A Walk Through Natchez's Haunted History

An Evening with Natchez Ghost Tours

SRI Selfie
by Kaysee

Any time I visit a big city on vacation, I immediately look to see if they have a ghost tour available! Ghost tours are an easy way to get a good overview of the haunted history of an area in an entertaining (and often pretty humorous) way. In recent years, I've been to ghost tours of a few 'southern' locations, including Wilmington NC, Charleston SC, and even New Orleans. But, when I found myself in Natchez, Mississippi with some time to kill, the idea of a ghost tour didn't even cross my mind. Surely, this little town, while being steeped in history and having quite a few local haunts, wouldn't be offering ghost tours in the middle of winter. Luckily, as I was waiting in the lobby one day, I wandered over to my hotel's display of brochures and pamphlets for nearby attractions. My eyes immediately landed on a rack card for...Natchez Ghost Tours! The best part was...these tours were advertised as being offered year round, 7 days a week!

The night before we were to return to West Virginia, Dan contacted tour guide and owner, Scott McCoy, and reserved us four spots for that evening.

Tour Guide, Scott
in front of the
Eola Hotel

 It was a brisk, yet not cold (by WV standards!) evening when the three SRI ambassadors to the south, with my husband tagging along, met Scott in front of the historic, but unfortunately closed, Eola Hotel on the corner of Main St. and Pearl. After a brief introduction and what to expect on the tour, we learned that the Eola was in fact, the first haunted building we'd be hearing about. The Eola, which had its grand opening on July 1, 1927, was made possible by the Natchez Investment Corporation. Isidore Levy, who was President of the Board of Directors, had the hotel named after his daughter, Eola. 

I don't want to give too much away in this blog as Scott has curated some great stories and history for his tour, and I highly encourage you to go hear them from HIM if you get the chance. But, I will say that if the Eola Hotel, which has struggled for quite some time, despite being an extremely prosperous hotel and mecca of local social functions, ever opens back up for business....you're going to want to explore the 7th floor. The seventh floor, which was built to house an auditorium, banquet hall, and kitchen, is the heart of the haunting, and the hotel's three reported ghosts (a young woman in white, and two older men) like to hang out mainly in that area, interacting with staff and visitors alike.

Prentiss Club

Our next stop was the Prentiss Club, which opened in 1905 as an elite gentleman's fraternal organization of wealthy businessmen, named after Sergeant Smith Prentiss. It served various functions over the years, including a speakeasy during Prohibition, and was considered a total loss after a 2018 fire. The building was restored, but as of right now, sits empty, awaiting a new purpose. It's also a favorite location of a colorful local named Buzz, who passed away in 2011. Buzz has been spotted walking along the sidewalk by the building, immediately recognizable by his fashionable attire. Buzz has been reported to interact with those he encounters, communicate via K-II, and even be photographed. Unfortunately for us, it may have been a little too cold for this southern gentleman during our trip, as we didn't receive any sign that he was willing to talk.

King's Tavern

Our approximately two hour, one mile long tour took us to other parts of downtown, where we learned about a devastating night club fire, and the small museum dedicated to it that may have some lingering spirits. We also learned much about the town's early history and Civil War-era history with a stroll through the local park...a park that also serves as a cemetery. In addition, we made a stop to the historic King's Tavern. I've already dedicated a blog post to the King's Tavern (read it HERE!), but that was one of the locations that repeatedly came up as being the most haunted place in the area, so it was definitely a top priority for me to see before heading home. The tavern, which boasts being the oldest building in the state's oldest town has a long history of serving both the town and the riverboat community...and may have even been the site of a terrible murder that left a young woman named Madeline bricked up in the chimney. Madeline is still around, most often showing herself through a series of bare footprints traipsing through recently mopped floors.

Memorial Park

We wrapped up the tour with a special treat; we were allowed to go inside the old county jail! While the building is still used mainly for city offices, the old converted Victorian house still has the original jail cells in the back...including the 'death row' section, complete with what is believed to be the original indoor gallows. But, it's not the prisoners' ghosts who have most often been reported in the area; the spirits behind the hauntings are said to be the former guards, still on duty after so many years. We got to spend a little time exploring the jail and attempting to communicate through both the K-II and the flashlight method. 

Guard's Walk
Old City Jail

This was a great tour, and fairly priced at $25 per person. Scott was a great storyteller, and any 'down time' between stops was spent with personable conversation, us telling him about ourselves and our own paranormal experiences, and vice versa. And, while Scott notes that he is a storyteller/historian and NOT a paranormal investigator, he did bring along a few ghost hunting gadgets to help enhance the spooky experience. 

The Natchez Ghost Tour was a great way to wrap up our week down south and have one final spooky sendoff before heading back to the cold, snowy mountains of Appalachia. If you're ever in the area, please make this a part of your itinerary. It's a fun, informative way to see the downtown Natchez area and get a glimpse into its haunted history.  Find them at:

Natchez Ghost Tour Website

Natchez Ghost Tour Facebook

Phone-- (225) 772-0525

Further Reading:

National Register Application for Eola Hotel

Historic Natchez Foundation: Prentiss Club

A Christmas Story from Fairfield County Infirmary

The Spectral Research and Investigations team has had a busy, busy year, which we wrapped up this weekend with a small holiday get-together. After a period of food, fun, and friends, with our buddy Raymond Newsome from Newsome Paranormal and his family joining us, the SRI team went back to work, planning for another great year in 2024. One thing that was decided was to make a return trip to the Fairfield County Infirmary near Lancaster, Ohio. The team has investigated this location once before on our own, and once as guests of WVPI (check out the FCI video HERE). But, since we have several new members that hadn't been a part of those investigations, we felt this was a location that we needed to revisit. 

That got me going on another research spree, and as I perused the newspaper archives, I started noticing a pattern. Throughout the 1910's, 1920's, and even into the 1930's, every December the local newspaper ran little features by 'The Santa Claus Club,' asking citizens to help make the Christmas season a little brighter for both the children at the Children's Home, and the mostly elderly residents of the Fairfield County Infirmary. Fruit, candy, magazines, interesting books, and tobacco products were among the most wished for items at the infirmary, as these were nice little extra luxuries to supplement the already well taken care of needs of the patients. 

In an effort to further humanize these poor souls and appeal to the charitable side of the readers, these articles often contained some human interest-type stories from infirmary residents. Most of the time, these were just short blurbs featuring a brief rundown of the circumstances which led to the patients being admitted to the infirmary, or even a short quote about their feelings on the place. However, in 1922, the local paper really outdid itself with its featured Fairfield tale.  The following is an excerpt which appeared in the Lancaster-Eagle Gazette on December 16, 1922:

WONDERFUL XMAS STORY

Comes from Fairfield County Infirmary---Read It and Then Help

Truth is stranger than fiction, so runs the old adage, and a story that came from the Fairfield County Infirmary last week tends to confirm the ancient saying. 

