The Murdered Merchant's Ghost

Ruth Ann Musick, Queen of WV Folklore
Source: WV Encyclopedia

Today's vintage ghost tale comes from March 12, 1951 edition of the Hinton Daily News, a newspaper based in Hinton (Summers County), West Virginia! The story published in the paper was originally collected by Dr. Ruth Ann Musick of Fairmont State College and included in an edition of "The Old Folks Say." 

According to the article, some time prior to the Civil War, a merchant was returning home after a trip selling his wares. While traveling through a rural section of Wirt County (modern maps say its actually in neighboring Ritchie County) known as Low Gap, he was robbed and killed by a shotgun blast at close range that entirely severed his head from his body! It wouldn't take long before the area where the incident occurred would gain a reputation for being haunted. Those who passed through Low Gap at night reported the ghost of the murdered traveler, who was known to manifest in different forms.

One traveler reported seeing a very large dog-like creature in the road. When he tried to scare it away by throwing a stone at it, it FLOATED up through the air and down over Low Gap. Two other men reported seeing a large, hissing ball of fire come down over the treetops, cross the road, and again, disappear over Low Gap. A third encounter involved a traveler seeing a man's form carrying a lantern. As he approached the figure, the lantern light went out, so the traveler asked the figure "What's the matter, did your light go out?" The figure answered in a rather spooky voice, "No, my LIFE went out." A ghost like form was then seen rising up and vanishing over the gap.

Not believing the ghostly stories, a local jeweler went to the location to prove that it was all bunk. When he returned, rather pale, at first he refused to talk about his experiences. Later on, he admitted that he had seen the ghostly figure of a headless man cross the road and vanish. As if seeing a headless figure vanishing in front of your eyes wasn't the spookiest thing ever, another encounter with the murdered merchant involves a lone traveler hearing screaming. As he shone his lantern in the direction of the screams, a nude man with blood pouring down his face ran across the road, and once again, vanished, taking the eerie screams with it, over the area of the gap. 

Hinton Daily News
12 March 1951

Tucker County's Headless Apparition

Lumber Camp Near Cheat River.
Source: WV History on View

Today's vintage Throwback Thursday ghost story can be found in the January 20, 1887, edition of the West Virginia Argus, which can be accessed for FREE over at Chronicling America! That winter, the 'big slide' in one of the lumber camps located along the Cheat River became ground zero for sightings of a terrible apparition. A large, headless man with an axe on his shoulder frightened even some of the bravest of the lumber crew so bad that they quit. This apparition would show itself both day and night and was generally believed to be a real spook by those who saw it. However, almost tongue-in-cheekly, the article's author notes that quite a few people were 'losing their heads' in that day,' so it wasn't a surprise to hear that Tucker County was home to one of them.  I'll let you interpret that how you will!  Special thanks to WV Cryptids and Strange Encounters, who posted this story on Facebook back in November 2021. 

The West Virginia Argus
20 January 1887

Update June 2025: While researching another story, I came across a different newspaper article with a little more information. The Ceredo (WV) Advance reported on Thursday, January 13th, 1887, that every single worker, including the camp cook, had fled the camp due to this headless horseman wielding an axe. It was this cook who first saw the apparition early one morning before sunrise, while preparing breakfast. It "fled through the woods making no noise." The cook was ridiculed for this superstitious claim, until a party of choppers saw the same thing. After that, the apparition was a regular occurrence, day or night. Bullets fired at the apparition had no effect on it. The owners of the firm, Henry G. Davis & Bro of Keyser sent men out to find the cause of all the ruckus but could not explain away the horrifying creature that plagued the camp. As a result, they were desperately trying to find men to come work. 

Ceredo Advance
13 January 1887

I love a good headless ghost tale! If you do as well, please check out my PERSONAL experience seeing a headless shadow being along Rt. 50 between Bridgeport and Grafton! 

HEADLESS SHADOW BEING OF RT. 50

'Ghost' Haunts Grafton's Consolidated Manufacturing Company

It's time for another Throwback Thursday vintage newspaper article!  Today's selection comes from the February 22, 1916 edition of The Daily Telegram, a newspaper based in Clarksburg, WV.  The article mentions that for some time, the Consolidated Manufacturing Company in nearby Grafton had been the site of a haunting.  However, one brave watchman confronted the 'ghost' and found it was none other than a former employee of the plant who had been stealing items, including a typewriter, from his former place of employment.  The story has a happy ending, though, as the ghost wasn't prosecuted, but instead was simply allowed to return the stolen items!

