A proud 1957 graduate of Clendenin High School, Samples grew up along the Elk River. Many of these stories focus on that region--some Samples heard around the campfire and coffeepot during his childhood--some featuring crooked horse traders, fiddle-playing preachers and scary Wampus Cats. As a child, Samples remembers staying up late listening to tales at his Aunt Mayme’s house, and then he and his cousins being afraid to walk home afterward. You might lose a wink of sleep yourself over The Devil’s Tea Tables.
Mack lives with his wife, Thelma, on a fifty acre spread near Duck, WV. There they raise a big garden, keep a few honeybees, and make a stab at living with the old traditions. During the 2003 Vandalia Gathering, Mack was presented with the Vandalia Award, West Virginia’s highest folk life award. In addition to writing books, Mack has published articles for the magazines Goldenseal and Wild, Wonderful West Virginia, and has written a weekly column for West Virginia Hillbilly and the Glenville Democrat.