Terror on Temple Street (A Hinton Haunted House)

Dr. Stokes' Office on Temple Street (1922)
Source: WV History on View
(Note: I don't know if this is the house in question, or not)

I have a special affinity for the Hinton, WV area. My grandma grew up there before moving to Beckley as a teenager, and as far as I know, I've still got plenty of distant relatives in town and throughout Summers County. When I was growing up, she always told me ghost stories passed down from her family, some of which actually took place nearby. So, I always get a little excited when I come across evidence of Hinton's spooky history and often wonder if my grandma and her family talked about such tales.

Recently, I stumbled across this haunted house story from Temple Street in Hinton. The Hinton Daily News covered the haunted happenings it its February 27, 1925, edition. According to the reports, two days earlier, there was a disturbance at the Temple Street home of Dr. J.W. Stokes and his wife. On Wednesday, February 25, the couple was awakened by unexplained noises. Dr. Stokes got up to check, and the door violently flew open without the aid of human hands. 

Shutting and bolting the door closed had no effect on the ghostly intruder, as the door once again flew open, and a cold draft blasted through the window, which the couple knew was closed tight. But that wasn't all. The beds, which were on casters, suddenly began moving on their own.  This was enough for Dr and Mrs. Stokes. They fled the home and sought shelter at a local hotel. 

Locals weren't surprised, as this wasn't the first time renters of the Temple Street home had fled in terror. In fact, before the Stokes had moved in, less than a month before, the home had sat empty for 6 months. Many believed that the home was haunted by a young woman named Margaret Ann Youell who took her own life in the same home two and a half years prior. 

Hinton High School Yearbook
Photo from Find-a-Grave user, E.M. Smith

On Thursday, June 8, 1922, 18-year-old Margaret (sometimes known as Sallie) was at home with her family. She had spent much of the day in her bedroom but seemed in good spirits as she joined her mother and sister out on the front porch for a bit. However, around 8pm, Margaret headed back inside. She grabbed a revolver and shot herself in the chest, the bullet traveling straight to her heart. She passed away a few minutes later in her bedroom. A physician was called, but there was nothing that could be done. Dr. G.L. Pence was by her side as she took her last breath. A large crowd gathered at the home, including Squire W.F. Argabright, who declared the young woman dead. No inquest was needed.

Margaret, born on November 28, 1903, had been a student at Hinton High School's Normal School program, having graduated the regular academic program the year before. She reportedly had many friends and was generally seen as a sweet, cheerful, intelligent girl. No motive was ever given for the horrible deed, but it was surmised that undisclosed family problems were likely. One version of her obituary hints that rumors were flying as to the reason why, but that most Hintonians most likely knew the probable cause, and they'd leave it at that. Kinda cryptic...

The funeral was held at First Baptist Church, and Margaret was buried in Hill Top Cemetery. She was survived by her parents, H.P. and Daisy Youell, her sister Nelle, and her brothers, Harry and James. Whether or not Margaret chose to stay in her Temple Street home after her death is speculation. What is fact is that a young, vibrant life was taken too soon in an act that would have a lasting impact on her community. 

*If you are experiencing thoughts of depression and/or self-harm, there is help available. A good place to start is calling/texting/chatting with the 988 Hotline. Please remember that you are loved, you are enough, and you're worth fighting for.*

I thought this was the end of the story, but while researching a completely different case later the same evening, I stumbled across a rather tongue in cheek follow-up. On March 18th, the Hinton Daily News published a story that a detachment of volunteer officers and privates of Company E, 150th Infantry, based in Princeton, WV were planning an investigation of the haunted house. Remarks such as Captain Tyler having knee pads made to prevent his knees from knocking together, and Lieutenant McMichel buying Royal glue from the 10 cent store to keep his hair down made it obvious that this was not a serious inquiry into the matter at hand. I've included a clipping of that newspaper below, as well as the rest of the relevant news stories. 

Hinton Daily News
18 March 1925

Hinton Daily News
27 February 1925

Hinton Daily News
9 June 1922

The Independent Herald
15 June 1922

Dr. Stokes Prepares to Move to Hinton
a Few Weeks Before Incident
Hinton Daily News (6 February 1925)

Dr. Stokes Moves Out of Hinton
a Few Weeks AFTER Incident
The Independent Herald (12 March 1925)

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. 

True Ghost Stories From Elkview High School

True Ghost Stories from the 

Students of : 

Photo from Elkview High School FB

For its Wednesday, August 16th, 1961 edition of the Hinton Daily News, the Summers County newspaper ran an interesting column. Noting how popular ghost stories were with their readers, they printed a collection of true ghost stories that were submitted by students from Elkview High School in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The school ceased being a 'high school' a few years later and undoubtedly some of those who sent in their stories have either moved far from the area or are no longer with us entirely. But, their legacy is alive and well, thanks to the spooky tales that were recorded in the newspaper and which will now be shared on Theresa's Haunted History! If you recognize yourself or a family member as one of these authors, please drop by and say hi!

A Locked Door, by Dottie Davis:

About two years ago we lived in a house that everyone said was haunted. They said that a girl who had lived in the house before we did had died, and that a person could hear her making noises every night. After we moved there, we found the upstairs of the house, the part the girl had died in, was locked. 

Every night about the same time, we could hear noises that sounded like someone walking. One night I decided to sleep at the bottom of the stairs. I went to sleep. Later I was awakened by something. I looked around the room and saw standing before me a vapory mist shaped like a woman. So I covered my head with quilts. When I finally got nerve enough to look again, it was gone. The next morning I told Mom about it, and she said she had seen it too.

