Wild Goose Farm (Shepherdstown)

 

Wild Goose Farm (1918)
Source: WV History on View

Shepherdstown is a historic town. Shepherdstown is a haunted town. Located in West Virginia's haunted and historic Eastern Panhandle, the town is so well-known for its haunted history that it even garnered its own television show, Ghosts of Shepherdstown, on Discovery+. The national attention that resulted from the show led me to discover quite a few new-to-me haunted locations in the area, including the Wild Goose Farm. 

On October 30, 2017, the local newspaper, The Journal, ran an article written by Emily Daniels. The article focused on the spooky experiences of resident Michelle Shultz, who lived in a couple of different haunted houses in the Panhandle, including a large property known as Wild Goose Farm. 

Today, Wild Goose Farm encompasses quite a few acres of land, many smaller buildings and barns, and of course, a beautiful mansion house at the center of it all. This mansion house is also where the ghostly activity seems most concentrated. And, with 200 years of history, give or take, there has been plenty of time for it to acquire a haunted reputation. 

It is believed that the base of the current mansion house was built around 1810 by the Stipp family, prior to selling the property to the Shepherd family. In some form or another, the Shepherd family owned and maintained the home, along with quite a bit of the surrounding property, from 1838 to 1911. During this time, major renovations to the home were undertaken by Rezin Shepherd. Rezin, who was a merchant in New Orleans, obviously incorporated that New Orleans/southern plantation influence into the style of the home. However, in 1911 when Edwin Jarrett purchased the property, HE made additions and changes, incorporating a more Greek Revival influence. 

According to the article in The Journal, Wild Goose Farm was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and also as a makeshift hospital during the Civil War. After a brief look into the history of the home, I can't confirm nor deny either claim, but just as a note: many large homes were used as makeshift 'hospitals' during the Civil War, especially in areas where fighting was occurring, or where troops were stationed for any amount of time. However, if it WAS used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, that came after Rezin's death; he was a slave owner and relied on slave labor in the south. I don't necessarily see him being a big abolitionist...

Anyway, the house has enough ghosts without worrying about exactly where they may have come from based on reported history! Michelle Shultz believes that there were at least three main ghosts that made their presence known while she lived there with her husband and son. 

While doing some repair work on the home, the Shultz family hired a stonemason. This stonemason's wife stopped by the work site one day and saw ghosts staring out the windows of the home at her. She claimed these ghosts included Mary, a little girl who haunted the third floor. Mary wasn't a fan of new people staying at the home and would express her displeasure by causing a thick, honey-like yellow goo to ooze out from a light fixture. Workmen were brought in to try to find the source of this goo, but no explanation was ever found, and it only happened when a new person was staying the night.

The second ghost was a slave named Joseph who lived in the basement. It may have been Joseph who was spotted by Shultz's husband one day. He had seen a Black man and two children just walking through the yard. When they noticed he saw them, the man waved. 

The last named ghost is an older woman called the 'memaw ghost.' Memaw may be the last of the apparitions seen, but the paranormal activity doesn't stop there. Michelle also noted a helpful ghost who woke her up every morning at 3:14am with the scent of fresh-brewed coffee! On the second floor, an alarm clock kept going off in the middle of the night, even when unplugged. It seems like the ghosts of Wild Goose really didn't appreciate anyone, guests or family, sleeping in.

In another incident, Michelle and a friend watched as an old hutch used to store antique hats swung its doors open and the hats flew out. Shadows of people walking were often seen under the doors by the family.  Another time, Michelle's husband was out on the porch of the secluded home and kept hearing a woman's voice calling 'hello!' 

Perhaps the scariest incident to occur happened in what was known as the Red Room. When the Shultz's older son, Zachary would film in that room, an abundance of orbs would always show up. But, it wasn't until a friend of his spent the night in that room that the entities present would really make themselves known. This friend became locked in the closet and has no idea how he got in there in the first place!

The Shultz family no longer lives at Wild Goose Farm, but the property thrives as a beautiful and unique wedding venue. I just wonder if the ghosts are still around...

Sources and Further Information:

Wild Goose Farm Website AND Facebook Page

"Living with Spirits: Michelle Shultz Sees, Hears, and Smells Ghosts", by Emily Daniels. The Joural. October 30, 2017.

National Register of Historic Places Application 

Thompson, Kathleen. "Wild Goose Farm." Clio: Your Guide to History. November 24, 2020.

        

Mandy the Haunted Doll

Source: Quesnel and District Museum

The collection of the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives of British Columbia has an interesting piece. What may seem like an ordinary, early 20th century doll with a damaged face is actually one of the museum's most often visited artifacts. That's because it's also one of the museum's most HAUNTED artifacts.

Not much is known about Mandy the Doll's early history, but it is estimated that she was made sometime between 1900 and 1920. In 1991, she was given to the museum by an anonymous female donor who claimed the doll gave her a weird vibe. She had inherited the doll from her grandmother, and for many years, it had been kept in a locked trunk. Legend states that one evening, the woman heard the cries of a baby, coming from the basement where Mandy's trunk was kept. Finally mustering up the courage to check it out, she found a window open, and Mandy missing. But, Mandy would somehow return the next morning, like she had never left at all. According to the museum, the woman donated the antique doll shortly after her daughter was born, both because she was creeped out by it, but also because she wanted to know the fragile doll would be kept safe. I can't help but wonder if she was more concerned with keeping her family safe from Mandy than the other way around!

In any event, Mandy came to live at the Quesnel and District Museum, and immediately began giving the staff problems. When Mandy was acquired by the museum, she had to be photographed and cataloged as an official part of their collection. Following this first day ritual, she was left overnight in the lab. As staff returned the next day, they found the lab in complete disarray. Items were knocked over, strewn about, and the room was just an overall mess. It was almost as if a child had had a temper tantrum. 

Source: Cabinet of Curiosities

Mandy would continue to throw her temper tantrums and prank the staff. Staff would report their paperwork, documents and even LUNCHES would go missing, only to be found later on in the most random of places. Also, Mandy could not be displayed near other dolls. Almost as if she was jealous of them, they'd be found knocked over whenever Mandy was left in a room alone with them.

The year 1999 was a busy year for Mandy. She was featured in the book, Supernatural Stories Around British Columbia. She was also flown to New York to appear on the Montel Williams Show for an episode with psychic, Sylvia Browne. Browne felt the doll had originally been owned by twin girls who had died of polio. It was their mother's grief that had left a psychic imprint on the doll. 

After her television appearance and her story published, Mandy began to draw quite a few visitors to the Quesnel Museum! People from miles around wanted to see the haunted doll for themselves. Unfortunately, Mandy wasn't too keen on them taking any souvenir pictures of her. Visitors found that when they tried to take a picture, their camera batteries would die or their flash would fail to initiate, leaving an underexposed piece of film. In that regard, she's very much like Robert the Doll, who resides in a museum in Key West. Robert also has been known to cause camera malfunctions and a string of bad luck to those who he deems disrespectful. 

Twenty-five years later, and Mandy is still available to view at the Quesnel and District Museum. You can read her story, including her scrapbook of reports from visitors and staff, watch YouTube clips of her, and if you're lucky....maybe she'll let you take her photograph! 

Sylvia Browne with Montel Williams

Sources and Further Reading:

Quesnel and District Museum

Horror Society

Cabinet of Curiosities

Wheeling's Eighth Ward Weirdness

The Daily Register (Wheeling, WV)
30 July 1886

Happy Ghostober! Today's story is a vintage one from Wheeling, WV. In the summer of 1886, the Eighth Ward section of the city was being visited by a ghost in "rather abbreviated garb." Said to show itself in nothing more than a cap and a shirt, and being rather large in shape, it first showed itself to a police officer standing near the corner of Eoff and 33rd Streets. 

Not even gonna lie---the mental image of a ghost floating around with no pants on, chasing down police officers kinda cracks me up. I can't help but wonder if this is your classic sheeted, cartoony ghost wearing a hat...or a humanoid apparition, naked from the waist down. But, I'm sure the officer wasn't laughing as he witnessed this thing float over a fence and then vanish completely. It didn't help that when he told his story, instead of people being frightened, or even intrigued, they laughed at him.

Well, they laughed until the ghost was seen again several nights later by even more people. The women who witnessed this apparition nearly went into hysterics at the sight (again, was it because it was a ghost in general, or because it was a half-naked ghost?). One man saw the ghost walk right into a B&O train that was passing by. When all the railcars had passed, there it stood, still on the tracks, unscathed. 

To my knowledge, there have been no recent sightings of this Eighth Ward Specter. We can only hope that if this unfortunate soul has found a way to move on, somewhere along the way he managed to find his trousers. 

1916 Map of Wheeling's
Eighth Ward

Spirits at St. Mark's (St. Albans)

St. Mark's Episcopal Church
St. Albans, WV
Source: WV History on View

I've mentioned the paranormal activity concerning the St. Mark's Episcopal Church on my blog before (see Civil War History with the St. Albans History and Mystery Tour). However, after hearing local historian Denise Cyrus discuss the haunted history of St. Albans at September's St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group, I was inspired to give this fascinating location its own post! If you'd like to learn more about Denise and her upcoming St. Albans History and Mystery Tours, please check out the link provided. 

Back in 1825, an early settler to the Coalsmouth area named Morris Hudson built a small church on his property. Located along today's Kanawha Terrace, this church was called Bangor Parish Church. Services were presided over by a preacher from Fort Lee in Charleston and the church lasted until it was destroyed by fire in 1845. Luckily, the bell was saved and became a focal point for the newly rebuilt church.

The newly rebuilt church was moved to the property of Phillip Thompson, on what is today 405 B Street, St. Albans. Completed between 1846 and 1847, the church was officially consecrated by Bishop Meade in 1847. The name was changed to St. Mark's in honor of Thompson's former church in his native Culpeper County, Va. The church grew and thrived in its new location...until the Civil War came to the area. By 1863, Union troops had commandeered the church. Unfortunately, St. Mark's, like so many other churches of this era, suffered severe damage under the soldiers, as they ripped the floors up, tore out a back wall, and used the beautiful brick building as a stable for their horses. 

Upon the close of the war, the congregation began to come back and tried to fix as much damage as possible, holding makeshift services on the grounds. Between 1874 and 1878 the church building was deemed unsafe and closed off until adequate repairs could be made. Vast improvements on the old building wouldn't occur, however, until 1913 when Rev. Herbert Jukes would come to the church. Before joining the ministry, Jukes had been an architect and aided by the $2,400 in Federal Restitution money received in 1915, was able to make vast improvements, which are still seen today.

St. Mark's 2022
History and Mystery Tour

The church would continue to grow and change. In 1955 an educational wing was added, and in 1969 a new, larger sanctuary was added, giving the modern structure a U-shape. Services continue to be held, and the church offers a variety of community outreach programs to the citizens of St. Albans. The church may also still harbor some citizens from the past.

In addition to a basement that gives many people an uneasy feeling, there has been a sighting of two full-bodied apparitions. A friend of Denise was alone in the church, practicing the organ, and had taken a break to go to her car. The parking lot is located behind the church and beyond the parking lot is a playground area. The witness reported walking out and seeing two men in the playground area. These two men were dressed as Civil War era soldiers! She went to grab her phone to take a photo, but by the time she was ready to snap a picture, the two men had vanished. 

It is believed that these were possibly the spirits of the Union soldiers who camped on the property during the war, still on duty after over 150 years. More likely, however, this isn't a sentient, intelligent haunting. Rather, it seems like the witness caught a glimpse of a residual haunting---a moment stuck in time, playing over and over again under the right conditions, much like a movie on repeat.  To be fair, the idea that it wasn't a ghost of all has to be considered. Ironically, when I went on the History and Mystery Tour several years ago, we were stopped at the church, hearing the stories, when we noticed an unhoused gentleman who was napping under a nearby bush. He looked a little rough, but I wouldn't say he looked like a soldier from the 1860s! 

Parking Lot/Playground where soldiers were seen (2022)

Either way, St. Mark's Episcopal Church has a long and interesting history. It has seen people come and go, it has seen the area change dramatically with time, and it has even witnessed the town changing names a few times. It is very plausible that those who are lucky enough can and will catch a peek into the past---a past that shaped the Kanawha Valley into what it is today. 

If you've had a paranormal experience associated with St. Mark's, I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to comment down below or find me on Facebook at Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State. Stay Spooky! 

Additional Reading/Sources:

St. Mark's Website--History by Betty Evans, Archivist

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Application

St. Albans Historical Society

Society of Architectural Historians

Denise Cyrus, President of St. Albans Historical Society