Preston County Wild Man

Newburg ca 1910
Source

I wasn't planning on sharing another Wild Man story so soon, but as I was going through some old newspaper articles I had saved, I came across this story from the September 27, 1879 edition of the West Virginia Argus. It discusses a wild man located near 'Newfield.' Now, I couldn't find any confirmation of a Newfield anywhere in or near West Virginia, but the Argus is based in Preston County. There IS a town in Preston County named Newburg, which was incorporated in 1868 as a railroad town. If I had to guess, these events actually took place in Newburg.

Anyway, this is another story where the entity in question is not really a Bigfoot-type wild man but is obviously a human. However, similar to my recent story about the wild man seen around Berkeley Castle (see article HERE), this particular wild man has attributes that seem almost supernatural in nature. He is able to move with superhuman stealth and swiftness, and according to the article, glides almost snake-like, avoiding blows that should have easily hit their mark. 

This wild man was also pretty darn bold. Most of the wild man stories I post tend to feature those who are very shy in nature, trying to avoid contact with the civilized world as much as possible. This wild man, however, not only walked right into a guy's house as he was playing euchre with friends and hopped in his bed, but then SHOT HIM, hitting him in his hair, the next day. 

I've transcribed the article below with paragraph breaks to make it a little easier to read, and also included the original. In addition to the name of the town being a little off, there are some other minor errors, which I tried to leave in for the sake of posterity. 

A Wild Man

Newfield has come to the front with a hairy wild man, so awful mysterious, and formidable that he opens up a new field for thought and investigation. He has been seen by some of the most unimpeachable residents of, and visitors to, South Section. He is described as over six feet tall, clad in rough and scanty attire, and wearing a grizzly beard that reaches almost to his knees. 

Although he has chased several fishermen who have invaded his secluded domain in quest of brook trout, and shot a peaceable farmer near Newfield station, no active steps have been made toward his capture, and yet he roams at large. His latest and most daring exploit occurred about a week ago, when he left the gloom of the forest and actually entered an unoccupied dwelling in the broad light of day.

Large and heavy as the wild man is, he glides so swiftly and silently that he frequently is at hand before his coming has been observed. In this silent, ghost-like manner he is said to have floated into the house of a farmer named Payne. The farmer and three companions were engaged in an interesting game of euchre and were not aware of the wild untilan's company. Payne felt something bushy touching the back part of his head, when, looking up, he found it to be the great beard of the strange hermit. Payne jumped to his feet, and would have struck the silent visitor with a chair, but he avoided the blow, and with mysterious steps made his way to an adjoining room and stretched himself upon a bed.

Payne followed him and again raised the chair to strike him, but again he seemed to glide from beneath it, and this time he made his exit through the window by a gliding, snake-like motion, but as silently as a wreath of smoke ascends to the blue ether. The farmer watched him and saw him leave his premises and enter a patch of woods near by, and supposed he had disappeared for good, but during the evening of that same day he returned and was seen standing under a tree near the house as though deliberating whether to enter the house. After standing there a short time, he turned around suddenly and ran rapidly back to the woods. 

Next day one of the farmer's cows strayed away and he started off to look for it. Shortly after he left the house his family heard the sharp report of a rifle, and in a few minutes back came Payne, pale and breathless, and well-nigh done for. As soon as he could set the machinery of speech in motion he described in graphic language the cause of his excitement. It was an encounter with the wild man. He said he was walking through a small clearing, calling "ko boss, ko boss," when without warning he heard a rifle discharged close by and felt the wind of a bullet as it whistled over his forehead through the rim of his felt hat and through his erect hair. He fell flat upon the ground, partially stunned, and it was well he did, for the wild man, thinking his first shot had proved fatal, shouldered his piece and strode off into the underbrush. This strange episode is at present the theme uppermost all through South Section, and it is said that a posse of hunters are preparing to track the wild man, and if possible effect his capture alive or dead. 

West Virginia Argus
27 September 1879

The Groaning Ghost of Kingwood

It's time for another Throwback Thursday vintage newspaper article! In the late 1880s, the West Virginia town of Kingwood, located in Preston County, was under siege by a phantom!  It is rumored that several local citizens tried to engage this spirit, but refused to admit it...well, except for this local lawyer! The following piece is from the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, and is dated 28 February 1884.  The digitized article is available online through one of MY favorite websites, Chronicling America.  Just a quick side note: The article references the idea that the original story was found in the Argus.  The West Virginia Argus was a weekly publication from Kingwood, WV that ran between 1877 and 1945. After 1908, its offices were located in the basement of the historic Martin Building. 


A Dizzy Ghost Story

For some weeks past Kingwood has been torn up over a spook, which it is alleged roams the streets at its own sweet will, during the witching hours when graves do yawn.

