The Sistersville Stocking Lady

Photo by Find-a-Grave contributor, Kathy Cook

I absolutely LOVE stories of haunted cemeteries and cursed tombstones.  There's just something about these particular legends that I think appeal to the thrill-seeker and adrenaline junkie in all of us!  Recently, I learned of another such legend here in the Mountain State:  The Stocking Lady of Sistersville. Like many of West Virginia's tombstone legends, this particular grave marker should be respected and admired....from far, far away!

Although we'd probably not consider Sistersville a booming city today, at one time the area was filled with wealthy citizens who made their fortunes in the oil and gas boom of the 1800s.  Many of those once-prominent citizens now call Oakwood Cemetery home, including the family of Philo Stocking.

Philo Stocking migrated from New York to the Wheeling area, and finally settled down river in Sistersville around 1841.  Local history has Philo Stocking as being one of the first people to attempt to drill oil in the area, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  However, Philo was a smart man.  He was sure that there was oil under his property, so he retained the oil and mineral rights to his property for him and his heirs.  Meanwhile, Stocking and his wife, Nancy, opened up a flour mill in 1852, which is still standing today under the name of Riverside Mills.  His son eventually took over the business and the family experienced financial success in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Philo passed away in 1882 and his wife Nancy followed in 1901. Both were buried in the beautiful Oakwood Cemetery. A large granite monument with the elaborate figure of a woman cradling the grave was erected, overlooking the Stocking plots.  At one time, it must have been an impressive piece of funerary art.  Unfortunately, vandals have turned the once opulent statue into a desecrated mess of broken stone.

Close-up from Granny Sue's Blog

The Stocking Lady still stands guard over the graves of the Stocking family, but her arms have been broken off.  If you look closely at her face, you'll find it scratched and gouged, her eyes which were supposed to watch over the family in their eternal slumber now indistinguishable.  Because of the disrespect shown to her, local residents feel that the Stocking Lady is out for revenge!

The Stocking Lady is one of the tales collected and told by Appalachian story-teller, Granny Sue.  In a recent appearance at the WV Book Festival, she told the story of the Stocking Lady, and how at one local event, quite a few audience members came forward with personal knowledge of the statue's wrath!  It seems as if the gentleman responsible for breaking off the arms of the Stocking Lady soon after suffered a horrific accident in which he lost an arm.  The man accused of vandalizing the statue's face went blind.  In fact, it seems that if anyone just simply TOUCHES the statue, they will suffer bad luck, most likely in the form of health problems occurring in the part of their own body corresponding to what part of the statue's body they touched.

The cemetery is also alleged to be haunted by phantom moaning and white, wispy apparitions floating about.  Is this further evidence of the Stocking Lady or members of the Stocking family showing their displeasure for how their grave site was treated...or do the mysteries of Oakwood Cemetery extend even further?  If you find yourself in the Sistersville area, possibly staying at the historic and haunted Wells Inn, make sure you take a moment to stop at the cemetery and pay your respects to the Stocking family and the Stocking Lady.  Just...don't get too close!!

(This story can also be found in Rosemary E. Guiley's book, The Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories.  I've seen the cemetery in question be listed as both Greenwood AND Oakwood, but according to Find-a-Grave, the grave is officially listed in Oakwood.  If you have any clarification or corrections, please let me know!)

Happy Haunting, ya'll! 

Appalachian Ghost Stories with Granny Sue!

I've always loved the work of Susanna 'Granny Sue' Holstein, the Appalachian story-teller and singer of traditional ballads!  Although I've followed her work online for quite some time, I'd never had the chance to see her in person...until last Saturday!

As part of the annual WV Book Festival in Charleston, Granny Sue presented a wonderful talk about some popular West Virginia ghost stories, some lesser-known spooky tales from our mountain hollers, and plenty of history and tradition.  She even sang several ballads to set the mood of an old-timey gathering.  Further, the stage was complete with some mood-setting chairs, tables, and some creepy old items that would later play a part in one of the stories told.

Among the many stories included in this particular program was the story of the Stocking Woman, a desecrated tombstone located in a Sistersville cemetery which is said to bring bad luck to all her touch her.  She relayed the story of Zona Heaster Shue, otherwise known as the Greenbrier Ghost.  She shared the saga of WV's last public hanging in Ripley. And, she told a couple of personal (and sometimes hilarious) 'ghost' stories, as well, which had me (and much of the audience) rolling.

Despite it being 9 am on a Saturday, and despite some of the controversy concerning a headlining guest of the festival, quite a few people made the trek out to the far end of the WV Coliseum and Convention Center to be a part of Granny Sue's audience.  Events like this warm my heart.  I absolutely love seeing so many people from so many different age groups and walks of life come together to appreciate a little dose of Appalachian culture.  Story-telling, especially the telling of ghost stories, is such an ingrained part of West Virginia's history and it is wonderful to not only see someone like Granny Sue working so hard to keep these traditions and folklore alive, but to see just how many people out there really appreciate this dying art form.  Over at Theresa's Haunted History Facebook page, I recently posted an article from the UK Telegraph about how social media is causing folklore to die out.  As long as there are people like Granny Sue out there, telling the stories, I think we'll be okay!

Anyway, after her presentation, Granny Sue went back to her table on the main festival floor, where she sold CD's of her work.  I took a detour and took advantage of the HUGE used book sale going on, and bought a couple of books of ghost stories and one about some local history.

I had an awesome time, and am so glad that I decided to get up early and drive into Charleston to see Granny Sue.  This was a FREE event and I hope in the future, the organizers of the WV Book Festival will continue to incorporate folklore, particularly ghost lore, in its programming!  And, although the event has now passed, you still have a couple of more opportunities this month to see Granny Sue:

She will be giving ghost tours in the Ripley area this coming weekend, October 11th and 12th as part of the city's Shocktober.  The cost is $10 and tours leave from the Jackson County Courthouse at 8 pm.  You can call 304-514-2609 to register.

You can also catch Granny Sue at Taylor Books in Charleston at 6 pm on Friday, October 25th.  She will be giving a presentation called These Haunted Hills: West Virginia Ghost Stories and Ballads. This event is FREE and open to the public!