A high powered car with a chauffeur at the wheel stopped at the institution, while a gray haired gentleman of apparent refinement stepped from the car and making his way to the office made known his errand. He asked if he might be permitted to look about the premises, stating that he was raised there as a child seventy years ago. The matron Mrs. Hummell escorted him about the building and he inquired for the room in which he had been raised. Being unable to find it, he was finally ushered up to the attic, which by the way is a finished one, and in recent years has been used for storage only.

The infirmary was built eighty years ago and for a long time was used both as Infirmary and Children's Home. Upon entering the attic the aged man exclaimed, "Yes, this is the room in which I was raised," and then he told the following remarkable story to the matron:

"Seventy years ago this Christmas, my mother took me covered over in a basket into the railway depot at Lancaster and she said to another woman sitting there, will you kindly watch this basket  for a few moments while I step across the street. My mother never returned and all that I know about her is that she was well dressed and apparently a woman of refinement. I was warranted to the County Infirmary, and at ten years of age I was adopted by a good family. Today I own two of the largest shoe stores in Dayton and I am a man of wealth, but I would gladly give every dollar that I possess if I could but find my mother.

For many years I have advertised and searched through many Infirmaries, hoping against hope that I may find her. While my life has been crowned with success in a business way, still I feel that it has been a great failure on account of not being able to find my mother. I have gone through life with an aching heart. I have never married as I feared that that step might interfere with my search."

The stranger's card read James G. Randolph.

How we found our REM
Pod. No one had been in this
section of the building. This was the
attic space said to house the 
children. 

I couldn't tell you how much of this, and other stories posted in these features was true, and how much was made up to tug at the heartstrings. It's certainly plausible, though. We do have documentation that the infirmary was home to many children during its early years, as a dedicated Children's Home for the area wasn't established until the 1880's. And, during our last trip there, we were told that a portion of the attic space was where the youngest patients (or inmates, as they were often called) were housed. In fact...it was in this space where we may have actually interacted with a child spirit. And, it was the location where we found a piece of our equipment  with the back battery compartment removed and the battery on the floor...despite the fact that no one had been in that area. 

As we get closer to the big day, I'll be posting more information and other interesting tidbits about this really cool location, which served as Fairfield's 'poor farm' and home for those who could not care for themselves between 1848 and 1985. That long of a stretch means there's plenty of opportunity for some crazy stuff to have been documented. But, I wanted to get this little Christmas story out in time for the holidays and to act as a little teaser to the new year ahead. SRI looks forward to investigating some great locations in 2024, and sharing our adventures with you! Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook for more information. 

Have a wonderful holiday season, a very Merry Christmas, and as always...Stay Spooky!

Beware of Frau Perchta

Christmas is full of weird, spooky witches and monsters. From Krampus, to Hans Trapp, to Gryla and her demonic kitty and Yule Lads (more on those traditions in a later post!), there's plenty to keep one scared straight during the holiday season. However, the majority of these yuletide terrors are designed to keep children in line. While here in the modern USA, parents threaten their kids that if they don't behave, Santa Claus will NOT bring them presents. That's pretty tame compared to the European folklore of Krampus, who will either beat them with birch sticks or stuff them into his sack and drag them off to Hell. 

But what happens when its the adults who are naughty...particularly the lady of the house?  Enter Frau Perchta.

Frau Perchta is an interesting character. She goes by many names, arrives in various forms, and her tradition can be linked to a number of different legends and tales. She's most known, however, for being absolutely terrifying. 

Hailing from the Alpine areas near the Austrian and German border, Frau Perchta or "Spinnstubenfrau" (The Spinning Room Lady), acts as a warning for the womenfolk to make sure their house was not only spotless during the 12 Days of Christmas--from December 25 to January 6--but to ensure that they had all their spinning finished before the holidays. 

If a household heard a knock on their door on any of the three Thursdays leading up to Christmas (known as Berchtle or Knocking Nights), or on any of the 12 days of Christmas, the maternal head of home had better have it together. If the above-mentioned conditions weren't met, or if Frau Perchta had not been honored with a feast of porridge and fish, she may angrily set fire to one's unfinished fiber arts. If she was in a really bad mood, she might just withdrawal the long knife concealed under her skirt and slit you open, replacing your organs with rocks, straw, and even garbage. But, if you had been a good girl and got all your chores done, you might find a nice, shiny silver coin left for you.

In her 'evil' form, Frau Perchta appears as an old crone dressed in rags. You know its her by her large, beaked nose made of iron and her one non-human foot, often described as a goose, or swan foot. In her 'good' form, she shows up as a beautiful maiden dressed all in white, sometimes going by the moniker of Holle. Another interesting characteristic of Frau Perchta is that she is often accompanied by an unholy posse of unbaptized babies and the Perchten, which are a bunch of Krampus-looking demons. Any thunder or windstorms during this time are attributed to this band of creatures, and link the Frau Perchta legend to the Wild Hunt. 

There are way too many fine points and rabbit holes associated with Frau Perchta, so I'll let you run off to do your own research if you'd like to know more. But, just take this as a warning: make sure you have all your chores completed by Christmas. It might just save your life. 

Stay Spooky!

Links of Interest:

Bone and Sickle

Boroughs of the Dead

Ghosts of King's Tavern (Natchez, MS)

King's Tavern
Circa 1920
Source: Mississippi State University Libraries

On a recent trip down south, I stayed just outside of Natchez, Mississippi while working on a film project with the Uncovering History Crew. Sitting in my hotel doing some research one night, I decided to be nosy and see what haunted locations were in my area. Natchez, being such an old and historic town on the Mississippi River, had quite a few places with a ghostly reputation, but one in particular kept popping up: King's Tavern.

Located on Jefferson Street in Natchez's On-Top-Of-The-Hill Historic District, The King's Tavern is the oldest building in the state's oldest city. The tavern dates back to 1769 when it was built by the British as a blockhouse for nearby Fort Panmure. The construction of the building is pretty interesting in and of itself. Aside from the sun-dried bricks used, the wood for the three-story tavern came from two main sources. First, wood was recycled from scrapped sailing ships in New Orleans, which were brought in via mules. But, the majority of construction materials came from the flat riverboats that sailed down the Mississippi, loaded with supplies. Since these types of boats couldn't go back UP river, they were dismantled and sold, and their captains and crew returned north via the Natchez Trace.

After the Revolutionary War, the British left the area, and the old blockhouse was sold to Richard King in 1789. King, originally from New York, moved his family down south and opened the place up as a tavern and inn catering to the riverboat men and those taking the stagecoach. Comfortable accommodations could be found on the third floor, while good drink and food could be found in the tavern. During this time, King's Tavern also served as a social center for locals, as King acted as the town's postman, receiving and sending out the residents' mail. The family was held in high regard throughout the community...but that may have just been their outward impression. More on that later...

