Cujo in Huntington

 

Ritter Park in Huntington, WV
Photo: WV History on View

Most of us are familiar with Stephen King's Cujo, a tale about a rabid St. Bernard who goes on a violent killing spree. Although inspired by real events, Cujo was a work of fiction, straight from the mind of one of the most popular and prolific horror writers of our generation. But, did you know that Huntington, WV once had its own Cujo?

That may be a little harsh, since there are no deaths associated with the incidents that occurred in the summer of 1915. However, the reign of terror by a cur dog named Whitie who stalked the area around Ritter Park definitely left its mark. 

In a span of two months, Whitie had bitten over 100 people and caused multiple accidents by attacking bicyclists and motorcyclists by pulling them off their vehicles. Patrolmen had shot their revolvers at Whitie multiple times, but they never seemed to hit their mark. Stories spread about Whitie living a 'charmed life'. Could he really not be killed? Was this more than a normal flesh and blood dog?

As it turns out, no. Whitie was as mortal as any of us. When multiple complaints flooded the police station about this vicious creature Sgt. Joe Messenger ordered a police wagon to go hunt down Whitie and take care of him once and for all. After a chase through Ritter Park, Patrol Driver Lon Whitten finally took out Whitie with a shotgun. Huntington's own Cujo had been neutralized at last. 

Today, Ritter Park is still a popular recreational spot in the city, used by many to exercise, play, or simply enjoy the rose gardens. It also has a reputation for being haunted. I haven't personally heard of any stories of a ghost dog in Ritter Park, but the next time you visit, keep an eye out for any unleashed cur dogs roaming the grounds. The spirit of the once-charmed Whitie may still be out there hunting for his next victim. 

25 July 1915
The Sunday Telegram (Clarksburg, WV)

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 Ghost Dog of Peach Tree

Brindle Plott Dog
Photo by Mary Bloom

In his 1975/2008 book, Witches, Ghosts and Signs, Patrick Gainer shares an interesting story told by 'Uncle' Bud Workman. The story comes from Peach Tree, a small mining community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, and deals with what locals believed to be a ghostly dog.

The event takes place over a three-week span in 1880. A very large brindle-colored dog suddenly showed up in town, only being seen by the townspeople after dark. Although it was said this dog approached a local house where its very presence sent the owners' dogs (noted as being the meanest in town) running to hide with their tails tucked between their legs, it was never know to show any aggression towards humans. Still, since no one knew where the dog had come from and why it only appeared at night, the townspeople were fairly well spooked. Most everyone avoided going out at night for fear of running into the ghost dog. 

However, some were brave enough to actually try to confront the dog. One person tried to throw rocks at it, but the rocks went right through it. A local preacher took things a step further at fired five shots at the dog from close range. The bullets didn't touch the dog, nor did it seem bothered by this attempted murder. 

Luckily for the people of Peach Tree, sightings of the phantom canine only lasted about three weeks. Then, the dog disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as it had appeared.  Never again did the phantom dog bother the people of that small Raleigh County community. 

I find this story really interesting because when you think of ghost dogs and supernatural dogs and superstitions surrounding dogs, rarely does a brindle-colored dog appear. Generally, black dogs (especially here in Appalachia) and occasionally white dogs are the subject of such rumors. There are also some elements of this story that are reminiscent of a similar tale from nearby Wyoming County, where a 'witch dog' was said to frighten passersby, and was even shot at to no avail.  Anyway, I'm glad no one was hurt in this telling of the tale, including the dog.  Please see the links below for more spooky tales of phantom dogs here on Theresa's Haunted History!

Witch of Wyoming County

Pt. Pleasant's Phantom Black Dog

Door Dogs

Schipperke
Source

I like to keep a running list in one of my many notebooks about topics I want to share here on Theresa's Haunted History blog. Some time last year, I added 'Door Dogs' to the list. I distinctly remember reading a quick blurb about the door dogs in a book (I'm pretty sure it was an e-book), but when I went back over my reading log for 2021, I could NOT figure out which one! So, I turned to the internet to help me out, and was really disappointed in the lack of information out there on what I consider a really cool piece of folklore. 

