it fascinates us us. It frightens us and it fascinates us. But what exactly is a haunted house or a haunted place? Is it what we see on television, a camera crew tiptoeing through an abandoned hospital or an old prison or a house registering mysterious electrical impulses on a meter, recording static-y garble and trying to make some sense of the noise? Or is it exclaiming every now and then about a drop in temperature?

Carole Townsend: 0:56

Well, maybe here in the South we love our stories. We begin in childhood huddled around campfires, whispering of things best spoken in the dark, confiding in our small, trusting circles. Why is that, do you suppose? I have researched and investigated Southern history for more than 20 years and I believe it has to do with this region itself. There's a lot that hangs in the ether here and much that is buried deep in the soil. There's beauty here in the south and shame and courage and, make no mistake, there is evil. There's always been the element of the unexplained, the just out of reach that we can all feel but can never quite describe, and the best place for telling tales about such things is the comfort and safety of an old front porch. So I invite you tonight to come up here with me, settle back into a chair and get comfortable, pour yourself a drink if you like, and I'll share with you some of the tales best told in the company of friends, tales that prove that truth really is stranger than fiction. And I'll turn on the light. You're going to want that. I'm Carole Townsend. Welcome to my front porch.

Carole Townsend: 2:34

The following podcast contains material that may be disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. I have investigated a few reported hauntings over the years, but in truth I've done so in preparation for writing an occasional piece or a magazine or newspaper. Readers enjoy such tongue-in-cheek stories and business owners often see a slight increase in sales when their establishment is rumored to be haunted. In fact, a good, convincing haunting is a great marketing tool. It's only been recently that I have been truly captivated by the history and the haunting of a very old building.

Carole Townsend: 3:22

There is a place known as King's Tavern in Natchez, Mississippi. It is the oldest building in the oldest port city on the timeless Mississippi River, the structure built in 1769 by the British to serve as a fort stronghold was constructed using beams taken from scrapped New Orleans ships, which were brought to Natchez via mule. So even when the structure was brand new, it already had a unique history. Of course Natchez Mississippi also boasts a distinctive history. Natchez became part of the United States with the establishment of the Mississippi Territory in 1798, and it served as the first capital for the new state of Mississippi in 1817. The mild climate and rich soil brought planters to the area who made their fortunes in cotton and in the slave trade. And of course, the Natchez Trace is the 444-mile travel corridor used by the Cherokee, Choctaw and Natchez people, by European settlers, by slave traders, soldiers, outlaws and even future presidents.

Carole Townsend: 4:42

But historians believe that the Natchez Trace dates much farther back in time. Initially formed by herds of bison traveling to Salt Licks near Nashville, tennessee, from the Mississippi River, the trace itself seems almost timeless. Famous explorer Meriwether Lewis is buried along the trace at mile marker 385. Debate continues today as to whether he was murdered or he committed suicide. Murderous outlaw Joseph Hare is said to have buried his unfaithful mistress alive along trace. Hare was reportedly haunted by the vision of his lover riding a phantom white horse until the end of his days when he was hanged for his crimes in 1818. King's Tavern was a favorite stop for him along the trace. President Andrew Jackson was famous for fearlessly leading his troops along the dangerous trace during the War of 1812. Jackson and his men rested often at King's Tavern.

Carole Townsend: 5:56

In all of the many historically rich areas of the South we'd be hard-pressed to find a place as storied and as vivid as Natchez Trace. Cultures coexisted there, converged there and eventually battled along the trace. The trails that make up the trace have evolved from tangled, often narrow passages to the 444-mile highway that we use today, to the 444 mile highway that we use today. And King's Tavern has stood silent, vigil, as the conflicts, crimes, murders, trade and outright atrocities have unfolded through the centuries. In romance literature, the windows of a building have been likened to the eyes of a human being. And with King's Tavern being the oldest structure in the oldest city along the mighty Mississippi, this historic building is steeped in history, in passion, in betrayal, in anguish and in violence. Do you suppose it's possible for a place to absorb such energies? Let's travel back nearly 300 years to the historic Natchez Trace in Mississippi and step through the doors of King's Tavern. The air is thick and electric aching to reveal what it knows to those who will hear.

