Harrison County Railroad Ghost

Railroad Through Wallace. Source

Happy Throw Back Thursday!  Today's vintage newspaper article is from the February 9, 1915 edition of the Clarksburg Daily Telegram.  The story takes place in the small oil boom town of Wallace, WV, located in Harrison County, about 18 miles northwest of Clarksburg, and close to the small town of Bristol, WV.

BRISTOL, Feb. 9--It has been authentically reported here that a real, sure-enough "ghost" has been seen at Wallace, a little town on the New Martinsville branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 18 miles northwest of Clarksburg, during the last fortnight. The entire populace of the town is very much excited over the apparition. It has been declared by several who have seen the "ghost" that it resembles the wife of a resident of Wallace, who died two years ago.

The apparition, or whatever it is, appears along the railroad not far from the depot. A few of the most fearless men of the town--two of them armed with Winchesters--went one night to "see" the ghost and demand an explanation; thinking it to be a "ghost incarnate."  They saw it alright. It was coming toward them. They commanded it to halt, but it did not. They fired at random, several times, again commanding it to halt.  It did not halt, but kept coming. Seeing that it gave no sign of obeying their command, they fired point blank at the "thing", which was then quite near and still advancing despite the flying lead. Then the men showed their heels in fine style.

An engineer has stated firmly that he thought he ran over a woman at the same place one night.  He felt his engine strike something. He stopped and went back but could find nothing. An examination of the wheels and rails disclosed no sign that they had run over anything. The railroad crosses a creek near at hand and the engineer thought it might have been while crossing the bridge that he struck whatever it was---supposedly a woman---and he searched the creek but nothing could be found. A few nights ago, about fifty people congregated to see the apparition but nothing rewarded them for their trouble.

Notice the small railroad bridge in the background. Could this be the location? Source

The Witch of Wyoming County

Castle Rock 1916 Source

Shirley Donnelly was a native of Jackson County, WV.  A local historian, Donnelly spent 27 years writing a column for the Beckley Post-Herald, called Yesterday and Today. Each column featured tales of local folklore, mountain superstitions, and my favorite: West Virginia ghost stories!

For his December 21, 1964 column, Donnelly rehashes a ghost story from the Sizemore Gap area near Pineville, WV. The story comes from another West Virginia historian, Barty Wyatt.  Barty tells of a dark and rainy night in the 1870's when a man named Saul Clay encountered a phantom black dog!

Today, the area of Sizemore Gap (named for the George Sizemore family) is more commonly referred to as Jackson Hill, and is located near the small community of Rock View, named for its close proximity to Castle Rock. The area was first settled around 1840 and is known today for its natural beauty.  But, in the 1870's it was better known for being haunted by what some thought was a witch!

The ghost (or witch) was said to appear to travelers on the road through Sizemore Gap, and even those who WEREN'T necessarily believers still avoided the area at night...just in case.  Saul Clay was not one of these people.  Saul was a fearless man, standing close to 7 feet tall, and he wasn't going to let any phantom scare him off.  At least, that was his mindset when he set off through the gap one dark and rainy night. His confidence was further bolstered by the American Bulldog pistol and hunting knife he carried with him.

Somewhere between the old Missionary Baptist Church and the school house (Barty believes it was the vicinity in which the home of Rev. Harry S. Stevens would later be built) the ghostly apparition appeared.  This wasn't a normal apparition, however.  What Saul Clay saw was a giant black dog, the size of a calf! Startled by the creature, Saul yelled at it to leave, but when it refused and started coming towards it, Saul fired his gun.

Beckly Post-Herald, 21 December 1964

The shot either missed or went through the creature (it being a witch or a ghost, obviously), but Saul's braveness still prevailed.  He started up the hill towards the old Rock View post office with the phantom black dog trotting alongside him.  It didn't take long before Saul's courage returned, full-force, and he decided that he was done with this creature once and for all.  Again, he gave the dog a rather stern verbal warning to get lost.  When it failed to do so, Saul LUNGED at it, rammed his pistol into its side, and fired off five shots.

Once again, the shots had no affect and Saul resorted to trying to out-flee the creature. In his haste to get away, he abandoned his hat and his gun and literally ran for the hills towards Rock Castle Creek. All the while, the phantom black dog was still right on his heels. Luckily for Saul, as soon as he reached the creek and began to cross, the creature disappeared.  Local folklore tells us that a witch's power cannot cross running water, confirming the suspicion that the phantom black dog must surely be the product of witchcraft!

If you're interested in MORE phantom black dog stories from West Virginia, check out my blog post on the Phantom Black Dog of Point Pleasant!

Map of the Area Today

Stay Out of the Living Room! A Friday Funny

My husband loves sending me funny photos, memes, and cute lil' comic strips that he knows will brighten my day...and I love getting them! I especially love when he sends me funnies with a paranormal twist, such as this ghostly selection from Mr. Lovenstein.  Have a safe and spooky weekend, everyone. 

