October 23, 2021 • 13 mins
Uncover the chilling legend of the 'Nut Eating Devil' as young Tom McBride investigates the eerie sounds haunting a Tennessee mountain cemetery. Why do they sound like his dead Grandpa cracking open hickory nuts? Is it his ghost - or the Devil himself?
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"The Nut Eating Devil" was written by Jim McAmis and Craig Dominey
Storyteller: Jim McAmis
Audio Production: Henry Howard
Music: Les Scott
The Moonlit Road Podcast is a production of The Moonlit Road, LLC.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:22):
You know, it's hard for me tobelieve it's been all these
years since Grandpa's been gone.
Said, he's been deadnow, oh, been a while.
Seems like just yesterdaythat he took me in.
Said, I always called him Grandpa andeverybody in town called him Mister.
(00:42):
His real name wasBenjamin Franklin Farley.
And he was just like a grandpa to me.
He took me in after my folks died.
Of course, it was hard times therein our part of East Tennessee,
nestled right up there hardagainst the Chilliwee Mountains.
It was the Depression.
And people had it rough.
(01:03):
But Grandpa took me in and he toldme, he said, Just call me Grandpa,
says, and I'll be Grandpa andyou'll be my grandson I never had.
Oh, he loved me and I loved him.
Let me tell you somethingelse about Grandpa.
He loved hazelnuts.
He never went anywhere unless he had abig old pocket full of those hazelnuts.
(01:24):
And he also had this knife and ascabbard by his side that had a big heavy
handle all inlaid with gold and silver.
And he'd take one of those hazelnutswhen he was out and about and he'd
hold it in his hand and he'd takethe hilt of that knife and crack,
bust that hazelnut wide open.
Pick out the meat and just munch,munch, munch on that hazelnut.
(01:48):
Oh, he always had hazelnuts and every oncein a while he'd give me one of them too.
In fact, he loved his hazelnuts somuch that grandpa made me promise that
when he went off to glory, that I wouldmake sure that he was buried with a big
pocket full of those hazelnuts and thatknife right in its scabbard at his side.
(02:12):
When he died, I fulfilled that promise.
After the funeral, I went backhome to live with Aunt Kate.
Aunt Kate was Grandpa's onlydaughter, and she loved Grandpa.
In fact, she loved him so muchthat she grieved took to her bed
(02:35):
and said she would never, ever inher natural life get up and walk.
Now Aunt Kate was a sizable woman, andwhen she took to her bed, she cried.
Wasn't nobody gonna get her out of it.
Well, it'd been several daysafter Grandpa's funeral.
There was some other business thatGrandpa wanted me to take care of.
(02:58):
So I went on up into town thereto take care of that business.
And while I was there, I ran into Mr.
Stewart.
He invited me over tothe house for supper.
And let me tell you something.
You don't never turn down aninvitation over to the Stewart's house.
Because Miss Stewart made thebest strawberry rhubarb pie
you ever put in your mouth.
(03:19):
Mmm, it was good!
So we was sitting there at supper andI kind of got to looking outside and
realized that it was getting dark.
Getting dark fast as a matter of fact.
I hadn't intended on staying in townpast dark because to get back to the
house, I had to walk by the cemetery.
(03:40):
Didn't much like walking by cemeteriesany time at all, but Especially now,
because there have been several funeralsover the last few weeks, and as everybody
knows, after folks have been buriedfor a while, the angel of the Lord and
the devil come down to sort them out.
Well, I got up as much courage as Icould and I started off down the road.
(04:03):
As I got up there close to the graveyard,I heard something kind of faint at first.
A crack.
I thought, sounds familiar.
Got a little closerand I could hear crack.
And it sounded likesomebody munching on nuts.
Just a munch, munch, munch.
(04:24):
And I thought, maybe that'sgranddaddy's ghost come back.
And I went running into thegraveyard to where I could see.
And I peeked around.
It wasn't him at all.
Didn't recognize who it was,just saw them from the back
and then I heard their voice.
Hee hee hee hee hee!
Yes sirree, Bob!
(04:44):
That's a good bunch of them over there!
Says, I think I'll take them biggins.
You can have them littlings, Idon't have much need for them.
But them I'll take.
Hee hee hee!
We're getting us a good bunchto take out of here tonight!
