Theresa's Travels: Sistersville, West Virginia

On Saturday, June 12, 2021 myself and several other members of Spectral Research and Investigation headed north to Tyler County, West Virginia. We had been called in to assist a family in Sistersville who was experiencing some potential paranormal activity. As this was largely a daytime investigation and it was a 2.5 hour drive up there for me, there wasn't a ton of free time to explore the historic and spooky little town of Sistersville.  However, I wasn't about to let the opportunity to at least LOOK at some of the area's haunted hot spots pass me by!

My first stop of the afternoon was the historic and haunted Wells Inn. The Wells Inn opened in January of 1895 to cater to those connected with the recent oil boom in the area. It was built by Ephraim Wells, and he is believed to be the main ghost of the hotel. He is blamed for moving objects around, locking maids out of certain rooms, playing with the elevator, and the sounds of writing coming from his former office. Phantom footsteps have been heard in the halls and doors have been known to slam on their own. 

I had briefly entertained the idea of actually staying the night at the Wells Inn following our investigation, but since money's tight and time was short, I decided to skip the formal stay and wait until I had the time and money to really make the most out of my stay there. So, I had to be content to stop and take a few photos!  Unfortunately, there was a big sign on the front door saying that the lobby was open to guests of the hotel ONLY. I'm not sure if this was simply a COVID-19 restriction, or this is a permanent policy put in place for the safety and comfort of paying guests.  Either way, I was a little bummed (but I completely understood) that I couldn't go inside. 

I left the Wells Inn with the intent of heading up to Oakwood Cemetery and getting some good daytime photos of a very eerie monument known as the Stocking Lady. I'm not sure HOW I missed it, but my directions to Oakwood Cemetery did not work out, lol. I did, however, find myself in another local cemetery---Greenwood. I think Greenwood and Oakwood sometimes get confused, but I have heard some stories of Greenwood being haunted as well. In one report submitted to WVGhosts, a witness claims that a group of friends visited Greenwood and after touching one tombstone that felt hot, several girls in the group felt like they were being stabbed. White, moaning things were seen, and even approached their car! I can't vouch for these tales, obviously, but I think there was a reason why I ended up at this particular cemetery.  As I was driving around, looking at the tombstones, I actually stumbled upon the graves of more than one previous owner of the property we were about to investigate!

By the time I checked out Greenwood pretty thoroughly, it was time to meet up with the rest of the team. I was super bummed that I hadn't found Oakwood, as I REALLY wanted to see the Stocking Lady for myself, but I knew that we had a job to do, so I focused all my attention on getting ready for the night's investigation. 

The Spectral Research and Investigation team, accompanied by Zach Schwartz of Countere Magazine, met up at The Fort Pizza and Restaurant for lunch and to plan out how we were going to approach this particular investigation. I had a HUGE chicken wrap and fries. The food was good and the staff was friendly---it was a really nice little local place to gather our thoughts and decide what we needed to do to give our clients the best investigation we could. 

As this was a private residence case, I won't be going over details of our actual investigation, but I will say that it was a hard one for me, emotionally. It was a case unlike any other residential I've done over the years and although we plan on staying in contact with the family and continuing to work with them, I just personally feel like we were all stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to really solving their problems for them. So, that was disappointing, but the evening definitely ended on a happy note!  The family actually lived pretty close to Oakwood Cemetery...and offered to take us up there!

I first learned about Oakwood Cemetery and the Stocking Lady back in October of 2019 when I saw storyteller Granny Sue at the WV Book Festival. The Stocking Lady is a beautiful, yet damaged tombstone statue that overlooks the graves of the family of Philo and Nancy Stocking. Local legend states that those who have been bold enough to vandalize the statue of a woman in a flowing garment have suffered terrible fates. The person who broke off the statue's arms lost his own arm in an accident. The person who gouged out the eye area went blind himself. There are lots of stories of people simply touching the Stocking Lady, resulting in a run of bad luck, illness, and injury. 

Oakwood Cemetery didn't disappoint and I was thrilled to finally see the Stocking Lady for myself. I didn't get too close, though...just in case. 

Overall, the trip to Sistersville was a positive experience for me. I had driven through the area before on my way to Moundsville, but never stopped to really look around. The drive along the Ohio River between Huntington and Sistersville is a beautiful drive that takes you through so many little historic towns, each with their own legends and ghost stories. This trip to Sistersville may have been my first, but it certainly won't be my last.

So let me know...have YOU been to Sistersville? Have you stayed at the haunted Wells Inn or visited the Stocking Lady?  Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below, or join me over on Facebook at Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State to share your story! Stay spooky, ya'll. 

Sistersville Phantom Airship 1897

Happy World UFO Day! 

To celebrate World UFO Day 2021, I thought it'd be fun to share with you this story of perhaps West Virginia's FIRST UFO?