A Night Visitor, by Betty Jane Pauley:

My brother Jim was born one month after my father died. Jim never asked about his father. He did not recognize his pictures. One night Jim awoke my mother and told he that he had seen his daddy. Mother looked amazed and she questioned him further. Jim said his father told him nothing. He said he had brown eyes, was tall, had wavy black hair, and wore glasses. Mother told him to go back to sleep. Mom knew that Jim had not seen any color pictures of his father, but he had described him as if he were right in the room. 

One night a month later, Jim awoke and said that his father had talked with him. Jim just walks away when he is asked about the conversation.

The Creature, by Sam Burdette:

One time in Ritchie County, West Virginia, there was certain haunted grave. Close to the grave, a boy lived alone with his mother. One night his mother became sick. There were two routes to the doctor's home. The boy could go the long way by-passing the grave, or short cut past the grave. Since he was in a hurry he chose the shorter route. As he was riding by the grave, something screamed and jumped on the horse's back. The boy had a large knife and immediately made a stab in the dark at the creature behind him. As the knife sank into the creature, the boy gave a long hard pull. The creature fell to the path and the boy rode on.

The next day the boy and some men returned to the grave. There in the path lay a large panther, the terrifying haunt of the graveyard. 

My Great Grandfather, by Jimmy Anderson: 

My great-grandfather was a jack-a-leg lawyer; and as the tales go, he was fair to midland. On one incident he was attending a church service. There was very little response in the form of "Amens" and the like, from the congregation. So the preacher asked why some one did not say "Amen." No one said a word. About five or ten minutes later a drunk rose and said "Amen." This made the preacher and the congregation so angry that they threw him out of the church.

For some reason, my great grandfather took the drunk's case to court and won it. Of course this made a lot of friends for him.

One time my great-grandfather got in an argument with some poor man who read in his Bible about the 'publican and the sinner.' He thought this meant he was supposed to vote Republican. My great-grandfather was evidently a strong Democrat. As a result, there was a big argument and my great-grandfather lost a friend.

My great-grandfather was never a man to back down. He once commented, in the presence of some people, that one of his neighbors was the biggest liar in the county. Word got back to the neighbor's husband. My great-grandfather and the husband met. The husband said, 'I hear you said my wife was the biggest liar in the county.' My great-grandfather promptly said, ' I don't recollect whether I said county or state.' That ended it all.

On one occasion, my great-grandfather found himself traveling through a town that had a notorious graveyard. People had seen ghosts in it. One evening after dark, my great-grandfather was riding his mule by the graveyard. He came upon a white clad figure sitting on a tombstone, but he was not about to back down from the ghost which he did not believe in. He got off his mule, pulled a pistol and thought, "By gum, I'll shoot it." He started to move up before he shot.

Upon investigation he found an old woman in a white dress waiting on a ride. 

Hinton Daily News
16 August 1961

Happy Valentine's Day 2023

Photo from VectorStock

Happy Valentine's Day from Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State! Today is a day to celebrate LOVE, but it's also a day to remember that love can be a scary, scary thing! Ghost-lore is full of tales of star-crossed lovers, jilted lovers, and unrequited love. People die for love---and they kill for it, too.     

Love is a strong emotion that tends to survive bodily death, and in addition to the more tragic hauntings involving the negative side of love, there are plenty of touching tales where the dead have returned to offer comfort and aid to their loved ones still on this side. 

Below, you'll find just a few of my favorite ghost stories and hauntings involving LOVE. But, feel free to share your own spooky stories of paranormal valentines in the comments below, or find me over on Theresa's Haunted History Facebook. 

Have a beautiful and happy Valentine's Day and take a moment to let the ones you love know how much they mean to you. And on that note, I want to make sure you know that I love you, too! Seriously, I appreciate the love and support shown to this blog every day and I couldn't keep it up without you. Stay spooky, ya'll. 

Star-Crossed Lovers of Carter Caves

Lover's Leap of Hawk's Nest State Park

The Ghosts of Berkeley Castle

 

Winged Human Forms Over Mason County Grave

Before there was Mothman, Mason County, West Virginia was the site of three other winged humans. Some have speculated that the strange creature that would become the state's most famous and beloved cryptid WAS some type of angelic being. Would that mean that these three angelic forms seen in a small graveyard are related in some way to Mothman? Eh, probably not, but it's fun to think about how our personal perceptions and societal norms influence our beliefs and how we try to explain what simply cannot be explained. This story comes from the January 4th, 1905 edition of the Weekly Register, a newspaper based in Point Pleasant, WV. It can be found on the Chronicling America website.  

Without an exact date of the incident, or the name/location of the cemetery in question, or the name of the deceased woman, this is nothing more than just an interesting little story from an area of the state filled with interesting little stories. But, readers to Theresa's Haunted History probably know that I couldn't just leave it at that; I had to do SOME digging. From additional newspaper articles, I found that there was a Reverend JB McKibben who lived in an area of Mason County called Siloam. Siloam doesn't really exist today, but is located close to the Mason/Putnam County line, around Frazier's Bottom. What does still exist is the Siloam Baptist Church on Black Oak Road, located off Route 817 (old route 35). JB (Joseph Benson) McKibben, his wife, and quite a few family members make this church their final resting place. JB lived a long life. According to to the WV Cemetery Preservation site, he was born in 1851 and died on April 12, 1941. 

