According to both Appalachian folk tales and Cherokee legend, a group of pale-skinned humanoids called “the Moon-Eyed People” might be hiding somewhere in the Appalachian range.
Typically associated with the small town of Murphy NC, the Moon-Eyed People are short, stout, and white-skinned, with bearded faces and large blue eyes.
Their eyes were supposedly so sensitive to the sun that they remained nocturnal, which is why they’re called “moon-eyed.”
Legend says that the local Native American tribes waited for the full moon to drive the Moon-Eyed People from their underground caves. The bright light made them weak, forcing them to flee into other parts of Appalachia for good.
Unlike other Appalachian monsters, the Moon-Eyed People were considered to be a distinctively separate race of people, rather than supernatural beings.
It might seem obvious to readers, but the Moon-Eyed People were most likely just European settlers. But what makes the legend so shocking is that it dates back hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.
So are the Moon-Eyed People another Appalachian Mountain scary story, or just early European settlers who never received their due credit?
Today, exhibits on the Moon-Eyed People can be found at the Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy. There’s a 3-foot- tall sculpture of two conjoined figures thought to represent Moon-Eyed People, which was found in the early 1840s.
Fort Mountain, a Georgia State Park near Ellijay GA, contains the ruins of an 850-foot-long stone wall that is said to have been constructed by the mysterious tribe.
