Haunted Hacker's Creek, WV

Hodgesville - Hacker's Creek Hill - At the top of the hill you can see the old road to the Mount Lebanon Church. On late nights, if you sit near the top of the hill, you can see the ghost of a boy who was killed in the 1920's. His spirit seems to be pedaling his bicycle uphill, trying to get home. You can see him in his dark blue coat, and can hear the clank and rattle of his bicycle chain. Near the bottom of the hill, on stormy nights, you can see the ghost of a man and his wife on an old horse cart. They were believed to be bringing supplies home during a thunderstorm. The cart rolled however, killing them both.--Shadowlands.net

Mount Lebanon Church Cemetery, by Find-a-Grave user, Katina Peters

You might have seen the above text before if you have ever searched some of the popular "list" sites for haunted locations in the Mountain State!  I've seen it before too, several times, and decided to look a little deeper to see if there is anything to it.

What I found is that there WAS a young boy killed around this time period around this location.

John Davis Casto was born on October 27, 1920 in L.A.  However, his father, Riley Casto, was originally from the Upshur County area and in the summer of 1931, they were in town for the Casto-Hinkle Family Reunion.    On July 26, 1931, ten year old John ran out in front of a vehicle while at the reunion.  He died of a punctured lung and was buried in the Mount Lebanon Church Cemetery.

Although I cannot confirm that this IS the ghostly boy discussed in the original article, he's the only one I have found that seems to fit the description of the time, place, and proper age.   As far as the couple in the horse cart...I'm still looking for them!

Links of Interest:

John D. Casto Death Registery  

Find-a-Grave: Mt. Lebanon Church Cemetery

Hackers Creek History  

(Info about the family reunion came from an Ancestry.com family tree entry)