October 14, 2023
Storytellers & Guests
Tony Lavorgne (Host)
Specializing in obscure paranormal and anthropological topics, Tony Lavorgne is an accomplished researcher, author, and public speaker on the subject of local legends and lore throughout Western Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio.
Tony is the author of Astonishing Tales of Pennsylvania, co-author of Haunted Roads of Western Pennsylvania, and he is also featured in Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters and Miracles.
Tony also hosts Tony Lavorgne’s Legends & Lore Podcast, produced in Beaver County by The Social Voice Project.
Special Guests
Genevieve Barbee-Turner & Sarah McKenzie
Appalachian Tarot
Genevieve and Sarah are the talented and innovative creators behind HAUNTED: An Appalachian Tarot Deck inspired by Appalachian folklore and urban legends from Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio.
Their work celebrates the ghost stories, urban legends, and other mysterious folklore from our northern part of Appalachia in the hope to connect the unique people, places, and history of Appalachia to universal themes of life, love, and death.
“Ghost stories are a lens into history, a way for history to preserve stories that aren’t typically told in history books, especially stories about women, people of color, and queer people,” says Barbee-Turner. “They reflect what we don’t want to discuss in the daylight. Shedding light on this history opens up our connections with humanity.”
What is Tarot?
Tarot is a visual narrative system that uses large concepts and broad stories, shuffled and combined in infinite ways, to be interpreted by the reader for personal reflection. Much like journaling or other creative processes, tarot cards are a communication tool to inspire reflection and personal growth. HAUNTED: An Appalachian Tarot Deck includes 78 cards based on the traditional deck created by Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith in 1909. Some of the stories included in Haunted are well known tales:
The Mothman
The Squonk
The Burning Bride of Conneaut
13 Bends Road
The Pig Lady of Cannelton
Raymond Robinson aka The Green Man
Madame Bartell the Millvale psychic
The ghosts of the different Carnegie libraries
The spirits from the Homewood massacre
The urban legend of killer clowns
Learn More About the Deck & Support the Kickstarter Campaign
Genevieve Barbee-Turner, a tarot card illustrator and 2D artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Combining illustration, history, and a socially informed practice, her work tells stories about contemporary Appalachia and queer / femme identity with a splash of gothic aesthetic. Barbee-Turner earned her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. Since creating Bridge Witches in 2016, Killerpancake Illustration’s tarot decks exploring mental health, queer identity, imposter syndrome, and income inequality have been popular with readers across the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sarah McKenzie, also known as Sora the Intuitive, is a generational intuitive tarot reader and teacher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sarah has been reading tarot most of her life, taught by her mother and her mother’s mother, and following the traditions passed down from her family. She has been reading and teaching the tarot professionally for five years, during which time past life readings have become her staple.
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