The distance between Siloam and Pt. Pleasant isn't exactly short, and there were probably numerous small burial yards where the incident took place. What we can rule out is that it didn't happen at Siloam Baptist. Although the church itself was established in 1880, the first burial didn't occur until 1913, when an 8 year old little girl named Gladys Wallace passed away. Her mother was heavily pregnant at the time and the winter weather was especially harsh at the time, making it impossible for her to get up to the burial site at the top of the hill. The father approached the land owner about burying the child on the property, and ever since, the site was used as a graveyard. 

Door Dogs

Schipperke
Source

I like to keep a running list in one of my many notebooks about topics I want to share here on Theresa's Haunted History blog. Some time last year, I added 'Door Dogs' to the list. I distinctly remember reading a quick blurb about the door dogs in a book (I'm pretty sure it was an e-book), but when I went back over my reading log for 2021, I could NOT figure out which one! So, I turned to the internet to help me out, and was really disappointed in the lack of information out there on what I consider a really cool piece of folklore. 

The concept of door dogs seems to be most prevalent in Tangiers, Morocco, but most likely has spread throughout Africa and into Europe as noted by William S. Burroughs, who wrote extensively about door dogs in his work, Western Lands. So what is a door dog?

A door dog is a death omen. During the weeks leading up to a person's demise, a small dog with a pointed nose is seen following them around. The dog is most often spotted when the person is crossing a threshold, especially as they enter through a doorway, giving the spooky little creature it's name! It's important to note that the dog, which is seen and never heard, is ONLY witnessed by others around the 'marked' person. You will never be able to see your own door dog. 

Although you could easily make the assumption that the door dog only heralds the upcoming death of a PERSON, my mom and I may have had an encounter with a door dog that served as a death omen for our dog, Captain. About two months before Captain unexpectedly passed away from kidney failure, my mom and I both saw, on several occasions, a jet black dog following him. Full disclosure, we actually HAD a jet black dog at the time named Nazy. But, there's no way we were seeing her. Nazy's fur was very short, and she had rather thin back legs and a thin, long tail. 

Whenever we'd see Captain's door dog, we'd always see just it's hindquarters, disappearing around the corner from the foyer into the living room immediately after Captain had walked through the area. We never saw the front of it, but we both described the back of it in the same way. This dog had fur that was way more...fuzzy...than Nazy's. It had strong, thick back legs and a fluffy tail that curled upward like a chow chow's. We both saw it maybe 3 times each before Captain crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and never saw it again. 

After the first time spotting it, my mom had a really bad feeling that this dog was an omen of something bad to come, and I tried to play it off as it simply being just another ghost that had wandered into our home and would soon leave, like so many others had. Even after Captain passed away, I really didn't give too much thought of it being connected, and sort of filed the situation away as just another weird thing. Even when I first read about the door dogs as death omens, I still didn't make any connections between what we saw and Captain's death. Until...

The Obscurban Legends Wiki Page was the best source of information I came across when preparing for today's blog. When describing the physical characteristics of the door dog, it mentioned that it had a pointed snout like the schipperke. Admittedly, I am not very knowledgeable about dog breeds and I had never heard of the schipperke. So, I looked up what this type of dog looked like, and lo and behold...the pictures that popped up were EXACTLY like the dog my mom and I had seen several years ago. 

*If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also like the story of my own 

FAMILY DEATH OMEN!*

Morgan County's Haunted Police Barracks

Morgan County State Police Barracks
Source: Google Maps

Way back on Halloween of 1992, the Associated Press picked up a story out of West Virginia's eastern panhandle. In an area of the state that is already known for more than its fair share of paranormal activity, local state police officers shared their stories of what it was like to work amongst a ghost!

According to the Morgan County iAS Property Search website, a beautiful, large brick home was built around 1960 at 1750 Valley Rd, in Berkeley Springs. This was the home of Ercel Luther Michael, a retired carpenter. Ercel was born in Morgan County on 8 February 1897. While living in the house, it was noted that Ercel LOVED his garden and his garage. He was meticulous about the care and upkeep of such, and as his niece would later say, he had a mantra of 'everything in its place.' 

Unfortunately, Ercel passed away on 13 January 1973 at the age of 75. His wife, Della, passed away three months later.  Both were buried in the Greenway Cemetery in Berkeley Springs. The following year, their beautiful brick home was sold to the state, and became the local WV State Police Barracks. With the transition from a private home to a state facility, Ercel's beloved gardens were paved over to make room for a parking lot. 

Ercel's Grave at Greenway Cemetery
Find-a-Grave (uploaded by GraveRobber)

That's when the paranormal activity allegedly started!

Police officers stationed at the barracks would often claim that they would turn off all the lights before leaving on patrol, only to come back to a completely lit up building. Slamming doors and creaking stairs are a few of the other spooky reports made by officers, including Sgt. Jim Riffle, who was stationed there in 1977. According to Riffle, "some awfully strange things happened in those barracks."

Apparently, the ghost of Ercel was common knowledge, and more than a few troopers actually refused to sleep in the barracks overnight. But, in recent years, it seems as if activity has pretty much died down. It is believed that as long as the grounds around the barracks are kept neatly trimmed and maintained, Ercel remains happy. Let the grass get a little too long, however, and you're bound to get a visit from the former owner. 

I've included a copy of the 1992 article. The clipping below is from the 02 November 1992 edition of the Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, PA), but you can also access the AP article online for free via the AP website. This story re-appeared this past Halloween season in a article by Lisa Schauer in The Morgan Messenger.

Ghostly Wails of Tygart Dam

Tygart Dam, 1937. Source: WV History on View

I love a good, local ghost story---the more obscure and unknown, the better!  My husband, who was born and raised in Grafton, WV knows this, and was more than happy to share with me a tale he had always heard growing up in Taylor County concerning the Tygart Dam.