Fun Fact:  In 1910, Ladies Home Journal decided that a home's 'parlor,' (sometimes called the death room in Victorian England) should now be known as the 'living room.' Previously, the parlor was where the family gathered for the funeral, where post-mortem photos were taken, and where wakes were often held before the end of the 19th century. READ MORE HERE

Book Review for West Virginia's Dark Tourism

Title: West Virginia's Dark Tourism
Author: Tony Urban
Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2016
Amazon Purchase Info

I've actually had this book, half-read, sitting on my shelf for nearly two years.  I don't know why I never got around to finishing and reviewing it, but I figured I'd use the recent worldwide unpleasantness to get caught up on some reading, this book included!

West Virginia's Dark Tourism follows author, Tony Urban, often accompanied by his mother, Sharon, and his dogs around the Mountain State in search of haunted locations, urban legends, and other weird and spooky sites. Recently, the term 'dark tourism' has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy. More recently, it was suggested that the concept should also include reasons tourists visit that site, since the site's attributes alone may not make a visitor a "dark tourist". The main attraction to dark locations is their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering.

West Virginia certainly has its fair share of locations that would fit that description!  We were born out of the turmoil of the Civil War. We endured violent mine wars, industrial accidents,  and natural disasters.  We're home to quite a few strange and bizarre paranormal events.  And, unfortunately, we've seen some grisly murders in our state's 150+ year history.

The locations featured in the book cover all these aspects.  Urban visits locations such as the Mothman Museum in Pt. Pleasant, a snake-handling church in Jolo, and the scene of the Quiet Dell Murders in Marion County.  He visits haunted locations such as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Harpers Ferry National Park, and Peterkin Retreat.  Over 61 locations are explored, complete with awesome photographs and just enough historical background to make it interesting.

Obviously, I enjoyed this road trip of a book around my home state.  I've been to the majority places found in the book, but it was nice seeing a few I wasn't as familiar with.  It was also nice seeing some of the more popular locations being seen through someone's eyes who is seeing them for the first time.  I love reading about people's impressions of driving up to the Palace of Gold for the first time, or experiencing the historic tour of the WV State Penitentiary at Moundsville.  

Some of these locations may be difficult to find OR access, especially the more remote locations, but the majority are publicly accessible, making this a great guidebook for anyone planning to do some traveling around West Virginia, once travel is back to normal!  I, for one, have gotten some ideas for some day trips to take with my husband once things settle back down.  As an added bonus, many of these locations require little to no human interaction, making social distancing still doable!

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the dark history of West Virginia, or who plan on traveling through the state and is looking for a few unique things to see along the way.  I read this book cover to cover in one sitting, but its format and large, glossy pages filled with color photos make it a great book to just sit out and pick up to thumb through whenever you have a few minutes. So sit back, relax, and travel the wild and weird state of West Virginia without ever leaving home...or plan an epic summer road trip of West Virginia's best dark tourism sites!

Want MORE Book Reviews?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Theresa's Haunted History of the Trii-State!  I usually don't post too much about this holiday because most Americans don't really understand it and simply use it as an excuse to eat tacos and drink margaritas. But, this lil' sombrero-wearing ghost was just too cute to pass up and as we're slowly coming out of lock down, I think we could all use some tacos and margaritas today! 

1952 Louisville Poltergeist

1952 started out as a heck of a spooky year for the Thackers, a rural family living near Fern Creek, Kentucky (about 16 miles from Louisville).  Henry, his wife, a 16 year old boarder named Walter Brown, and three sisters (Joyce, 11; Frances, 8; and Betty, 7) all made headlines when poltergeist activity broke out at their farmhouse, located at the corner of Thixton Lane and Oak Grove Road.

The activity actually started on Sunday, December 30th when the family noticed a variety of objects being thrown about the air, seemingly all on their own.  A 2 lb photo album, a knife, a conch shell doorstop, various bottles and caps, and assorted pieces of jewelry were just a small sampling of items targeted by the alleged poltergeist.

A neighbor, Mrs. Robert Covington, was hit quite hard in the back by a fingernail file located on a dresser about 15 feet away.  Walter Brown, the 16 year old boarder, claimed to actually SEE with his own eyes Mr. Thacker's spectacles lift off a radio and land in a chair three feet away.  

Despite dozens of neighbors and schoolmates witnessing the activity, there were several skeptics who came to inspect the ghostly goings-on at the Thacker home.  Two such skeptics were local patrolmen, Russell McDaniel and Jack Fisher.  Despite almost being hit in the head with a cardboard box himself, McDaniel still couldn't accept the idea of an otherworldly source for the activity.  He noticed that whenever objects began to move, one person was always nearby:  Joyce Sanders.

On Thursday, he and Fisher asked to speak privately with the girl.  After an hour, the trio emerged with a confession.  Joyce admitted that she was throwing the objects when no one was looking.  She did it for attention.  "It made a lot of people come see me," she is quoted as saying.  Joyce and her sisters had been wards of the Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home.  They had been staying with the Thackers for about 13 months because their mother was terminally ill with cancer, and their father was not in the picture.  It was deemed that Joyce, a depressed and lonely young girl, made up the whole thing, and therefore, this is where the story ends for many.

