TALA Tales: The Tragic Case of Ivan Hoover

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, formerly known as Weston State Hospital, is one of West Virginia's most haunted locations. Each year, hundreds of people ascend upon the massive stone Kirkbride building in hopes of experiencing one of the many ghosts believed to still walk the hospital halls. Every once in awhile, I like to bring in a human element by spotlighting the story of an actual patient committed to the institution. With a history dating back before the Civil War, there are plenty of souls with stories to tell. Although not everyone featured in TALA Tales has a known ghost story associated with them, I still feel like it is important to share their background. Not only does doing so give investigators and students of history a clearer look at everyday life in the hospital, but you never know when an EVP or other response will reveal a name not previously well-known to the building's ghost lore. So, without further ado, here is Ivan's story.

Ivan Hoover was born in Parkersburg on September 14, 1927. Once described as a brilliant, A-student, all that would change thanks to an injury suffered while Ivan was playing high school football. At first, it was thought that Ivan had just fractured his jaw; however, as his mental state deteriorated and his parents took him to a number of doctors, it was discovered that he had actually suffered a fractured skull, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. Even worse...it was too late to do anything. The former brilliant student was now classified as mentally retarded and would spend the next 12 years in different mental institutions, namely Spencer State Hospital. 

Ivan was considered to be a shy, tender-hearted boy, and his parents remained devoted to his care. Eventually, he was released from the hospital into their care, and went to live with them at their Ritchie County farm. For two to three years, Ivan and his parents---Lester and Clara---lived on and worked the farm. Then, in late September of 1957, Ivan came down with a case of wanderlust.

According to his brother, Basil, Ivan decided that he was tired of staying home and wanted to head south to get a job. He was afraid that his aging parents wouldn't be able to get along without him, so he did what HE thought best for them----and sent them to Heaven. 

When a neighbor noticed that Lester and Clara hadn't picked up their mail in several days, the authorities were notified and sent out to the farm. There, they found the body of Clara on the dining room floor, with an army blanket over her body. Lester was found in an outside cellar, underneath a summerhouse. Both had been struck in the head with what would be determined to be a mattock. Ivan, however, was nowhere to be found. The sheriff, telling the local press that Ivan was known to be violent with a short temper, almost immediately was blamed, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 

Members of law enforcement AND civilian volunteers were involved in the manhunt for the 'dangerous' Ivan, who was described as having a full, brown beard and most likely barefoot, wearing cut-off denim pants. A pond on the Hoover farm was drained, with the belief that Ivan may have taken his own life by drowning after killing his parents. Ivan's body wasn't found in the pond, but apparently a mattock (determined to be the murder weapon) and a pair of pants belonging to Ivan were recovered. 

Ivan was eventually found a couple of weeks later. He was taken in by the Jackson County sheriff's department. He had walked 50 miles, sticking to wooded areas and living off apples and dried corn. He was found with $11.55 in his pocket, which he admitted he took from his father's pocket after the murder. Although he didn't realize people were looking for him, he surrendered without incident and freely admitted to killing his parents with a mattock. He requested to be shown their grave---a request which he was granted---and showed true grief at the loss of his parents. 

Find-a-Grave photo by LCR

Awaiting trial, Ivan was housed at the Weston State Hospital. At trial, he WAS found guilty of murder, but instead of being given the death penalty, he was sent back to Weston for treatment in February of 1958. It wouldn't take long before wanderlust overtook Ivan again and while out taking his exercise in May of that year, he jumped a fence and headed for the woods. He was captured five days later without incident. 

Ivan continued to live at Weston, and apparently was making progress with his mental health. He was not considered a danger to himself or others when he escaped AGAIN in June of 1966, again by jumping over a fence and heading to the woods. He was picked up on July 18 in Cox Mills, again without incident. 

Although he spent much of his life in mental institutions, especially at Weston State Hospital, Ivan did not pass away there. He died on September 1, 1982 at the age of 54 in Baker County Florida. His body was returned to West Virginia where he was buried alongside his devoted parents in the Cairo IOOF Cemetery in Ritchie County.  But what was he doing in Florida?

This is just pure speculation on my part, but I found some records of Ivan's brother, Basil, living in Florida. It's possible that Ivan was deemed safe enough to leave the state hospital, and perhaps was released into the care of his brother and they ended up in Florida. Ivan did say he wanted to head south to find a job, so hopefully he was able to spend his remaining years free of institution life and doing something that made him feel like a productive member of society before finally spending his eternity buried beside his beloved parents. 

Want MORE Trans-Allegheny Stories? 

The Story of Lily

Madness and Mistaken Identity

1950 UFO Flap Continues

 

Last night, I posted a new blog on Theresa's Haunted History about three strange, unidentified objects seen flying over Fairmont, West Virginia. The objects were seen about 300 feet up in the air on March 14, 1950. There wasn't a whole lot of information provided in the Hinton Daily News article about the sighting, so I thought that it was somewhat of an isolated incident...until I found ANOTHER article from the same paper, dated just a day after the original article was published.

