Local Haunts with the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group

L to R: Barry, Theresa, Kaysee and Dan

Next month will be the one-year anniversary of the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group! This awesome collection of paranormal enthusiasts was brought together by Angie Breeden and a young man named Barry who had a passion for the paranormal. Meeting every month on the last Wednesday of the month, it's been nearly a year of awesome speakers covering a variety of paranormal topics, from ghosts to Bigfoot, to UFOlogy, and everything in between. I was extremely fortunate to be the first speaker last March, covering the topic of WV Cemetery Legends and Hauntings. Brian joined me and we were able to also discuss a little about Spectral Research and Investigations (SRI) and some of our experiences.

It was an awesome time, and I continued to go to the monthly meetings as often as my schedule allowed me to! After taking a brief hiatus for the holiday season, the group started back up in January with an awesome discussion on Fairies, led by Krista Antis. It continued this month, and once again, I was fortunate enough to get to lead the discussion!

The topic of the talk this month was Local Hauntings, and you all know that I LOVE talking about the haunted hot spots throughout West Virginia and beyond, as well as all the ghost stories and historical research that go with them. I've collected quite a few haunted locations for my Haunted WV page here on the blog, but there are so, so many more places that I haven't yet found the time to add. I picked a handful of these locations close to the St. Albans area that I thought were both interesting, but also accessible to people to visit. A few of the spots mentioned were the Scary Creek Battlefield in Scott Depot, the Dunbar Wine Cellars, and Fairview Grade School in St. Albans. 

I also tried to give a brief overview of what actually constitutes a 'haunting' and the different types of hauntings one may encounter. But, the fun part was when the group started sharing THEIR favorite haunted locations, and their experiences at the places I brought up and elsewhere. It was a great discussion, and we didn't wrap it up until about 8pm! 

As always, it's so much fun getting together with others who share my passion for all things spooky! AS a special treat, Kaysee and Dan from SRI came out to support me and attend their first meeting with the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group! Also, in addition to some of our regulars, including the WV Unseen investigation group, we had some new people from Charleston join us, which was awesome. The St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group is a safe place where everyone is welcome to come and share their own stories and experiences, and ask questions without fear of being judged. I can't say enough how happy I am to have this resource so close to home. I encourage everyone in the area to come check it out if they can. Again, we meet  at 6pm on the last Wednesday of the month in the St. Albans Historical Society building. Please follow the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group's Facebook Page for info on upcoming meetings and speakers. Hope to see ya there!