Carole Townsend: 7:30

In 1789, a New Yorker named Richard King bought the British fort following the Revolutionary War. The British had, of course, abandoned it at war's end and the port stood silent vigil over the powerful waters of the Mississippi and Natchez Trace for years. King took great pains to renovate the fort and opened a combination tavern and inn, and his establishment was also the place where mail for the area was delivered. It also served as a stagecoach stop for weary travelers. As a result, richard King and his wife were well-known and popular, even celebrities in the town, and King's Tavern became a gathering place and stopover for travelers along Natchez Trace, travelers of all kinds. We must understand that at this point in history the New World was an untamed and wild frontier, and the Natchez Trace in Mississippi was no different.

Carole Townsend: 8:36

Bandits, marauders, rapists, pillagers and murderers even British loyalists who simply refused to concede defeat, had their way throughout the southern states and in appalachia. Outlaws settled in natchez as boatmen and travelers were easy prey. The infamous harp brothers micaiah and wiley were among those outlaws. We'll explore their violent and depraved legacy in a moment, but first let's look closer at Richard King, his wife and a server they employed at the tavern named Madeline.

Carole Townsend: 9:19

Life was good for the Kings, and at the height of the popularity of their inn and tavern the kings. And at the height of the popularity of their inn and tavern, the couple hired madeline to serve their often rowdy and unruly patrons. She was young and beautiful, friendly and, by many accounts, completely enchanting. Her charms helped to keep the outlaw customers somewhat in check when they passed through natchez. It seems that that Richard King was just as smitten with young Madeleine as were his patrons, and the two soon became lovers. Visitors to the inn, tavern customers and even friends of the King's would catch glimpses of Richard and his young mistress stealing kisses, chancing scandalous encounters in the dark corners of the tavern. And one evening, just before it was time to close the tavern for the night, richard's wife saw the two entangled in an impassioned embrace in a dark pantry in the kitchen. The enraged wife never tipped her hand as to her newfound knowledge of her husband's trifling with the help. But just a few days after that impassioned embrace, madeline disappeared without a trace and no one ever learned.

Carole Townsend: 10:37

What became of the fair maiden In the 1930s during a renovation to the tavern. The skeletal remains of a woman and two men were found hidden in the wall behind a fireplace. Close examination of the woman's remains indicate that she was in her 20s at the time of her murder. There are no records indicating who the two men might have been, but a Spanish jeweled dagger, assumed to be the murder weapon, was also found with the woman's remains. Had Richard King's wife, having discovered her husband's illicit affair, taken matters into her own hands? Or had Richard, fearing his wife's discovery of his philandering, killed his lover to keep his dark secret? Now I can't say for certain that Mrs King murdered Madeline, but it is curious to note that a bejeweled dagger belonging to Richard's wife, a gift from her father upon his return from a trip to Spain, went missing at the very same time that Madeline disappeared.

Carole Townsend: 11:51

No matter how Madeline's life was taken from her, visitors to King's Tavern have, for more than a century, reported seeing a young woman's ghost roaming the halls of the establishment. They tell of hearing a woman's voice calling the name Richard again and again, as if searching for her lover. They report feeling warm spots on their bed in the inn. They tell of voices and scratching sounds coming from inside the walls and of glimpses of a beautiful young woman's face appearing in mirrors throughout the establishment. When tales or legends or sightings and experiences are recounted again and again for more than 100 years, the matter deserves a closer look.

Carole Townsend: 12:45

Earlier in this story, I mentioned the infamous Hart brothers. Let's look at their lives and how they intersected with King's Tavern and with Natchez Trace. Now, history disputes whether these two men were actually brothers or just cousins, but that question really doesn't matter. What does matter is that they were inseparable and each of them was just as mean and hardened as the other. Neither of them had any qualms about torture, senseless killing, kidnapping or even murdering helpless infants. In fact, these two monsters earned the dubious distinction of being named this country's very first serial killers, having taken the lives of more than 40 people during their reign of terror. King's Tavern eventually became one of their favorite haunts, so to speak, became one of their favorite haunts, so to speak.