Let me tell you something, thenext time he cracked one of those
nuts and started munching on it,I made a beeline for the road.
(05:05):
I ran as hard as I could all theway down the road to the house and
I busted into Aunt Kate's room andI said, Aunt Kate, Aunt Kate, now I
think I told you that Aunt Kate was asizable woman and she had taken to her
bed and she couldn't get up at all.
Right after Granddaddy died, she hadjust, in her grief, taken to bed.
(05:30):
And would not get up.
Said she would never be able toget up again in her natural life.
Well, we had fastened a big olring, iron ring, up to the ceiling.
And a rope tied to it that she couldgrab hold of and pull up so she could
take her meals and she could lookfolks in the eye to talk to them.
(05:50):
Well, she pulled herselfup and she said, Ta!
What are you talking about?
I said, Aunt Kate, I think thatthe devil and the angel of the Lord
is down there in the graveyard.
They're sorting souls, andI think they got Grandpa.
She said, Tom, we got to go back and see.
I said, Aunt Kate, I'm not going.
I'm scared.
(06:12):
She said, I'm not talkingabout just you going.
I'm talking about me and you going.
Aunt Kate, you can't go down there.
You can't walk.
Tom, you're gonna have to carry me.
Aunt Kate, you're just waytoo heavy for me to carry.
I don't think I can do that.
Tom, you have to.
(06:32):
We gotta go.
But Aunt Kate, it's way too cold andit's too wet and damp out there for
me to, and she said, Tom, I'm notgonna listen to another word now.
You just wrap me up in this sheet, put meon your shoulders, and take me down there.
Well, when Aunt Kate gets anidea in her mind, there is
(06:53):
nothing you can do to get it out.
So I wrapped her up in that sheet,threw her over my shoulders,
and started out the door.
Well, let me tell you something,it was all I could do to
carry her down that road.
And I got to thinking now, if Igo down the road, it's a little
further than if we go cross country.
So I headed out across the field.
(07:14):
Luckily, most of the barbed wirefence gates were already down.
I didn't have to taketoo many of them down.
And when we got to the creek downthere, I remembered them talking
about the fact that that old footlog was getting pretty rotten and
needed to be replaced pretty soon.
Well, I could just see me and AuntKate getting out there about half
(07:35):
way over the creek, and that foot loggiving way and just dumping both of
us right there in that cold water.
I didn't want no part of that, sothere was a little ford a little
bit further down the creek therethat we, uh, went across on.
Carried her up through the hill, up thereright to the cemetery, and I was creepin
(07:55):
best I could through that cemetery.
Of course, I had to use the bigheadstones for the cover, because as I
told you, Aunt Kate was a sizable woman.
Well, I'm carrying her up there,trying to get close to see.
And I hear that sound again.
(08:16):
And munch, munch, munch, munch.
A ripe munch, munch.
I said, Aunt Kate, that'sthe sound I was telling you.
And we got close and we could see thisfigure sitting on Grandpa's tombstone.
Crack.
Much, much.
(08:37):
I said, I think that one's the devil.
And about that time, he spoke.
Hee hee hee hee hee!
Hot dog!
Are we getting us a load tonight or what?
Hee!
I cannot believe how good this is going!
And about that time, he turnedaround and he looked down
our way and he said, Hoo wee!
(08:57):
Look at that big'un down there!
And pointed right at me and Aunt Kate.
Hee
It pains me to tell this partof the story because it was at
that point that my bravery fled.
And so did I.
I dropped Aunt Kate right there squarein the middle of the graveyard, and I
(09:19):
took off running just as fast as I could.
Well, as I'm running out there acrossthe field, I could hear something
behind me, just kind of thrashingaround through the briars Just thrash,
thrash, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, bunchof bricks, and I just didn't know
why I'm running faster and faster.
And I ran right through it.
As fast as I could go.
I didn't care that those old twigs andbranches were hitting me in the face.
(09:41):
I could hear something just crashingand breathing right behind me.
And I knew that devil was rightbehind me trying to get my soul.
I didn't give it two thoughts.
I ran straight across that foot log.
I didn't care whetherit was rotten or not.
And I made it to the other side.
And as I was running up the hilltowards the house across the
field, I heard this big crack.
(10:01):
S Bloosh!
Woohoo!
Back behind me and Ithought I got him that time.
