A Yellow House and a Black Cat: Shepherd University

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. 

Sources:

The Yellow House: Quietly One of Shepherdstown's Oldest Homes, by Shepherdstown Visitor's Center. 4 December 2018.

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

Powell, Lewis IV. "None of the Town is Spared a Ghost Story--Shepherdstown, WV." The Southern Spirit Guide. 2 October 2014

Jones, James Gay. "Ham and the Attic Ghost." Haunted Valley and More Folk Tales of Appalachia. McClain Printing Co (1979). Amazon Link

Shepherdstown Register
8 December 1910