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.

        

A Yellow House and a Black Cat: Shepherd University

Since 1926, the Entler-Weltzheimer House has been a part of the Shepherd College (now University) campus. Better known as the 'Yellow House,' this structure is believed to be one of the oldest in the old city of Shepherdstown, being built as early as the mid to late 1700's, according to some sources. However, it's likely the house is slightly younger. The site of the home was once the location of an old fort, dating back to the French and Indian War. A man named  Adam Myers built a home on the property around 1802, then sold the lot  in 1815 to Frederick and Mary Catherine Weltzheimer, who operated the Weltzheimer Tavern on North Princess Street. It is believed that this is when the couple built what is today known as the Yellow House. When Mary Catherine passed away in 1823, she willed the home to her daughter, Elizabeth, who had married Daniel Entler of the Entler Hotel family. 

The home stayed in possession of the Entler Family for many years. Some members of the family would call the house their home, but it was rented out to boarders as well. 

After becoming a part of the college campus, the home was used for many things, including a stint as the Phi Sigma Chi Sorority house in the 1940's/1950's, a home economics cottage, a nursery, and even the residence of the head of maintenance. Today, it is being preserved as a piece of living history...and perhaps not-so-living history as well. 

In 1910 a local cobbler named George Yontz was living alone in the home in which he rented...alone, save for a black cat named Ham. When George was found deceased that December, it was allegedly believed by the townspeople that George had likely been murdered for his money. The fact that his obituary, published in the Shepherdstown Register, doesn't mention murder, and his death certificate lists his cause of death as heart failure, is obviously not a good indicator of George's demise, but in any event, he was gone, leaving his cat, Ham, behind.

Shortly thereafter, a member of the Entler family moved into the home after her house had been destroyed by fire. Details differ between the two main tellings of the story, the first found in a school newspaper article from 1954, and the second in book, Haunted Valley, by James Gay Jones, as well as modern re-tellings. In some instances, Ham is the cat at the focal point of the story, while in others, another black cat, belonging to the new family living in the home is the one being tormented. Tormented? By what?

Many believe that visitors to the old Yellow House can still hear George's shoe-making tools tapping and clanking away, but the most frightening display of his ghost's existence happens every year on the anniversary of George's death. It is said that the cat, being lured up to the attic by mysterious sounds, will ferociously fight, scratch, and hiss at something behind the closed door. In one version, the family cat lasted only one encounter, running down the stairs and out the door, never to return. However, in versions where Ham is the star, each year until his passing he fought this invisible foe on the anniversary of George's death. But who was the cat fighting? Presumably, he had a good relationship with his master when he was alive; was it simply him being in spirit form that frightened the poor feline? And why was George coming back, anyway? Perhaps he was there to find vengeance for a murder that may or may not have happened...or perhaps he was trying to give a sign that he DID have money stashed away, hidden in the attic above. Another thing to think about is...was it George's ghost coming back? Perhaps Ham was protecting Miss Entler against some sort of malevolent force that took George, returning on the same night each year. 

Whatever the details of the story, the fact remains that the Yellow House has had a long reputation of being haunted by an entity that cats apparently are not fond of! This makes it just one of MANY haunted locations throughout Shepherdstown and the whole eastern panhandle area. 

Below, I've included a video narration of the James Gay Jones version of the tale as well as a transcription from the school newspaper article. You can compare the two tales and decide for yourself what, if anything, is haunting the Yellow House!

Video of My Narration of James Gay Jones' story, as told in Haunted Valley:

1954 Shepherd College Picket Article by Georgia Lee Engle:

RESTLESS SPIRIT ROAMS CAMPUS, HAUNTS OLD HIGH STREET COTTAGE

By Georgia Lee Engle

Everyone knows that there is no such thing as a ghost.

Still, Shepherd students shouldn't be surprised in the least to see a ghost wandering around a certain southeast corner of the campus near a certain building, some night this week. As a matter of fact, they should be especially watchful.

Already the leaves have turned black and brown, and are falling noiselessly on the ground, while a strange, eerie wind swirls through the atmosphere around the building. At night the moon draws weird figures through the trees and scatters them onto walls, for near this house there is no street light.

It is a plain yellow house with a green roof, and it sits high on a hill on east High Street next to Snyder Hall. 

In the daytime it appears to be a normal house, but...

This house has become a legend in Shepherdstown. It is famous. For many years it has been the scene of a mystery never solved, where a ghostly creature roves to pit some evil revenge upon its enemies.

Many years ago, in fact back in 1910, a cobbler named George Yontz lived alone here, with only a black cat named Ham to keep him company. At that time, however, the cottage was a log cabin, and it is believed by many to have been the first log cabin built in Shepherdstown. It also occupied part of the site where the old Fort Shepherd stood during the French and Indian War.

It was a bleak, gray morning, December 4, when passing villagers found the body of the old cobbler lying a few feet from his cabin. Immediately, they felt that he had been slain, for it was common knowledge that he had amassed a great deal of money, and that it was hidden somewhere within the cabin. Despite the efforts of treasure-hunters, this money was never found.

It was only a few days after the cobbler's funeral that a family moved into the cabin. The family pet was a sleek black cat. And, it was only a few nights later, while the family sat quietly and unsuspectingly around the small fireplace, that a strange sound was heard coming from the empty, damp attic above.

It was a tap-tap-tap....

The children stopped playing, their laughter froze in their throats. The mother stopped sewing. They were electrified. It was the tapping of a cobbler working on a pair of shoes. Was it the departed one?