King's Tavern, December 2023
Photo by Theresa
Natchez Ghost Tour

Riverboat men and other travelers weren't the only ones who stayed at the inn. During this time, the Natchez Trace was the main route back up north, and thus, was the route that many of the riverboat owners, now with their pockets stuffed with the cash from the goods unloaded and boats scrapped, traveled to go back home. Outlaws and highwaymen were known to frequent this route, robbing and often brutally murdering travelers. Some of the worst of these criminals were the Harpe Brothers, who were regulars at the tavern. In one story, it is said that Micaja 'Big' Harpe even killed his own daughter when she wouldn't stop crying! He was hunted down by a posse and killed in Kentucky in 1799. His head was displayed on a pike--a warning to other criminals that the good citizens were through with this type of behavior.

It wasn't long until steamboats replaced the old riverboats, and these vessels COULD travel UP the Mississippi, lessening the need for an inn at this location. In 1817, the property was sold to the Postalwaith family, and from 1823 to 1973, the old inn was converted into a private residence passed down through the family for several generations. That year, it was sold to an investor and became a restaurant. After a brief closure, it reopened as a farm-to-table style restaurant, but is currently closed and up for sale. Perhaps like many local restaurants and similar establishments, King's Tavern couldn't recover from the Covid-19 closures. Or maybe, people weren't too sure about having a meal in the state's most haunted restaurant!

There's been quite a bit of reported activity at King's Tavern over the years. Objects moving, shadow figures, and mysterious sounds have all been documented. On the third floor, people have even heard the sounds of a baby crying, accompanied by a wailing mother. One story to explain this was that Big Harpe (remember him?) was staying at the inn one night and a mother and infant were staying in another room. The baby wouldn't stop crying, which kept the infamous outlaw awake. He calmly barged into the woman's room, grabbed the crying child from her arms, dashed it against the wall, then calmly handed the now silenced (and deceased) child back to its mother. Without an ounce of regret, he went back to his room and finally fell asleep. As seen earlier, there was a story that Harpe had killed his own daughter for crying....could this unnamed child actually have been his own?

King's Tavern in Daylight
Source: Haunted Houses

Arguably, the tale of the crying baby ghost is the most horrific from King's Tavern...but the story of Madeline is a close second. Madeline was a beautiful young girl who worked for the King family. An affair began between Mr. King and Madeline, and eventually Mrs. King found out about it. The perfect family wasn't so perfect after all. One day, Madeline went missing. She wasn't seen alive ever again. But, it is believed that she WAS found.  In the 1930's, work on the brick chimney revealed a hidden wall. Behind the wall were three skeletons; two men and one woman. Along with the remains was found a bejeweled dagger. It's not known who exactly the men were, but the woman is thought to obviously be Madeline. It is theorized that Mrs. King either killed her herself, or had her killed and bricked up her remains and murder weapon behind the wall. The two men who joined her in death may have been the hitmen, killed to cover up the crime, or two additional witnesses/accomplices who knew the truth behind Mrs. King's evil smirk.

Madeline is the main ghost of the King's Tavern, and is blamed for the majority of activity. Although no longer in service, the fireplace where her remains were found always seems much warmer than the rest of the room, as if there's a fire burning. Things around the bar are moved around, and a woman wearing old-fashioned clothes has been spotted throughout the building. But, Madeline's favorite 'calling card' is her footprints. Many employees have been vexed by a line of bare footprints traipsing through the wet floor that they JUST mopped, even though they know for sure no LIVING person could have passed through. 

Unfortunately, this place was closed during my stay, but we did get to see it AND hear about its haunted history from Scott McCoy of the Natchez Ghost Tour! This was a really awesome tour, full of anecdotes and scary stories from the town's most haunted hot spots. I'll be doing a blog post dedicated to that tour soon, so keep an eye out. And as always....stay spooky everyone!

*Haunted Houses has a wonderful summary and plenty of pictures of this location. Please check the link provided for more information!*

The Christmas Eve Hitchhiker

Route 310 across from
Valley Falls Road

Being from the Huntington area, and working with investigation teams based in that city, the most (in)famous phantom hitchhiker that I'm familiar with is the ghostly woman in white who haunts the 5th Street Hill area, begging cabbies and bus drivers to give her a ride to the bottom of the hill, where she promptly vanishes around Ritter Park.

I'm not sure of exactly when it was, but several years ago, I started seeing the story of another phantom hitchhiker in the state. Up in the northern part of West Virginia, between Grafton and Fairmont, was a woman in red. The Lady in Red has been seen along Old Grafton Road (WV-310) near Valley Falls Road. Drivers have noted a woman with long, dark matted hair wearing a matted gown, walking alongside the highway. She appears to be sopping wet, with her gown closely clinging to her skin, and her hair dripping down her back. Whatever the weather, she appears to be hunched over, struggling against a strong wind that may or may not be present.

Occasionally, she frantically waves down a passerby, and occasionally, a Good Samaritan will stop and offer her a ride. Those who have notice the woman emits a scent of old fashioned perfume---and death. She struggles into the vehicle, and then softly asks the driver to take her to Cook Hospital in Fairmont. Unfortunately, Cook Hospital hasn't existed since 1938-9, when a bigger hospital, Fairmont General, was built. Nevertheless, the drivers take the woman to the Gaston Avenue address. As they pull up in front of the NON-hospital site and go to open her door for her, they find her seat empty. She has vanished. 

Former Cook Hospital
Fairmont, December 2019

The most well-known sighting of the Lady in Red comes from a truck driver in what I'm guessing was the 1960's or very early 1970's. It was Christmas Eve, a little before midnight. The truck driver, working for the Owens-Illinois Plant was carrying a load of powdered glass to the Fairmont factory along WV-310 when he was flagged down by a woman in a red dress.

He helped her into the passenger side of his truck, and since she was shivering violently in the cold, December air, he draped his coat around her shoulders. As she always did, she quietly asked him to take her to Cook Hospital. Being local to the area, he tried to reason with her that Cook Hospital no longer existed. But, he pitied the poor thing, alone and shivering on the side of the highway, and so he drove her the 10 miles into Fairmont to the site of Cook Hospital. As expected, when they arrived and he went to help her down out of the seat, she had vanished, leaving only his own coat lying in the seat where she had once sat.

The trucker was already running late when he stopped to pick the woman up, and the side trip to the hospital was another several miles out of his way. Therefore, his bosses weren't happy and he was fired for his tardiness. It is said that he contacted the well-known folklorist and collector of ghost stories, Ruth Ann Musick, who was then able to contact his employers and get his job back!

To this day, no one knows who the fancily dressed woman in red is, or why she was so desperate to get to Cook Hospital. Was she a nurse/nursing student trying to get back home after a night of partying, yet met a terrible accident along Old Grafton Road in the rain? Was she involved in an accident on the way to or from a Christmas party and trying to make it to the hospital to receive treatment? We may never know for sure. 

