The Clarksburg Ghost Dog: A Friday Fright Bite

On January 11, 1869, the Wheeling Daily Register ran a small news item from the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia. The article read:

"They have an original ghost on the railroad near Clarksburg. The spook takes the questionable shape of a black dog with a red ring around its neck, and is impervious to pokers and "sich."" 

That's it. That's all that I could find mentioned, and its somewhat of a head scratcher. What do they mean when they say a red ring around its neck? Like...a collar? I'm sure things are MUCH different today than they were in the years immediately following the Civil War, but I do think the mention of a red ring is rather interesting. According to modern practice, if you see a dog with a red leash, collar or bandana on, it is generally taken to mean that the dog is potentially aggressive. It may bite, snap at, or lunge at people and other animals, so if you see it out, don't approach it without owner's permission.

My own black pup, Nazy, was red-collared. She was rescued from a horrible existence as a bait dog and although she was gentle with humans and learned to get along with her canine sister, she was aggressive towards unfamiliar dogs. She was controllable, but she couldn't be trusted to interact normally with other animals she met out on her walks. 

Red tends to be a universal color meaning STOP or warning. Was the red ring around this phantom dog's neck some sort of warning system to those it encountered, warning them to stay away? Did the red denote there was something bad or evil, even...supernatural...about the dog? 

While we may never know the fate of the phantom dog haunting the railroads near Clarksburg, we know it wasn't alone in a long history of phantom dogs seen in West Virginia. Below is a list of just some of the phantom dog stories from all over the state, which you can read about right here on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State!

The Ghost Dog of Peach Tree (Raleigh County)

The Witch of Wyoming County

Pt. Pleasant's Phantom Black Dog

The Murdered Merchant's Ghost

The Snarly Yow *Coming Soon!*

Wheeling Daily Register
11 January 1869

The Will-O' The-Wisp of Clarksburg's Quality Hill

WILL-O' THE WISP ON QUALITY HILL
Strange being Appears on Main Street and Maiden's Lane and Disturbs Society's Foundations

A will-o'-the-wisp, it is believed, haunts Quality Hill, and there is surmising and guessing galore in that neighborhood.  The residents are busy talking about it, and that is about the only topic of conversation these days.  Various stories are told about the discovery and more or less fright exists among the lady members of society.  That they beheld an apparition they are all firmly convinced and that there is a degree of dread they all confess.

Only a night or so ago they saw a tall person, dressed in female attire and wearing a man's hat.  The actions of the figure were strange and the figure itself just as strange. East Main street and Maiden's lane afforded the scene for the mysterious appearance and actions of the this strange being, mythical or real.  Gliding around in the neighborhood and standing silent as a ghost in the shadows of the darkness of night, the unknown figure aroused the suspicions of the citizens and shudders and chills crept over those who beheld it.

Some think it is a mythical being, others that it is a man dressed in woman's clothes, and still others have no definite idea.

It is surmised that it may be a society man, and yet it may be "Jack the Peeper."

It is needless to say that the appearance of the strange visitor has had a depressing effect along Maiden's lane, as well as the other street, and society is stirred to its foundations in that section.

Watches of the night will doubtless be established, as the strain is becoming intense and curiosity and fear have the upper hand.The mystery must be solved and that quickly, if the equilibrium of that community is to be restored.

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This vintage article is from the July 22, 1903 edition of the Daily Telegram, a Clarksburg, WV based newspaper.  Apparently, either a ghost or a cross-dresser was haunting the rich, well-to-do neighborhood of Quality Hill in Clarksburg.  The largely residential neighborhood, with houses dating back to the mid-1800's, is now a recognized historic district and can be found on the WV's Register of Historic Places.   If you're looking for MORE historic haunts in Clarksburg, WV....please check out my blog on the Waldomore Mansion.  This historic mansion is not only haunted...but its home to the Gray Barker UFO files!