The Damron Family Tragedy: An Old Hospital on College Hill Story

Formerly known as Williamson Memorial, or simply Williamson Hospital, the Old Hospital on College Hill in Williamson, WV is one of Spectral Research and Investigation's favorite locations. It's still a fairly new venue on the haunted tourism circuit, but has quickly gained the reputation as a highly sought-after paranormal investigation destination!

Obviously, I LOVE to tell the ghost stories and explore the folkloric history of West Virginia's many spooky sites. However, as part of my on-going commitment to really, REALLY deep diving into some of these locations, I've wanted to share some of my 'behind-the-scenes' research publicly. I've already begun this with some of West Virginia's larger locations, such as my collection of tales from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and the West Virginia State Penitentiary, but now I think it's the OHOCH's turn!

These aren't the well-known ghost stories. These are just tales of the everyday people who passed through these halls...and unfortunately, the stories of some who never made it out alive. I think it's important that we take the time to document and remember these stories, as we never know if or when one of them will try to reach out. I think it's also important as researchers to just really get a feel for what life was like for the patients and the medical staff that took care of them during the hospital's many years of operation in a rather small, but violent area of southern West Virginia. 

Kicking this new 'series' off is a really sad tale that I ran across on Facebook recently. The Wayne Public Library has acquired bound copies of the Wayne County News on permanent loan, which can be accessed in person. But, they've created a Facebook page  called Wayne County News Archives at the Wayne Public Library and MORE where they are graciously uploading as much of the material as possible, and there are quite a few news articles dealing with the Williamson Hospital. 

In an article from September 1934, the tragic fate of the Damron family is shared. M.C. (McCloister) Damron was a 31 year old coal miner living in the Red Jacket area of Mingo County with his 33 year old wife, Hessie and their seven children---Mack, 11; Lloyd, 9; Atlas, 8; Wayne, 6; Billie Lee, 5; Dannie Rayburn, 2; and four month old Bobby Jean. 

On August 13, 1934, M.C. was admitted to the Williamson Hospital where he underwent an appendectomy. However, there were complications with the ether that was used as anesthesia. M.C. would survive the operation, but would pass on September 3rd. His official cause of death was lobar pneumonia, caused by the ether from the appendectomy on August 13th. 

While all this was going on, his wife, Hessie, was battling liver cancer. Between May 26, 1934 and her death on August 26, 1934, she had undergone at least four different operations in an attempt to save her life.

One week. This young couple died one week apart from each other in the same hospital. It isn't clear from this one newspaper article and the death certificates whether or not Mrs. Damron spent the entire time, or even the majority of those tragic three months admitted to the hospital, but if she underwent that many operations, she probably did. Again, there's no mention whether or not Mr. Damron was discharged after his initial operation and readmitted following complications, but there's a good chance that he also never went home after that initial surgery. Both of their death certificates state that the attending physicians attended them for the entire length of time listed, so I'm inclined to say that both were admitted for the long haul. And that is horribly, horribly tragic to me. 

At any given time between August 13th and August 26th, they were both lying in the same hospital, the hospital that they would both die in a week a part. And unfortunately, the tragedy does not end there. 

Mrs. Damron was laid to rest on August 28th, followed by her husband on September 4th. The children were staying with their maternal grandparents in Kentucky, no doubt reeling from the grief of losing both parents within a week's time, when tragedy would strike again. On September 9th, the youngest son, little 4 month old Bobby Jean (listed as Bobby G on Find-a-Grave), passed away from unknown causes. He was laid to rest the same day, alongside his parents in the Damron Family Cemetery near Glenhayes in Mingo County. 

Death Certificate for MC Damron

Death Certificate for Hessie Damron

Want MORE Old Hospital on College Hill Content? Check out my other blog posts!

The Nurse Who Never Clocked Out

The Haunting of Mose

Second Quarter Spooky Reading 2022

Another three months have passed, and I've added another eleven paranormal non-fiction books to my completed reading list! I'm pretty proud of that number! Even though I've technically had plenty of opportunity to read, sitting in hospital waiting rooms and doctors' offices, I've been too stressed out to really concentrate. There's nothing more frustrating than someone with ADHD, wanting to read and can't! But, like I said, I'm pleased with what I did accomplish.

As a paranormal investigator and researcher, part of my continuing education is staying informed about various aspects of the field, and how all those different topics work together. I'm constantly looking for ways to improve my work as a paranormal investigator, as well as gathering new ideas for blog posts.  Plus, sometimes I just like to read a good, spooky ghost story. 