Cook Hospital, 1906
Source: WV History on View

In December of 2019, my husband and I did try to see the lady in red for ourselves. We waited until nearly midnight, then drove up and down the area where WV-310 meets with Valley Falls Road. Valley Falls Road leads directly to Rock Lake; could this lake have something to do with why the woman appears to be sopping wet...or was she simply caught in a storm, fighting against both rain and wind? The night my husband and I went out searching, the weather was unseasonably warm and mild. To our disappointment, despite next to no traffic, no woman in red was observed either. We went ahead and drove into Fairmont to take a look at the old Cook Hospital. At the time, it was being converted from office space for the Marion County Board of Education to low-income apartment space. Nothing spooky was noted there, either. 

Obviously, this story contains a lot of the same phantom hitchhiking tropes that are found around the world---a mysterious person, usually a woman, and usually dressed inappropriately for the weather, asks motorists to take her to an address that may no longer exist (or when they get there, find out that the woman did live there, but has been dead for many years). When the motorist goes to let her out of the car, they've found she has mysteriously vanished without a trace. We don't get that closure that many of these stories have, however. We never get her back story. We never know why she was out, and why exactly it was the hospital she was desperately trying to return to.

What we do get is even MORE mystery. This story has elements borrowed from a few other West Virginia tales. For example, in Ruth Ann Musick's book, Coffin Hollow and Other Ghost Stories, there's a story called 'Vision in the Snow' about a cab driver during the Great Depression who was fired after picking up a disappearing woman in late December. The rationale was that the cab company couldn't afford to be picking up customers that didn't pay their fare, despite their status of being alive or dead. (I read this story on my TikTok if you're interested!)

So there's at least two stories from WV where someone was fired after picking up a phantom hitchhiker, and both have a direct connection with author and professor, Ruth Ann Musick. Further, our lady from this story isn't the only Lady in Red out hitchhiking West Virginia roads. As seen in the book, Cry of the Banshee, by Susan Sheppard, Rt. 50 (the road between Salem and Clarksburg) is home to a ghostly woman in red. When the moon is full, motorists have said to have spotted a woman wearing a red hooded coat, walking along the side of the road. Those who stop to ask the woman if she needs help are shocked to discover that under the scarlet hood, the woman has no face. Allegedly, this woman is also said to follow motorists home, pacing outside of their home, peering into their windows with her faceless visage.

Clarksburg is not far from Fairmont at all, so it seems strange that despite the huge disparity between these two ghostly hitchhikers, they both appear in RED, as opposed to the classic white. The Route 50 hitchhiker doesn't actually hitch a ride...unless you count following people home ::shudder::...which makes me prefer an encounter with the Fairmont ghost any day, especially around the Christmas season! 

For more on this story, Haunted West Virginia is the place to go!

Halloween 2023 Wrap-Up

I can't quite explain why, but the Halloween season is a bittersweet time for me. I love it; it's my favorite time of the year. But at the same time, I get really depressed as well. Part of it is hiraeth---an obscure word meaning homesickness for a time or place that no longer exists. I can never go back to the magic of the Halloween from my childhood. It's also partly FOMO-the fear of missing out on all the awesome NEW activities that are out there, that I just don't have the time or the energy to fit in. 

I've been a little mopey the past several of weeks thinking about all the things I didn't get to do this year. I didn't carve pumpkins for the first time in my entire life. I didn't decorate the new apartment. I didn't visit a haunted house/trail. Oh, and I only watched about a third of the Halloween movies I usually I watch each year. Today, however, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, and take a look back on the wonderful things I DID get to experience this year, including a couple of bucket-list items for me. Let's start with some of the activities I did with my group, Spectral Research and Investigations!

Brian dressed up at ready
to receive trick-or-treaters!

2023 was the start of our (hopefully!) annual Safe Trick-or-Treat, held at the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington. In the three hours we were open, we had well over 220 people come through the museum, where they were greeted by costumed members of the SRI team. We loaded them up on candy and non-food treats (we even had to make a store run halfway through!), and let them play games, participate in Halloween crafts, and of course, explore the museum itself. It was a wonderful way for us to give back to our community and introduce the museum to many new faces. Almost everyone we talked to either didn't realize the museum was even there, or had never had the opportunity to stop by. It was so awesome to see entire families dressed up and having a great time. Plans are already underway to make 2024 an even bigger event! 

Another community outreach service SRI offered this Halloween season was donating our services to the Cabell County Library's Halloween Gala. After the gala had concluded for the evening, SRI members led small groups of gala participants around the main branch library in search of ghosts, giving them a little history of the building's alleged haunts, and showing them how to use popular ghost hunting tech. We had done something similar last year, offering two separate public hunts of the main branch and the Gallaher Village area. Those events were so much fun and went so well that we were honored to be asked to return again this year to help raise funds for the library system.

The SRI team and the Uncovering
History team in front of the Lowe Hotel

The last big project that SRI worked on in October was a two-day on-location film shoot with the crew from Uncovering History! We joined the guys in Point Pleasant in search of the Mothman, starting with an investigation of the haunted and historic Lowe Hotel, and wrapping up with a wild romp through the TNT area. We did a little of our own filming as well, so I'll be sure to share when each of our videos premiers. We had a blast and got along so well with the crew that we've been asked to lend a hand on further adventures...more on that coming up soon!

Amidst all that chaos, I managed to work in some personal adventures as well, starting with attending MystiCon at the Ravenswood Public Library. MystiCon is an annual all-things spooky and Halloween event, offering guest speakers, vendors, and all kinds of other cool activities to get you in the mood for the season. I've already blogged about it (MystiCon blog) so I won't babble on, other than to say that this is a REALLY well put together event with some great speakers, and I look forward to hopefully vending next year. 

MystiCon 2023

My husband, who is trying to make a solid effort to join me on more of my spooky pursuits tagged along to MystiCon and had a great time. He didn't, however, care too much for another event I dragged him along to....

Okay, so ever since I saw the Halloween episode of King of the Hill with the Hallelujah House, I've wanted to experience that for myself. The problem was, I could never find a Hell House or Judgement House close by. This year, I started my search early, and found that Memorial Baptist Church in Beckley was offering a Judgement House AND it had a Sunday date that I could work into my schedule!  It was quite the experience. The place was packed, and that poor staff was trying their best to move the huge number of guests through as efficiently as possible, which meant that each 'scene' involved us being stuffed butt to gut with about 20 other people into a small viewing area. We got super up close and personal with our fellow patrons as we moved through the story line of a family just discovering church....only to be gunned down in a home invasion. 

