I've fallen behind with my monthly recaps, so today I'll be sharing about the last THREE meetings of the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group! The St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group is an awesome opportunity for like-minded individuals to get together each month and hear a presentation on a wide variety of paranormal topics, with plenty of time after for questions and discussion. The group is open to everyone, and meets on the last Wednesday of the month at the St. Albans Historical Society building.
Adam Good on Meditation
Our February meeting was a little different than our normal routine. My friend, Adam Good, gave a talk about the benefits and process of meditation, and then led the group in a guided meditation. Honestly, I was a little wary. I have tried and tried over the years to utilize meditation for relaxation, but I just can't do it. I either fall asleep, or get so hyper-focused on some aspect, like breathing, or outside noises, or some other distractions that I feel like I don't achieve any sort of meditative state. So yeah, I was pretty amazed that Adam was able to make meditation more accessible. His guided exercise was extremely simple, yet effective. I found myself easily relaxing and being able to follow along with the instructions without difficulty. I thought that it would actually make it harder for me to participate in a meditation exercise with so many other people, but to my surprise, a group meditation just felt easier. Perhaps it was a collective group energy, but I really enjoyed the process and hopefully will be able to incorporate daily meditations into my everyday life.
Tony Breeden on Crop Circles
Our March meeting brought us author, Tony Breeden and a discussion on crop circles. What did we learn about crop circles? Absolutely nothing! Actually, I learned quite a bit. I went into this discussion with a certain level of skepticism, and was fascinated to learn that there are plenty of crop circles that have popped up that as of now, have not been proven to be man-made. Back when I was younger, crop circles were constantly in the news...well, at least, the Weekly World News...and now it seems like no one talks about this strange phenomenon anymore. I still don't know whether some of these crop circles are done by extraterrestrials, ultraterrestrials, or even time travelers, but I feel like they are the result of some type of intelligent design trying to tell us SOMETHING. I'll also definitely be keeping an eye out for reports, although our particular area is sadly NOT a hot spot for this particular phenomena, despite our otherwise high instances of high strangeness.
Joe Perdue on Bigfoot
Finally, April was a huge hit with a presentation on Bigfoot with Wild and Weird's Joe Perdue. Bigfoot is always a super fun topic, and Joe definitely has plenty of experience roaming the woods, investigating the hairy creature in the Mountain State. Although there wasn't a slideshow presentation due to technical difficulties, Joe did a great job just talking about his personal experiences, the cases he's researched, and the work of other researchers in the field. He also had with him his extensive collection of Bigfoot track casts. Being somewhat of a Wild and Weird groupie, I've heard most of these tales before, but it was still a fun talk and I still learned a few new things. I especially appreciate that Joe looks at the whole Bigfoot phenomenon with an open-mind, willing to look at all the data, including that which often gets thrown out by others as being 'woo.'
Next month, Joe's Wild and Weird partner Ron Lanham, will be the featured guest speaker, giving a talk on remote viewing. This meeting will be held at 6pm on Wednesday, May 24th. The meeting takes place at the St. Albans Historical Society building on Fourth Avenue in St. Albans, WV. Everyone is welcome, and we'd love to have you join us for another fun and educational evening! Please LIKE and FOLLOW the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group Facebook page for more information.
*January's meeting was a talk on the Rake and Other Ghouls by founding member, Barry Miller. You can read my blog on that meeting HERE!*
The other evening, a friend related a tale from when he was a kid, growing up in the Charleston area. This friend, a former paperboy, recalled a time when paperboys in the area were being harassed by a very odd and very creepy stalker. After a brief archive search, I found a newspaper article about the phenomenon.
According to the Charleston Daily Mail in its Friday, September 16, 1966 edition:
COPS FIRE WARNING
'BATMAN' SCARES LOCAL CHILDREN
Running out of the dark woods like one possessed of devilish intent, someone dressed in a Batman costume has been badly frightening children recently in the South Main Drive area off Piedmont Rd.
It happened before dawn today for the second consecutive day, the victim in both cases being a 14-year old boy passing papers between 4 and 5 a.m. when the night is as black as Satan's heart.