Per usual, you can find my reviews on my Book Reviews page, and follow me on Good Reads to see EVERYTHING that I'm reading throughout the year. But, let's take a look at the spooky stuff I've read in April, May, and June of 2022: 

1.  Ghosts of the River Towns, by Rick Fisher: I picked this one up while I was a speaker/vendor at Dave Spinks' WV Monster Con, back in March. It's a short, fun read featuring a variety of haunted locations in Pennsylvania. 

2.  Monsters, Cryptids, and Mysterious Wild Beasts, by Jannette Quackenbush: You can never go wrong with a title from the prolific author on all things spooky, Jannette Quackenbush! This was another paranormal convention pick up---I got to see and chat with Jannette at the Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo last January. I've reviewed this

3.  Otherworldly Encounters, by Novar Slevik. I also picked this one up during Monster Con. It's largely about UFO sightings and close encounters in the New England area. It's a really good, quick read full of interesting sightings. 

4. The Greatest Mysteries of the Unexplained, by Andrew Holland. This is one of those Bargain Books you can pick up for about $6 at BAM!, but it wasn't bad. Lots of very basic information about a wide variety of weird and paranormal topics, but well worth the read for some quick entertainment.

5.  Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover Up, by Timothy Good. I was able to download a FREE ebook version of this for my Kindle via Amazon, and didn't realize that it was an actual book that's been around for a long time! Although originally published in the 1980's, there's still a lot of good information about ufology. 

6. The Appalachian Bigfoot, by Dr. Russell Jones: This is Dr. Jones' second Bigfoot book, and it was a really, really informative text about anything and everything you'd need to know about Bigfoot in Appalachia. I reviewed this one for the blog earlier this month, so definitely check out my post on that for more info! 

7. Disneyland of the Gods, by John Keel: John Keel is an interesting author, and his tongue-in-cheek style of writing can take some getting used to. However, it's so worth it! Keel was one of the greatest Fortean writers of our time, and this book was just a mish-mash of the strange and unusual. 

8. Haunted America: Dead But Not Gone in West Virginia, by Sherri Granato: Haunted America was another FREE ebook I downloaded from Amazon, and I'm really glad I didn't pay anything. It was short...VERY short, and didn't really offer anything that couldn't easily be found online, despite the fact that the author had personally visited the locations mentioned. I've read some of the author's other books and they were much better. This wasn't bad...it was just way too short to be considered a 'book.' 

9.  The Vampire's Bedside Companion, by Peter Underwood: I love Peter Underwood and have made my way through quite a few of his paranormal titles over the past few years. The Vampire's Bedside Companion is a unique mix of allegedly 'real' vampire encounters and lore, plus several works of vampire fiction from various authors. 

10. Paranormal Creatures, by Conrad Bauer: Another FREE ebook from Amazon! Conrad Bauer offers a ton of books on lots of paranormal topics, and this title was a nice little collection of some well-known and some lesser-known examples from cryptozoology.

11.  The Signet Handbook of Parapsychology,  edited by Martin Ebon: This is a hefty tome of essays, plucked from parapsychology journals and papers on a variety of parapsychology topics. It's taken me over a year to get through it all, but it was worth it. Entries were written by some of the 20th century's greatest parapsychologists on topics such as animal behavior, dreams, ESP, and afterlife studies. 

So let me know what YOU'VE been reading lately, or if you've read any of the titles above and have any opinions you'd like to share! Let me know in the comments below or find me over on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook page!  You can also check out my First Quarter Spooky Reading and let me know what you think as well! Happy haunting! 

TALA Tales: The Tragedy of Karl Kunst

Superintendent's Office
WV Hospital for the Insane
Source: WV History on View

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Weston State Hospital. West Virginia Hospital for the Insane. Whatever name you choose to call it, West Virginia's massive hospital  building is no stranger to death and tragedy. However, the patients committed to its halls aren't the only ones at risk for being taken too soon. Sometimes the staff are at the heart of TALA's tragedies...and sometimes, it's the staff's FAMILY.

Around 8pm on November 2, 1904, G. Karl Kunst was found dead in his room at the State Hospital for the Insane. Upon hearing a gunshot, Kunst's parents, including his father, Dr. A.H. Kunst, superintendent of the hospital, rushed in. Karl was found fully dressed, lying on the side of his bed, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the temple. He was 28 years old. 

