{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"What’s Up, Wake","title":"Lost Towns and Ghost Stories: A Conversation with Heather Leah","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2592,"description":"In this episode, local storyteller, historian, and author Heather Leah shares how she began writing online more than a decade ago, grew a large following by blending deep research with engaging “hidden history,” and why preserving local stories matters as places vanish. She discusses mysteries like the Village Subway beneath Cameron Village, underwater communities beneath Jordan Lake such as Seaforth, and how towns can be erased from maps and memory. Heather explains balancing fun, shocking history with heavier subjects, her approach to ghost stories as cultural history, and why the Dorothea Dix property feels especially haunted. She also describes her research process, how followers contribute leads, and how she turned her work into her first book, “Lost Towns of North Carolina,” built through travel, photos, and interviews with people connected to lost communities.00:00 Meet Heather Leah03:15 How It All Started04:56 From Community to History06:21 Vanishing Places09:03 Jordan Lake Ghost Towns13:00 Towns Wiped Off Maps14:00 Balancing Light and Heavy16:29 Ghost Stories as Culture18:18 Dorothy Dix Haunted History20:11 Crybaby Lane Investigation21:49 Paranormal Tours24:13 Story Idea System25:15 Follower Submitted History27:50 From Posts to Book31:37 Researching Lost Towns35:19 Book Launch Emotions37:47 Time Travel Raleigh40:41 Where to Find Heather41:35 Final Thanks","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/3FPpkJ7JIRSxqmup6bUJfqr8_rMrqpK7grf9C8PwVsk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iNmM5/OWRmY2Y4NDg0ZDEy/YjlmZjdkZDdhNDI2/OTJiZC5qcGVn.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}