Three weeks ago a man wearing a mask chased a paper boy down South Main and it has now reached the place, a district supervisor for the Gazette circulation department said, that it is very difficult to get boys to deliver papers there.
South Main is a dead end street. Beyond it is a patch of woods where the agile person lurks before racing forth to scare the daylights out of his victims.
Residents of the area said this morning police were hiding there and fired two warning shots over the head of the fleeing "Batman" but he escaped.
"We'd like to know exactly what he is up to," Sgt. Arlie Robinson of the police Juvenile Bureau said.
Residents in the South Main section said today there have been recurring reports of a prowler in the area for two years but they do not know if he is the same individual responsible for the recent incidents there.
Robinson said his department is continuing its investigation.
This tale is pretty weird all on its own. You have someone who is dressing up as a popular television character (the old Batman show with Adam West just premiered early that year in January) lurking in a small, secluded neighborhood before dawn with seemingly the sole purpose of scaring the hell out of paperboys. But...why? And who was this 'Batman?'
My imagination is all over the place on this one. On one hand, I kind of feel like this is probably another young person, which would be supported by the idea that the Juvenile Bureau of the Charleston PD has jurisdiction on the case. These paperboys aren't being attacked...yet...they're just being scared. And it does certainly seem that paperboys ARE the target, as not many others are going to be roaming a dead end street between those paper-delivery hours of 4 to 5 am.
Paperboys usually have pretty set routes, so was one kid in particular the original target? And was this simply a prank, or were there more sinister motives behind the whole thing? My friend who told the tale (and believes he may have encountered the stalker himself one night) remembers that the person behind this was eventually arrested, putting a stop to the incidents. I couldn't find a newspaper article showing that anyone was ever arrested (gonna keep looking!), but it just seems odd that the police would be out there hiding, fire warning shots, and still let this person initially get away on a dead-end street.
So, was it an adult, or at least someone with a plan other than some innocent fun in mind? Was this person the same one reported wearing a simple mask last month...and why Batman? To reiterate, the popular Batman show had premiered in January of that year. Being a month out from Halloween, it was probably a pretty easy costume to come by. People do weird things for no apparent reason sometimes. Despite that, I can't help but want to look into this for some type of deeper meaning or connection...especially a supernatural one.
The first thing that comes to mind is a really-early viral marketing campaign, but I think if this was a creative way to promote the Batman show, the timing was way off, and we would have seen this happen on a nation-wide scale. To my knowledge, Batmans were NOT chasing paperboys around anywhere but Charleston, WV at the time. So, we can mark that one off the list. The second thing that popped into my mind is the similarities between a spooky Batman and the 2016 Evil Clown flap, where people from all over the country and even beyond were seeing clowns. Ranging from just hanging out in places they shouldn't be, to reports of them actually wielding machetes and/or other weapons, these clowns were absolutely creeping people out...and there was never really a satisfactory answer as to what the hell was happening. It probably did start as a marketing stunt, but due to mass hysteria and copy-cat clowns, things were taken way too far.
Spring-Heeled Jack
Again, the creepy clown flap was really widespread, and the Batman incident was confined to pretty much one small area in Charleston (that we know of). So, all signs really do point to just one individual being weird and creepy for some unknown reason. That scenario kind of reminds me of another individual running around a city being weird and scaring not paperboys, but women. They even sort of looked similar. Beginning in London in 1837, young women were terrorized by a figure that would come to be called Spring-Heeled Jack. Witnesses said he wore a black cloak, had clawed hands, and had eyes that 'resembled red balls of fire.' These attacks were often physical, and the man/creature could escape the scene by jumping very high, over fences/walls. When looking at artists' depictions of Spring Heeled Jack, there's quite a close resemblance of his cloak (cape) and headgear with that of our modern Batman. But unlike Batman, Spring-Heeled Jack's his ability to move in supernatural ways, along with his 40+ year reign of terror caused many to believe he may not be of OUR world.
There also seems to be a few similarities between Spring Heeled Jack and West Virginia's very own mystery monster, the Mothman, especially that description of the glowing eyes! And, I think it is very important to note the date of these attacks. The first Batman sighting seems to be around August of 1966, with at least two more documented in September of that year. In just two short months, the town of Point Pleasant, WV would experience the first reported sightings of the Mothman. Was our Charleston Batman here not as a weirdo to stalk teenage paperboys, but as some sort of scout or recon entity for Mothman?