Interestingly, while The Fairmont West Virginian, dated 03 November 1904 explicitly states the cause of death to be a suicide, it is recorded at the WV State Archives as being 'accidental'. Did Karl take his own life on purpose, or was the 'accidental' designation simply for the family's peace of mind and societal pressures?

At the time of his death, Karl was a Colonel on Governor White's staff, and well known and seemingly well-liked by many. He had served as First Lieutenant with the Second West Virginia Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. In February of 1904, it was noted in local papers that Kunst, a strong Republican with many Democratic friends, would have made an excellent political candidate, and could run for public office that year, although it doesn't appear he did. But, Karl was no stranger to tragedy.

On Christmas Day, 1889, Karl, who would have been about 14 years old at the time, joined several other boys for some target practice in West Weston. In a tragic accident, the gun Karl was holding discharged, striking four year old Guy Davis in the head. The little boy miraculously held on a full day before succumbing to his injuries. Guy was the son of Henry M.L. Davis, farmer for the WV Hospital for the Insane. Karl was described by the WV Argus, 09 January 1890 edition as being "prostrated from the effects of this sad accident." Assuredly, it was a dark day for people of Weston, and especially the families associated with this tragedy. 

No one really knows for sure what victims of suicide are ever really thinking leading up to their decision to end their lives.  In Karl's case, it could have been lingering guilt from his involvement in a young boy's death. It could have been PTSD from his service in the war. It could have been anything or nothing. It's sadly ironic, however, that Karl's own father was the superintendent for the state hospital AND he lived on-site of the facility, yet was unable to get the mental health treatment needed to prevent this tragedy. 

*A new suicide prevention lifeline rolls out on July 16, 2022. Call or text 988 to be put in contact with trained counselors to help you or a loved one through a tough situation.*

Want more information on the everyday lives (and deaths) of the patients of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum? Check out my collection of posts, linked below:

COLLECTIONS: TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM

The Fairmont West Virginian
03 November 1904

WV Argus
09 January 1890

Book Review: Appalachian Bigfoot

Title: The Appalachian Bigfoot

Author: Dr. Russell Jones

Published: December 9, 2021 by Beyond the Fray Publishing

Amazon Purchase Information

The Appalachian Bigfoot is actually the second book by West Virginia author and researcher, Dr. Russell Jones. Following on the heels of Tracking the Stone Man: West Virginia's Bigfoot (published 2016), The Appalachian Bigfoot is another excellent contribution to the field of cryptozoology.

As I said in my review of his previous book, Bigfoot is a subject that I'm interested in, as I believe all the strange and unusual aspects of the paranormal field are related, but its not a subject that I feel super well-versed in. Therefore, I'm always looking for extremely informative resources written in a way that I can easily digest the information without getting bored. And, The Appalachian Bigfoot was a good fit!

While Dr. Jones' first book focused on the Bigfoot population of West Virginia, this newest book expands to study Bigfoot throughout the Appalachia region of the United States. Up until recently, much of the Bigfoot research that was published really tended to focus on the Bigfoot population of the Pacific Northwest...and believe it or not, there are some differences between the seemingly same species from across the country. 

The Appalachian Bigfoot is a treasure trove of information on this mysterious beast. Topics range from physical descriptions of these creatures, the best times and locations to witness them, theories about why we don't yet have proof of their existence, evidence collection, habituation, and much more. Included are case studies featuring the most compelling eyewitnesses reports from around the Appalachian region.

So, I'm not gonna lie---while I enjoyed this book immensely, there were times when it seemed a little...disjointed and repetitive...like it was written in chunks, then kind of hastily put together. However, the information in this book far outweighs that minor problem, if it even IS a problem. While it may seem disjointed to sit and read cover to cover, if you're looking for a specific topic, or just want to read a little bit at a time, then you'll never even notice. 

I'm pretty sure that everyone, from the complete novice to the experienced Squatcher, can find value in this book, and its a must-have reference for any cryptozoology library. And, you don't even really need to live within Appalachia to love this book. The case studies are interesting, no matter where you're from, and there are enough similarities between these various populations of Bigfoot-type creatures  that the information can be applied outside the region. I was lucky enough to pick up MY personal copy at a local thrift store, but it's available on Amazon and through most major book stores. 

If you've read The Appalachian Bigfoot by Dr. Russell Jones, please let me know what YOU thought, down in the comments below! And, if you're interested in additional book reviews from Theresa's Haunted History, see my link below!

