In Unicoi, there is a sheer rock wall that rises more than 800 feet over the Nolichucky River. Cherokee Indians believed that the cliff had malicious influence, which they explained with a few stories. One is that a young brave had disrespected his family and had flung himself from the top of the cliff; since then, the cliff had influences others to do so. Perhaps this was the reason they would not look at it when they passed under it. Or, perhaps it was the evil monster that lived in a cave halfway up the cliff, called “Demon with the Iron Finger.” This creature is very similar to Spearfinger of Whiteside Mountain of North Carolina, and was believed to shape shift into anything that could draw a person into the cave. Once inside, the monster would lull the person to sleep, then, with an iron pointer finger would eat the persons liver and lungs. 1
When the Spanish Juan Pardo Expedition viewed the cliff, between 1566 and 1568, they called it La Espejo De El Diablo, which the Creek Indians used until the first white settlers asked the name of the cliff more than a hundred years later.
Legend tells that the only person not frightened of the place was Ol' Miz Wilson, supposedly a witch that lived near by. In fact, she was believed to even communicate with the spirits that could be seen glimmering over the rock's face on nights lit by the full moon. People said that horrible noises could be heard coming from inside her cabin. It is said a lost medical student stumbled upon her cabin one night, and the next morning he was nowhere to be found. But, Miz Wilson had a new black hound, eerie in its almost human intelligence. Some even swore it spoke! 2, 3
The ghost of a girl named Flora, who drown at the base of the cliff during the depression, is said to walk the banks of the Nolichucky River. 4