Or, is he related to yet ANOTHER odd 'visitor' to West Virginia around this time? A few weeks before Mothman showed up in Point Pleasant, Indrid Cold, from the planet Lanulos, arrived outside of Parkersburg and made contact with Woodrow Derenberger, resulting in a relationship that would last Derenberger's whole life. Cold often spoke of other beings from planets different from his that also stopped by Earth, some with more wholesome and pure intentions than others.
Although my logical side is saying this was nothing but a boyish prank, I think I would be doing the Fortean world a huge disservice by not at least documenting some of the crazy coincidences that may lead to a tie-in between a dude dressed as Batman running around a Charleston neighborhood, and some sort of extraterrestrial or ultraterrestrial madman...the first in a line of strange, unexplained happenings from Autumn of 1966. Whatever it is, I can't think of a better setting than wild, weird, and wonderful West Virginia!
When it comes to ghosts, Moundsville, West Virginia may be best known for the super haunted former West Virginia State Penitentiary. But, way back in 1867, the little town was known for another haunted location. This story comes from the August 16, 1867 edition of the Wheeling Daily Register, who got the story from The Moundsville National, dated August 15, 1867:
A Ghost Near Moundsville
The Moundsville National of yesterday has the following sensation item:
It is a fact not known to many of the citizens of Moundsville and surroundings, that there is, in the immediate vicinity of this place, a haunted house. The house is a new one, and, until recently, has not been occupied. The upper floor of the building has never been finished, and to this day remains unoccupied. For a considerable time past the denizens of this building have been in the habit of hearing strange, unusual and unnatural noises issuing from the aforesaid upper story, and a rumor had gone abroad that the place was haunted. Little, however, has been said about the matter, the majority of those living in the building being under the impression that the strange noises were occasioned by rats scampering about the premises. The noises, however, have continued, and seemed to increase in intensity, and becoming louder and louder as the midnight hour approaches, and then entirely ceased as day begins to break.
One of the inmates, more valorous than the others, determined to fathom the mystery, and a couple of days ago, when the sun was shining brightly, he ascended to the upper story. The stair was encumbered by pieces of timber, which he removed after considerable trouble, and on getting to the top of the stair he forced open the door and entered. His astonishment may be well imagined when by the glimmering light which penetrated the closed up apartment, he saw lying extended on the floor a full sized skeleton. He started back for an instant, being unprepared for such a surprise, but quickly rallying, he knelt down and examined the skeleton minutely. How it came to be in the place where it was found is a mystery and may never be cleared up, and whether murder or suicide had been committed may never be known. The skeleton, however, still lies in the upper story, and whether the poor, perturbed spirit of the deceased seeks the glimpses of the moon is left for the believers of ghost stories to determine. It is still reported that the unusual sounds are to be heard each night, but perhaps the removal of the skeleton and a decent interment might put a stop to the wanderings of the ghost.
We can't swallow that without more bait. Was "the skeleton" a hoop-skirt institution, or a "dorg" farce? Please particularize, Mr. National.
Although April is already more than halfway over, I wanted to take a step back and share with everyone all the paranormal non-fiction books I've read during the first quarter of 2024! I'm an avid reader, and a huge bibliophile, concentrating on the collection of paranormal non-fiction from all genres (as well as West Virginia/Appalachia History) for my personal library. Continued education and life-long learning as it pertains to the paranormal field is a passion of mine, and it's important to me that I read up on the subject from a variety of viewpoints. So...here's a look at what I've been reading so far this year. Out of 26 total books I read between January 1 and March 31, eleven were paranormal non-fiction titles.
1. They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, by Gray Barker. Anything by West Virginia's most controversial Ufologist/Documenter of Fortean Events is a must-read for me. And although those featured in this book are pretty controversial themselves, and may or may not be full of it...it's an interesting look into civilian ufo researchers and research groups of the 1950's. I think the general idea you're suppose to take away is that the government already knows what UFOs are...and they aren't being piloted by extraterrestrial friends from outer space.