According to local legend, an African-American worker on the dam slipped and fell into a section of wet concrete that had just been poured. A rescue attempt was impossible, and it was deemed too risky to attempt to remove the body. So, the helpless worker was entombed inside the dam and to this day, visitors to the area can hear mournful wails and screams coming from the dam, as his grisly death replays itself over and over.

As with many ghost stories, the back-story on the wailing ghost of Tygart Dam cannot be proven with historical documents.  However, that doesn't mean that there couldn't be paranormal activity reported that is based on actual events. 

Tygart Dam, Summer 2020

My husband's grandfather was actually one of the many laborers who 'flooded' into the Tygart River Valley in the mid-1930's in order to work for the WPA in the construction of the Tygart Dam. Construction on the dam was authorized between 1934, and construction took place between 1935 until the dam was officially operational in 1938.

At the peak of construction, unskilled laborers working on the dam could earn 45 cents an hour, and skilled laborers could earn up to $1.10 an hour. The problem was, there was a shortage of skilled laborers. Local newspapers at the time noted that skilled laborers were hard to come by because of union and apprenticeship practices at the time, and so they were given authorization to let some of the unskilled laborers take on work that they normally wouldn't be allowed to.  That fact, combined with the less stringent safety protocols of the 1930's, led to what I believe was the majority of deaths associated with the dam project. 

Back of Dam, Summer 2020

There are 11 official deaths associated with the dam itself, and at least 151 injuries, some quite serious. That doesn't even take into account the deaths and injuries associated with off-site projects that contributed to the dam's construction. 

Although he wasn't African-American, author Brenda Tokarz notes that there was a young man who apparently DID die after a fall into the wet cement. On March 4, 1936, 16-year old Charles Goff died while working on the Tygart Dam. It's hard to read, but his death certificate suggests that Charles died when a concrete chute collapsed. His death certificate doesn't explicitly state that he was buried in wet cement, but notes that he died of a skull fracture and was buried in Bluemont Cemetery.

Fatal falls, many involving fractured skulls, were probably the most common causes of death for dam workers. George Dale died on August 17, 1936 from injuries sustained in a fall on July 21st of that year. Lalon (Labon) Davis fell 35 feet and fractured his skull, dying immediately from his injuries. On June 7th, 1937, Hays Berry also died after he fell, fracturing his skull and suffering from multiple internal injuries. Joeseph Duriga died on September 16th after falling from the dam.  His cause of death is listed as drowning.

Hinton Daily News, 19 August 1936

With all the fatal falls occurring at this dam, I can definitely believe that those screams of fear and pain could be trapped as a residual haunting. Eleven victims---that's a lot of death, happening in an almost identical manner, in a span of around two short years. 

Today, Tygart Lake, created by the dam, is a popular outdoor recreation area and state park. The dam itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and has a visitor's center that you can visit and learn more about the history of Tygart Dam, the lake, and the surrounding area. Several months ago, my husband and I had dinner at the state park's lodge, then drove up to see the dam. As we were sitting on a bench nearby, watching the water flow over the concrete, we both swore we could hear what sounded like screaming coming from down below. 

Sources and Further Reading:

Untold Stories and History of Tygart Lake, by Brenda Tokarz

National Register of Historic Places Application

Bolton's Book Review: A local history of a local icon, by Robert Bolton. Mountain Statesman, 2 June 2020. 

The Raleigh Register 11 June 1937

The Raleigh Register 17 September 1937

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!

April's Links I Love

Hey, everyone! I hope you're having an appropriately spooky day!  Today on the blog, I wanted to share some of the websites that I've been reading and loving this month. A few have made my 'link share' posts before, but some are brand new! Please go check them out and support paranormal bloggers/webmasters/authors!

1. Terror From Beyond the Daves:  This is David Fuentes' site and its dedicated to all things horror, with plenty of paranormal thrown in for good measure. Dave's website really helped me out with my Lincoln Park Zoo blog, and I've enjoyed reading his other articles as well!

2. Haunt Jaunts:  This is the go-to site for all your haunted travel plans! Find ghost tours, the best haunted hotels to stay at, and all sorts of crazy-cool festivals, conventions, and year-round spooky and weird attractions. They even have a radio show!

3. Chris Woodyard's Haunted Ohio:  Chris is one of my favorite paranormal authors and this website is packed full of awesome articles and other information to complement the Haunted Ohio book series. Check out the section for the Haunted Ohio Blog---you will NOT be disappointed!

4. WV Cryptids and Strange Encounters:  This is a fairly new Facebook page, but its already gained quite a following. The admins of the page regularly post tons of awesome stories about strange and spooky happenings in West Virginia and encounters with all manner of cryptozoological creatures.

5. The Southern Spirit Guide:  The Southern Spirit Guide remains one of my favorite sites of all time! The author, Lewis O. Powell, IV, does an excellent job in documenting the haunted history of the southern United States.

6. Ghost Theory:  Tons and tons of articles on ghosts, UFOs, cryptids, and just about anything else paranormal you could think of!  Always well written, and very informative, I love to peruse this site as often as I can.

7. Lore Podcast: Lore is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to! There's such a variety of spooky stories and interesting folklore---and narrator/writer Aaron Mahnke does an excellent job telling them.

