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| Whitlock Farmhouse Source: WV Explorer |
Just outside Fayetteville (WV) sits the old Whitlock Farm. It's bordered by Rt. 16 and Wolf Creek Road, the latter being a road that parallels the actual Wolf Creek. Wolf Creek is a tributary to the New River, offering several beautiful small falls along its path...as well as a history steeped in local lore.
Throughout the 1800s, much of West Virginia was inhabited by wolves. Our mountains and rural terrain made the perfect home for these creatures, even when neighboring states were quickly eliminating their presence. As beautiful and majestic as we may see wolves today, during the 1800s they not only were a danger to humans traveling these hills and valleys alone, but they were a menace to local farmers. A lone wolf could ruin a small farm by picking off its livestock, one by one.
Officially, the last wild wolf in West Virginia was killed in 1897 in Webster County. But that doesn't mean the spirit of these animals ever left. Wolf Creek was so named for the abundance of living wolves in the area at one time, but now it has become associated with one ghost wolf. People in the area tell stories of a misty white form that prowls the fields of Whitlock farm, often around the pond area. More often, the wolf flits in front of cars passing the bend in front of the old Whitlock farmhouse.
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| Arrow pointing the assumed location of the White Wolf sighting |
A personal experience involving the ghostly white wolf was submitted and published to the WV Ghosts website by Brenda Calfee on July 12, 2019. About 25 years prior, Brenda and her boyfriend were driving home from a party and decided to pull off the road at a bend in front of the farmhouse for some alone time. Brenda admits that at the time, even though she was familiar with the stories of the white wolf, she was more worried about the potential of seeing a ghostly figure staring out the window of the farmhouse.
The farmhouse ghost didn't show that night, but the white wolf did.
The couple sat in the car with the headlights off. In the pitch dark, Brenda noticed a white form slowly circling the car, and movement in the nearby tall grass. At first, she thought it was an illusion, caused by the dark, and further, her boyfriend hadn't seen anything. However, after telling him to be quiet and listen for a minute, an unearthly howl was heard, and the creature was directly in front of Brenda's door! She could see its eyes looking at them but was paralyzed in fear.
Her boyfriend managed to come to his senses, start the car, and scream out of the area. They didn't stop until they were a mile away.
But why would a ghost haunt a farm? It's possible that the animal was killed by a farmer, as so many other wolves were, and its spirit is somehow trapped in the area where it took its last breath. It may be a guardian spirit of some sort, watching over the old farm, or even the general Wolf Creek area as a reminder of man's impact on nature. Wolves once ruled the area before settlers encroached upon their land, slaughtering them by the hundreds. Or maybe...it really is just a trick of the eye. I'll let you decide!
In 2016, the abandoned farm property was purchased and is now the home of New Roots Community Farm. No word yet on if the ghost(s) has been seen in recent years. If you have any additional stories or information, I'd love to hear them.
Sources and Further Reading:
The White Wolf of Whitlock Farm, by Brenda Calfee (WVGhosts.com)
Ben Gustafson and Danille Elise Christensen. "New Roots Community Farm." Clio: Your Guide to History. December 10, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2026. https://theclio.com/entry/159657