2. Ghosts in Solid Form, by Gambier Bolton. This book takes a look at a series of experiments and investigation into what ghosts are and whether they exist, spanning over a seven year period at the turn of the last century. As dated as this volume is, there are still some interesting concepts and even some investigation protocol that still seem relevant today.
3. Ghosts of Kent, by Peter Underwood. Peter Underwood is such a prolific writer and archivist of so, so many English ghosts and hauntings. This particular volume goes over haunted locations in Kent, some with personal stories attached, and others with just a re-telling of popular tale. You can't go wrong with a Peter Underwood book, and I've nearly crossed all of them off my list.
4. Edgar Cayce on Past Lives, by D.M. Hoover. Edgar Cayce, known as the Sleeping Prophet was known for two kinds of readings...one where he diagnosed illnesses and other current problems in his clients, and another where he took a look further back into the past lives. This book is a case study of some of those cases, including several of the select-few (18, I believe) of people he regressed whose souls had evolved to the point where they did not need to come back after this current lifetime.
5. The Most Terrifying Places on Earth, by Conrad Bauer. Bauer releases quite a few free and low cost ebooks about different paranormal topics. While short, these books are usually well-written and interesting. They're a great glimpse into the topic at hand, and I usually get a few ideas for blogs from them...they're just not super memorable when you read as much as I do, since they just go over a high number of cases with just snippets of information.
6. The Most Bizarre Paranormal and Ghost Stories, by Henry Bennett. Again, this was another free ebook, giving little doses of information on a variety of cases. I don't remember a ton, but it certainly wasn't a bad book.
7. Werewolf Stories, by Nick Redfern. This book is set up like an encyclopedia of all things werewolf, dogman, and shape-shifting in general. I purchased it as a research tool for my work last year with the Louisiana rougarou, but after picking out the relevant information for that case, I decided to go ahead and read it cover to cover. If this is a topic you're interested in, I definitely recommend!
8. Project Blue Book, by Charles River Editors. This publisher releases a lot of 'short histories' in ebook form. This one on Project Blue Book was a great introduction/summary of the former UFO investigation project.
9. Dark Folk Tales From the Philippine Countryside, by Louis Bulaong. This was another free ebook I picked up on Amazon. It was a delightful collection of Philippine ghosts, hauntings, and legends. Although fairly short, there were quite a few really interesting stories in here. It's a nice little introduction to the folklore of that country.
10. Spooky Science, by John Grant. I highly recommend this book! Written from a skeptical, but fair point of view, Spooky Science goes through the history of paranormal research, beginning with the investigations of mediums and psychics during the Spiritualist movement. Lots of good information and good advice for those studying parapsychology and/or the paranormal field.
11. Scotland UFO Disclosure Volume 8, by Brian Caldwell. I wrapped up the quarter with another free ebook on UFOs. This one only had a few different cases, but was pretty interesting and well-written, nonetheless. I didn't realize that there were enough UFO cases in Scotland to merit a multi-volume set, but I'll gladly download other editions if I come across them for free as well.
Since 1926, the Entler-Weltzheimer House has been a part of the Shepherd College (now University) campus. Better known as the 'Yellow House,' this structure is believed to be one of the oldest in the old city of Shepherdstown, being built as early as the mid to late 1700's, according to some sources. However, it's likely the house is slightly younger. The site of the home was once the location of an old fort, dating back to the French and Indian War. A man named Adam Myers built a home on the property around 1802, then sold the lot in 1815 to Frederick and Mary Catherine Weltzheimer, who operated the Weltzheimer Tavern on North Princess Street. It is believed that this is when the couple built what is today known as the Yellow House. When Mary Catherine passed away in 1823, she willed the home to her daughter, Elizabeth, who had married Daniel Entler of the Entler Hotel family.
The home stayed in possession of the Entler Family for many years. Some members of the family would call the house their home, but it was rented out to boarders as well.
After becoming a part of the college campus, the home was used for many things, including a stint as the Phi Sigma Chi Sorority house in the 1940's/1950's, a home economics cottage, a nursery, and even the residence of the head of maintenance. Today, it is being preserved as a piece of living history...and perhaps not-so-living history as well.
