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Recently, researcher and author, Tony Breeden (you can find his work on multiple platforms including the websites Tony Breeden Books and Exotheology) shared a pretty interesting article with me. The article, which comes from The Martinsburg Weekly Independent dated 14 November 1874, tells the tale of a young pedagogue returning home from what I believe is implied to be the home of a girl he is courting, when he runs into a terrible creature.
It was November 1st, and rather late at night when the young man was headed home in an area of Clay County near Oakton known as Back Creek. He was at a crossroads between the properties of Samuel Murphy and the widow Woods when an 8-10 foot creature suddenly appeared before him.
The creature had large feet, and long arms that ended in huge, dreadful claws. A long, flaming tale whipped around the devilish form. A long, flickering tongue added to the fear the young man felt, as the creature stood in front of him, menacingly for approximately three minutes. Then, with a terrible sound, it ran off into the woods, leaving the terrified young man dumbfounded. The newspaper surmises that this was the devil himself, out looking for a victim to devour.
But WHY would the devil, or one of his many minions, be out in rural Clay County, stalking young teachers out courting? Was this a liquor-fueled hallucination, or a young man's psychosis manifesting in a most demonic way? Does the proximity to Halloween play a part in the sighting...or is this just simply a fun story designed to pull in readership to a small West Virginian newspaper during the dark, cool days of late fall?
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| Martinsburg Weekly Independent 14 November 1874 Read online at Chronicling America |
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