It seems we were the only ones who were there ironically, lol. I won't get into the subject of religion other than to state that I wholly disagree with the message that was being preached. But, we watched as the mother went off to Heaven, while the father went off to Hell, which was the coolest scene in the whole production. Afterwards, we had to sit in a room with a preacher for an additional 30 minutes, not unlike a timeshare presentation. I was disappointed that this was not one of those Hell Houses that were really wild and gruesome in its coverage of multiple sins. It was fairly tame with one message at hand and one story line. Still, we remained absolutely respectful and left there knowing that we were surely going to Hell. 

Kenova Pumpkin House

The other bucket-list item I checked off for 2023 was my first visit to the Kenova Pumpkin House! I'll be dedicating a whole blog to this one, but the Pumpkin House is a internationally-known attraction, with thousands of carved and lit pumpkins on display. We went on Halloween night, and surprisingly, found a good parking spot. It was crowded, but not overwhelming, and plenty of food trucks and vendors were set up along the street to enhance the experience of seeing more jack-o-lanterns in one place than I'd ever seen before. It was kinda funny, though...the weather had been downright HOT that week, then wet, so there was quite a bit of visible mold on most of the pumpkins, which actually somewhat added to the Halloween atmosphere, lol.

Sadly, I have yet to bring back my own Halloween party, but I went to the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group's end of the year Halloween bash, and it was awesome! Games, costumes, prizes, good food and great friends were just what I needed to cheer me up. Ron Lanham of Wild and Weird made a little alien body cake that we all devoured, my team dominated Paranormal Trivia, and Denise Cyrus from the St. Albans Historical Society gave our group a special haunted walking tour of the town. Angie Breeden, who started the group with a young man named Barry, has done an excellent job with this group, and if you're interested in the paranormal at all, I'd highly suggest you follow on Facebook for updates! Meetings will resume in January 2024 and are held on the last Wednesday of the month at the St. Albans Historical Society.

Move over, Jaimie!
This alien was delicious

One last thing my husband joined me for was a Ghost Hunting 101 class with Tracey Perry. I attended Tracey's class last year as well, and both times have lucked out; I've walked away with the door prize! Last year I won a nice video camera, and this year I (well, my husband actually won, but....) walked away with a little ghost hunting kit.  It was a nice  presentation, and I'm always interested to see how other teams out there are operating, and I'm always willing to support my fellow investigators. I wrote about my experience last year HERE. 

Looking back over this super long list of things I did, I realize that I need to stop moping around! I did a LOT of cool things this Halloween season, and made some lasting memories with friends and family. I only hope that Halloween 2024 is as awesome as this year was. 

The Horse with a Halo

This spooky and strange tale can be found in Appalachian Ghost Stories and Other Tales, by James Gay Jones, originally published around 1975. If you'd like to hear me read the story in it's entirety, as written in the book, head on over to my TikTok account. But, read on for a more summarized version of this fascinating tale from the Leatherwood Creek area of Clay County, West Virginia. 

It seems that many years before the tale was collected, a family was being plagued by an odd apparition: a white horse with its head surrounded in a halo of ethereal light. One evening, this family was sitting on their front porch after dinner, enjoying each other's company and conversation. After awhile, they noticed the spooky horse trotting up the highway in front of their house. When it turned off the main road onto their lane, the family, understandably spooked, ran inside and took their positions at the windows to see what the horse would do next.

 As the horse reached the gate, it paused, snorted, then leaped over into their yard and on towards the house. By this point, the family was already getting pretty anxious. Some tried to get a better view out the windows, while others abandoned their post and started trying to find a place to hide! Meanwhile, the horse continued to approach the house, and within seconds had leaped up onto the porch. From this close-up view, the family could see that the horse was 'monstrously large,' had 'eyes shining like coals of fire,' and of course, the halo. 

The horse started stomping through the front door, sending the family fleeing out the back door and up the hill behind their house, where they hid behind the trees, waiting to see what else this fallen angel of a horse would do next. Fortunately, the horse did not pursue the family. Instead, it backed out of the house through the front door and into the yard. But, it didn't turn around and continue on down the road. Instead, it began to ASCEND into the sky, up and up until it had disappeared. However, it did leave a clue to it's existence. For some time after, a halo of light was observed around the moon. No one ever did figure out what this strange phenomenon meant, where it had come from, or where it went. 

Theresa's Note: This is an absolutely wild story to me, and I couldn't even begin to fathom what it all means, especially since we aren't given any more details about who the family was or what happened to them afterwards. Depending on your culture and interpretation, a white horse can symbolize death, but it can also symbolize purity and good fortune. The addition of a halo further denotes that this horse was a symbol of something divine, not evil, and some native tribes believe that a halo around the moon was either a sign of good luck or of change. Was it an omen foretelling the imminent death of a young and innocent family member? Was it a guide of sorts, guiding that soul to Heaven? Or did the family prosper following the sighting? Maybe it was just one of those weird things that aren't meant to be understood. 

The Man Who Wanted to Go Back

Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
4 January 1898

Hey, everyone! By now, regular readers to Theresa's Haunted History know that I love to share weird history, even if it isn't necessarily paranormal. I also like to share interesting tales from popular haunted hot spots that aren't necessarily related to the location's ghost stories. Today's blog is a two-for-one deal, covering both those themes. 

The story first came to my attention through an un-named author's account collected in West Virginia Heritage, Volume Two (1968) and was further confirmed through a newspaper article in the January 4, 1898 edition of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. The un-named author in the story was apparently a lawyer working in Clay County, West Virginia who represented Mr. William 'Bill' Dorsey, the Man Who Wanted to Go Back.

It started on Sunday, January 2nd, 1898 at the Big Sycamore Church in Clay County, a small location that served as a one-room schoolhouse during the week and held services during the weekend. On that particular Sunday, the preacher failed to show up for services, so Mr. Dorsey took over duties, leading the congregation in prayer and song, and even preaching a short sermon. After he dismissed the congregation, he hurried out the door. 

After many church services, the priest/preacher often greets and shakes hands with the congregation as they leave the church. But, familiar pleasantries were the furthest thing from Dorsey's mind. He waited until a young man named Benton Jarrett exited (who just happened to be chatting with and escorting Bill's wife out of the church building). Not saying a word, Dorsey pulled out his .38 caliber revolver and fired two shots at Jarrett. One of the bullets hit Jarrett in the stomach, killing him.

Dorsey turned himself in to authorities without incident. Due to the fact that he was the brother of Judge J.M. Dorsey of Clay County, the trial was moved to Parkersburg, under Judge Lew Tavenner. 

Dorsey's family, obviously in shock over the events that had transpired, insisted that he was insane, and his lawyer agreed to that defense. Per court order, he was examined by a panel of doctors, who couldn't agree on a diagnosis. Some believed he was insane, while others thought he definitely knew right from wrong. During the trial, his lawyer noticed that Dorsey was sweating profusely...but only on the right side of his head/face. The reason for this was a nasty scar on the left side of Dorsey's head, caused by a head injury sustained when a piece of lumber fell on him. The family claimed that he hadn't been the same, mentally, since that accident, and it was the cause of the insanity that led to tragedy.