I absolutely love these old ghost stories that remind us that not everything is what it seems!  I'm glad the company regained its stolen property and that the ghostly thief, probably someone fairly down on his luck, was spared a prison sentence in lieu of doing the right thing.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a whole lot about the Consolidated Manufacturing Company.  From a website devoted to Carr China, it appears that the Consolidated Manufacturing Company of Grafton was built along the Tygart River around 1913, but would go bankrupt in 1916. Later that year, it would become known as 'the pottery,' or the home for Carr China until its closure in 1952.  The building caught on fire in July of 1966, and its burned out remains quickly became a haven for vandals and vagrants.  It was eventually torn down, taking its 'haunted' past with it to the grave. 

Carr China 1934

The Martinsburg Beast

WILD BEAST SCARES PEOPLE
Martinsburg, W.Va., April 9.

---The vicinity of Hodgesville has been terrorized by a strange animal, which has chased many residents to their homes.  The fierce beast has been described as a wolf, panther, wildcat, hyena, and bear.

John Richard, mayor of Hodgesville, has measured the animal's tracks, which are 7 inches long and wolf-like in shape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's Throwback Thursday vintage newspaper article comes from the April 9th, 1914 edition of the Fairmont West Virginian newspaper, and tells of an interesting beast, sighted in the state's eastern panhandle. I assume that the 'Hodgesville' mentioned is actually Hedgesville, WV, which is located about 15 miles from Martinsburg.  

The description of the beast is interesting to me.  Different people described it quite differently, although all descriptions, save for the hyena, are of natural animals that any West Virginian would be familiar with.  It is also interesting to note the size of the animal's tracks.  They are described as being wolf-like in shape, but quite a bit larger than a normal adult wolf's paw.  What do YOU think the people of Hedgesville were seeing that spring, over 100 years ago?  Do you believe it was a shape-shifting beast, a series of different animals, or was the whole thing a hoax to sell newspapers?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Ghostly Face Appears on Porch Column

This is such an interesting lil' historic article from the Charleston, WV area.  Back in 1945, a family noticed a strange image on the stucco of their porch column.  The image looked like the silhouette of a girl's face...but not just any face.  The family who owned the home claims the face resembled that of their daughter, Peggy Sue, who died two years previously on April 4, 1943.  I really wish the picture I found showed a clear image of the silhouette, but I'll keep looking!  Here's the text from the article:

'Face' Appears on Porch Column
The appearance of the profiled silhouette on a stucco porch post at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Weaver of Rand, said by the family and neighbors to resemble the Weavers' deceased daughter, has attracted widespread attention.

Late yesterday, Mrs. Weaver estimated that since Tuesday, several thousand persons have stopped to look at the framed silhouette, which she says started forming in the stucco last January.

According to Mrs. Weaver, she first noticed a light-colored ellipse over a foot in diameter.  Near the center was a dark spot about the size of a cup.  The dark surface grew larger, which she says she took notice of from time to time.  Last Saturday Mrs. Weaver says she asked her husband if he could make anything of it.  After examining the spot, he reluctantly agreed that it was the shape of a child's face.

Word spread that the silhouette resembled the Weavers' daughter, Peggy Sue, who died at the age of 12, April 4, 1943.  Since Tuesday afternoon the silhouette has been the talk of the nearby communities, and yesterday crowds grew to such proportions that Greyhound buses on U.S. Highway 60 running in front of the house were stopping briefly to permit passengers to look. Shown right is Robert Lee Weaver, student at DuPont High School, son of the Weavers. [Gazette photo].

It wasn't until the 1960's that the strange story was widely told. The Miracle of Peggy Sue appeared in the Charleston Gazette's State Magazine on March 17, 1968. This article provided much more information than did the original newspaper clipping (which unfortunately, I cannot find a source for). On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday), the pipefitter J.J. Weaver and his wife were at church, talking to friends and acquaintances after the Easter service and brought up a strange image that had appeared on one of their porch columns, about five feet up. It looked like the silhouette of a young girl. The family believed it was the likeness of their daughter, Peggy Sue, who had died two years previously of pneumonia, just shy of her twelfth birthday. 