Carole Townsend: 13:50

Micaiah and Wiley Harp came to North Carolina by way of their parents' immigration from Scotland. Now, when Europeans arrived in the New World, the majority of those who came to the Appalachian region came from the northernmost areas of England, from Scotland and from Ulster or modern-day Northern Ireland. I share this point because it's important to understand why these English and Scottish settlers chose to live in what they called the wild backcountry of the New World. They were tired of monarchies that unfairly controlled their religious choices, they were tired of the restrictions of the strangling governments they had left behind and some, as the Hart brothers, were simply tired of laws. In Appalachia, immigrants could find land, stake their claim and live life on their own terms without interference. Land, stake their claim and live life on their own terms without interference. The people of Appalachia became known for their self-sufficiency, their independence and grit, and they enjoy that reputation still today.

Carole Townsend: 14:56

Micaiah and Wiley, nicknamed Big Harp and Little Harp because of their physical stature, were loyalists siding with the British and not with the patriot settlers in the New World. They reveled in raping, pillaging and murdering the settlers with a disturbing lust for blood and torture that had not yet been seen in the promising new land. When the two became teenagers, they left North Carolina for Virginia, intending to be slave overseers on two of the large plantations there. But along came the American Revolution, interrupting their lofty career plans. Even though Micaiah and Wiley killed and burned in the name of the British, as staunch loyalists, it soon became clear that their interest was more in violence and in bloodshed than in helping the British reach across the pond to control a new land. Along with other loyalists, the two took great delight in burning farms, raping women and children and murdering entire families of American patriots.

Carole Townsend: 16:09

When the Revolutionary War was over, the two brothers continued killing and marauding for their own purposes. Their reign of terror took them into East Tennessee, then over to Cave-in-the-Rock, illinois, where they joined a band of river pirates who prayed on slow-moving boats navigating the Ohio River. But after a time even the pirates told the two men to leave, as they were too violent and depraved to remain in the company of the Samuel Mason Band of Pirates and band of pirates. One account of their time with these pirates relates the practice of the harps forcing boat crews and passengers to strip naked, march blindfolded to the top of a cliff overlooking the river, and then pushing the hapless victims to their death, all for the brothers' amusement. Many accounts tell of the brothers murdering people, disemboweling them, then filling their bodies with rocks and throwing them into a river or a lake. They killed with wanton abandon, whether one victim or entire families. Their heartless cruelty, it seemed, had no bounds. Their heartless cruelty, it seemed, had no bounds.

Carole Townsend: 17:30

Perhaps the most horrible crimes these men committed took place when they were on the run from the posse that had been pursuing them. The brothers had kidnapped two women and made them their wives. The women were treated brutally, but they were too afraid of their captors to try to escape. Eventually, both women gave birth to babies fathered by the Hart brothers. One night, as the group camped while on the run, micaiah's daughter started crying. Her father picked her up by one leg and beat her to death against a tree until she stopped Unbelievably. This was not the only time that Micaiah Harp had murdered a baby. Once, when the Harp brothers were staying at King's Tavern, a baby who belonged to a couple staying at the inn began crying. During the night, micaiah left the tavern, went upstairs to the inn and killed the crying baby with one lethal plunge of his knife. When the baby's mother saw what was happening, she began screaming and Micaiah killed her too.

Carole Townsend: 18:50

The murderous brothers soon gained the reputation of being the most feared trace bandits in the area. They, along with other pirates and outlaws and natchas, would spend their days stealing and murdering and their nights drinking, robbing patrons and generally making trouble at King's Tavern and in the area. The posse was still hot on the brothers' trail, but the outlaws always seemed to be two steps ahead of them. One night, though, micaiah had ridden over to Henderson, kentucky, when he heard that the posse was close. It was on this day that his luck ran out, and someone in the posse shot him in the back and in the leg. He continued to ride, though, until the men caught up with him and pulled him from his horse. Until the men caught up with him and pulled him from his horse when the rest of the posse caught up to him. We are told that Micaiah confessed, laughing to twenty murders as he lay there in the tall grass bleeding from his wounds. It was then that one member of the posse slowly but deliberately decapitated Micaiah, who was fully conscious and aware of what was happening. You see, it was this man whose wife and infant son were murdered by Micaiah Harp at King's Tavern. Once the man had separated Micaiah's head from his body, he and the other men in the posse mounted that head on a stake at a crossroads in Kentucky as a caution to other outlaws to beware, and to this day that crossroads is known as Harp's Head Road.