The concept of door dogs seems to be most prevalent in Tangiers, Morocco, but most likely has spread throughout Africa and into Europe as noted by William S. Burroughs, who wrote extensively about door dogs in his work, Western Lands. So what is a door dog?

A door dog is a death omen. During the weeks leading up to a person's demise, a small dog with a pointed nose is seen following them around. The dog is most often spotted when the person is crossing a threshold, especially as they enter through a doorway, giving the spooky little creature it's name! It's important to note that the dog, which is seen and never heard, is ONLY witnessed by others around the 'marked' person. You will never be able to see your own door dog. 

Although you could easily make the assumption that the door dog only heralds the upcoming death of a PERSON, my mom and I may have had an encounter with a door dog that served as a death omen for our dog, Captain. About two months before Captain unexpectedly passed away from kidney failure, my mom and I both saw, on several occasions, a jet black dog following him. Full disclosure, we actually HAD a jet black dog at the time named Nazy. But, there's no way we were seeing her. Nazy's fur was very short, and she had rather thin back legs and a thin, long tail. 

Whenever we'd see Captain's door dog, we'd always see just it's hindquarters, disappearing around the corner from the foyer into the living room immediately after Captain had walked through the area. We never saw the front of it, but we both described the back of it in the same way. This dog had fur that was way more...fuzzy...than Nazy's. It had strong, thick back legs and a fluffy tail that curled upward like a chow chow's. We both saw it maybe 3 times each before Captain crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and never saw it again. 

After the first time spotting it, my mom had a really bad feeling that this dog was an omen of something bad to come, and I tried to play it off as it simply being just another ghost that had wandered into our home and would soon leave, like so many others had. Even after Captain passed away, I really didn't give too much thought of it being connected, and sort of filed the situation away as just another weird thing. Even when I first read about the door dogs as death omens, I still didn't make any connections between what we saw and Captain's death. Until...

The Obscurban Legends Wiki Page was the best source of information I came across when preparing for today's blog. When describing the physical characteristics of the door dog, it mentioned that it had a pointed snout like the schipperke. Admittedly, I am not very knowledgeable about dog breeds and I had never heard of the schipperke. So, I looked up what this type of dog looked like, and lo and behold...the pictures that popped up were EXACTLY like the dog my mom and I had seen several years ago. 

*If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also like the story of my own 

FAMILY DEATH OMEN!*

Nazy Never Left

Last month our dog, Nazy, finally crossed the Rainbow Bridge after months of slowly deteriorating, both in physical health and cognitive ability. Nazy was almost 16 years old, and although we had given her a good life, she came from tragic beginnings.

When my nephew was in 4th grade, he and I went to the animal shelter to pick out a pet dog for him. As we were led into the back kennels of the shelter, so many dogs were barking at top volume, going crazy.  All except one---a little black and white dog who sat calmly in her cage. We asked to take a closer look at her, and when my nephew walked in, she jumped up and put her paws on his shoulders and her head on his chest, still not making a sound. We both knew right then that this was our dog.

Her name had been given as Nazy, which we decided to keep because we weren't sure exactly how old she was and we didn't want to confuse her by giving her a new name. When we brought her home, Nazy had no hair around her neck, on her ears, or on her hindquarters. We were told that she had been seized from her owner for abuse/neglect. She was terribly allergic to fly bites, which had caused the hair loss around her ears and back, and the missing hair around her neck was from a too-tight collar that had actually embedded itself in her neck and had been cut out. 

It didn't take long to figure out there was more wrong with Nazy than we thought. For the first several years we had her, she would have occasional seizures, possibly stemming from the abuse she endured. Her eyes always had a milky look to them, so we figured she probably didn't have the greatest eyesight either. You couldn't touch her hip area without her yelping in pain and snapping at you. Again, we figured this area had been injured during her abusive start to life. She hated having her nails trimmed and even bit a vet tech who decided she could handle her without a muzzle. 