But...does it really end there?  Was the whole poltergeist act simply a hoax, perpetrated by an 11 year old to gain attention?  I'm not so sure that's the case.  Here's why:

Mrs. Thacker answering calls about the poltergeist

In newspaper articles from the time period, McDaniel admits that he never actually SAW Joyce pick up an object and throw it.  He just noticed that she was the one who constantly seemed to be nearby when activity occurred.  So, he said to her that all the people who came to witness the poltergeist would be disappointed if they didn't see anything move. "They just won't come back anymore," McDaniel is quoted as saying to the girl, to which she replied, "You mean they'll all go home?"  It was shortly thereafter, a brooch was seen moving. Thinking that his suspicions were confirmed, McDaniel and Fisher took the girl aside privately and assured her that she would not be in any trouble if she confessed to the poltergeist activity.So, we have no witnesses, not even the policemen, coming forward to say they actually saw Joyce faking the activity.  We do, however, have a witness (Walter Brown) saying that he saw an object actually being moving, unaided by any human hands.

We also have some elements of a classic poltergeist case.  Poltergeist activity is characterized by activity seemingly centered on a human agent. This human agent can be anyone, but historically tends to be a child on the cusp of, or going through puberty OR someone who has a lot of bottled up emotions that aren't able to be expressed in their ordinary lives.  Joyce fits both scenarios---she was a young girl, about the age of puberty's onset, and she was most likely very troubled by the situation of her mother being critically ill.

Many modern researchers agree that poltergeist activity is NOT caused by an outside ghost or entity, but is in fact recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK) manifested unconsciously by a human agent. That's why she was nearby when these events occurred.

But why would she confess to a hoax she didn't take part in?  In the book, The Poltergeist Experience, by D. Scott Rogo, the author mentions that there are a number of reasons why poltergeist agents tend to confess to a hoax that they had no part in. Some will confess because they realize, either consciously or subconsciously that they ARE responsible for the turmoil and are compelled to take responsibility for it, which will often cause the activity to cease. Others may confess simply because they were pressured into it and are just trying to appease their accusers.

But, I think what REALLY happened is another scenario that is often seen in poltergeist cases.  I think the original activity was not a hoax.  Objects were moving around on their own, and nobody knew why.  Joyce discovered that her schoolmates were fascinated and would come to witness the activity.  Joyce and her sisters were heaped with attention, as reporters from radio, newspapers, and even television all wanted to hear and share their story.  To a lonely, troubled girl, being in the spotlight, surrounded by people, probably did offer respite from her sad circumstances.  

Either the activity had already started to wind down on its own, or Joyce was scared that it was going to, thanks to McDaniel's statement, prompting her to stage at least one object being thrown, as a way to keep people happy and coming to see her. Poltergeist activity seems to stop as abruptly as it starts and Joyce wasn't ready to let go of the benefits just yet.  To further support this theory, Joyce actually does state in one newspaper interview that she WASN'T responsible for all the objects moving, although she believes that people just imagined those things.

Obviously, it is possible that Joyce DID knowingly trick her friends and neighbors, possibly assisted by her sisters and even Brown.  Perhaps peoples' imaginations ran wild, causing a childhood prank to escalate into a nationally recognized poltergeist case that within a week would come crashing down as a not-so-elaborate childhood hoax. However, the case was long ago written off as trickery and to my knowledge, neither Joyce nor the case has ever been formally studied. I can only hope that the lonely little girl was able to live a happy life, post-poltergeist. 

Sources and Further Reading:

The Poltergeist Experience: Investigations Into Ghostly Phenomena, by D. Scott Rogo

Lonely Girl, 11, Was a "Spook" Just for Fun. The Courier-Journal. 04 January 1952

Objects Floating About Residence. Charleston Daily Mail. 03 January 1952

Haunter of House Fails C-J Reporter, by Phil Harsham. The Courier-Journal 03 January 1952

Ghosts Returning to Salem, Massachusetts: A Friday Funny

Ghosts are returning to the streets of Salem, MA. Nature is healing. 

The recent worldwide unpleasantness may suck pretty hard for the humans living on Earth, but to various wildlife, it is a time to take back the streets and waterways, free from pesky humans and our contamination.  Coyotes, deer, geese, and a menagerie of other animals have been spotted and filmed in recent weeks walking around in urban areas, unbothered.  Rumors of dolphins returning to Venice's canals caused quite a stir several weeks back...and now we have this inspiring photo from the Salem Public Library in Salem, Massachusetts.

This photograph has been shared numerous times over various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, so I'm not entirely sure who actually took the photo and/or gave it the catchy caption.  But, whomever is responsible, I'm so glad they took the time to brighten MY day. I love a lil' ghostly humor during these trying times!

Let's also not forget about the cryptozoological creatures, either.  The healing of nature is strong with them as well, as seen in the photo below of the Loch Ness Monster returning to Inverness, Scotland!  Stay safe out there, everyone...and stay spooky.

'With everyone on lockdown nature is getting a chance to recover. The wildlife is finally returning to its natural habitat. Just look at Inverness, Scotland. The Earth is healing. We are the virus.'