A Spooky Case of Mistaken Identity

I love today's Throwback Thursday vintage news article. It's a funny story about mistaken identity, and is even illustrated! The story was published in the September 6, 1907 edition of the Daily Telegram, a Clarksburg, WV newspaper. (The original is available on Chronicling America.) However, the incidents took place in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Since the text is a little hard to see, here's the full transcription:

GHOST ON A BICYCLE
Turns Out to Be a Girl Asleep in Her Nightgown

The ghostlike apparition of a girl astride a bicycle flitting about the streets after midnight will not startle residents in the east end of Fort Dodge, IA any longer.  For weeks pedestrians abroad late at night have been scared.

On a recent night a policeman, attracted by a crash and a scream, ran around a corner and solved the mystery.  He found a young and pretty girl clad in a thin nightdress, which had suffered severely when the wheel she riding struck a brick.  The girl was dazed, but told the policeman where she lived.  He escorted her home and startled her father, a well known merchant, who thought his daughter was safe in bed.

The girl said she had no recollection of her midnight rides.


*Theresa's Note:  I found this story especially interesting because my own mother is a huge sleepwalker, or somnambulist, if you want the fancy title. My biggest fear is that she will attempt to drive off somewhere while in her sleep, but luckily that hasn't happened. The worst she's done so far, to my knowledge, was sleep-order a bunch of crap off a home shopping channel. Usually she just walks around, mumbles about some weird stuff, and eats. Thank goodness she doesn't own a bicycle!

So tell me, are you a sleepwalker or is someone in your family prone to these nighttime escapades? What is the weirdest thing YOU'VE ever done while asleep? What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen a sleepwalker do? Let me know below!

Friday Funny: Ghost Stories

Who doesn't love a cute cat meme....especially one about ghost stories! With September finally here, its officially Halloween season, and I'm definitely ready for some good ghost stories. What about you?  If you have any awesome spooky tales you'd like to share, feel free to head on over to Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook and let us hear what sends shivers down YOUR spine.

Kent's Haunted Masonic Lodge

Source

The Masonic Temple located on West Main Street in Kent, Ohio has been home to the Rockton Lodge #316 since 1923. However, it was built much earlier than that. The ornate brick building was originally built by Marvin S. Kent and the first brick was laid on June 7, 1880. The majority of construction would be completed four years later, and in 1884, the Kent family moved into their new homestead.

Marvin's son, William S. Kent, would eventually go on to marry Kittie M. North. Unfortunately, Kittie would meet a terrible end in the lovely home. On May 19, 1886, the 35 year old Kittie was seriously burned when a kerosene heater being used to warm the third floor ballroom exploded while she was attending to the stove. Her wounds would prove to be fatal and Kittie would pass away the next day. After her death, the third floor ballroom was completely shut off from any and all social functions and boarded up.

Shortly after Kittie's death, William moved into the homestead with his father full-time before eventually remarrying in 1901. When William died in 1923, he left the homestead to his two nieces. Due to the Kent family and the husband's family of one of the nieces, they decided to sell the home to the Rockton Lodge #316. The lodge moved in on November 1, 1923.  However, the house wasn't completely empty...

Source

Since that time, members and visitors of the lodge have seen the apparition of a woman in an old-fashioned white dress in various locations throughout the former mansion. The apparition, believed to be Kittie Kent, is also said to be responsible for making noises in the empty ballroom area near where she died and for leaving scratch marks on the floor and walls.

Sources
Rockton #316 History     
Haunted Hovel
Find-a-Grave
Kent Wired

Theresa's Top Links for July 2015

It's been awhile since I've done a link-roundup! Usually I just share anything cool I find on Facebook or Twitter, but there are a few sites that I find myself going back to over and over so much that they deserve a more permanent shout out! This is by far a comprehensive list---just a few that stick out to me that I haven't already linked to in the past.  Skeptical views, haunted places, ghost stories, radio shows, and plenty of articles on all aspects of the paranormal are covered here.  If you want to add any notable links, please let me know in the comments!

1. Supernatural Magazine--An excellent collection of articles on a variety of paranormal topics.  Whatever your paranormal beliefs, you're sure to find something here of interest...and something you'll find educational.  I've posted several individual articles from this site over the past few months and they always seem very well received.

2. Paranormal King Radio Network--This is the home to Paraversal Universe, one of my favorite paranormal radio shows.  Join Jennifer Scelsi and Kevin Malek each Friday evening at 8pm EST for excellent discussion and interviews with some of the top names in paranormal research.  A chat room is also available during the shows to ask questions and interact with the guests and hosts.

3. Mysterious Heartland--Anything and everything to do with haunted locations, ghost stories, urban legends, and beautifully creepy locations throughout the Midwestern United States.  Those tri-state area fans in Ohio might find this website of particular interest.

4. Midnight in the Desert--Art Bell is back with an all-new radio show! Check out the website for information on guests, upcoming shows, and how to listen to the show live, Monday through Friday at 12am EST.

5. Memento Mori (My Macabre Fascination)--This is the blog of paranormal researcher, Anna Hill. Anna Hill is a voice of reason in this field, and I always enjoy her writings.  If you want some serious paranormal commentary by someone who really knows what she's talking about, check out this blog!

Louisville's Rose Bowl Lanes and the Ghost of Amy

All of the information regarding the hauntings of this establishment are from Robert Parker's awesome book, Haunted Louisville 2: Beyond Downtown. 

The Rose Bowl bowling alley in Louisville is an older, yet quaint little spot to spend some family time on the lanes, or some grown-up time in the on-site bar.  While many of the online reviews mention its a little shabby, perhaps a tad outdated...many counterbalance those claims that its a great value for what it is and it surely evokes a sense of nostalgia for many.  For me, the fact that its known to be haunted is enough for me!

