One of my favorite themes in ghostlore is the idea of a spirit coming back to seek justice and/or revenge on the person who was responsible for their death. This is a trope that comes up time and time again, especially in some of West Virginia's older ghost stories, including this little gem from 1884. That year, the (Wheeling) Daily Register ran an article about a ghost sighting from Wayne County, WV that "silences the Wheeling [ghost] stories with its superior horrors." It is the tale of Harvey Fairman.
One summer evening, Alexander Moore was out hunting in an area near Bartrum Fork in the Big Lynn area of Wayne County (today, in the area of Genoa). Around dusk, he encountered a rather large, and rather strange goose-like creature, which was behaving oddly. He followed the goose, yet it disappeared into some bushes. Suddenly, Moore found himself face to face with a ghost...not a goose.
He immediately recognized the ghost as Harvey Fairman, a farmer who had disappeared five years earlier. One winter night in 1879, he was out getting firewood but never returned home. Some thought he simply abandoned his family, while others claimed that the devoted husband and father would never do that. A search party was organized but was unsuccessful in locating Fairman. So, without any sort of evidence, it was largely concluded that he must have been murdered, and his body hidden. His family moved to another county and nothing more was ever said about ol' Harvey...until July of 1884.
Staring at this ghostly apparition, Moore was frozen in fear as Fairman gestured at his own neck. His throat had been slit ear to ear. Luckily, the paranormal doesn't follow our earthly laws of physics and despite such an injury, Fairman was able to speak to Moore. He told him that he had been murdered. For two days, his body had been hidden under his own granary but was later moved and hidden in a hollow tree nearby. Having given this statement, the ghost 'melted away,' leaving Moore to 'drag himself home.'
Moore went before a Wayne County Justice of the Peace to give his version of events, and it was decided that an investigation should be opened to both look for the hollow tree presumably concealing Harvey's skeletal remains, as well as to inspect the granary for signs of a murder.
Harvey failed to mention WHO killed him and WHY. And, unfortunately, the anticipated follow-up with a local correspondent either never came, was never published, or I simply haven't found it yet. In any event, it doesn't appear that Harvey Fairman ever truly received justice. Yet, no additional stories have surfaced of him reaching out from beyond the grave to anyone else unlucky enough to encounter a strange goose in the woods.
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| The Daily Register 28 July 1884 |
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