Threw him in the creek.
And I went running in thefront door of the house.
Ka woom!
Door hit the wall.
I slammed it shut and locked it.
Leaned it up against the wall.
And I thought, finally, I beat that thing.
(10:22):
And about that time, Bang!
Back door opened.
Thump, thump.
I could hear all this breathing.
And I was standing there thinking,Oh, what am I going to do?
Here I am to unlock myself inthe house with the devil himself.
(10:46):
He's going to come in here and get me.
Oh, and I started just lookingaround thinking, what can I do?
What can I do?
And I looked over by the fireplace there.
And, and there was this great big oldpoker, and I could still hear that heavy
breathing back there in thekitchen, and I picked up that poker.
(11:10):
Felt a little braver withthat poker in my hand.
I was thinking to myself, I gotsomething I can fight with now.
So I started easing around the cornerof the room over to where I could get
to the door, led into the kitchen.
Sounds of that breathing was even louder.
(11:30):
And I stood there a minute and Ithought, what am I going to do?
What am I going to do?
And I finally decided,Tom, you gotta do this.
You have got to just bust in thatdoor, and take on that devil, man
to demon, and just see what happens.
Well, when I came to that thought,I threw open that door, jumped right
(11:52):
square out in the middle of thatkitchen, THREW Big ol poker up over
my head and holler, Woo hoo hoo!
Devil, you got it comin now!
I am gonna fix your wagon!
And I looked, and there, leaningup against the opposite wall,
was the wettest, scaredest AuntKate I had ever seen in my life.
(12:13):
I dropped the poker to thefloor, and I said, Aunt Kate!
What are you doing here?
How did you get back from the cemetery?
I didn't think you could walk a lick.
You've been bedridden all this time and,and I never thought you'd walk again.
She looked at me and she said, Tom, by thegrace of the good lord above and my brand
(12:37):
new Sears and Roebuck support hose, Iwas able to beat that old devil home too.
Well, a few weeks later, I wasdowntown at the barbershop.
And I heard that the two most notorioussheep thieves in all of Tennessee
(12:59):
had been caught the week before.
in the graveyard where they had beenherding up the sheep they were stealing
from all the local farms and sorting themout between all of the folks that were
involved in this sheep stealing ring.
It was at that point that I realizedthat it hadn't been the devil eating
(13:23):
nuts in the graveyard at all, butjust a bunch of sheep thieves.
And that's the story ofthe nut eating devil.
You know, it's hard for me tobelieve it's been all these
years since Grandpa's been gone.
Said, he's been deadnow, oh, been a while.
Seems like just yesterdaythat he took me in.
Said, I always called him Grandpa andeverybody in town called him Mister.
(00:42):
His real name wasBenjamin Franklin Farley.
And he was just like a grandpa to me.
He took me in after my folks died.
Of course, it was hard times therein our part of East Tennessee,
nestled right up there hardagainst the Chilliwee Mountains.
It was the Depression.
And people had it rough.
(01:03):
But Grandpa took me in and he toldme, he said, Just call me Grandpa,
says, and I'll be Grandpa andyou'll be my grandson I never had.
Oh, he loved me and I loved him.
Let me tell you somethingelse about Grandpa.
He loved hazelnuts.
He never went anywhere unless he had abig old pocket full of those hazelnuts.
(01:24):
And he also had this knife and ascabbard by his side that had a big heavy
handle all inlaid with gold and silver.
And he'd take one of those hazelnutswhen he was out and about and he'd
hold it in his hand and he'd takethe hilt of that knife and crack,
bust that hazelnut wide open.
Pick out the meat and just munch,munch, munch on that hazelnut.
(01:48):
Oh, he always had hazelnuts and every oncein a while he'd give me one of them too.
In fact, he loved his hazelnuts somuch that grandpa made me promise that
when he went off to glory, that I wouldmake sure that he was buried with a big
pocket full of those hazelnuts and thatknife right in its scabbard at his side.
(02:12):
When he died, I fulfilled that promise.
After the funeral, I went backhome to live with Aunt Kate.
Aunt Kate was Grandpa's onlydaughter, and she loved Grandpa.
In fact, she loved him so muchthat she grieved took to her bed
(02:35):
and said she would never, ever inher natural life get up and walk.
Now Aunt Kate was a sizable woman, andwhen she took to her bed, she cried.
