Shadows of Ghent

West Virginians are no strangers to tragedy.  As a state, we were born out of the chaos of the Civil War, and throughout our 150+ years of statehood, have seen numerous mine accidents, train crashes and other violent acts of nature and man.  Nevertheless, its never easy when such tragedies strike, taking the lives of our fellow citizens far too soon.  West Virginia saw one of these tragedies on the morning of January 30, 2007.

Photo by W. Dayton Whittle, via NYTimes

It was a little before 11 a.m. when employees at the popular Flat Top Little General Store (a gas and convenience store) located near Ghent, WV called 911 to report a suspected propane gas leak. First responders, including members of the Ghent Volunteer Fire Department, along with at least two propane technicians responded to the issue.  To several of these first responders, it would be the last call they would ever respond to.  Something ignited the propane leak, destroying the Little General store and tossing the fire truck parked outside over like a toy.  It was said that homes up to a mile away experienced windows being blown out, and one resident even claims the force threw her from her couch.

The explosion rocked the small community, both literally and figuratively.  Four people were killed instantly, and another five were injured.  The first reports that came out about the explosion stated that the deceased included a volunteer firefighter, a county building inspector, and an EMT.  Later, the names of the victims were released.  They were:

Ghent Fire Chief, Fred Burroughs
Craig 'Toad' Dorsey, Jr.
Glenn Bennett and Jeffrey Lee Treadway, both listed as propane technicians.

Three years later, volunteer firefighter, Donnie Caldwell, would pass away from complications associated with the injuries he suffered during the explosion.  The devastation from this event was immeasurable.  Many in the community lost a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, or a relative.  A popular store serving both locals and visitors to nearby Winterplace Ski Resort was leveled.  Over ten years later, the scars from that cold, winter day run deep.

This is still a fresh tragedy, with the victims' families and friends still alive and living in the area.  Because of that, it was hard for a witness to come forward with quite an unnerving story associated with the site of the former Little General Store.

Back in 2015, someone with the username, wvseller, posted a personal experience on the Your Ghost Stories website. Definitely go check out the website to read the complete story in the author's own words, as it is a really interesting experience.  In short, however, the author had to drive by the Little General location one evening in August 2014.  A black, shadowy human figure, described as being darker than dark, was spotted on the Little General side of the road.  As it ran towards the road, the author slammed on the brakes, and the figure crossed in front of the car.  Before the author could make sense of what had just been seen, three more shadowy figures ran across the road from the Little General side, disappearing into the woods opposite.

Were these four shadow beings representative of the four men who were taken that January morning...or was it all just an ironic coincidence?

*My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy.  In posting the names of the victims, it is not my intention to exploit their plight, but rather to help preserve their memory.*

Further Reading:
New York Times article by Ian Urbina
Register-Herald article on the 10th anniversary of the explosion