Staff call the resident ghost 'Amy,' and believe that she was an equestrienne who was killed by falling off her horse way back in the first half of the 20th century when the area was all farmland...way before even Father Mahoney purchased the property for use with his Boys' Haven, a home for orphaned boys.

Amy is said to make herself known through a number of different ghostly phenomena, such as giving one waitress a hard time by undoing all her hard work getting the tables ready for the next day.  Amy is also blamed for equipment malfunctions, lights turning themselves on and off, and the sounds of machines running well after all power has been shut off for the night.  A few times, Amy has made her presence known visually.  A young employee working the snack bar witnessed a dark shadow walk by a doorway, followed by the sounds of someone opening the walk-in cooler.  A female employee stated that she's also seen Amy a few times, always in the bar area, and always out of the corner of her eye.  Unfortunately, she disappears before a good description of her can be assessed.

If you'd like to learn more about Amy, definitely check out Parker's book, but if you're in the area, take an evening trip down to the lanes.  Come for the ghost stories, but stay for a quick, affordable game in a cozy, haunted bowling alley!

Book Review for True Ghosts 3

Title: True Ghosts 3--Even MORE Chilling Tales from the Vaults of FATE Magazine
Edited by: David Godwin
Published by Llewellyn Publications, 2011

I have always been a huge fan of FATE and one of my favorite features of the magazine has always been the large section devoted to reader submissions.  In each edition since its inception in 1948, FATE  has published the real life experiences of everyday people on a variety of paranormal topics.  True Ghosts 3 is another installment in a larger collection showcasing the best of those submissions.

The stories are organized into various chapters, each with a different theme:

Ghostly Apparitions
Messages from the Dead
Dream Visitations
Near-Death and Out of Body Experiences
Haunted Places
Spirits Helping the Living
Animal Spirits
Ghost Encounters of Children and Child Ghosts
Phantom Vehicles and Buildings
Vortexes, Time Slips, and Portals
Spirit Guides and Angels
Poltergeist Activity

Each story is unique in voice and depth, and at 323 pages, the book is packed with them.  I even found one tale from Huntington, WV that I'll be doing more research on!  Obviously some tales are better written and some are more believable than others, but all are interesting as a glimpse into the experiences of people from a variety of walks of life dealing with the same thing.  Where applicable, longer and more scholarly articles from professional researchers/writers supplement the personal stories, adding an extra element to the work.  It's a wonderful and easy to read book, perfect for those who want ghost stories written in a narrative style, but who don't mind a teeny bit of journalistic perspective as well. The format also makes this the perfect traveling book---many stories are less than a page in length.  Read one or read a few while you have a few extra minutes, and you can easily pick it back up or skip around to suit your interests.  Definitely recommended!

The Ghost of Anna Potts

Posted at Anna's Violin

I recently stumbled upon a new-to-me ghost legend from the Clifton area of Mason County, WV.  Once a coal mining area in the mid to late 1800s, Clifton, which is named for a small cliff in the area, sits along the Ohio River about a mile and a half south of the town of Mason.  No longer home to even a post office, the former "town" of Clifton does yield a few street names within its vicinity that offer a few clues from its past:  Cliff Road, Cliff Street and Old Clifton Road are obvious examples that help mark out the town and roads such as Blake Street, Stewart Street and Rader Lane are a tribute to some local families.  

But within the maze of streets, marked and unmarked, you'll find one in particular that goes by the name of Ann Street...

While I can't be for certain how Ann Street got its name, its a neat little coincidence that the ghost of Anna Potts has been seen in the area for over 200 years!

As the legend goes, Anna McDade Potts and her husband Sandy came to this area shortly before the Revolutionary War, when tensions were still high between white settlers and local Native American tribes.  But there was something about Anna that fascinated the local Indian population.  Her bright red hair and creamy white skin was unlike anything they had ever seen before and bestowed upon her the moniker: Great Spirit Woman with Hair of Fire.

Anna and Sandy had two daughters who presumably took after their mother, for a local tribe became obsessed with one of the girls.  They came to the Potts and offered a trade of 10 horses for the girl.  When the family refused, they came back with 20 horses.  The second refusal enraged the Natives and legend has it that they attacked the family.  Anna and her two daughters were raped and the daughters kidnapped.  Sandy was allegedly attacked and had both his legs burned off.  

For the rest of her years, Anna grieved over the loss of her daughters.  Each November, she would leave her little farm and search the neighboring settlements for any evidence of her daughters.  She searched all winter long before returning to the farm each May.

To some people, Anna never gave up her search, even after her death.  Over 200 years later, the Great Spirit Woman with Hair of Fire still rides the countryside on her faithful mule, searching each winter for her missing daughters.  She is sometimes seen, but more often she is heard; her grief-filled wails pierce the darkness near Clifton Woods and she cries and screams across the centuries.  

This story is so well known locally that a West Virginia author took the story and turned it into a novel. From Out of the Forest by William Winebrenner was an instant success and is/was being made into a move called Anna's Violin.  Buzz over the book and upcoming movie has led to a number of people coming forward with their own experiences, attributed to Anna's ghost.  

The photo above was brought to a book signing at the Pt. Pleasant Farm Museum  by a young girl who claimed to have caught the image on her family's game camera in the woods.  It came courtesy of the author, and the blog cited below.  Also available on the same blog is a video interview with another gentleman who claimed to have witnessed Anna's ghost when he was a boy.  Go to the link below and listen to what happened to him while out one evening!

If you have any additional information on this WV ghost story, or have seen/heard/experienced the ghost of Anna Potts for yourself, I'd love to hear from you!  Feel free to comment below or send me an email at theresarhps@yahoo.com!