Wasn't nobody gonna get her out of it.
Well, it'd been several daysafter Grandpa's funeral.
There was some other business thatGrandpa wanted me to take care of.
(02:58):
So I went on up into town thereto take care of that business.
And while I was there, I ran into Mr.
Stewart.
He invited me over tothe house for supper.
And let me tell you something.
You don't never turn down aninvitation over to the Stewart's house.
Because Miss Stewart made thebest strawberry rhubarb pie
you ever put in your mouth.
(03:19):
Mmm, it was good!
So we was sitting there at supper andI kind of got to looking outside and
realized that it was getting dark.
Getting dark fast as a matter of fact.
I hadn't intended on staying in townpast dark because to get back to the
house, I had to walk by the cemetery.
(03:40):
Didn't much like walking by cemeteriesany time at all, but Especially now,
because there have been several funeralsover the last few weeks, and as everybody
knows, after folks have been buriedfor a while, the angel of the Lord and
the devil come down to sort them out.
Well, I got up as much courage as Icould and I started off down the road.
(04:03):
As I got up there close to the graveyard,I heard something kind of faint at first.
A crack.
I thought, sounds familiar.
Got a little closerand I could hear crack.
And it sounded likesomebody munching on nuts.
Just a munch, munch, munch.
(04:24):
And I thought, maybe that'sgranddaddy's ghost come back.
And I went running into thegraveyard to where I could see.
And I peeked around.
It wasn't him at all.
Didn't recognize who it was,just saw them from the back
and then I heard their voice.
Hee hee hee hee hee!
Yes sirree, Bob!
(04:44):
That's a good bunch of them over there!
Says, I think I'll take them biggins.
You can have them littlings, Idon't have much need for them.
But them I'll take.
Hee hee hee!
We're getting us a good bunchto take out of here tonight!
Let me tell you something, thenext time he cracked one of those
nuts and started munching on it,I made a beeline for the road.
(05:05):
I ran as hard as I could all theway down the road to the house and
I busted into Aunt Kate's room andI said, Aunt Kate, Aunt Kate, now I
think I told you that Aunt Kate was asizable woman and she had taken to her
bed and she couldn't get up at all.
Right after Granddaddy died, she hadjust, in her grief, taken to bed.
(05:30):
And would not get up.
Said she would never be able toget up again in her natural life.
Well, we had fastened a big olring, iron ring, up to the ceiling.
And a rope tied to it that she couldgrab hold of and pull up so she could
take her meals and she could lookfolks in the eye to talk to them.
(05:50):
Well, she pulled herselfup and she said, Ta!
What are you talking about?
I said, Aunt Kate, I think thatthe devil and the angel of the Lord
is down there in the graveyard.
They're sorting souls, andI think they got Grandpa.
She said, Tom, we got to go back and see.
I said, Aunt Kate, I'm not going.
I'm scared.
(06:12):
She said, I'm not talkingabout just you going.
I'm talking about me and you going.
Aunt Kate, you can't go down there.
You can't walk.
Tom, you're gonna have to carry me.
Aunt Kate, you're just waytoo heavy for me to carry.
I don't think I can do that.
Tom, you have to.
(06:32):
We gotta go.
But Aunt Kate, it's way too cold andit's too wet and damp out there for
me to, and she said, Tom, I'm notgonna listen to another word now.
You just wrap me up in this sheet, put meon your shoulders, and take me down there.
Well, when Aunt Kate gets anidea in her mind, there is
(06:53):
nothing you can do to get it out.
So I wrapped her up in that sheet,threw her over my shoulders,
and started out the door.
Well, let me tell you something,it was all I could do to
carry her down that road.
And I got to thinking now, if Igo down the road, it's a little
further than if we go cross country.
So I headed out across the field.
(07:14):
Luckily, most of the barbed wirefence gates were already down.
I didn't have to taketoo many of them down.
And when we got to the creek downthere, I remembered them talking
about the fact that that old footlog was getting pretty rotten and
needed to be replaced pretty soon.
Well, I could just see me and AuntKate getting out there about half
(07:35):
way over the creek, and that foot loggiving way and just dumping both of
us right there in that cold water.
I didn't want no part of that, sothere was a little ford a little
bit further down the creek therethat we, uh, went across on.