Another factor used in the insanity defense was the rumor that Dorsey had shot Jarrett because he was jealous of the relationship between Jarrett and Mrs. Dorsey. However, everyone insisted that Mrs. Dorsey was a fine, loyal wife who never gave her husband reason to suspect her fidelity, so even if he WERE jealous, there was no reason to be, other than insanity.

The jury deliberated, but were torn. As a compromise, instead of offering up a charge of premeditated murder, which would have surely resulted in a hanging, they found Dorsey guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a charge carrying a penalty of 1-5 years in the state penitentiary at Moundsville. The judge decided on a sentence of two years for Dorsey.

As the trial concluded, Dorsey thanked his lawyer for his help in defending him and offered up a pretty damning detail: he told the lawyer he had actually waited for Jarrett in the woods over a period of three weeks, but he had never shown up. Wisely, the lawyer kept that tidbit to himself until many years later! Dorsey was transported north to the penitentiary, and it was said that the Warden himself remarked to the Sheriff chaperoning Dorsey on his trip that the man was obviously insane and should be in the state asylum, not prison.

Anyway, Dorsey served his two years, minus 4 months off for good behavior. Upon returning home to Clay County, he stopped by his former lawyer's office and asked for help in writing a letter to the governor. It seems as if Dorsey didn't want to leave the penitentiary. It was the 'best place he had ever been,' and wanted the governor to allow him to return. The lawyer promised to write the letter, but never did. 

It wouldn't matter. Dorsey would soon devise a plan to make it back. He went to go visit his adult daughter on Sycamore Creek. The daughter had several small children and Dorsey asked her how many she had now. When she replied that she had three, Dorsey pulled out a pocket knife, remarked that three was getting to be too many, and that he intended to thin them out. 

Understandably alarmed, the daughter ran to the neighbors for help, who in turn took Dorsey in to a local Justice on an insanity charge. But, Dorsey would NOT get his wish. He wasn't sent back to the WV State Penitentiary. Instead, he was found insane, and committed to the State Hospital in Spencer, where he died two years later. 

MORE WV STATE PENITENTIARY ARTICLES

12 Foot Tall Humanoids in West Virginia

From The Twilight Zone 
"To Serve Man"
This is what I see when I read the description, lol!

In 1897, the little West Virginia town of Ogden was in the midst of an oil and gas boom. Located in Wood County, Ogden quickly became home to numerous drill sites dotting the former farm lands. Tycoons, businessmen, investors...all would descend upon the town in order to try their hand at making a fortune. However, that spring, another type of visitor would also show up.

According to sources, on April 21, 1897 a man witnessed an astonishing sight. This unnamed man observed a well-lit aerial object land nearby. Out of the craft came eight creatures, each 11-12 feet tall with disproportionately large craniums. As luck would have it, these creatures spoke English, and told the man they were there, "exploring the planet." Further, they were observed eating small pills and 'drinking air.'  This crew remained in Ogden for about an hour before taking off again.

Okay, wow. That's quite a story! Unfortunately, that's all there currently is to it. Researcher Albert Rosales included this little blurb about a run-in with giant UFO occupants in his book, Humanoid Encounters and Others Among Us: 1 A.D.-1899. He cites HIS source as a book by Phillip  L. Rife called It Didn't Start with Roswell.  The case was also mentioned in Strange West Virginia Monsters, by Michael Newton, which is where I first heard it and began my (feeble) attempts to track down more information. 

Although all three books recount the exact same details, no more no less, Newton's book did offer a little insight into where this tale may have possibly come from. It seems as if, despite Rife's jumbled notes, the story most likely came from an article in the Parsons Advocate, a newspaper out of Tucker County, WV, located over 2 hours away, all the way across the state from Ogden. The article allegedly appeared in the April 23, 1897 edition, but neither Newton nor myself have been able to get ahold of an archival copy. 

So, I'll have to take Rife's word on it, I guess! But, I think there are some important things to consider when looking at the authenticity of the sighting. If we put away how much like an episode of Scooby Doo this reads as (shady oil and gas tycoons scaring off potential threats to their claims), there is some contemporary precedence for this event. 

While I haven't gotten a chance to read further than the free Google Books preview, Rife's work documents a huge number of both 'ufos' and encounters with the beings inside them dating from late 1896 into 1897. In fact, West Virginia was no stranger to this flap of reported 'phantom airships' that were seeming moving east across the United States during this time frame. 

On April 19, 1897, only TWO DAYS before this weird encounter, witnesses in Sistersville, WV reported seeing red, white, and green flashing lights in the sky. When observed through 'strong glasses,' witnesses could see an 180 foot, cone-shaped craft with fins on either side. It was seen for at least 20 minutes, but seemingly it never landed in that area. (Read Sistersville Phantom Airship)

Sistersville is only about 35 miles north of Ogden, both being right along the Ohio River and accessible via today's Route 2. Was the craft seen in Ogden the same one seen two days earlier only 35 miles north in Sistersville? Or, was the story made up, playing on the sheer number of other newspaper articles from various other locations all reporting weird phantom airships and/or strange humanoid encounters?

There's a good chance we'll never know just how true this story was...but one last thing to consider. Remember how I said Ogden was located in Wood County, West Virginia? Around 70 years later, Wood County would be the location of ANOTHER humanoid from a spaceship encounter...possibly one of the most famous in modern ufo history. In early November 1966, Woodrow Derenberger, returning home to Mineral Wells from a business trip in nearby Marietta, OH would meet a fellow who would call himself Indrid Cold. But, that story is for another day! 

Keep your eyes to the skies!

The Wild Man of Mason County

Robert Hannaford
Self Portrait as a Wild Man

It has been a minute, but I wanted to bring you all another Wild Man Wednesday blog! This particular wild man doesn't appear to be a Bigfoot or Sasquatch, but an actual human. Still, the story is pretty interesting!

Back on October 27, 1897, the Point Pleasant newspaper, The Weekly Register, ran not one, but TWO small pieces about a Wild Man who had been seen for awhile in an area of Mason County called Coal Hollow. Coal Hollow was a local hunting area known for an abundance of rabbit and squirrel. For several weeks, at least, area residents would see a very large man. When approached and questioned, he refused to talk. And, when spotted, would disappear back into the dark ravine. 

Residents speculated as to who this strange man may be, and it was largely believed that he must be an escaped lunatic OR a member of a group of escaped highway men from Meigs County, Ohio. Whoever is was, he was blamed for setting a series of mysterious and destructive fires at area farms. 

Fast forward almost three years later to June 6, 1900. The Weekly Register posted another article about a wild man in Mason County. Described as having hair 5 feet long, and arms 5 feet long, and wearing an old pair of boots, this particular wild man may or may not be the same one seen in 1897. This time, the unkempt stranger was being seen along Mission Ridge, near West Columbia. That's about 35 miles from Coal Hollow. 

