Author: BlakKwene

I wrote a book. I wrote a book. It’s called Cellaring on Your Own Terms: Storing Foods the Old Ways. It’s available on Kindle for just $5.00. This book is my way of passing down practical, heritage-rooted wisdom for storing food with intention and care. It’s for anyone who wants to preserve the old ways,…

England, 1876 — a poisoned man, a silent household, and questions that lingered long after the last bell tolled. The young barrister should have been safe in his grand home. Balham, London, was a rising neighborhood in 1876, home to elegant villas and ambitious families. Charles Bravo, thirty years old and newly married, seemed destined…

Arizona Territory, late 1800s — gold, murder, and a mountain range that keeps its secrets. They say the Superstition Mountains got their name for a reason. By the late 1800s, Arizona Territory was full of tales of hidden veins of gold, but none stirred the imagination like the story of Jacob Waltz — the “Dutchman”…

Cahaba, Alabama — the state’s first capital, abandoned to floods and whispers. Cahaba is a city that died but never left. Founded in 1819, Cahaba was Alabama’s first capital, a bustling river town at the meeting of the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers. Steamboats lined its docks, politicians filled its streets, and churches rang their bells…

Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario — a thousand wrecks, and countless restless spirits. The Great Lakes are vast inland seas, beautiful and treacherous. For centuries, they’ve been a lifeline for trade and travel — and a graveyard for ships and sailors. More than 6,000 shipwrecks rest beneath their cold waters, and locals whisper…

Hartselle, Alabama — a bridge where sorrow lingers, and the night never feels empty. Alabama backroads hold secrets. Just outside Hartselle, Kayo Road winds through a tunnel of trees, their branches knitting together like ribs. The pavement narrows as it dips toward a small bridge spanning a quiet creek. In daylight, it’s unremarkable — just…

Cincinnati, Ohio — a masterpiece of art and sound, haunted by the restless dead beneath its foundation. Cincinnati Music Hall is breathtaking. Its towering Gothic façade, grand chandeliers, and world-class acoustics have made it a cultural treasure since 1878. Audiences gather for symphonies, operas, and ballets, never imagining what lies beneath their feet. Because Music…

Scotland, 1900 — three men gone without a trace, a storm that left no wreckage, and an empty tower staring at the sea. The ship’s crew expected a welcome. On December 26, 1900, the relief vessel Hesperus approached the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, a lonely tower perched on a jagged rock in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. The…

Ontario, 1880 — a family murdered, a mob unpunished, and a shadow over a town that never lifted. They said the Donnellys were cursed. By 1880, the Donnelly family of Biddulph Township, Ontario, was infamous. James and Johannah Donnelly had come from Ireland during the potato famine, bringing with them six sons and one daughter.…

West Virginia, 1890s — a sealed tunnel, a deadly blast, and a whistle that never stopped. The first time they heard it, the tunnel had already been closed for months. Mud Lick Tunnel was cut into the Appalachian hills in 1892, carved by men swinging hammers in dim lantern light. The work was brutal —…