Beginning in late 1896 and lasting through 1897, the United States was plagued with a very unusual unidentified aerial phenomenon. Starting in California and steadily moving eastward across the country, sightings of strange lights in the sky attached to what many believed was a dirigible were reported by everyday citizens. On April 19th, 1897, the mysterious airship had made its way to the small town of Sistersville, West Virginia! 

The following newspaper article comes from the Philadelphia Inquirer, dated 20 April 1897. A series of red, white, and green flashing lights were observed heading into town from the northwest. When looked at through 'strong glasses,' a cone-shaped craft, 180 feet long, with large fins on either side, could be seen. It was observed for about 20 minutes. So sure that they didn't see just a mere star, the citizens of Sistersville who witnessed the strange phenomena passed around and signed an affidavit declaring what they saw. 

Interestingly, earlier that day, reports of a phantom airship crash in Aurora, Texas made headlines across the country. The airship had crashed into windmill/sump pump on Judge Proctor's farm, killing the lone pilot. The strange little body was given a Christian burial in a local cemetery. To this day, permission to exhume the body has been denied, cementing the tale's place in Fortean society forever. 

Were the citizens of Sistersville simply influenced by the strange events in Texas, and thus turned their own unexplained experience into something similar...or was there really a barrage of phantom airships traveling across the continental United States in 1897? Who were piloting these strange craft---beings from another planet, or simply men from our own planet, operating under a secret mission to advance air travel? We may never know, but to the people who witnessed the events of April 19th, 1897, there's no doubt in their minds that they had witnessed something extraordinary.

The Sistersville Stocking Lady

Photo by Find-a-Grave contributor, Kathy Cook

I absolutely LOVE stories of haunted cemeteries and cursed tombstones.  There's just something about these particular legends that I think appeal to the thrill-seeker and adrenaline junkie in all of us!  Recently, I learned of another such legend here in the Mountain State:  The Stocking Lady of Sistersville. Like many of West Virginia's tombstone legends, this particular grave marker should be respected and admired....from far, far away!

Although we'd probably not consider Sistersville a booming city today, at one time the area was filled with wealthy citizens who made their fortunes in the oil and gas boom of the 1800s.  Many of those once-prominent citizens now call Oakwood Cemetery home, including the family of Philo Stocking.

Philo Stocking migrated from New York to the Wheeling area, and finally settled down river in Sistersville around 1841.  Local history has Philo Stocking as being one of the first people to attempt to drill oil in the area, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  However, Philo was a smart man.  He was sure that there was oil under his property, so he retained the oil and mineral rights to his property for him and his heirs.  Meanwhile, Stocking and his wife, Nancy, opened up a flour mill in 1852, which is still standing today under the name of Riverside Mills.  His son eventually took over the business and the family experienced financial success in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Philo passed away in 1882 and his wife Nancy followed in 1901. Both were buried in the beautiful Oakwood Cemetery. A large granite monument with the elaborate figure of a woman cradling the grave was erected, overlooking the Stocking plots.  At one time, it must have been an impressive piece of funerary art.  Unfortunately, vandals have turned the once opulent statue into a desecrated mess of broken stone.

Close-up from Granny Sue's Blog

The Stocking Lady still stands guard over the graves of the Stocking family, but her arms have been broken off.  If you look closely at her face, you'll find it scratched and gouged, her eyes which were supposed to watch over the family in their eternal slumber now indistinguishable.  Because of the disrespect shown to her, local residents feel that the Stocking Lady is out for revenge!

The Stocking Lady is one of the tales collected and told by Appalachian story-teller, Granny Sue.  In a recent appearance at the WV Book Festival, she told the story of the Stocking Lady, and how at one local event, quite a few audience members came forward with personal knowledge of the statue's wrath!  It seems as if the gentleman responsible for breaking off the arms of the Stocking Lady soon after suffered a horrific accident in which he lost an arm.  The man accused of vandalizing the statue's face went blind.  In fact, it seems that if anyone just simply TOUCHES the statue, they will suffer bad luck, most likely in the form of health problems occurring in the part of their own body corresponding to what part of the statue's body they touched.

The cemetery is also alleged to be haunted by phantom moaning and white, wispy apparitions floating about.  Is this further evidence of the Stocking Lady or members of the Stocking family showing their displeasure for how their grave site was treated...or do the mysteries of Oakwood Cemetery extend even further?  If you find yourself in the Sistersville area, possibly staying at the historic and haunted Wells Inn, make sure you take a moment to stop at the cemetery and pay your respects to the Stocking family and the Stocking Lady.  Just...don't get too close!!

(This story can also be found in Rosemary E. Guiley's book, The Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories.  I've seen the cemetery in question be listed as both Greenwood AND Oakwood, but according to Find-a-Grave, the grave is officially listed in Oakwood.  If you have any clarification or corrections, please let me know!)

Happy Haunting, ya'll!