Several persons are reported as having spoken to it. But when approached on the subject they denied it.  Lately, however, a prominent lawyer has been holding interviews with the "goblin damned," and the Argus gives his story as follows:  For the past two or three weeks he has been employed at his office late at night. About a week ago he was seated at his table writing when all at once he heard a deep groan.  He listened and in about two minutes it was repeated more distinctly.  The noise seemed to emanate from something back of the office.  He went on the outside, but could see or hear nothing, nor was the noise repeated again that evening.  Since that time the same thing has been heard every evening about the same hour, 11 o'clock, and on one or two occasions, the gentleman freely acknowledged, his hair assumed a perpendicular position on his head. The most notable occasion of this kind was Friday evening.  He worked till 10:30 and then prepared himself to listen attentively, and  learn, if possible, the origin and cause of the strange and uncommon noise. Promptly at 11, the doleful, wierd, and melancholy groan was heard.  He walked to the window and looked out, but nothing was visible that could produce the noise.  He walked to his door and was just in the act of opening it, when the groan was repeated with such severity that the whole building seemed to tremble and his tables and chairs danced about the room like partners in a cotillion.  This maneuver only lasted a few seconds, and then everything was still as a graveyard.  The origin of this strange noise seems to be enveiled in an impenetrable mystery, as the gentleman is unable to give the remotest idea as to the cause.   

The photo below shows the scene from Kingwood's Main Street.  Is this the street the ghost was said to roam on its own sweet will?  And just what WAS this thing?  Was there a ghost...or was there a natural explanation for the nightly moans and groans heard by the local lawyer?  Let me know YOUR thoughts...and if you're looking for MORE spooky stories from Kingwood, check out my blog post on the haunted Kingwood Public Library.  Perhaps there is a connection to the noisy poltergeist who haunts the library and our noisy, groaning ghost of this vintage article! 

Kingwood Main Street ca. 1905 (Source: WV History on View)

Poltergeist Activity at the Kingwood Library

The Kingwood Public Library is located on Main Street in Kingwood, Preston County, WV.  It is a fairly modern and low-key building built around 1966, not unlike many other public libraries built around that time.  However, it has something that sets it apart from most other libraries...a ghost!

According to data provided by Assistant Librarian Debra Titchenell to the WVGhosts website, staff has witnessed a wide array of paranormal activity.  Strange noises are heard, including footsteps walking up and down the concrete stairs to the basement.  Objects move around on their own accord, and doors open and close without any living hands assisting.  Most interesting are the stories of books actually jumping off the library shelves!

Objects moving by themselves, especially books that seem to fly off shelves, is often indicative of what we'd call poltergeist activity, which loosely translates to "noisy ghost."  And while many believe that a poltergeist is actually a spirit, others give it the explanation of recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK), which is short means that the activity is actually telekinesis caused by a living "agent," generally a pubescent female, but can include anyone going through high energy changes, hormonal fluctuations, etc.  Since libraries often are filled with children and young adults, it might seem like this is a plausible explanation.  However, Titchenell proposes an even better explanation, involving the history of the building itself.

Although the library was built in the mid 1960s for use AS a library and has not housed anything else, the land it sits on has a long history with the town of Kingwood.  In April of 1871, the site on which the library now stands, saw the construction of a new jail.  This new jail, which replaced two previous ones located adjacent to the courthouse, was built by McAfferty and Menear, using locally produced bricks. It served the needs of Kingwood and Preston County until ground was broken on a new jail located nearby in 1924.

The new jail was completed and opened to inmates by 1925, leaving the previous jail empty.  That year, however, the property was bought by the American Legion, and the building used as their meeting space.  It remained in possession of the American Legion until 1966 when the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department purchased it, and had the building torn down to make room for the new library.

So although the building is gone, the land is the same...and as many researchers will attest, the land itself can be just as haunted as any buildings.  In this case, it is believed that the land, and thus, the new building atop it, are haunted by the spirit of a former inmate who hanged himself.  The type of activity experienced does seem to fit well with the type of behavior one would expect from someone who died violently at their own hands while sitting in captivity.  Is he trying to make his presence known, or is he simply letting off a little raging steam?

Also, who is this gentleman?

I've done some preliminary research into trying to track down any suicides that occurred during the period between 1871 and 1925, but there isn't a lot of information available online.  Compounding the confusion is another eerie fact.  In 2005, the jail that replaced the one located on this site, was slated to close as WV was transferring into a regional jail system.  However, during the last days of the jail, in late July into early August, THREE separate inmates killed themselves by hanging within a span of 2.5 weeks.  In fact, two of the deaths occurred within a day or so of each other.  Today, that jail is used to house the sheriff's department and I can't help wondering whether or not it could be haunted as well....or perhaps, even cursed by the gentleman who hanged himself at the "old" jail.

Library Homepage
Preston County Journal article

Theresa's Note:  As of January 2019, the original link to this story on the WVGhosts website isn't active; it appears as if the story has been taken down completely.  However, there is ANOTHER story listed on the website from the Kingwood area---the Craig Civic Center!  I'll be posting more about that story later on, but I've included the link if you wanna get a head start on reading about another of Preston County's haunted buildings!