The Flatwoods Monster Postcard

This may look like an ordinary postcard of the original Flatwoods Monster drawing, but it is actually one of my most prized pieces in my paranormal collection.  While it's true that this is a normal postcard that can be purchased at the Flatwoods Monster Museum, if you look closely, you'll see that it is hand-signed by Freddie May!  Freddie May was one of the young boys, who along with his mother, brother, and some other fellas, were the original witnesses to the creature back in 1952!

Awhile back, I received a message from Andrew Smith, who runs the Flatwoods Monster Museum, asking me for my address.  And, a few weeks ago, I received this wonderful gift in the mail with a very nice letter.  I had been chosen to receive one of these autographed postcards for my work in promoting the museum and sharing the legend of the Flatwoods Monster.  I gotta say....I was quite humbled to be given such an honor!  If you follow this blog, or follow me over on Theresa's Haunted History Facebook page, you know that I love the Flatwoods Monster and I am so thrilled to have seen this huge surge in interest in this unique case in recent years.  To anyone with an interest in the paranormal, ufology, or just the weird side of history, the Flatwoods Monster case is just such a cool case to study, and it's awesome to see the museum acting as a localized center for collecting and sharing information. Mr. Smith has done an excellent job in curating a collection of artifacts, connecting with witnesses and researchers, organizing community events, and so much more.  If you're anywhere near the Braxton County area, I highly suggest popping in and checking it out! 

I'd also like to extend a huge thank you to Andrew Smith for sending me this treasured piece! It truly is an honor to have received it.  I'd also like to thank Freddie May for signing these postcards and choosing to talk about his experiences. And, I'd like to thank everyone else out there who is writing about, making videos or podcasts or art about, or is in any other way sharing the legend of the Flatwoods Monster and keeping it alive. West Virginia is lucky to have such a fascinating case in its strange history, and we're even luckier that there are so many people out there dedicated to sharing the story.

David Morgan's Vision

Source: WV History on View

I absolutely love when a little supernatural lore makes its way into mainstream history! One such example can be found in the Marion County community of Rivesville. Along US 19 there is a unique historical marker, dedicated to an early pioneer in the region that is today West Virginia, David Morgan.  

David Morgan, known as The Great Indian Fighter, was the son of Colonel Morgan ap Morgan and brother to Zackquill Morgan, who founded Morgantown, WV. Born in 1721, David was a surveyor with George Washington in 1746 when the Fairfax Stone was laid, and fought in the French and Indian War.

In the late 1770's, David and his family had retired to the Prickett's Fort area near Fairmont. And, that's where legend and history collide.  It is said that in April of 1779, David Morgan, just shy of his 58th birthday, had taken ill.  As he lay in his sick bed, he had a feverish dream that two of his children had been attacked and were scalped and bleeding.  David awoke from this strange dream to find that his children had in fact, wandered away from the security of the cabin in search of a lost cow. He jumped from his sick bed, and yelled for his children to hurry back up the path to the home.

The children had just made it back when two Indians appeared from out of the woods and attacked.  David, though ill, managed to fight off and even kill one of the Indians. However, as he was fleeing, the other Indian threw a tomahawk directly at David's head.  David's life was spared as the quick-thinking frontiersman threw his hand up to shield himself, severing at least one finger in the process.

1995 David Morgan portrait by Kelley Ward

Prophetic dreams (also known as Veridical Dreams) are not uncommon among the superstitious Appalachian Mountain folk, and I know that certainly in my family, dreams foretelling the future were taken pretty seriously.  In the wild frontier that would become the state of West Virginia, sometimes that intuition and/or divine intervention...whichever you want to call it...was all that stood between you and death. 

