BY ANNIE HOLLER
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD — The stories were never meant for books.

They were told on front porches after dark, around campfires in the mountains and in living rooms where children listened wide-eyed as older relatives spoke of strange creatures, unexplained sounds and things that lurked beyond the edge of the light.

For generations, those tales have been passed from one Appalachian family to the next. Now, Martin County native Diana Marcum is working to preserve them through fiction.

Marcum recently published her book, “Unseen Appalachia: Kentucky Horrors,” a collection of horror stories inspired by Appalachian folklore and legends. The book was released June 13 and is available on Amazon in print and digital formats as well as through the Kindle app.

A 2008 graduate of Sheldon Clark High School, Marcum is the daughter of Menifee and Dixie Stacy, the wife of Brad Marcum and the mother of two high school students, Sarah and Michael. She said researching Appalachian folklore and collecting stories from local residents has become a passion.

“Within our local area, as well as all across the Appalachia region of this country, there are stories that have been passed down through several generations, some true and some fiction, that will make every hair on your body stand on end and quicken your heartbeat,” Marcum said. “These are the tales I use as a basis for stories in my first book, and I plan to continue that trend through the remaining books still to come in this series.”

The author said her love of writing began at an early age. Her first published work was a poem she wrote that appeared in print while she was in the third grade.

Even then, however, she had not fully embraced the idea that she could become a writer.

That changed in high school when former Sheldon Clark teacher Mickey McCoy encouraged her to pursue her talent.

“Mr. McCoy really encouraged me to write,” Marcum said. “He supported my dream to be an author and told me I had what it took to be a success. He believed in me and, in turn, helped me believe in myself. I will always be grateful to him and for the difference he made in my life.”

Within the pages of “Unseen Appalachia,” readers will find three stories rooted in Appalachian folklore: “The Whistler,” “The Hellhounds on the Ridge” and “The Knocking in the Shaft.”

All three stories are set in Eastern Kentucky. Marcum incorporates real landmarks, businesses and locations into the stories, creating a sense of familiarity for local readers while blending folklore with fiction.

When she is not spending time with her family, Marcum can often be found researching Appalachian legends or interviewing people willing to share the stories they heard growing up.

“The best source of information when writing this type of book is the people who live right here around us,” Marcum said. “Pretty much everyone I know has at some time in their life gathered on a front porch or in front of a fireplace at night — or maybe while out camping — and huddled together as they were scared senseless while listening to scary tales, especially those that were centered around mythical creatures or unexplained phenomena.”

She hopes to conduct book signings locally and beyond, and plans to attend fairs and festivals to meet readers. Another goal is to have the books available for checkout in libraries.

Marcum also plans to continue the series and expand her research beyond Kentucky into other regions of Appalachia. How many books the series may eventually contain remains uncertain.

The author encourages anyone with family stories involving folklore, mysterious events or unexplained creatures to contact her through her Facebook author page, Diana G Author.

“If it can’t be explained or seems to be unbelievable, those are the details I want to hear about, and I would be honored to have folks share them with me,” Marcum said.

For Marcum, preserving folklore is about more than entertainment.

“It’s important that we preserve our history, and that includes the tales as old as time that still make us afraid of the dark,” she said. “The story content I create around these folklores may be fiction, but they keep the legends alive for future generations to share. That is important to me and to my family.”

Publishing the book also carried a deeply personal meaning.

Marcum said she set a goal of completing the first book in the series while her mother, who is in frail health and living in a nursing home, could still see her daughter’s dream become reality.

“Accomplishing my goal to finish the first in this series while my mom was still living was very important,” Marcum said. “Being able to place that book in her hands and say, ‘Look, Mom, I did it,’ means the absolute world to me. A lot of the stories in this series are derived from tales they shared throughout my childhood, and this book is dedicated to them both.”

Follow her on Facebook: Diana M – Author.