Nazy wasn't exactly a GOOD dog. She had severe aggression towards other animals, and it took so long to get her to not attack our yellow lab. She would run away any chance she got, and did NOT listen. If you corrected her, or even raised your voice to her, she'd get mad and immediately go tear something up or poop in the house. She was the only dog I ever knew that was actually spiteful. 

Still, we loved her and spoiled her up until it was her time to go. I think it hit my mom really hard, because my mom had basically turned her life upside down to care for Nazy during her final months, as she needed so much care. But, I don't think Nazy ever really left...

I was the first to hear her. The day after we put her down, I was about to walk out the front door when I heard Nazy's signature bark. Nazy never was a normal, barking dog. If she was outside wanting in, she'd let out one sort of high-pitched, yip/woof noise to let us know she was at the door. It's a very distinct sound, and that's exactly what I heard. But, the dogs next door started barking right after that, so I figured that I was just missing Nazy and thus, misinterpreted another dog for her. So, I didn't say anything.

Recently, however, my mom told me that she hears Nazy EVERY night. Nazy was a creature of habit, and when SHE was ready to go to bed, she thought everyone else must go to bed as well, so she'd make that yip/woof noise to let my mom know that it light's out. 

Then, just last night my husband heard Nazy for the first time. He was standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner, while my mom and I were in the adjoining family room. He stopped what he was doing, looked out the kitchen window, then walked over to the patio doors and looked out. He was like, 'you're not going to believe this, but I just heard Nazy.' He described the same high-pitched yip as mom and I had heard, coming from the back porch.

Nazy isn't the only pet we've seen or heard in my mom's house, well after their bodily death. I just hope if she is sticking around, she's not terrorizing Ambrosis, my ghost cat, too much!

Point Pleasant's Phantom Black Dog

I love finding vintage ghost stories in old West Virginia newspapers! Today's discovery comes from the May 9th, 1883 edition of the Pt. Pleasant newspaper, The Weekly Register, which can be found online at Chronicling America.  I wasn't able to find a 'Clarksburg road' anywhere on modern maps, but I was able to find the small, unincorporated community of Hickory Chapel located near Pt. Pleasant in Mason County.

GHOST---The people living along the Clarksburg road, in the neighborhood of Hickory Chapel, are very much exercised by the re-appearance of a ghost in the shape of a big black dog.  They all assert that it is a veritable ghost, and it has been seen time and again by numbers of people.  Men have met it in the road, while riding home on horse-back, and have put spurs to their horses, and have tried to out-run it, but never could; it has been shot at time and again by good marksmen, but without effect.  Sometimes when people are walking along the road it follows along by the side of them, and neither clubs, stones, or scolding will drive it from its position. 

Theresa's Note:  Stories of phantom black dogs have always been fascinating to me and they are certainly an integral part of ghost lore.  Known by many names, including the Black Shuck, phantom black dogs are a popular motif in the ghost stories of England, and undoubtedly, settlers from the British Isles brought these legends and superstitions with them to America...and even to the small, rural community in Mason County.  Tales of black dogs, especially those with glowing red eyes and of enormous size, are generally associated with the demonic, but I've found another aspect of the phantom black dog mystery.  Here in America, especially in the rural south, these phantom black dogs have become associated with being cemetery guardians, especially in cemeteries where there are many slave/former slave burials. (See my blog on Graveyard Guardians for more info.)  These beliefs may stem from stories of the Church Grim, another English tale of a black dog who protects churches and church burial grounds. The whole Pt. Pleasant area has such a history of strange and unusual activity that it just seems natural to add a phantom black dog into the annals of its haunted history! 