David Morgan's prophetic vision may have saved his life as well as those of his children, and it certainly makes for a wonderful bit of folklore.  Unfortunately, some scholars don't believe this sick-bed vision ever actually happened.  Nevertheless, visitors to Rivesville near where the incident occurred, have been treated to this wonderful informational sign.  The sign is part of the West Virginia Highways Historical Markers Program, which was initiated in 1937.  Based on the photograph above, found at the WV History on View website, it looks like this sign was one of the originals placed in the 1930's and 1940's.  And, at least as recently as 2011, the sign still appears to be standing, as seen here in this Waymarking entry. 

David Morgan passed away on May 19, 1813.  He is buried in a private cemetery in Marion County. The Morgan Family was instrumental in shaping the history of what would become the great state of West Virginia, and thanks to a dire warning that came to him in a dream, David Morgan and two of his children were able to survive long enough to see some major changes come to the area. 

Further Reading:

The Earliest Printed Version of David Morgan and the Two Indians, by Jack B. Moore (1962)

This Day in Haunted History-April

Better late than never, right? After five years, I have decided to continue with my abandoned "This Day in Haunted West Virginia History" series. The idea is based on the West Virginia Division of Culture's "On This Day in West Virginia History" series---I go through the monthly list, and if there is anything on there that I can relate to the paranormal, it gets added here! Unfortunately, April is a somewhat sparse month for spooky history---at least for now. I did see a couple of entries that definitely need some more research!

On April 15, 1872, Peter Godwin Van Winkle, who represented West Virginia in the United States Senate from1863 to 1869, died in Parkersburg.  Today, the largely neglected Van Winkle-Wix House is still standing, and has picked up a reputation for being haunted. According to Julie Robinson in the Sunday Gazette-Mail 5 October 2008 edition, " Workers at the sprawling 1837 red-brick mansion of Sen. Peter Godwin Van Winkle also reported unexplained activity. They told Susan Sheppard that in 1990, they saw a blond, curly-haired man in a ruffled white shirt in the house. They chased him, but he disappeared. Outside workers saw his image in a window, and one of them captured it on film. Sheppard included both photographs in her recent book, "Cry of the Banshee."  This location is a stop on Susan's popular Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours.

On April 18, 1861, United States troops destroyed the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry shortly before the town was captured by Confederate troops.  It was this same armory that was made infamous in 1859 during John Brown's Raid. One of the men killed during the raid was a black man named Dangerfield Newby. It is said his body was thrown to the hogs occupying what is now known as Hog Alley. Visitors to Hog Alley have for years reported the figure of a large, African American man with a neck wound, walking the area.  Dangerfield Newby at Hog Alley

On April 19, 1896, Arthur Ingram Boreman, the first governor of West Virginia, died. Boreman lived in Parkersburg, and although his former home has been torn down, the home he had built for his daughter, known as the Boreman-Wheel House, is said to be haunted. Witnesses at the Wheel House claim that expensive wine glasses will roll out of their shelving and shatter to the floor. Bottles of wine have even gone missing from upstairs, only to be found in the basement area. Other reports of activity include hearing phantom voices and whispers, and phantom footsteps on the wooden floors. Orbs are often photographed in the attic area, but the most substantial report comes from the basement once again. Two ghost hunters conducting an investigation at the location witnessed the full bodied apparition of a light haired man standing behind the bar area. The man spoke aloud a cheery "Hello!" before dissipating before their eyes.  Boreman-Wheel House

On April 26, 1927, the West Virginia legislature passed an act incorporating the Raleigh County community of Beckley.  As a child, my grandmother moved from Hinton to Beckley and in 1940, was living in a very haunted house in East Beckley.  Someone had been murdered in the home, and a series of spooky events, including a calendar that refused to stay on the wall, prompted her family to seek out answers. After disposing of a bloody pillow found in the attic, the hauntings seemed to stop.  A Haunting from East Beckley

If you know of any additional significant dates for April's Haunted West Virginia History, please let me know! Feel free to comment below or join me over at Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook page. And, if you're interested in previous entries in this Haunted History series, here are the links for the first quarter of the year.  Happy Haunting! 

January This Day in Haunted History

February This Day in Haunted History

March This Day in Haunted History