Anna's Violin Blog

Anna's Violin Home Page

Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas!

I'm sure you've heard the line, and possibly sang it hundreds of times for yourself..."There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago!"  But, have you ever really asked yourself what it MEANS?  Plenty of people have pondered the subject and many of those have written extensively their own theories, but the answer is actually quite simple.  This favorite line in It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, is referring to a Victorian tradition that I personally hope will see a rebirth in the 21st century...and that is the tradition of telling ghost stories, not at Halloween, but at CHRISTMAS time!

Once you think about it, supporting evidence seems to pop up everywhere in pop culture.  Charles Dickens' iconic classic, A Christmas Carol is one such example, being listed as one of the most widely known ghost stories of all time!  For those of you who fell in love with the Woman in Black movie this year, if you read the actual book, you'd find that Arthur Kripps is actually recounting his tale during his family's Christmas celebration!

But WHY did ghost stories become such an enthralling yuletide pasttime?  That answer is a little more vague and ambiguous and I don't think there is any one straight forward, all-encompassing answer.  I've heard other bloggers mention that the telling of ghost stories was a way to calm down overly excited children for awhile.  I've also heard almost the opposite--that the winter telling of ghost stories was an exciting way to blow off steam after being cooped up inside for so long.  Some have even mentioned that during the Victorian era, new books were usually published right before Christmas, and since the Victorians loved their ghost stories, the new batch usually always contained something creepy for people to share around the fire.

Still, its widely believed that the tradition comes from simply the time of year, and its pagan connections.  During the winter solstice, on December 21st, the day is the shortage of the year, making the night the longest of the year.  Thus, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their all-time thinnest.  The world around us is "dead" and cold and dark...a perfect recipe for ghosts to walk the earth.  The actual connection with Christmas, comes from the ideas that there is no hard evidence mentioned anywhere that Christ was born on December 25th.  Rather, in the early days, the church, trying to eradicate pagan festivals, actually overlaid Christian holidays with pagan celebrations.  In fact, many other Christmas traditions, full embraced during the Victorian era, stem from pagan celebrations.

In a very modern perspective, Christmas DOES seem to stir up thoughts of ghosts for a variety of reasons.  Christmas, and other winter holidays, are times when families come together.  Why shouldn't those family members that have already passed be a part of the celebration, too?  In fact, many people do report visits from deceased loved ones this time of year and paranormal websites are flooded with "ghost" photos around the tree!  Some cultures have formal traditions incorporating departed loved ones on the holidays, such as the Ukrainian tradition of setting a place at the holiday table for deceased family.

And, there are even some other reasons why Christmas time seems to be QUITE haunted.  When we look at the past, there are a lot of tragedies associated with winter.  In a time before modern medicine, it wasn't unheard of to die of the common cold or flu...often in the winter months.  This was also a time of many accidents as candles and fireplaces were instrumented to a much greater degree to light the long nights and warm the cold.  Accidents involving icy roads and runaway oxen carts were also quite common!

So, this Christmas, after the obligatory reading of the Night Before Christmas, nestle by the fire and regale friends and family with your OWN personal ghost stories, or pick a volume of ghost tales from any of the numerous books at your local library or bookstore.  Keep your camera handy, too, but if you can't wait until Christmas Day for a little paranormal fun, we have an alternative for those of you living in the tri-state area!

2018 Update: There will be no Christmas Tours this year.  Sorry!

As the Christmas season is upon us, HPIR's Haunted and Historic Guyandotte Tours is offering a unique experience for our tour guests!  Tomorrow, December 15th, we will be conducting our first ever Victorian Christmas Ghost Tours of the sleepy little hamlet of Guyandotte, WV.  Please join us as we share with you the history and the haunts of some of the many Victorian era homes, some undoubtedy decorated festivally and beautifully for the season!

This is a one-day only event, and tours will meet in front of the historic Buffington House on Main Street.  Our first tour leaves at 5pm, but with limited space available, you may pick up your tickets and designate a preferred time slot as early as 4pm.  A wonderful spread of refreshments will be available FREE for all tour patrons.

As this IS the holiday season, we at HPIR and Haunted and Historic Guyandotte Tours would like to give back to our community.  For that reason, we are asking for tour patrons to make a donation of either 2 non-perishable food items OR $1 per guest.  100% of donations will go to area charities to help ensure everyone in the Huntington area is taken care of this winter.  We would love for you to join us in this very special walking tour, which lasts a little under an hour and a half.  Please dress warmly and feel free to bring your camera!  Flashlights are also highly recommended and our website, listed below, will have all the information you need!

http://guyandotteghosts.com/Victorian_Christmas.htm

Spring Grove Cemetery, Parkersburg

When one thinks of an historic and haunted cemetery in Parkersburg, WV, the mind tends to go straight to the ever-popular Riverview Cemetery.  With over 200 years of West Virginia history packed into its gates, complete with a myriad of legends and ghost tales to go along with it, Riverview Cemetery is rightfully and understandably a first priority for ghost seekers.

However, one cannot discount OTHER local cemeteries that have a history and story unique in their own way.  One such cemetery is the Spring Grove Cemetery, located on Sayre Avenue.  In some publications, this cemetery is simply referred to as the Sayre Avenue Colored Cemetery.

Spring Grove was originally part of a 17.5 acre parcel owned by D.R. Neal.  Neal sold the land in 1892 to Peter Brock and the Pond Run Cemetery Company for a price of $900.  This cemetery is the only in Parkersburg denoted as a Black only cemetery, and is still in use today under the operation of the Spring Grove Cemetery Association.  It is the final resting place of many of the area's prominent black citizens, including Civil War veterans, veterans of several foreign wars, and interestingly enough...descendents of slaves owned by Thomas Jefferson.