Church Grim, by Ines Lee

The Ghost Dog Painting

Animal lovers the world over cannot help but be touched by this painting which appears to show a forlorn little girl and the ghostly image of her deceased dog, still loyal and comforting even from beyond the grave.

The portrait speaks to man's love and devotion to our canine companions and their loyalty and unconditional love. It's a touching image...almost bittersweet...which reminds us that our furry friends never truly leave us, in spirit or in memory.

So profound is the image, that it is constantly used over and over again to illustrate articles and websites dealing with the subjects of lost pets, grief in dealing with that loss, and even more paranormal topics, such as ghost animals.

It's a beautiful image alright...but not exactly what the original artist had in mind!

The image above is a digital manipulation of a painting by Briton Riviere called Sympathy.  As you can see in the original (to the right), the 'ghost' dog isn't a see-through apparition at all, but a real, living dog.  It was painted in 1877 and according to the artist, the little girl is modeled after his own daughter, Millicent, while the dog, a bull terrier, was owned by a man who often supplied the artist with dogs. The subject is of a little girl who was sent in disgrace to sit on the stairs while her pet dog came up to comfort her.

It wasn't until 2007 or 2008 that someone using the name LissiS uploaded the digitally enhanced 'ghost' dog image to Worth1000.com, an image alteration and contest website, and a whole new audience was found for this wonderful painting.


More strange, spooky, and creepy art from Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State!

Ghost Dog of Tingewick

This photo has recently popped up in popular media once again, as part of an article by the Huffington Post on ghosts, featuring a haunted mirror that recently sold on eBay.  I had seen this photo before, but seeing it mentioned once again sparked an interest that sent me on another disappointing research journey, lol.

The photo is found throughout the web, being shared on blogs and forums alike, but unfortunately, the information is VERY scarce...and seems to be a near-copy and paste job.  A few sites mentioned a few additional details, but the basic story goes as follows:

In August of 1916, Arthur Springer, a retired member of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) now commonly referred to as Scotland Yard, took this photograph of two ladies having tea while a maid looks on.  The photo was taken at the home of Kate Townsend, who appears to the left of the photo, in Tingewick, Buckinghamshire, England.  At the time of the photo, the dog, which some say appears to be a golden retriever, or possibly some type of long-haired hound, was allegedly not seen, and some sites go on further to claim that Mrs. Townsend did not own such a dog.

The Ghost Dog of Tingewick has appeared in several books, two of which I own personally.  I looked them up in both Brad Steiger's 2003 edition of Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places, as well as the 2007 Famous Ghosts and Haunted Places, but neither produced any additional information.

That's when I set out to see what I could find out about the people involved...

What I found was that there was an Arthur Springer who worked for the CID, but there wasn't any additional data about him or his character.  I couldn't find any Kate Townsends, but throughout the past 200+ years, there has been a large population of the Townsend surname in and around that area of Buckinghamshire.  I did find a Kate Townsend Bunkley, whose birth date does seem to correspond to what appears to be the age of the woman in the photograph, but I was really disappointed that I wasn't able to find more information.

However, I can just look at the picture and confidently say that I don't believe that this is a ghost dog.  The way the photograph is framed, it appears as if the dog is supposed to be in the photo, as it is taken into consideration in regards to the symmetry of the subjects in the middle of the frame.

Secondly, what appears to be a headless, transparent, and possibly skeletal, dog form can be explained VERY simply.  It looks as if the dog simply was moving while the shot was taken.  Its head appears to be turned toward Mrs. Townsend, giving it the appearance that its "not there" and the very transparent look of its hindquarters is probably because the dog is wagging its tail!  An example of this type of photography can be seen to the right in the photograph taken by HPIR founder, Melissa Stanley, as a promotion photo for the Haunted and Historic Guyandotte Tours!  

In conclusion, I have to say that this image of the ghost dog is NOT paranormal.  The maid on the other hand...that's open to debate!

*Want MORE ghost photos?  See Theresa's Paranormal Photos Page!*