Carole Townsend: 20:39

Tales of the two brothers' atrocities are many, as it has been determined that they killed at least 40 people during their years-long rampage. Wiley too, was eventually captured and executed in time. But let's get back to the brothers' ties to Natchez Trace and King's Tavern. There is, not surprisingly, an otherworldly twist to the Harp Brothers' tale, and it involves Micaiah. In addition to terrorizing the states of North Carolina, kentucky, mississippi, tennessee and Illinois, remember that the Harps were often known to have traveled along the Natchez Trace, have traveled along the Natchez Trace.

Carole Townsend: 21:24

Between Tupelo and Houston, mississippi, there is a place called Witch Dance, steeped in mystery for centuries. It was not only the home of the mound builders of Mississippi, from which the Cherokee and other Native American nations descended, but it was also said to have been used by a coven of witches who would gather there for nighttime ceremonies. Legend has it that wherever the witches' feet touched the ground during their dances, the grass would wither and die, never to grow again. At some point, not long before his death, micaiah Harp was traveling along the Natchez Trace with a Native American guide who showed him the bare spots in the ground and told him of the legend of witch dance. Micaiah laughed at this notion and began to jump from spot to spot, daring the witches to come out and fight him. Of course, nothing happened, at least not at that time. Eventually, micaiah returned to Kentucky and his headless fate. But one day Kentucky locals discovered that the gruesome head was no longer mounted on the stake. The skull, they eventually learned, had been removed by a witch, ground into powder and used as a potion to cast a spell on a very evil man. Word traveled quickly about the witch's ultimate revenge and still today, when travelers retell the story along Natchez Trace near King's Tavern, they swear they can hear cackling laughter coming from the room Micaiah used to frequent as he passed through. It's been said that even the trees and grasses laugh in vengeful glee as they whisper the name Micaiah. You see the evil man upon the witch cast the spell was Wiley Harp. Was Wiley Harp, if the windows of a building are indeed its size?

Carole Townsend: 23:30

King's Tavern has borne witness to nearly 300 years' worth of anguish, betrayal and senseless death. Yes, if you ever get the opportunity to visit this historic structure, as I have, take a moment to listen when you walk through the doors, take a moment to breathe. The ghosts of river pirates are said to stroll the halls, always looking for their next victim. You may smell Madeline's sweet perfume or hear her calling her lover's name. You may see the ghosts of a mother and child, she lovingly comforting the crying baby. You could very well see a phantom white steed being ridden by a woman. You may feel the weight of some of the wicked souls that refuse to pass on to their final destination. That refuse to pass on to their final destination. The air inside King's Tavern is indeed thick and heavy, with centuries of stories to share, and if you listen closely to the winds that ride the mighty river, you may very well hear the gleeful laughter of a long-ago coven of witches having the last laugh on one of the most wicked murderers ever to curse the south.

Carole Townsend: 26:04

Join me next time as we examine the age-old mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke. The clues as to what happened to these settlers are contradictory and confusing, and the traces they left behind are mystifying. I'm Carole Townsend, veteran newspaper journalist and six-time award-winning author. You can find me on social media and check out my website at caroltownsendcom. As always, thanks for listening, and if you're enjoying these tales of Southern history and lore, I hope you'll tell your friends. Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, apple Play, iheart and anywhere you listen. My team and I research King's Tavern and the Natchez Trace using the following resources Paranormal Mississippi Case Files, king's Tavern, mississippi Haunted Houses, the Devil in Appalachia, the Bloodthirsty Hart Brothers. The Bloodthirsty Hart Brothers and my own experience of King's Tavern, a handsome establishment with the undeniable patina of age and history.