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| It's French! (Click HERE for my Alderson Lion Blog) |
During the festival, we were set up near the old train station, and over the course of the day, met so many great people! We got a few leads for upcoming investigations and events, and chatted with our fellow vendors, making some new friends and some new contacts. And, we had so much fun sharing information about our organization with those who were just as excited about the paranormal as we are. We had some great conversations and heard some wild personal experiences and stories. A huge thank you to everyone who attended the festival and who made the festival possible in the first place is in order. It really was a fun, productive day.
I didn't get many photos from Alderson, unfortunately. After a really hard week, I was already exhausted before the event even started and was having a really high pain and brain fog day. However, that didn't stop me from heading straight home after event ended! Since I don't make it down to that part of the state very often, and it was still early, I decided that I was going to make the most of the trip and take a little side journey into nearby Lewisburg.
My goal for visiting Lewisburg was to mark off a few locations on the 2025 West Virginia Paranormal Trail, a fun challenge issued by the WV Tourism office. The WV Paranormal Trail consists of 21 spooky locations, spread throughout the state. There are haunted locations, paranormal-themed museums, ghost tours, and just any place that has ties to WV's haunted history. Participants can visit these locations, 'check in' at them on the app, and earn prizes for how many spots they visit.
Lewisburg has two locations on the WV Paranormal Trail: 1. The Greenbrier Valley Theatre and 2. Carnegie Hall.
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| Greenbrier Valley Theatre |
After stopping for lunch and to charge my phone, I headed straight for the Greenbrier Valley Theatre. Located at 1038 Washington Street E., this is a somewhat unconventional spot on the trail. Although not publicly known to be haunted, the location instead is home to The Greenbrier Ghost musical production, penned by Cathy Crowell Sawyer and Joe Buttram. In this eerie stage performance, actors tell the story of Zona Heaster Shue, the Greenbrier Ghost, who was murdered by her husband. Zona's ghost came to her mother in a series of dreams to tell her of the murder, which was finally taken seriously by authorities. As part of the theater's lobby decor, the beautiful costumes worn by the actress portraying Zona's ghost are on display.
The theater is a really beautiful little gem in downtown Lewisburg, and the box office employee was super sweet and helpful when I explained why I was there, poking around the lobby and not purchasing tickets to an upcoming show. I was able to sit for a few minutes in the comfortable, spacious lobby area, which also had bathrooms for anyone checking out the trail and needing to stop for those facilities! The Greenbrier Ghost is currently not being performed, but I'll definitely be watching for the next production date and buying tickets!
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| Greenbrier Ghost Costumes Greenbrier Valley Theatre |
My next stop led me to Carnegie Hall. Well kind of---I got as close to Carnegie Hall as I could. On the day of my visit, the local high school must have been celebrating homecoming, because there were no less than 50 students in formal attire, accompanied by their families, taking photographs and milling around the Carnegie Hall property. There was nowhere to even park anywhere on Church Street!
Luckily, I was able to find a spot a street down and cut through the graveyard of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church. I didn't really get a picture of Carnegie Hall because I didn't want any of the dozens of families thinking I was some graveyard creeper photographing their kids.... but I got close enough so that the app could pick up that I was in range.
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| Partial View of Carnegie Hall and Old Stone Presbyterian Church |
Carnegie Hall was built in 1902 with funds from Andrew Carnegie and local citizens. It served for many years as the Greenbrier College for Women. Today, it hosts performances, classes, workshops, art shows, and much more. It is a centerpiece of art and culture for southern West Virginia and apparently, it's very haunted. Phantom footsteps, shadows lurking the halls, lights flickering, and ghostly whispers are all reported within the old building. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to investigate this awesome location one day!
Anyway, since I was already in the graveyard I decided to visit a very special grave, and source of a local urban legend: The Angel of Death. The Angel of Death (click HERE for my blog post) is a marble statue adorning the final resting place of Maud Mathews, who died of pneumonia in 1888, and her little sister Florence, who passed a year later. Legend states that two sisters, cousins of Maud, visited the grave and each kissed a cheek of the angel statue. Within a year, both sisters were dead---one from illness, and one from an unfortunate carriage accident. It is said that anyone foolish enough to kiss the angel's cheek would meet their own demise within the year.
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| "Angel of Death" |
The first time I visited the grave, the statue was always covered with lipstick marks. However, a few years ago, the tombstone was moved slightly and put behind a locked fence. You can still see and photograph the grave, but you can't get close enough to touch it.... preserving the integrity of the stone and perhaps, even saving a few lives. I sat for a bit and chatted with the girls, but again, there were a lot of people milling about nearby, and I didn't want to seem TOO creepy, so I stayed just a short while and left.
I had all intentions of making one final stop on my trip, but I just didn't have the energy. The grave of Zona Heaster Shue, the Greenbrier Ghost is located just a short distance off the interstate at the Sam Black Church exit. I try to visit her once every few years, but I wanted to make it home to Charleston before. So, I put off a visit to her for now, but hopefully, our contacts with several locations in Alderson will play out and I'll soon get the opportunity to head back down that way.
Overall, it was a really fun day and a perfect way to kick off October! We had a lot of networking success in Alderson, so absolutely follow Appalachian Ghost Tours on social media to keep track of upcoming events in the area, as well as throughout southern West Virginia. Also, continue to follow Theresa's Haunted History on Facebook for more spooky history, ghost hunting adventures, and much, much more! Stay spooky and have a safe and happy Haunt Season!
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