In the March 18, 1950 edition, the above-seen story was published. This time, the unidentified objects have moved significantly south, as three witnesses in Bluefield, WV came forward to say they had seen something flying through the sky. Although it is mentioned that there was a slight buzzing sound, and that the objects left vapor trails, the article doesn't mention exactly WHAT was seen. Was it the same glass balls filled with light as seen in Fairmont a few days earlier?  Was it some sort of saucer shaped craft? What exactly did they see? 

As alluded to in this article, it does seem that there was a UFO flap of sorts happening in the area, and possibly throughout the state. Another UFO flap would hit West Virginia in 1952, and again in 1967 and in 1973. Over the years, West Virginia would become a hotbed of UFO, paranormal, and cryptozoological activity. These short little newspaper blurbs are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to uncovering the strange and unusual history of the Mountain State. 

Stay Spooky. 

1950 Fairmont UFO

 

This brief newspaper clipping comes from The Hinton Daily News, and is dated March 17th, 1950. It retells a report from a man known only as 'Watson' that ran a day before in a local Fairmont, WV newspaper. Watson claims that on Tuesday, March 14, 1950, he was coming home when he saw THREE big balls in the sky, which appeared to have a very bright light in them. They were moving at a great speed, and were directly above him, about 300 feet up. The witness insists that he is not a drinking man. 

Describing the objects as 'big balls of glass with a very bright light in them,' is quite interesting to me as I've never heard that description used before when describing UFOs, especially during this period. Through the 1950's it was much more common for people to describe actual saucer-shaped flying craft...not balls of glass. I wish there was more information, such as where exactly these three objects were sighted, what time they were sighted, and if there were any follow-ups. Still, I wanted to share it here as part of West Virginia's rich, UFO history!  

May's Bigfoot Book Round-Up

May's Bigfoot Reading

I had officially declared last month Bigfoot Month.  All throughout May, I spent every spare second I had reading about Bigfoot, watching documentaries/webinars/online lectures about Bigfoot, and listening to podcasts about Bigfoot. I shared several historical Bigfoot articles here on Theresa's Haunted History.  I even attended an awesome hands-on Bigfoot workshop at Kanawha State Forest, hosted by Wild and Weird West Virginia. I fully immersed myself in Bigfoot research, and I learned a TON. Of course, now that I've exposed my mind to so many different theories from so many different people in the field, and heard so many different personal encounters, I find myself having MORE questions about the topic than I did coming into it, lol. 

Anyway, I've kept a list of every piece of Bigfoot media that I consumed last month, with the intention of sharing it with you all.  It's pretty massive, so I'm gonna have to break it down into categories, starting with my favorite: Bigfoot Books!

Having a well-stocked personal paranormal library really came in handy for this project. I was able to raid my own shelves for quite a few Sasquatch/Bigfoot/Yeti books. Some I had read before, and others were part of my never-ending TBR pile. I pulled what I thought would be the most relevant, but unfortunately....I didn't make it too far into the stack.  I did, however, manage to read four books this month. 

1. Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Everything You Need to Know by Martha Brockenbrough

This was the first book I chose because I thought it would be a quick introduction to the Bigfoot phenomenon. I was wrong, lol.  This book took me forever to get through, not because it was boring or anything, but because it was just so densely packed with information. It covers the history of Bigfoot, current research and researchers, the science behind Bigfoot, and just about anything else you'd want or need to know. It's based around the show of the same name, and it's definitely a great companion piece if you're a fan of the show, but even if you've never seen Finding Bigfoot, this is still an extremely useful book. It's written for a younger audience, but honestly, anyone from a complete novice to a Bigfoot expert will probably find something in this book of interest. I took so many notes and got so many ideas of topics to delve a little deeper into. 

2. Mindspeak: Tapping into Sasquatch and Science by Christopher Noel

This is the only book I bought especially for this month's research. I had heard Christopher Noel on a podcast and was curious about his ideas of both the link between autism in humans and Bigfoot behavior, as well as Bigfoot's ability to communicate telepathically. Obviously, these beliefs are pretty fringe in an already fringe topic, but I wanted to read more about it because I had recently had my own experience that may have included a telepathic communication. I was in Kanawha State Forest, sitting at a picnic table down in the Dunlop Hollow area. I had had a rough therapy appointment that morning, and just wanted to get out in nature and relax. So, I was sitting out there, reading a book and just enjoying the solitude of the surrounding woods. Before I left, I decided to clean up the area a little bit---someone had been out there recently, and there was quite a bit of trash strewn around. After gathering up as much as I could find and depositing it in the trash can, I heard a deep voice say 'thank you.' I looked around, thinking that maybe a park employee was in the area, but didn't see or hear anyone. I realized I heard the voice more in my head than I did with my ears. I could have easily imagined the voice, but I'd like to think there was a Bigfoot out there, appreciative of my efforts.  

3. Sasquatch: North America's Enduring Mystery by Rupert Matthews

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn't have super high-hopes for it, but it was actually a really thorough look into the major Sasquatch/Bigfoot events in history. It was a quick read, and really helped me personally start making sense of all this data that I was being inundated with. I'd hear something being mentioned in a documentary or during a lecture and then come to a mention of it in this book. 

