The Wild Man of Berkeley Castle

 

The Hills Behind Berkeley Castle

Wild man stories, as found in old newspaper articles, can be broadly categorized in one of two ways: 1. potential Bigfoot-type creatures, or 2. Real humans, often those suffering from mental illness. The wild man of Berkeley Springs seems to fit into the category of being human---but maybe not your average crazy guy.

In the spring of 1902, the citizens of Berkeley Springs were trying to capture a 'wild man.' This fellow, clad in a blue coat and trousers, was apparently living in the area. At the time, the Samuel Taylor Suit castle was unoccupied. Several witnesses claimed that the man was sleeping at night in the castle. Around dawn, he'd shimmy down the stone columns of the castle, and retreat into the wilderness behind the estate. He was said to have been as swift as a deer, and able to easily navigate the rocky, craggy hillside. He also had a keen eye, and was able to detect any would-be captors. 

But who was this not-so-wild wild man? By the color of his clothing, it may suggest that he was a veteran of the Union Army. Certainly, the Eastern Panhandle saw quite a bit of action during the Civil War, but by 1902, this man should have been about 60 years old or older. Could a man of that age really move around the rough terrain that easily? But...what if he was not a LIVING man, but a ghost?

Berkeley Castle was built by Samuel Taylor Suit in the 1880's as a way to woo his young wife, Rosa Pelham. Suit died after a brief illness in 1888, never seeing the castle's construction fully complete. Rosa finished the castle, but blew through her inheritance by hosting lavish parties at the castle. It is rumored that her husband may or may not have died of natural causes, a claim which gained further suspicion as two of Rosa's lovers also died in the castle. 

Was the man in blue simply a squatter, taking refuge in an empty castle at night...or was he the ghost of one of Rosa's lovers? Could he be the ghost of a Union soldier who died in the area during the Civil War? I'll let you decide!   

Check out my previous blog post on the Ghosts of Berkeley Castle!

Martinsburg Herald
19 April 1902

Dead Soldiers Haunt Martinsburg Lumberyard

Example of WV Saw Mill, ca 1900
Source: WV History on View

Today's vintage ghost story comes from the June 30, 1900 edition of the Martinsburg Herald and, much like with the tale from the Littleton Quarry I posted about earlier this month, involves a work crew being haunted by phantom sounds. But, unlike the Littleton Quarry story, the cause of the ghostly disturbances aren't due to the violent, accidental death of a co-worker. Rather, it is believed the land that the men were clearing for the Bessimer/Bessemer Limestone Company was haunted by the spirits of Civil War era soldiers who were buried in a trench on the property. 

Ghosts in Lumber Camp

The lumbermen who have been encamped in the fields to the north of town, which are being cleared of the timber by the Bessimer Limestone Company for the purpose of making crossties for the new railroad switch to the limestone and iron ore fields, have become so alarmed at the uncanny surroundings and the ghostly noises that they have positively refused to remain at the place after dark.

When Mr. W.C. Leonard, the manager of the business for the company, went to the saw mill at ten o clock Saturday morning he found the half dozen lumbermen sitting around talking with frightened expressions upon their faces. Mr. Leonard was at first somewhat angry at seeing that no work had been done that morning, but when he learned the cause of the cessation of work he could not help but give way to his anger to other feelings.

The truth of the matter is the men were really scared. Among the crowd of lumbermen, is the well known sawyer, James Moran, were too scared to work, so frightened that they could do nothing but sit around and chat and wonder at what had taken place the night before.

It was in the J.V. Kearney field, now owned by Mrs. Brister, where the strange occurrences took place. The company has purchased the timber on it for the purpose of making crossties and lumber for the new buildings they are soon to erect. In the field near the place where the saw mill stands are several trenches in which dead soldiers are buried. This is what gave rise to the uncanny feelings in the breasts of the lumbermen in the camp.

Every night since they have been there they claim they have heard ghostly noises of every description, beginning at ten o'clock and ending at midnight. They said they were with difficulty able to stand it until Friday night, when the climax was reached. That night beginning at about ten o'clock they could hear axes chopping, trees falling, the saw mill going at full speed and the engine door opening and shutting at intervals. They looked outside the tent, but could see nothing, no ghosts nor falling trees nor the saw mill in operation. This noise continued, however.

The lumbermen said it was about all they could stand and they huddled about in the tent and prepared for the worst. Thoughts of the dead soldiers buried at their feet added to the uneasiness of the situation. At midnight the noise ceased and the men managed to hold out until morning. 

At daylight they went to investigate, but they could see no signs of fallen trees or where the mill had been in operation at night. Right there the men decided not to do another stroke of work in that field and it was in that mood they were in when Mr. Leonard found them. He finally prevailed upon them to finish out the few trees that were left and they are now working there during the day and spending the night somewhere else. 

Mr. Leonard and Mr. L.W. Robinson approached the men again about the ghosts and they still cling to their statement that the place is haunted and declare they will not go near it after dark. The men are all good, steady men, but they all told the same story in all seriousness.

Since this has come to light, other people living in that vicinity, who have held back for fear that their listeners would laugh at them, are coming forward and telling what strange things they have heard and the whole neighborhood is becoming alarmed.

Theresa's Note: The above article was posted on Page 2 of the June 30th edition. However, there would be some more information regarding this tale on Page 5. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any further updates as to how the ghost hunt went, which apparently had the potential for being pretty wild if real guns were planned: 

A Ghostly Expedition

Mr. Jas. Moran was in town Thursday morning and repeated the tales about the actions of the spooks at the saw mill north of town. He was confronted and questioned closely by a number of prominent men and he repeated the tales of his experiences many times this morning.

