The Devil Comes to Clay County: A Demonic December Story

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*Updated May 2026*

Recently, researcher and author, Tony Breeden (you can find his work on multiple platforms including the websites Tony Breeden Books and Exotheology) shared a pretty interesting article with me. The article, which comes from The Martinsburg Weekly Independent dated 14 November 1874, tells the tale of a young pedagogue returning home from what I believe is implied to be the home of a girl he is courting, when he runs into a terrible creature. 

It was November 1st, and rather late at night when the young man was headed home in an area of Clay County near Oakton known as Back Creek. He was at a crossroads between the properties of Samuel Murphy and the widow Woods when an 8-10 foot creature suddenly appeared before him. 

The creature had large feet, and long arms that ended in huge, dreadful claws. A long, flaming tale whipped around the devilish form. A long, flickering tongue added to the fear the young man felt, as the creature stood in front of him, menacingly for approximately three minutes. Then, with a terrible sound, it ran off into the woods, leaving the terrified young man dumbfounded. The newspaper surmises that this was the devil himself, out looking for a victim to devour. 

But WHY would the devil, or one of his many minions, be out in rural Clay County, stalking young teachers out courting? Was this a liquor-fueled hallucination, or a young man's psychosis manifesting in a most demonic way? Does the proximity to Halloween play a part in the sighting...or is this just simply a fun story designed to pull in readership to a small West Virginian newspaper during the dark, cool days of late fall?

Martinsburg Weekly Independent
14 November 1874
Read online at Chronicling America

Since the publication of this article back in December of 2025, I've come across some conflicting information. While looking over some of my old newspaper clippings, I realized that I had also clipped this exact same story via Newspapers.com...with some minor differences. 

In the article I found in the 23 November 1874 edition of the Weston Democrat, there is NO mention of a location called Oakton. The two names of people involved are the same, but this article seems to imply that the events did not take place in Clay County, WV, but in BERKELEY COUNTY, WV! This article also throws in a personal jab at the former governor of West Virginia, William Erskine Stevenson. Stevenson had served as the third governor of West Virginia from 1869 to 1871 and was not well-liked by the Democrats of the day, due to his progressive stances on infrastructure and his anti-slavery viewpoints. 

Is there any kernel of truth to this devilish story, or is this simply another example of yellow journalism? I'll let you decide. Stay spooky, fam! 

23 November 1874
Weston Democrat

The Horse with a Halo

This spooky and strange tale can be found in Appalachian Ghost Stories and Other Tales, by James Gay Jones, originally published around 1975. If you'd like to hear me read the story in it's entirety, as written in the book, head on over to my TikTok account. But, read on for a more summarized version of this fascinating tale from the Leatherwood Creek area of Clay County, West Virginia. 

It seems that many years before the tale was collected, a family was being plagued by an odd apparition: a white horse with its head surrounded in a halo of ethereal light. One evening, this family was sitting on their front porch after dinner, enjoying each other's company and conversation. After awhile, they noticed the spooky horse trotting up the highway in front of their house. When it turned off the main road onto their lane, the family, understandably spooked, ran inside and took their positions at the windows to see what the horse would do next.

 As the horse reached the gate, it paused, snorted, then leaped over into their yard and on towards the house. By this point, the family was already getting pretty anxious. Some tried to get a better view out the windows, while others abandoned their post and started trying to find a place to hide! Meanwhile, the horse continued to approach the house, and within seconds had leaped up onto the porch. From this close-up view, the family could see that the horse was 'monstrously large,' had 'eyes shining like coals of fire,' and of course, the halo. 

The horse started stomping through the front door, sending the family fleeing out the back door and up the hill behind their house, where they hid behind the trees, waiting to see what else this fallen angel of a horse would do next. Fortunately, the horse did not pursue the family. Instead, it backed out of the house through the front door and into the yard. But, it didn't turn around and continue on down the road. Instead, it began to ASCEND into the sky, up and up until it had disappeared. However, it did leave a clue to it's existence. For some time after, a halo of light was observed around the moon. No one ever did figure out what this strange phenomenon meant, where it had come from, or where it went. 

Theresa's Note: This is an absolutely wild story to me, and I couldn't even begin to fathom what it all means, especially since we aren't given any more details about who the family was or what happened to them afterwards. Depending on your culture and interpretation, a white horse can symbolize death, but it can also symbolize purity and good fortune. The addition of a halo further denotes that this horse was a symbol of something divine, not evil, and some native tribes believe that a halo around the moon was either a sign of good luck or of change. Was it an omen foretelling the imminent death of a young and innocent family member? Was it a guide of sorts, guiding that soul to Heaven? Or did the family prosper following the sighting? Maybe it was just one of those weird things that aren't meant to be understood.