The cemetery may also be home to a ghost.  According to an entry on WVGhosts Haunted Places, this cemetery is known for an apparition of a large black man.  It is said that this man appears to and comes to the aid of ladies in distress.  No other details on this haunting have been uncovered, so if you have any information on these hauntings, please contact me at theresarhps@yahoo.com.  Thanks!

Cemetery Transcription and additional information available from Internment.net
Photo property of Find-a-Grave contributor, crystal.

Haunted House Gives Up Ghost

Blog Updated 20 March 2021

I found this article, transcribed below, in a Nitro antique shop, framed.  I love old houses, especially haunted houses, and was delighted to read that this particular house once stood approximately where my place of employment now stands!  This article is by Charlie Connor, with photo by Jack Tiernan.  It appeared in an November 1968 issue of the Charleston Daily Mail newspaper.

Charleston's old "haunted house" is coming down and no one is happier than Andrew S. Thomas Jr., prominent city businessman.

"Certainly, it was haunted," Thomas declared.  "I've known that all my life.  When I was a boy, us kids used to see lights bobbing around from window to window, and ghosts flitting here and there.  The house was haunted.  Quote me."

The "haunted house," so known by a generation of Charlestonians whose boy-and-girlhood goes back to early years in this century, is the former Baines home at 311 Broad St., an elegant structure that rose in the 1890s and has stood in recent years as the lone residential survivor in a growing business district. (Theresa's Note:  Broad Street was renamed Leon Sullivan Way in 2000. From what I can piece together, I think the site of this house is now the post office parking lot, located directly across from the Clay Center's front entrance. I'll post some additional photos below.)

Across Washington street from it is the modern, nine-story Heart O' Town Motel.

Thomas, vice president of the Thomas-Field & Co. and the Kanawha Block Co., grew up in the neighborhood.  His family home was on the Lee Street site of the present Top Value TV stamp store.

Thomas said the ornate, brick home was built by Dr. Baines, one of the early medical men in the valley, and owned by his only daughter, Miss Alice Baines, following his death.

"As I recall, Miss Alice had an elderly aunt who lived in the house by herself as a recluse.  I was a kid in those days and our backyard adjoined the Baines property.

I'm almost 99% positive that this is the same house, but from another angle. Compare the turret and the chimney in the back, and the location of the Heart O' Town Motor Inn. This photo from 1966 comes from the My WV Home website, which labels it as the 'spooky old Lula Bowyer house.'

"This aunt of Miss Alice's, a Miss Whittaker as I remember her name, was rather peculiar.   The grocery boy would deliver groceries and leave them on the back porch, then pick up his money the next day where she'd leave it out for him.

"No one ever really saw her.  I do know that we always had a baseball game going in my back yard and every time we knocked one into her yard, she'd dash out, grab the ball and run back into the house.

"A doze baseballs cost 75 cents in those days at Thomas-Field, so we boys would go out, cut grass, do errands and other jobs to raise money to buy the balls which Miss Whittaker would collect.  She had a nine-foot high fence around the property, so we never got a good look at her.

"The only time I was ever inside that old home was at her funeral.  It was a scary place to me then and all the kids regarded it as a haunted house.  I just don't know where the ghosts are going now that they're tearing it down."

The property was left in perpetual trust for the benefit of the First Presbyterian Church, but one condition was that it would remain standing so long as Dr. Donna Grace Russell, a retired osteopathic physician, chose to live there.

For almost 40 years, the old home had been rented by Dr. Russell and Dr. Olive Ailes.  They had a joint medical practice there.  Dr. Russell continued to live in the old home in retirement following Dr. Ailes' death several years ago.

Post Office parking lot on Leon Sullivan. You can see what was once the
Heart O Town Motor Inn in the background. The 'haunted house' would have 
been located in the center right of the photo. 

A few weeks ago, Dr. Russell, 86, sold her furniture and other belongings and moved to Sidney, Ohio to live with a niece.  The Kanawha Valley Bank, which administers the trust, reported that the land, after the house is razed, will be used for parking.

Eventually, a much higher use is contemplated for the property since it will lie near the I-64 Brooks-Broad Street interchange.  Income from the property goes to the church.

Before she left, Dr. Russell was asked if she had ever seen any ghosts.

"Dear me, no.  I've lived here 40 years and I haven't heard a thing.  This is just a nice old home and is about the last one left downtown."

The passing of the ornate old home is a sad thing, just as the departure of ghosts causes a tug on the heartstrings of Charlestonians who remember it as the old "haunted house."

Where will the ghosts go?  Because Thomas is happy they're leaving, maybe they'll take up residence at his Loudon Heights home.

Boo, Mr. Thomas!

(Theresa's Note: I stumbled across this article again on my Newspapers.com subscription service, and remembered that I had a paper copy of it SOMEWHERE. Unfortunately, I had no idea where that paper copy has gone over the years, so I was pleased to find a digital copy, and planned on sharing it in a blog post. I typed a few keywords into Google to see if I could find some additional information, and was surprised to see my own website pop up in the results! I had totally forgotten that I had already transcribed the article, but hadn't included the accompanying photo. I'm happy that I was able to add update the blog with that, along with what I feel is most likely an alternate shot of the home, and what the property looks like today. I guess a 'much higher use' than parking wasn't in the property's destiny after all.  I wonder if the ghosts of the home ever did take up residence with Mr. Thomas??)