C.H. Sprinkle, the noted spiritualist, living about a mile from the spooks infested woods, called at The Evening World office Thursday morning to get the story of the strange occurrences. He said that the people in that neighborhood were becoming alarmed, but that he was at home with spirits.

Mr. Sprinkle said he would like to stop the young men who were going out on the ghost hunting expedition. He said it was a mistake to call them ghosts as they were the spirits of the departed returned earth. He said he held consultations with them every day and that if the young men went to shooting at them with guns they would disturb them and there would be trouble. The young men are determined to solve the mystery, however, and are going on the expedition prepared for the worst. 

Ellis McDonald's Message

Rail Yard at Keyser
Source: WV History on View

The following 'remarkable ghost story' was published in the July 23, 1881 edition of the Martinsburg Independent, although as stated in the story, it originally came from the Keyser Tribune a week earlier. If true, it IS a remarkable tale of a young man who was killed in a train accident coming back two years later to pass on a message to someone living on this side. He didn't appear as a wispy, ethereal form, or communicate in moans and whispers; rather, he looked as solid as any living person, and spoke normally. The only problem was, he was recognized as being, well...dead. But, this story has an interesting post script, as you'll see below. 

A Remarkable Ghost Story

We take the following from the Keyser Tribune of last week. It reads a little like a Western story.

The following ghost story created a sensation among the superstitious, and from the straightforward story given by the party to whom it appeared and connections with it generally give a rather mysterious significance. The fireman on 434, a 2nd division engine, was sitting in the cab while the engine was standing in the round house in Keyser, one night last week, when he beheld a man approaching. The fireman took no particular notice of the approaching figure, as it was a common occurrence to see men in the round house after night, attending to their work. It came nearer and nearer, mounted the cab and spoke to the fireman. He looked up at the intruder, then turned pale as death, and trembled as though the ague had seized him in every limb. Oh! horrors! He tried to speak but his voice failed; he tried to move, but he was as if paralyzed, and the cold sweat stood in large drops on his forehead, as he recognized, standing before him as if alive, Ellis McDonald a man who was killed in a collision at Black Oak about two years since. The phantom spoke to him in a steady, natural voice, and requested that he deliver a message to a man in Martinsburg, whose name it gave, also giving him the message, and warned him to intimate it to no living soul except the one for whom it was intended. The fireman consented and the ghost vanished. At the disappearance of the visitor the fireman leaped from the cab and made his way to a caboose in the yard, in which some men were sitting, to whom he related his experience. Next day he went to Martinsburg, and went into a saloon where he found the man to whom the message was sent. Calling the man aside he delivered the message. "My God!" he exclaimed, and sank into a chair, quivering all over; "that affair was known to only one man on earth besides myself, and he has been dead two years!" "Where did you hear it?" "McDonald came and told me while I was sitting on my engine in Keyser," said the fireman. 

We failed to learn the names of the principals of this story, but it came from good authority, and no doubt has a good foundation.  

Theresa's Note: It's too bad that they failed to learn the names of the principals of the story. That omission really doesn't help to authenticate this case. There is one name that is given, however, and that is the name of our ghost--Ellis McDonald. I can confirm that an Ellis McDonald, aged 30, DID die in Martinsburg on 17 August 1879, two years before this story was published. His cause of death is listed as a railroad accident.

Could the writers simply have exploited a known death in the area to sensationalize into an entertaining ghost story to sell papers? That seems to be the opinion of one woman who wasn't shy about writing into the paper to share her disgust about what she felt was a false story being published.Spoiler alert--the woman was the deceased man's WIFE!!  I completely empathize with her and as someone who documents ghost stories, the reactions of living family members and friends is always something that I struggle with. I plan on blogging about it more thoroughly in the near future, but until then, let's just say that a little tact and empathy can go a long way. Anyway, here is Mrs. McDonald's response, as published in the July 30, 1881 edition of the Martinsburg Independent: 

That Ghost Story

Eds. Independent:

The pretended "Ghost Story" which appeared in the Keyser Tribune, and was copied into the INDEPENDENT, is a purely sensational fabrication, having no foundation in fact, else why did not the Tribune give the name of its informant, or the "fireman of 434" give the story over his own signature.

The publication in the Tribune, unbacked by any reliable evidence, was uncalled for, and could have no other effect than to wound the feelings of the relatives and friends of the deceased, whose name is mentioned in the article. 

The use of his name in that connection was entirely unwarranted, and in respect to his memory, and out of consideration for my own feelings and that of his other relatives and friends, I protest against it, and warn all persons against a like repetition of the matter complained of.  -MRS. ELLIS MCDONALD 

The Shrouded Lady of Rippon, West Virginia

It's time for another Throwback Thursday vintage newspaper article!  The clipping above comes from the 8 August 1912 edition of the Shepherdstown Register. Rippon is a small community located in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle county of Jefferson.

I was drawn to this short little blurb of a story, not only because its a West Virginia ghost story being reported and documented in a local paper...but also because of how the family chose to rid the home of this ghostly shrouded woman. It is stated that the head of the household flipped all the doors in the home upside down!

Throughout my years of study into folklore and ghost lore, I've come across a ton of strange ways to prevent ghosts or keep them away, and there does seem to be an underlying theme to most of the strategies:  keep the ghost confused.  While I've never come across the idea of flipping the doors to a home upside down, I'm going to guess that such an act is based on the theory that a confused ghost is a ghost that won't bother you. I mean, renovating a building is a great way to stir up latent energies and kickstart a haunting....I guess if you already HAVE the haunting, structural changes such as flipping doors could have the opposite effect?