In 1910 a local cobbler named George Yontz was living alone in the home in which he rented...alone, save for a black cat named Ham. When George was found deceased that December, it was allegedly believed by the townspeople that George had likely been murdered for his money. The fact that his obituary, published in the Shepherdstown Register, doesn't mention murder, and his death certificate lists his cause of death as heart failure, is obviously not a good indicator of George's demise, but in any event, he was gone, leaving his cat, Ham, behind.
Shortly thereafter, a member of the Entler family moved into the home after her house had been destroyed by fire. Details differ between the two main tellings of the story, the first found in a school newspaper article from 1954, and the second in book, Haunted Valley, by James Gay Jones, as well as modern re-tellings. In some instances, Ham is the cat at the focal point of the story, while in others, another black cat, belonging to the new family living in the home is the one being tormented. Tormented? By what?
Many believe that visitors to the old Yellow House can still hear George's shoe-making tools tapping and clanking away, but the most frightening display of his ghost's existence happens every year on the anniversary of George's death. It is said that the cat, being lured up to the attic by mysterious sounds, will ferociously fight, scratch, and hiss at something behind the closed door. In one version, the family cat lasted only one encounter, running down the stairs and out the door, never to return. However, in versions where Ham is the star, each year until his passing he fought this invisible foe on the anniversary of George's death. But who was the cat fighting? Presumably, he had a good relationship with his master when he was alive; was it simply him being in spirit form that frightened the poor feline? And why was George coming back, anyway? Perhaps he was there to find vengeance for a murder that may or may not have happened...or perhaps he was trying to give a sign that he DID have money stashed away, hidden in the attic above. Another thing to think about is...was it George's ghost coming back? Perhaps Ham was protecting Miss Entler against some sort of malevolent force that took George, returning on the same night each year.
Whatever the details of the story, the fact remains that the Yellow House has had a long reputation of being haunted by an entity that cats apparently are not fond of! This makes it just one of MANY haunted locations throughout Shepherdstown and the whole eastern panhandle area.
Below, I've included a video narration of the James Gay Jones version of the tale as well as a transcription from the school newspaper article. You can compare the two tales and decide for yourself what, if anything, is haunting the Yellow House!
Video of My Narration of James Gay Jones' story, as told in Haunted Valley:
1954 Shepherd College Picket Article by Georgia Lee Engle:
RESTLESS SPIRIT ROAMS CAMPUS, HAUNTS OLD HIGH STREET COTTAGE
By Georgia Lee Engle
Everyone knows that there is no such thing as a ghost.
Still, Shepherd students shouldn't be surprised in the least to see a ghost wandering around a certain southeast corner of the campus near a certain building, some night this week. As a matter of fact, they should be especially watchful.
Already the leaves have turned black and brown, and are falling noiselessly on the ground, while a strange, eerie wind swirls through the atmosphere around the building. At night the moon draws weird figures through the trees and scatters them onto walls, for near this house there is no street light.
It is a plain yellow house with a green roof, and it sits high on a hill on east High Street next to Snyder Hall.
In the daytime it appears to be a normal house, but...
This house has become a legend in Shepherdstown. It is famous. For many years it has been the scene of a mystery never solved, where a ghostly creature roves to pit some evil revenge upon its enemies.
Many years ago, in fact back in 1910, a cobbler named George Yontz lived alone here, with only a black cat named Ham to keep him company. At that time, however, the cottage was a log cabin, and it is believed by many to have been the first log cabin built in Shepherdstown. It also occupied part of the site where the old Fort Shepherd stood during the French and Indian War.
It was a bleak, gray morning, December 4, when passing villagers found the body of the old cobbler lying a few feet from his cabin. Immediately, they felt that he had been slain, for it was common knowledge that he had amassed a great deal of money, and that it was hidden somewhere within the cabin. Despite the efforts of treasure-hunters, this money was never found.
It was only a few days after the cobbler's funeral that a family moved into the cabin. The family pet was a sleek black cat. And, it was only a few nights later, while the family sat quietly and unsuspectingly around the small fireplace, that a strange sound was heard coming from the empty, damp attic above.