Over in the corner, the black cat unraveled himself from under a stool, arched its back, and with a snarl skittered up the steps to the eerie attic to sate its curiosity.

But a few seconds later, and what seemed like hours to the family, the cat bounded down the steps shrieking, and crashed through the nearest window. It disappeared into the black stillness outside. It was never seen again.

But this is only one version of the legend. Another is that shortly after the funeral of the old cobbler, a Miss Net Entler moved into the cottage. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to adopt the cat, along with the rest of the possessions the cobbler had left behind.

That year, on the first anniversary of the cobbler's death, the cat began to act strangely. Early in the morning he began to prowl restlessly about the small room downstairs, keeping his eyes glued on the attic door. By the time night came, the cat had begun scratching wildly and fiercely on the attic door.

Finally, Miss Entler opened the door to the attic. From the attic came horrible sounds, the sounds of a terrific battle, in fact. The cat disappeared into the attic.

Within an hour the sounds ceased. The cat slipped tirelessly down the steps and dropped silently onto the floor.

This was repeated every year on the anniversary of the death, up until the time of the cat's death. The yearly battled continued in full force, until the cottage became College property in 1917, according to legend. 

Many families have since lived in the house. Of course it has been changed from a cabin to a clapboard cottage. Recently the Phi Sigma Chi sorority used the cottage as a sorority house. At present, it is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Arnold. Mr. Arnold is supervisor of buildings and grounds at Shepherd.

Many years have passed since the first family moved from the cottage. But, the tap-tap has been heard many times in recent years, especially at the witching hour on Halloween. 

Sources:

The Yellow House: Quietly One of Shepherdstown's Oldest Homes, by Shepherdstown Visitor's Center. 4 December 2018.

Kayla Piechowiak on behalf of Historic Shepherdstown Commission , George McKinney, and Teresa McLauglin. "Yellow House aka the Entler-Weltzheimer House." Clio: Your Guide to History. June 9, 2017. Accessed April 3, 2024. https://theclio.com/entry/22003

Engle, Georgia Lee. “Restless spirit roams campus, haunts High Street Cottage.” Shepherd College Picket. 28 October 1954. Internet Archive Link

Powell, Lewis IV. "None of the Town is Spared a Ghost Story--Shepherdstown, WV." The Southern Spirit Guide. 2 October 2014

Jones, James Gay. "Ham and the Attic Ghost." Haunted Valley and More Folk Tales of Appalachia. McClain Printing Co (1979). Amazon Link

Shepherdstown Register
8 December 1910

Shepherdstown Sweet Shop

Source

Located in the eastern panhandle, Shepherdstown has often been called West Virginia's most haunted town. Among the many locations plagued with paranormal activity is the quaint little bakery known as the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop. Visitors to this favorite local business are treated to a wide selection of artisan breads, cakes, sandwiches, gourmet coffees...and a ghost named The Colonel. 

The Sweet Shop was opened in 1982 by Howard Butcher and is located at 100 West German Street in downtown Shepherdstown. The building is about 200 years old and like many old buildings in the area comes with a past. During the Civil War, it was used as a Confederate field hospital, most notably being the site of countless amputations following the September 17th, 1862 Battle of Antietam. These amputations were conducted on the second floor and discarded limbs were thrown out the windows onto flatbed carts, where they were taken to the Potomac River and dumped. 

Back then, medicine obviously wasn't what it is today. Little to no anesthesia was available during the grisly assembly line of amputations, and the screams of men in agony as the pile of severed limbs and blood piled up must have been horrific. Sanitation, especially between patients was also pretty much nonexistent, and there weren't any antibiotics to help stave off infection. Therefore, even if you survived the amputation, you were still at risk of dying of infection and disease. 

No wonder this place is said to be haunted, and no wonder the second floor, which now serves as apartments, is the most active. 

Strange noises, including the low murmur of conversation have been heard. However, the main entity who makes himself known is a man who has become known as 'The Colonel.' The apparition of an elderly man with white hair and mustache, dressed in a gray military uniform has been observed, mostly at night, but during the day as well. Once, a person being interviewed for a job interview at the bakery saw The Colonel walk through a wall! Other people have felt him brush up against them, but luckily, none of the activity at the Sweet Shop seems malevolent. 

The Sweet Shop was featured on Season 1, episode 1 of Destination America's Ghosts of Shepherdstown, and investigators thoroughly examined the history and the reports of paranormal activity at this little local bakery. They had several strange EMF hits, collected some EVPs, and even had some personal experiences. It was determined that The Colonel was actually the spirit of Major Alexander Tinsley, who was Chief of Surgery. Tinsley was sticking around the shop, wanting forgiveness for not being able to save the soldiers under his care. 

The Civil War was an ugly time in America's history and here in West Virginia, it seems particularly brutal as it literally tore our state apart. There's a good chunk of our ghost stories and hauntings that are directly related to that conflict and the Sweet Shop is just one example. So, the next time you're in the eastern panhandle and craving a yummy pastry, stop in for a treat...you might just get a glimpse into the past as well. 

Sources:

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories. Published 2014 by Visionary Living.

Thompson, David W. Haunted Potomac River Valley. Published 2021 by Haunted America. 

Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery Website

When Acting is Not Enough. "Ghosts of Shepherdstown Season 1 All Six Episodes Review." Blog 

*Want MORE Shepherdstown ghost stories? Check out my blog post on The Ghosts of Shepherd University's Gardiner Hall!*