Peggy Sue had been buried near the Elk River where the family lived at the time of her death, but after her mother had a dream in which Peggy was drowning, her body was exhumed and reburied at Witcher Creek, closer to the new house in Rand. It was shortly after she had been moved that the ghostly image had appeared. 

Curious, the church folk decided to follow the Weavers home to see for themselves. Indeed, there was a strange image that resembled the Weavers' deceased daughter. Word spread quickly, and looky-loos came by the literal busload. There were so many visitors that the Weaver's porch collapsed from the weight, and a fence was put up to keep people out. That wasn't much of a deterrent, though, so the column was removed altogether. When the family later moved to Texas, the column went with them.

A local insurance salesman by the name of Earle Stephens dabbled in photography, and took a picture of the strange image. He then sold prints for a quarter a piece, making over $500 when it was all over. Of course, there were plenty of skeptics out there with explanations as to why a stucco-covered column may have a dark patch on it, and even why it may RESEMBLE a silhouette, especially to a mourning family, but many in the Rand area still believe that they witnessed a miracle on that little front porch.

  

Beckley Post Herald
30 June 1945

A Spooky Case of Mistaken Identity

I love today's Throwback Thursday vintage news article. It's a funny story about mistaken identity, and is even illustrated! The story was published in the September 6, 1907 edition of the Daily Telegram, a Clarksburg, WV newspaper. (The original is available on Chronicling America.) However, the incidents took place in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Since the text is a little hard to see, here's the full transcription:

GHOST ON A BICYCLE
Turns Out to Be a Girl Asleep in Her Nightgown

The ghostlike apparition of a girl astride a bicycle flitting about the streets after midnight will not startle residents in the east end of Fort Dodge, IA any longer.  For weeks pedestrians abroad late at night have been scared.

On a recent night a policeman, attracted by a crash and a scream, ran around a corner and solved the mystery.  He found a young and pretty girl clad in a thin nightdress, which had suffered severely when the wheel she riding struck a brick.  The girl was dazed, but told the policeman where she lived.  He escorted her home and startled her father, a well known merchant, who thought his daughter was safe in bed.

The girl said she had no recollection of her midnight rides.


*Theresa's Note:  I found this story especially interesting because my own mother is a huge sleepwalker, or somnambulist, if you want the fancy title. My biggest fear is that she will attempt to drive off somewhere while in her sleep, but luckily that hasn't happened. The worst she's done so far, to my knowledge, was sleep-order a bunch of crap off a home shopping channel. Usually she just walks around, mumbles about some weird stuff, and eats. Thank goodness she doesn't own a bicycle!

So tell me, are you a sleepwalker or is someone in your family prone to these nighttime escapades? What is the weirdest thing YOU'VE ever done while asleep? What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen a sleepwalker do? Let me know below!

The Stinky Streak

Don't let the silly title of today's blog post fool you! This vintage West Virginia ghost? creature? oddity? story was reported in Cooper's Clarksburg Register on Wednesday, August 8, 1853 and sounds pretty horrifying! It appears that the original tale appeared in the Buckhannon Observer, so I would imagine that the strange events took place in that area.  However, I'm not EXACTLY sure what those strange events were!

While out riding, a group of men noticed movement in the distance. It streaked past them at remarkable speed, sounding like a buggy. It was dark brown in color, and smelled strongly of tar. The horses were spooked and a couple of men were even knocked to the ground. Upon returning to town, the men found that the THING, whatever it was, had passed through there as well, much to the puzzlement of the local citizenry. It was headed west, leading the people to surmise that this thing would show up in Weston and Parkersburg as well.

This is definitely one of the weirder articles I've come across, and much like the citizens of Buckhannon back in 1853, I couldn't even fathom a guess as to what it was that was experienced by such a large number of people. It certainly doesn't sound like a classic ghost story. Could it have been a Bigfoot? Were the sable garments actually dark brown fur? Bigfoot experiences are often reported as being accompanied by a foul odor.  However, I've never known such a creature to move that fast, nor sound like buggy. Perhaps it was some sort of demonic or other non-human entity.

I hope you enjoyed today's Throwback Thursday post as much as I did!  Join me over on Theresa's Haunted History Facebook and let me know YOUR theories!