And, unlike the Coal Hollow wild man, this particular wild man DID speak. Believed to make his home in the nearby caves, when hungry, the man would come to local farms and order the women-folk to prepare him a meal. 

One house he sought sustenance from was the Edwards residence. He was given an adequate lunch, but the wild man insisted that he be allowed to sit at the table and dine with the family. He stated that he was good enough to eat with President McKinley himself. Mr. Edwards didn't agree, and a verbal altercation broke out. That fight devolved into a physical altercation, and no more was mentioned about the Mason County Wild Man. At least...not that I've found yet, but the hunt continues!

So, what do you all believe? Was this an escaped asylum patient, or even a criminal on the run? Were these two incidents, three years and 35 miles apart, even the same person? Let me know in the comments what YOU think! 

The Weekly Register
27 October 1897
Page 4

The Weekly Register
27 October 1897
Page 1

The Weekly Register
06 June 1900

2023 Ravenswood MystiCon

On Saturday, October 7th, the Ravenswood Public Library in Ravenswood, WV hosted its second annual Ravenswood MystiCon! This sleepy lil' river town really knows how to capitalize off its spooky name and come together to put on a really nice FREE smaller-scale paranormal convention.

I didn't attend last year, and honestly debated as to whether or not I was going to this year, as there was actually another event that same day that I was interested in attending. I'm really glad I gave it a shot, though! We arrived about 15-20 minutes after the event started and found ample parking nearby. We gave a quick peruse of the outside vendors, before heading in to say hello to this year's speaker line-up. Being in the field as long as I have, I knew just about everyone scheduled to speak!

After a bit of small talk, JR (yeah, my husband made a rare appearance!) and I went to find seats and settled in to listen to the speakers. Hearing the lectures on various paranormal topics is always my favorite part of any convention. I like to keep up with the research being done in this field, and I'm always down with learning new snippets of information. As we were waiting, we took note of the extensive and creative decorations adorning every available space in the library, giving it a fun, spooky, magical feel.

Tony Breeden

Tony Breeden was the first speaker we had the pleasure of listening to, and he gave a humorous and fact-filled talk all about WV's very own controversial ufologist, Gray Barker. Since I know Tony from the monthly St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group, I was already familiar with his views on Barker, but it was a really fun refresher on such a fascinating topic. Next up was Ashley Hilt, a Fortean researcher and podcast host (On Wednesdays We Talk Weird) who specializes in the topic of Mothman. She gave an interesting talk about the Men in Black phenomenon, and even shared her own crazy encounter with a possible MIB. Her talk was also very informative, and hilarious at times. As a bonus...I got to sit next to Linda Sigman during the presentation! Linda is an original Mothman witness who spoke about her experiences at this year's Mothman Festival. I also picked up a copy of her book while in Pt. Pleasant, so I was happy to get the chance to tell her how much I enjoyed it. 

Ashley Hilt 

We had a brief interlude after Ashley spoke, so we grabbed a snack from the food trucks. I had a yummy chicken fajita from Jimmy Avocado's.  As the temperature had recently plummeted, we hurried back inside to settle in for the next speaker. While waiting, I checked my phone, and my sister had another pleasant surprise for me: an interview on ghost hunting I gave to Amanda Larch that had been published in the Charleston Gazette the previous weekend had been posted online as well! My sister sent me the link and saved me a physical copy of the newspaper! 

Ron Lanham

Ron Lanham, who also appeared in the article, speaking about Wild and Weird West Virginia, was up next. He spoke on a variety of things going on in the paranormal field and within his own research. I'd heard quite a bit before from other presentations (seriously, at this point, I feel like a Wild and Weird Groupie, with all the events I follow them to, lol) but there was some never-before-seen footage from their investigation of the RAVENSWOOD LIBRARY! Seems like this little community hub is home to spooky things more than just once a year! As always, Ron's talk was excellent, and he had plenty of embedded QR codes for further information, which is a really cool touch.

The last speaker we saw was WV author, researcher, and TV personality Dave Spinks. Dave talked a little about UFOs, cryptids, AND ghosts/hauntings, mainly in West Virginia, but also those pertaining to his research worldwide. Even though I had heard Dave speak before, there were a lot of stories and details that I hadn't heard previously, so that was awesome. Plus, he even took a minute to shout out my blog, so that was super appreciated as well!

Dave Spinks 

After Dave spoke, we did one final lap around the inside-vendors, picking up a hot chocolate bomb for Luke, and a weird little musical instrument for JR. I snagged some books from both Tony and Dave, and JR picked out a UFO art print of Ron's...which, get this: using the app Artivive, MOVES. It's the coolest/freakiest thing I've seen in a long time, lol. 

Anyway, we had a lot of fun, despite the fact that we didn't really take advantage of all the cool things on offer. There was also a costume contest going on, an Escape Room, photo booth, psychic readings, door prizes (we were there between 12:15 and 4:45 and never heard these called?), LOTS of merch, and live music later in the day. But, I got to see what I really wanted to see...and that was my paranormal family. My earlier years in this field were filled with groups not getting along and not working together, and even though that's still true for many areas, I feel like I've finally found a supportive community that works together to further this field along. Of course, I love spending every minute I can with like-minded people doing like-minded things, making this weekend another incredible one!

A Frankenberger Follow-Up

This is the photo by Dick Johnson allegedly
showing the shadow figure(s). Unfortunately,
this copy is too dark to see anything!

Hey everyone! It's officially Spooky Season, and despite the fact that I last mentioned it almost two years ago, I wanted to post a follow-up to the Frankenberger Mansion in Charleston, WV! This location came to my attention via a modern-day story on it ran by a local news station. That article was fun, and it inspired me to look into the history behind the turn-of-the-century home turned broadcast station, but details about the actual reported paranormal activity were kinda...sparse. But, thanks to newspaper archives, I was able to find a story from the Charleston Sunday Gazette Mail dating back to 1972, which delves a little deeper into eyewitness reports. The smell of perfume, LOTS of phantom footsteps, and a wayward hat are pretty much what was experienced by everyone who worked there.

I've transcribed the article from the 19 March 1972 edition of the Charleston Sunday Gazette Mail below for your Halloween-time reading pleasure!

THE RADIO-ACTIVE GHOST

By Terry Marchal

Al Sahley, the rotund radio man, arrives at WCHS in the deep, dark hours before dawn. The minute he steps inside the main door of the television-radio building on Virginia St. E., he starts talking to a ghost.

"Ghost," he says, "I know you're in here. Just let me know you're around. You can have a cup of coffee with me if you want. But don't do anything. I don't like surprises."

Sahley has never seen the ghost. He has never experienced anything unusual. But he sincerely believes the spirit is there.

"A lot of people laugh at me," he said. "But I really believe in the thing. Too many things have happened to too many people around here. It couldn't possibly be a practical joke."