4. Bigfoot: On the Track of the Sasquatch by John Green

I wanted to make sure that I got in at least one book written by one of the classic, iconic authors of Bigfoot research, and luckily, I had this on my shelf. I THINK I had read it before, but it was nice taking another look now that I had a much better understanding of the events and people discussed in the book. My brittle, yellowed paperback copy contained both 'books' under this title and as I was reading it, I couldn't help thinking about what the original owner of this book thought when it was bought in the 1970's. I loved hearing John Green's own words on the topic, and I'm really glad that I made the time to include this one. 

A few of the other Bigfoot books I was hoping to get to in May

UFOs Over Hinton: 1952 UFO Flap Comes to Southern West Virginia

1952 was a HUGE year for UFOs. From July 12 to July 29th, multiple UFOs were seen over the White House and in other areas around Washington, D.C. In September, Flatwoods, WV would experience its infamous monster sighting, after a group of kids went to inspect what they thought was a downed airplane in the hills above town. And, in the small town of Hinton, WV, located in Summers County, there were TWO separate UFO reports that summer that were featured in the local newspaper. 

The first appeared in the Hinton Daily News on Tuesday, July 29th and described a UFO sighting from the previous Sunday. Around 9pm, three witnesses spotted a UFO over the New River. Article transcribed below:

Hinton Daily News. 29 July 1952

Flying Saucer is Spotted Over Hinton Late Sunday

By Tom Pendergast

Have "flying saucers" appeared in the skies over Hinton?

Three local residents reported Monday evening that they saw in the cloudless sky here Sunday night "the strangest big round thing spinning through the air" that was "so bright it almost put your eyes out."

The viewers-Mrs. Howard Hayes, her 13 year old daughter Nedra, and Anna Sue Iddings-said they saw a fast-spinning object whirling "just like a top" appear suddenly about 9pm high above the New River Bridge. Mrs. Hayes, who said she delayed notifying the Daily News because she thought people would think she was "cracy," stated that the flying object left a vapor trail. She added that Fred Ferguson, C&O shopman, arrived on the porch of her lower Summers Street home in time to see the vapor trails and that the "grey-like smoke" trail remained visible for 10-15 minutes. 

Mrs. Hayes, whose home faces the New River, said the group was on her porch at the time and that she first noticed the "thing." She added that she screamed "look!" and all three caught a good glimpse of the object. "The queerest feeling came over me," Mrs. Hayes explained. "I've always wanted to see one of those flying saucers," she remarked, "but I don't ever want to see anything like that again." 

Her description, which matches other reports of "flying saucers" seen throughout the country recently, verified that the objects are extremely fast. "It was faster than an airplane," she said, "and shortly after it went out of sight we heard a noise that sounded like an airplane--but we couldn't see any plane."

Mrs. Hayes said she first saw the object as it whirred high over the New River Bridge "spinning just like a top in a straight line down the river" toward the C&O shops. The "thing" was flying "as high as most of the transport planes that go over Hinton," she asserted, "and from where I was it looked bigger than a washtub. It must have been at least as big as an airplane."

A strange twist to the object's alleged flight was uncovered when Mrs. Hayes reported that it "spun around in a loop above the C&O depot, making complete, sharp circles, and then followed on down the river," toward Sandstone.

Mrs. Hayes said that although the object was moving "very fast" she was able to see that "it" was flat on the bottom, and had a ridge and a round hump on top that looked just like an upside-down saucer. It was spinning around and around, she stated. 

"It was so bright that I couldn't tell what color it was. In fact," she said, "it was so bright that my daughter's eyes became red from watching it."

Mrs. Hayes was not certain how long the object remained visible in flight, and thought it seemed to be following the New River in a straight line. It disappeared in a matter of seconds, she thought. 

No other reports of the incident have been received by the Daily News. 

Hinton Daily News. 25 August 1952

The second UFO sighting to come into the Daily Mail from Hinton in the summer of 1952 happened on Sunday, August 24th, and also included three witnesses. About 1:20pm, Alva Williams, a bus driver for Victory Bus Lines was driving through the Beech Run section near the C&O ballpark. His passengers, Frank Kesler and Miss Buckland, also saw the object, described as being round like a washtub and made from aluminum or some other shiny metal.  However, unlike Mrs. Hayes sighting, this object appeared to be moving rather slowly.

It's kind of interesting that in both of these sightings, the UFO was described as looking like a washtub. It's also interesting that both incidents happened on a Sunday, and involved three witnesses. What's strange is that the movement described is really quite different In both cases, the witnesses seem quite sure that they have seen a flying saucer, presumably from out of this world. But what would cause these UFOs to take such an interest in the small railroad community of Hinton, WV? Were these sightings just hoaxes, or even simple misidentifications inspired by all the news of UFOs around Washington, DC earlier in July...or were UFOs really flying over southern West Virginia in the summer of 1952?