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Halloween, a time to eat candy and tell stories around a campfire. Almost every community has their stories of the spiritual or the supernatural, so I thought I would take a few weeks and share some stories that I grew up hearing by a campfire or at the feet of some of the best storytellers that have ever walked the earth.
Today’s tale is the story of the headless mule of Roan Mountain…
A along time ago, back before cars and roads and all other modern conveniences, each mountain community of east Tennessee was isolated. Old mountain roads were the only connection that many of these communities had to the outside world, and some of these roads were treacherous.
This is especially true for the areas of Roan Mountain and other secluded parts of Carter County. People did use these mountain roads, but in many cases, these roads were more like glorified cattle trails than roads. They served the purpose, however, until the railroad came through this area several years after the Civil War.
One day a grumpy old man leading one of his few possessions, a stubborn and also aged mule, came walking along one of these muddy roads toward Roan Mountain. They were coming from western North Carolina, and I suppose they were just traveling through to better parts.
The man was a miner, specifically a gold miner, and he had been very successful on his recent trip. Strapped to the old mule’s back was an untold fortune in gold, enough to help him live well for the rest of his days. He was looking forward to getting out of the mountains back to civilization where he could spend his new-found wealth.
As the man and his mule were coming through an area just on the outskirts of Roan Mountain, disaster struck. The mule got stuck in a deep and long stretch of mud.
Cursing under his breath, the man unloaded the mule and tried for the next two hours to get him out of that mud hole. The mule was not moving. After a while the old man had all he could take, and in a fit of curse words and anger, he drew his long hunting knife and cut the mules head off.
Now he was in a difficult spot to say the least. He could not carry all of his possessions, including the weighty gold, and he couldn’t just leave it where he stood. Finally, he made a plan.
He would hide the gold deep in the mountain hollow he was following. He then would walk into Roan Mountain and find a horse or mule and buy it. He then would come back and get the gold and be on his happy way.
The story goes that he did indeed hide the gold, enough to make any man wealthy, in the mountain hollow near what is known today as Teaberry. He then went into Roan Mountain and never came back.
According to some locals the gold is still hidden someplace in the mountains around Roan Mountain, but the story does not end here.
You see, there have been many people who have seen a strange looking animal in the woods near Teaberry. He will appear, and then he is gone. Sometimes he will show up while you are camping and if he does, you will hear the clomp of his feet on the ground as he gets closer and closer and closer.
When you finally see him, all you see is the body of a horse or mule. It is an animal without a head.
Some witnesses have said they have run from it, and when they thought it had caught them, it would disappear and the woods became quiet once again.  
According to some, he especially does not like anyone who is drinking because the old man that killed him was drunk when he cut his head off.
When I was growing up, some of my friends would avoid camping in those woods because of the headless mule, but I never worried much about him because I know why he is there. He is just protecting his master’s gold.
So, if you go into those woods and hear the patter of a horse or mule’s feet on the ground, and it seems to be running toward you, get out of those mountains. You don’t want to get caught by the headless mule of Roan Mountain.