For several years, incidents around the older section of the WCHS building complex have kept alive the belief that a ghost wanders in the nighttime.

Hats being knocked from heads. Puffs of cold air blowing through closed-up rooms. Strange odors. Eerie noises. Footsteps in deserted areas. Slamming doors. Flickering lights.

The WCHS complex is built around an old three-story Virginia Street home. Although a newly built front section and an adjoining television building have hidden the outer views of the old house, it's still there. And that's where the ghost is said to stay.

"Nothing ever happens in the newer television section," Sahley said. "And the incidents mostly occur in the upper two floors of the old house."

Sahley said the house was once owned by the Frankenberger family. The radio man said he has tried to dig up some history of the house, something that might account for the presence of the ghost. So far he has found nothing. "But I'll keep trying," he said "because I know the ghost exists. 

Dick Johnson, director of photography at the station, also believes in the ghost. He thinks it's a female.

"Well, there have been perfume odors," he said. "So, I figure it must be a woman."

Like Sahley, Johnson talks to the ghost. He calls it "honey." He said "I guess as long as you talk nice to it, it won't bother you."

Johnson may have taken a picture of the spirit of WCHS.

He once set up a camera on time exposure overnight in an office at the station. When he processed the resulting picture, two shadowy images were apparent.

"It could have been someone who came in to get a coat and created a shadow on the time exposure," he said. "But I like to believe it's the ghost."

Gene Brick, chief engineer, also believes that talking to the ghost keeps its bothersomeness limited.

Brick said his hat was knocked from his head a couple of times one evening. At first he thought it was done by a fellow human. When he realized there was no one around him, he assumed that the hat had been knocked off by a string dangling from an overhead light.

"But the string was five or six feet away from me," he said. "So I turned around and said "Ghost, why don't you stop bothering people around here?"

That was the last trouble he had with the spirit, Brick said. 

When art director Butch Armstrong first came to WCHS 20 months ago, he had a harrowing experience.

The art department is on the top floor of the old section. A storeroom adjoins the art room. 

"I don't believe in ghosts," Armstrong said, "but when some strange thing happens that you can't explain, you can't discount it."

Armstrong was working in the art department one night when the lights suddenly went out. He said he went to a master switch and circuit breaker next to the storeroom door. But flicking the switches failed to bring the lights on again.

Armstrong said he had a hint of perfumey odor near the storeroom. In the darkness he opened the storeroom door. 

"When I opened that door," he said "the odor filled the entire art department. It was a sweet musty odor like that of an old trunk that's just been opened."

"I had a morbid feeling as if a cold wind had swept past me. But all the windows were closed. I backed away from the storeroom door. Then the odor faded and the lights came on."

Armstrong said he didn't think too much of it. "I'm a believer in logic and there must be some explanation," he said. "But it wasn't my imagination. I didn't even know about the ghost at the time."

The art director said there are often footsteps around the upper floors of the building.

"They are distinct footsteps. Sometimes you hear them approach from behind, but there's no one there when you turn to look. I once had an assistant run out on me one night after hearing the footsteps."

Armstrong said the footsteps may be explained by the acoustics of the building, that they could possibly be an echo from some other section where someone is walking.

"But there are very few people in this building who will come upstairs alone after dark to investigate noises."

Bob Hamlin, assistant operations manager, agreed. 

"There are a lot of unexplainable  happenings," he said.

One night, Hamlin was working after midnight on a videotape project with Gary Lashinsky of National Shows Inc. 

Although all the offices were locked and deserted and the lights turned out on one of the upper floors, they heard a banging noise from the area.

"When we went to check," Hamlin said, "we found all the doors open and all the lights on." Still, he said, the floor was deserted of other human existence.

"We turned out all the lights and relocked the doors," Hamlin said. But shortly after they returned downstairs they again heard the noise.

Returning to the area, they once again found all the locked doors swung open and all the lights on.

"This ghost has a thing with lights," Johnston said. "I was here one New Year's Eve--just stopped by to pick something up--and a fluorescent light above my desk that had never worked suddenly came on. "It hasn't worked since," he said.

"I walked into a hallway and around a corner and said to the ghost, "Hey, Honey. Happy New Year." My wife was with me. I went back to the office and got her and said, "Let's get out of here."

Commercial film coordinator Charles Martin had a "frightening experience" one night.

It was last summer. He was alone on the third floor, preparing to pack up a projector. 

"There was suddenly this sickening sweet perfumy odor you wouldn't believe. An eerie feeling came over me, just as though someone had slipped up behind me and started running their fingers up and down my back."

Martin said all the windows were closed, that there was no breeze in the room. Suddenly the door slammed shut and locked. 

"That door is next to impossible to lock," he said. "You really have to work with it. But it locked by itself."

"Naturally I was scared. I ran to the door and it wouldn't open right away. When I finally managed to get it unlocked and open, I ran downstairs.

He said newsmen Roy Brassfield and Jane Martin had to sit with him for about 20 minutes before he was calm enough to drive home.

"When I'm working alone upstairs now, "Martin said, "I tie the doors open. I know a lot of people laugh at people experiencing things like this, but I say wait until it happens to you. I was scared and I admit it."

Jane Martin, the pretty blonde TV weather girl, said she has experienced noises when there's no one around. 

"Some of them can be explained," she said. "Once, I was fixing some coffee and reached for a paper towel when I heard the floor squeaking as if someone was walking. But there was nobody there."

It was explained to her, however, that the tile floor often popped or squeaked a few seconds after someone had walked by, a natural occurrence. 

"But I tend to believe there is a ghost," Mrs. Martin said. "There are some things that haven't been explained. I once heard shuffling noises in a corner when there was absolutely no one there."

Engineer John Barker said there is a WCHS janitor who refuses to go to upper floors after dark because of the footstep noises he has heard.

"There are noises all around here at night," he said. "We used to have a lot of break-ins around the building and when we hear noises, we always go check them out. But we never find anything."

Barker said there are very few people who will travel alone to upper floors at night. 

"They always go in groups," he said. The footsteps are frequent. Nearly everyone in the building at night has heard them at one time or another.

"People hear the footsteps in the hall," Charlie Martin said, "and open a door to look. There's no one there. You hear them in the same room with you when there's no one there but you."

"There are a lot of people around here who laugh at the idea," he said, "but I'm a firm believer that there's a spook in this building."

The other morning, Charles Ryan, the news director, banged on the door of the control room and moaned softly. 

"There were people inside," he said "but they wouldn't open the door to investigate. Around here, nearly everyone believes."

Does Charles Ryan believe?

"Well, I don't know. Are there such things as ghosts?"

Before WCHS refronted the old house, it looked as though it certainly should be haunted.

Art Linkletter once visited WCHS. As he stepped from a car on Virginia Street and looked up at the old building, he said: "I thought they filmed The Munsters in California."