It was a tap-tap-tap....
The children stopped playing, their laughter froze in their throats. The mother stopped sewing. They were electrified. It was the tapping of a cobbler working on a pair of shoes. Was it the departed one?
Over in the corner, the black cat unraveled himself from under a stool, arched its back, and with a snarl skittered up the steps to the eerie attic to sate its curiosity.
But a few seconds later, and what seemed like hours to the family, the cat bounded down the steps shrieking, and crashed through the nearest window. It disappeared into the black stillness outside. It was never seen again.
But this is only one version of the legend. Another is that shortly after the funeral of the old cobbler, a Miss Net Entler moved into the cottage. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to adopt the cat, along with the rest of the possessions the cobbler had left behind.
That year, on the first anniversary of the cobbler's death, the cat began to act strangely. Early in the morning he began to prowl restlessly about the small room downstairs, keeping his eyes glued on the attic door. By the time night came, the cat had begun scratching wildly and fiercely on the attic door.
Finally, Miss Entler opened the door to the attic. From the attic came horrible sounds, the sounds of a terrific battle, in fact. The cat disappeared into the attic.
Within an hour the sounds ceased. The cat slipped tirelessly down the steps and dropped silently onto the floor.
This was repeated every year on the anniversary of the death, up until the time of the cat's death. The yearly battled continued in full force, until the cottage became College property in 1917, according to legend.
Many families have since lived in the house. Of course it has been changed from a cabin to a clapboard cottage. Recently the Phi Sigma Chi sorority used the cottage as a sorority house. At present, it is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Arnold. Mr. Arnold is supervisor of buildings and grounds at Shepherd.
Many years have passed since the first family moved from the cottage. But, the tap-tap has been heard many times in recent years, especially at the witching hour on Halloween.
Kayla Piechowiak on behalf of Historic Shepherdstown Commission , George McKinney, and Teresa McLauglin. "Yellow House aka the Entler-Weltzheimer House." Clio: Your Guide to History. June 9, 2017. Accessed April 3, 2024. https://theclio.com/entry/22003
Engle, Georgia Lee. “Restless spirit roams campus, haunts High Street Cottage.” Shepherd College Picket. 28 October 1954. Internet Archive Link
Tiny frogs are easier to be transported by air currents and deposited during rainstorms! Photo Source
In a normal world, the old saying goes as follows: "April showers bring May flowers!" But, Theresa's Haunted History is NOT a place for the normal. Here, we cover all things ranging from the paranormal to the more mundane abnormal, and today, we're covering some abnormal weather.
Usually when it rains, the only thing falling from the sky is, well...water. But, in rare cases, other strange things may descend from the clouds, including but not limited to fish, frogs, and even indistinguishable MEAT. Called 'Fortean Falls,' these strange weather phenomena were a favorite of Charles Fort, the king of documenting weird stuff. (Article on Fortean Falls by David Darling)
Over the years, West Virginia has experienced quite a few instances where FROGS fell from the sky. Through a quick search, I was able to document five separate incidents between 1871 and 1964. Three of these Fortean Falls occurred in the month of June, with one happening in May and the other happening in July. Let's take a look...
Huntington Area (1898): A Guyan citizen reported to the Huntington Advertiser that there was a frog fall, resulting in so many frogs that it was impossible to walk without stepping on one.
The Weekly Register (Pt. Pleasant, WV) 22 June 1898
Hancock County (1964): Dwarf frogs, believed to have been swept up by air currents, rained down during a rain storm in the Weirton area, with many citizens experiencing the strange phenomenon.
The Weirton Daily Times 15 June 1964
Moundsville (1871): Tiny frogs, again so thick that you couldn't walk, fell during a rain storm in Moundsville.
The Wheeling Daily Register 22 June 1871
Fairmont/Morgantown (1906): The local citizenry was discussing a recent frog fall...but apparently the Parkersburg Sentinel had a snarky explanation for them!
The Fairmont West Virginian 9 July 1906
Lake Shawnee Area (1926): Lake Shawnee may be known for its haunted reputation and being the site of a tragic massacre of early settlers...and now its known for a rain of frogs!