Carried her up through the hill, up thereright to the cemetery, and I was creepin
(07:55):
best I could through that cemetery.
Of course, I had to use the bigheadstones for the cover, because as I
told you, Aunt Kate was a sizable woman.
Well, I'm carrying her up there,trying to get close to see.
And I hear that sound again.
(08:16):
And munch, munch, munch, munch.
A ripe munch, munch.
I said, Aunt Kate, that'sthe sound I was telling you.
And we got close and we could see thisfigure sitting on Grandpa's tombstone.
Crack.
Much, much.
(08:37):
I said, I think that one's the devil.
And about that time, he spoke.
Hee hee hee hee hee!
Hot dog!
Are we getting us a load tonight or what?
Hee!
I cannot believe how good this is going!
And about that time, he turnedaround and he looked down
our way and he said, Hoo wee!
(08:57):
Look at that big'un down there!
And pointed right at me and Aunt Kate.
Hee
It pains me to tell this partof the story because it was at
that point that my bravery fled.
And so did I.
I dropped Aunt Kate right there squarein the middle of the graveyard, and I
(09:19):
took off running just as fast as I could.
Well, as I'm running out there acrossthe field, I could hear something
behind me, just kind of thrashingaround through the briars Just thrash,
thrash, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, bunchof bricks, and I just didn't know
why I'm running faster and faster.
And I ran right through it.
As fast as I could go.
I didn't care that those old twigs andbranches were hitting me in the face.
(09:41):
I could hear something just crashingand breathing right behind me.
And I knew that devil was rightbehind me trying to get my soul.
I didn't give it two thoughts.
I ran straight across that foot log.
I didn't care whetherit was rotten or not.
And I made it to the other side.
And as I was running up the hilltowards the house across the
field, I heard this big crack.
(10:01):
S Bloosh!
Woohoo!
Back behind me and Ithought I got him that time.
Threw him in the creek.
And I went running in thefront door of the house.
Ka woom!
Door hit the wall.
I slammed it shut and locked it.
Leaned it up against the wall.
And I thought, finally, I beat that thing.
(10:22):
And about that time, Bang!
Back door opened.
Thump, thump.
I could hear all this breathing.
And I was standing there thinking,Oh, what am I going to do?
Here I am to unlock myself inthe house with the devil himself.
(10:46):
He's going to come in here and get me.
Oh, and I started just lookingaround thinking, what can I do?
What can I do?
And I looked over by the fireplace there.
And, and there was this great big oldpoker, and I could still hear that heavy
breathing back there in thekitchen, and I picked up that poker.
(11:10):
Felt a little braver withthat poker in my hand.
I was thinking to myself, I gotsomething I can fight with now.
So I started easing around the cornerof the room over to where I could get
to the door, led into the kitchen.
Sounds of that breathing was even louder.
(11:30):
And I stood there a minute and Ithought, what am I going to do?
What am I going to do?
And I finally decided,Tom, you gotta do this.
You have got to just bust in thatdoor, and take on that devil, man
to demon, and just see what happens.
Well, when I came to that thought,I threw open that door, jumped right
(11:52):
square out in the middle of thatkitchen, THREW Big ol poker up over
my head and holler, Woo hoo hoo!
Devil, you got it comin now!
I am gonna fix your wagon!
And I looked, and there, leaningup against the opposite wall,
was the wettest, scaredest AuntKate I had ever seen in my life.
(12:13):
I dropped the poker to thefloor, and I said, Aunt Kate!
What are you doing here?
How did you get back from the cemetery?
I didn't think you could walk a lick.
You've been bedridden all this time and,and I never thought you'd walk again.
She looked at me and she said, Tom, by thegrace of the good lord above and my brand
(12:37):
new Sears and Roebuck support hose, Iwas able to beat that old devil home too.
Well, a few weeks later, I wasdowntown at the barbershop.
And I heard that the two most notorioussheep thieves in all of Tennessee
(12:59):
had been caught the week before.
in the graveyard where they had beenherding up the sheep they were stealing
from all the local farms and sorting themout between all of the folks that were
involved in this sheep stealing ring.
It was at that point that I realizedthat it hadn't been the devil eating
(13:23):
nuts in the graveyard at all, butjust a bunch of sheep thieves.
And that's the story ofthe nut eating devil.
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