Littleton's Quarry Ghost

Stone Quarry Near Littleton
Photo from the collection of Bill Cunningham
Source: WV GenWeb-Wetzel County

This vintage ghost story comes from Wetzel County, WV and was published in the October 27th, 1892 edition of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. You can read the tale as it originally appeared, for free, courtesy of the Chronicling America website! As of this writing the WV Culture website's database of death certificates isn't working, but from the master list, I'm hopeful that maybe I can find a name for the gentleman who was killed and offer some validation of this story from a historical viewpoint. So, check back later for updates...

A GENUINE GHOST

Causing Considerable Consternation out about Littleton

A gentleman who was out at Littleton recently tells a story of a ghost visitant, which is a little out of the usual run of ghost stories, and so far as has been heard has not yet been explained. Several weeks ago a man who was employed in the large stone quarries near that place was killed, being crushed under a mass of falling stone. His body was made as presentable as possible, and the other workmen quit work to attend the funeral.

When the burial was over the men returned to their labors in the quarries. A number of them had heard the crash of the falling stone which killed their fellow workman, and they had not been at work long until all were startled by the same splitting sound in the rock. They instantly ran away from the face of the stone, but though the warning sound was followed by a crash, as of a huge mass of rock falling, no rock did fall.

This peculiar phenomenon awed the men, but they returned to work. Soon the sound was repeated. Then the men, thoroughly mystified, worked on with a good deal of reluctance.

The climax was reached when after one of those crashing sounds shrieks of distress were heard. The men were now thoroughly dismayed. After that the cracking in the rocks above drove all the men away, for after the seeming fall of rocks the horrifying shrieks were always heard. 

Work was continued in a desultory fashion, however, until one night the shadowy form of the man who was killed beneath the rocks was seen by one of the men. He called the attention of others to this, and all saw the form plainly. Since that experience, up to the time the INTELLIGENCER'S informant visited the quarry, the night shift had been abandoned. Two or three times the men consented to return to work, but each time the cracking sound and the thunderous crash was followed by the shrieking, and then the form of the dead man was seen. At last nobody could be induced to go near the place at night, and only the boldest of the quarrymen would work there by day. 

The gentleman who tells the story is not superstitious, but when asked by the reporter how he explained the phenomenon, he said he gave it up.