*Book Reviews*

Friday Night Funny: Hot Bigfoot

 

You wouldn't think it, but summer here in the Appalachian Mountains can still get pretty dang hot! And, with all that long hair covering their bodies, I can imagine it can get pretty uncomfortable for Bigfoot during the hottest part of the year. No wonder they prefer the Pacific Northwest!  I say that in jest, but it does bring up an interesting talking point:  How do Bigfoot stay cool in the summer months? Do they migrate to higher elevations to escape some of the heat? Do they utilize the cooler temperatures of our various underground cave systems? Do they go swimming in our streams? Do they become more nocturnal, doing the majority of their hunting and/or gathering for food during the cooler night time temperatures?  Lemme know below how YOU think Bigfoot beats the heat! 

Portsmouth's Haunted House

 

Today's blog is another vintage newspaper article that I've stashed away. It comes from the May 11, 1868 edition of the Wheeling Daily Register, and made the front page of the paper!  In this tale, a man suspects that the ghost plaguing his family may not necessarily be sent from the grave. He sets a trap for the ghost, and in a twist straight out of a Scooby Doo episode, finds out that the entity is none other than his own shady neighbor, who has been trying to underhandedly depreciate the value of the property so he can buy it for an optimal price. You know I love a good antique ghost story, but I also have a soft spot for these debunking tales of old.  Here's the story as it appeared in the newspaper:

A gentleman living near Portsmouth, Ohio, has identified a ghost. His family had been often annoyed by ghostly visitations during his absence. He concluded to "possum" absence, but watch at home for the spook. The Tribune says: "About midnight his ghostship appeared and commenced his 'spiritual manifestations.' The watcher, with revolver in hand, slyly slipped to the door, opened it suddenly, and laid violent hands upon his visitant. Bringing him into the house, a light was struck, the "winding sheet" torn off, and there stood revealed, to his astonished gaze, the form of one of his neighbors, who had long been anxious to purchase the 'haunted house,' and had taken this course to depreciate its value. He went down upon his knees and begged his captor not to expose him, and he, after a judicious application of cow-hide, turned the rascal out. The house has not be 'haunted' since."

I hope you enjoyed that humorous lil' tale as much as I did! And on a serious note, Spectral Research and Investigations (SRI) is currently looking to expand into Ohio and Kentucky! If you own or have access to a building YOU think may be haunted, we'd love to come check it out! We'd prefer to focus on businesses, historic homes, museums, hotels/inns, and similar locations. We are also willing to accept private residences on a case by case basis. If you'd be interested in speaking to my team about possibly setting up an investigation of your location throughout the tri-state area of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, please see our website, or send us a message on Facebook! 

The Bewitched Hen of Roney's Point

 

A Leghorn hen like this one laid a really weird egg
in West Virginia! 

It's Weird Wednesday! It's also Witchy Wednesday! Today's blog is a 2 for 1 in witchy weirdness, with the tale of a Leghorn hen that laid a rather interesting egg, near Roney's Point, West Virginia in 1886! The following story can be found on page 4 in the Daily Register, a newspaper from Wheeling, West Virginia, in the March 31, 1886 edition. 

MYSTERIOUS WORK OF A HEN

She Lays An Egg That Contains Cabalistic Inscriptions

Col. Jacob Nunge has a very peculiar Hen's egg on exhibition at his place in upper Market Square. This piece of hen fruit is about an inch and three quarters in diameter one way, and a fraction over that the other, it being almost perfectly round. On the outer edge of the shell the surface is corrugated all the way around, while inside of this is another circle in which the letters T A M N I O I U in Roman letters are plainly visible. At one of the ends of the egg a figure "6" is also to be seen.

A white Leghorn, owned by Jacob Fisher, of Roney's Point, gave up this mystery on the 25th inst, but whether the hen was bewitched or whether she performed this little feat just to have some fun, cannot be told. Nevertheless the curiosity is there and anyone can go and see it. 

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this strange incident, but I can't help to think that this is the sort of thing that the famed Charles Fort, collector of bizarre and unexplained occurrences in the natural world, would have been proud to have in his collection. And, it happened right here in wild and weird (and of course, wonderful) West Virginia!

Want MORE weird animal stories? Check out my blog post, Weird Wednesday: Weird Animals Around Charleston!

Haunted Objects: Paranormal Discussion Group June Meeting

Barry and Angie kick off the On Purpose Project's Paranormal
Discussion Group: Haunted Objects

Every last Wednesday of the month, the St. Albans On Purpose Projects hosts a Paranormal Discussion Group at the St. Albans Historical Society building. This all-inclusive group of paranormal enthusiasts gets together each month to hear presentations from those in the field of paranormal research, share their own spooky stories, and generally just enjoy being in each other's paranormal-loving company! 

The June meeting, however, shook things up slightly. Members were invited to bring in items they suspected may be haunted, tell their stories, and....have them actually investigated through various pieces of paranormal investigation equipment!

I chose to bring in my memento mori hair locket, which I don't necessarily feel is haunted, per se, but my mom does hate it, thinks it's evil, and is uncomfortable with it in her house. And while I don't think it is actually haunted by an intelligent entity that has an attachment to it, I do agree that it has a strong energy associated with it, which would be expected, as it was worn by someone in deep mourning over the loss of a loved one. Through what I believe is spontaneous psychometry (also called token object reading), I've caught glimpses of the previous owner through my mind's eye.

Anyway, there were some interesting objects. Barry brought in a hand-made box filled with old documents, Angie brought in a horrifying ceramic bunny that seemed to have a little girl attached to it, and there was a whole freaking basket worth of spooky dolls. But, probably the most active piece investigated that night was an old card table that was donated to the St. Albans Historical Society.

I don't want to spoil it, as there will be more information coming later, but this card table seemingly was still in possession of a prominent judge and St. Albans resident. And, this dude was eager to communicate! His dominating personality was left completely intact in the afterlife, as he had some pretty strong reactions to certain lines of questioning, and even tended to steal the spotlight from any other entity that may have wanted to communicate with us---including his own wife. 

The investigation of the items was led by Ron Lanham of Wild and Weird WV and Jess of WV Unseen Paranormal. The judge seemed to respond to direct questions through the use of what is commonly referred to as The Flashlight Method. This method of communication utilizes the type of flashlight (such as a Maglite) that switches on and off through twisting. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this technique can be controversial in the field of paranormal investigating, as it lends itself quite easily to false positives. There are numerous articles and YouTube videos explaining the process in detail, such as this excellent example from Paranormal TV.  However, the technique isn't something that we necessarily have to completely dismiss, especially under certain conditions. 

As you can see in the video that Ron put together, this method was used in conjunction with other pieces of equipment, such as the tri-field EMF meter, which actually gave corresponding readings whenever the flashlights would light up. Further, with some exceptions, they did tend to light up AND turn off on command. 

So overall it was a really interesting evening, and a great way for different paranormal teams to meet up and work together to further this field, and share our findings with others paranormal enthusiasts!

The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 27 at 6pm. Ike Fauber, friend of SRI, will be there, discussing dreams, sleep disorders, and how it all fits into the paranormal field. Follow me on Theresa's Haunted History for updates! 

Check out the video:

Can Items Be Haunted? Can We Measure Paranormal Activity Around Haunted Items? 

Happy Fourth of July from Theresa's Haunted History!

 

Happy Independence Day from Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State! Celebrate America's birthday, with a haunted jaunt around all 50 states...twice!...with my Haunted America Page.  And stay safe out there while celebrating; I don't want to have to come investigate YOU some day! 

Ghost Play Causes Death

 

When it comes to the business of ghosts, you'll often hear the old saying that there is far more to fear from the living than there is from the dead...and sometimes, that fear is simply within our own minds. Today's blog deals with a tragic story that happened back in 1907, near Ashland, Kentucky.

According to the November 16, 1907 edition of the Superior Times (a Wisconsin-based newspaper, which can be found on the Chronicling America website for free), a young girl named Clara Osgood leaped from a second story window of her home, fatally breaking her neck in the fall. Clara and her sister had been arguing about ghosts. Clara claimed that no apparition could frighten HER, and even bet her new silk petticoat that she was right. 

Her older sister, Annie, intent on proving her wrong, dropped the matter for the time being. Then, sometime later, she wrapped herself in a sheet, and entered Clara's room late at night, making weird moaning sounds. Overcome with fright, Clara ran to the bedroom window and leaped to her death. 

What was supposed to be a simple prank between two sisters quickly turned deadly. A fun little joke, proving that her sister wasn't as brave as she boasted, left a young woman deceased, and left a reminder to us all to just be careful when it comes to the ghosty stuff. Be careful who you try to scare, and if you see something scary, try to calm down and look at the situation rationally. More times than not, things are NOT what they seem. 

While this prank had a tragic end, the art of scaring each other silly with the paranormal is nothing new! Here's another newspaper article about a different ghostly prank---when a pair of lovers chose a local cemetery for their romantic meetups, the sexton decided scaring them away would be the best way to stop their behavior!  LOVERS FRIGHTENED AS CORPSE AWOKE. 

Joyce Dehner's West Virginia UFO Sighting (1978)

 Happy World UFO Day!

Since today is World UFO Day, I thought I'd bring you yet another unexplained sighting from deep within the files of West Virginia's UFO history! Although this story was written up in the local newspapers at the time, the information for today's blog comes from issue Number 133 of the MUFON UFO Journal, January/February 1979 edition. The article, West Virginia Flap---Part 2, was written by the then-WV State MUFON Director, Ted Spickler.  (This edition is available in PDF format at THIS LINK)

Photo from MUFON

It was a fairly regular Tuesday morning. On October 24, 1978, 20 year old Joyce Dehner was traveling north on Interstate 79. It was about 7:15am and she was headed to class at Fairmont State College. It was still pretty dark at this time, and a series of red, green, and white lights coming over a low hill to her left caught her eye. She assumed it was a low-flying plane...maybe flying TOO low, as the craft approached the interstate, and dipped down within a few feet of an interstate bridge that Joyce was approaching.

Here, she was able to get a better look at the oddly shaped craft. She noted a hump or dome that was topped by red lights. Protruding out in front of the dome was a long, torpedo shaped area, which had a white light at its tip. The underside of the craft contained green lights. Joyce claimed that the object made no sound, and was about the size of a private plane.

A car ahead of Joyce must have seen the craft as well, because she noticed that it temporarily slowed down, then sped off. Joyce followed suit and stomped the gas, as the terror of knowing that this was NOT a normal sight began to set in. She said she witnessed the object 'float like a feather' across the bridge. It then shot up to the right side of the road, hovered a moment over some trees, then disappeared out of sight. 

The article states that Joyce was interviewed at least twice by MUFON regarding this sighting, but no explanation for the strange craft was ever uncovered. Interestingly, on November 2, 1978, a young man in Orange, California reported seeing a very similarly shaped UFO. And then, ten days after Ms. Dehner's sighting, quite a few people in West Virginia's northern panhandle caught their own glimpse of an unidentified flying object.  Even before Joyce's sighting, however, newspaper articles covering the incident had claimed that this was the fifth day in a row that a West Virginia resident had reported a UFO in the Mountain State. The MUFON article does address this, and it is believed that the other reports were misidentified star reports...but that Joyce's encounter might actually be worth something looking into!  

Keep your eyes to the skies and let me know what YOU think Joyce spotted over the highway outside of Fairmont, West Virginia! 

Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Tribune
27 October 1978

July's Ultimate Blog Challenge!

 

TNT Bunker Selfie!
(There's a reason I look so...rough...here, lol)

Happy July! Can you believe that 2022 is already half over? It's been a super busy and super productive year for both Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State and Spectral Research and Investigations (SRI). Speaking events, conventions, paranormal meetups, podcast appearances, and plenty of investigations have kept us on our toes over the last 6 months, and I'm excited to see what the second half of the year will bring.

I'll be starting off by delving once again into the Ultimate Blog Challenge, which means (hopefully) another 31 straight days of brand new blog content, covering all sorts of spooky and Fortean topics. I'll be sharing some of what SRI has been up to, a few new haunted places in West Virginia, some monster stories, some UFO stories, and just all kinds of weirdness. 

I'm not sure how I managed to do it, but I successfully completed both the January and the April UBC, so I'm hoping to carry on the success through July. However, please don't be too hard on me if I disappoint. As you may have noticed, I haven't been super active here on the blog or on my social media accounts. On May 2, we got the diagnosis that my mom's cancer had spread into her bones. It's been a difficult journey, trying to support her physically and emotionally. I've become her primary caretaker, and the one who takes her to all her appointments...which have numbered in the dozens. We've still got a long road ahead of us, but things are starting to look up a bit, so hopefully I'll be able to devote some time to sharing the spooky history of West Virginia and beyond with all of you. 

So, wish me luck, and if you don't mind, please send my mom lots of positive, healing thoughts during this difficult time. And let's all enjoy a month of brand new paranormal content from Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State!