This past Monday (April 19, 2021), the paranormal and art communities were faced with a heart-breaking tragedy. Susan Sheppard --author, poet, astrologer, artist, and creator of the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours-- had passed away.
Susan Sheppard has been one of my biggest paranormal influences since I became familiar with her work in high school. My first interaction with her was while working on a school project. The topic was West Virginia Tourism, and like the weirdo I was, I chose to do something with ghost tours. Unfortunately, at that time, there wasn't a ton of paranormal tourism and ghost tours going on in West Virginia, lol. I reached out to Susan about her Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours, and without hesitation, she sent me pamphlets, information, and a nice little note wishing me luck on the project. What I wouldn't give to have kept that note...
As my own interest and involvement in the paranormal field grew, my respect for Susan grew as well. I was lucky enough to be able to take her ghost tour several times and was so impressed! There's a reason it was voted as one of the best ghost tours in the country. Susan was so knowledgeable about both paranormal phenomena and local history and shared that information in a way only an artist could. Her love for the topic really shined through, and made even the most skeptical tour guest leave with something to ponder.
Obviously, her most iconic paranormal work, Cry of the Banshee, is a beloved piece of my library, and I have multiple editions of it. I've probably scoured through that book hundreds of times, using it as a resource for blogs such as The Parkersburg Ghost Cat and Haunted Van Winkle House. In fact, I'm pretty sure that most, if not ALL of my blogs dealing with locations in Parkersburg were inspired by Susan's work!
I also never missed an opportunity to see Susan speak at the annual Mothman Festival. She was a staple at this iconic gathering of paranormal enthusiasts, and always had an interesting topic to discuss. I especially loved her lectures on Indrid Cold and the Woody Derenberger Tapes. It was such a treat to listen to her speak, then go have a chat with her and Rosemary E. Guiley at their side by side booth. Susan was the epitome of class and knowledge, and no matter how busy she was, could always spare the time to answer questions and greet her fans. And, she had plenty of those! She was featured on one of my favorite shows growing up, Scariest Places on Earth (she talked about Lake Shawnee), as well as numerous other paranormal shows and documentaries. She was definitely well known, not only by the West Virginia community, but far beyond.
Her work in astrology was also known world-wide. She appeared regularly on various television and radio shows as their in-house astrologer, wrote the horoscopes for Seventeen Magazine for a time, and created a beautiful deck of tarot cards that are still widely used today.
It wasn't until we became Facebook friends that I was really able to see and appreciate the many facets of Susan Sheppard's life. She was an award-winning poet who constantly supported other authors and poets. She created beautiful pieces of art in a variety of mediums, and enjoyed the work of Frida Kahlo. She was so proud of her daughter, actress Scarlet Sheppard. It was a beautiful glimpse into the life of a beautiful soul. Unfortunately, being connected on social media also allowed me to witness the quick and devastating decline of Susan's health, as she battled an aggressive cancer. Hearing of her passing still came as a shock, however.
West Virginia's paranormal community has really suffered a loss, but so has the art and poetry communities, as well as the many, many friends, family members, and others who were positively impacted by Susan over the years. I hope she's at peace and that those who loved her can heal from this devastating loss.
For anyone interested, on Sunday April 25th, starting at 3pm, a New Orleans-style memorial parade will be held in Susan's honor. The walk will start at Bicentennial Park and end at Riverview Cemetery. More information on this event can be found at the links below.
Candice Black's article on Susan's passing in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel
