Disappearing Lady of Mount Hope: A Friday Fright Bite

Approximately where the ghostly woman 
would end her pilgrimage.
Source: Coal Heritage Trail Clio Article

When Mrs. Leona May Harvey Parks walked into columnist Shirley Donnelly's office to get a book signed, I'm guessing she didn't expect the two would end up discussing ghost stories! But, when Donnelly realized that Mrs. Parks had lived in Mount Hope (Fayette County) for a number of years, he asked her to clarify some information on a spooky sighting in the area.

According to Mrs. Parks, the sightings began around 1909-1910. Multiple witnesses reported that when walking south along Main Street, they'd notice a woman walking in front of them. This woman would only appear on a stretch of road between the Christian Church and the steps that led off the street to the railroad tracks (approximately where the block of coal sat at the time of this telling). 

As soon as the ghostly woman reached that top step, she would simply vanish. If anyone were brave enough to try to touch her, her ghostly form would "slither away" and vanish. She was never seen elsewhere in town, and she was always headed south. Mrs. Parks noted that no one had any theory as to who the phantom could be, or why she chose to repeat this route, over and over. 

I think it's important to note that during the time of these sightings, Mount Hope was nearly completely destroyed by fire. On the morning of March 24, 1910, fire started in the Lewis & Houcks Saloon on Main Street. (THIS BLOG has a wonderful collection of articles and information on the fire.) Within a few hours, the majority of businesses along this stretch were gone, and countless residents were left homeless. Was this woman in some way connected to this tragic fire, perhaps as a harbinger of doom? Or was she the spirit of some unknown person whose life was taken in the blaze? Although the newspapers of the time claim that there were no fatalities, it is possible that an unknown woman in town was missed....

Beckley Post Herald
8 December 1973

Path of Ghost through
Mount Hope