A Dancing Ghost in Lewis County

Early Hot Air Balloon

In June of 1872, a Braxton County man was tending to his colts in neighboring Jacksonville, WV, just across the border into Lewis County. He was in the area of Abram's run, and while most of the town were attending church services at the nearby chapel, the unnamed man noticed what he felt was a GHOST!

A field surrounding the local 'haunted house' was currently the site of a what appeared to be a fiery, dancing phantom image. Alarmed at what he was witnessing, the man ran and got the closest neighbor, a former Confederate soldier. Unfazed by the possibility of a supernatural entity haunting this particular field, the former soldier bravely approached it and snatched it up. 

Unfortunately for the paranormal enthusiasts reading this, it wasn't a ghost. It was a balloon! Emboldened now that the threat of spooks and spirits was no longer an issue, the first man grabbed the balloon by the string, declared 'finders, keepers,' and proudly took it back home to Braxton County, showing anyone and everyone who he ran into his cool new find. 

But why was there a balloon found in a field in rural West Virginia in 1872?

The Weston Democrat, the newspaper who covered the story, notes that the balloon was a Greeley Balloon from Cincinnati, sent out as a message of peace and hope. 

The previous month, the Liberal Republican Party held its convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Newspaper editor, Horace Greeley, was nominated to represent the party in the upcoming Presidential Election, a choice even the Democrats cross-supported. In what we'd today call a viral marketing campaign, Greeley hired renowned balloon pilot, Professor Samuel Archer King to tour the east coast in a huge hot air balloon called Colossus. As Colossus sailed over the open skies, it waved Greeley's distinct campaign flag. Apparently, smaller balloons were also released, one of which found its way to a field in Lewis County, WV....right next to a rumored haunted house. 

Ultimately, Greeley would lose the election to Ulysses S. Grant, and Professor King would have multiple issues with Colossus. It was a cool concept, but it wasn't enough to sway the majority of voters. What it DID do was cause a couple of paranormal-related scares, as those not realizing what the stunt was all about were witnessing an unidentified craft fly through the air....and occasionally finding the remnants of smaller items in unexpected places. 

The Weston Democrat
10 June 1872

Rome's First Recorded Ghost Story

The following tale is a translation by William Melmoth.  Originally recorded and recounted in Latin by Pliny the Younger around 100 A.D., this classic ghost story is often reported to be the first of written record, and it certainly contains many of the motifs and imagery that have so long been associated with denizens of the otherworld.

There was in Athens a house, large and spacious, which had a bad reputation as though it was filled with pestilence. In the dead of night, a noise was frequently heard resembling the clashing of iron which, if you listened carefully, sounded like the rattling of chains. The noise would seem to be a distance away, but it would start coming closer… and closer… and closer. Immediately after this, a specter would appear in the form of an old man, emaciated and squalid, with bristling hair and a long beard, and rattling the chains on his hands and feet as he moved.

The unfortunate inhabitants of the house went sleepless at night due to unimaginable and dismal terrors. Without sleep, as it had happened to others, their health was ruined and they were struck with some kind of madness – as the horrors in their minds increased, they were led on a path toward death. Eventually even during the daytime, when the ghost did not appear, the memory of their nightmares was so strong that it still passed before their eyes, every waking moment. Their terror was constant, even when the source of fear was gone.

Because of this, the house was eventually deserted and damned as uninhabitable, abandoned entirely to the ghost. In hope that some tenant might eventually be found who was ignorant of the house’s malevolence, a bill was still posted for its sale. As it happened, a philosopher by the name of Athenodorus came to Athens at that time. Reading the bill for the house, he easily discovered the price – and being an intelligent man, he was suspicious at its extremely low cost. Someone did tell him the whole story, and yet he wasn’t dissuaded, but was instead eager to make the purchase. Thus, he did.

When evening drew near, Athenodorus asked for couch to be readied for him at the front of the house. He asked for his writing materials and a lamp, and then asked his retainers to retire for the night. In order to ensure that his mind stayed focused and away from distractions of stories about imaginary noises and apparitions, he poured all his energy into his writing.

For awhile, the night was silent. Then the rattling of fetters began. Athenodorus would not lift his eyes or set down his pen. Instead, he concentrated on his writing and thereby closed his ears. But the noise wouldn’t stop, and it only increased and drew closer until it seemed to be at the door and then standing in his very chamber! Finally, Athenodorus looked away from his work… and saw the ghost standing just as it had been described. It stood there, waiting, beckoning him with one finger.

Athenodorus held up his palm as though the visitor should wait a moment, and once again bent over his work. The ghost, impatient, shook his chains over the philosopher’s head, beckoning again. This time, Athenodorus picked up his lamp and followed the ghost as it moved slowly, as though it was held back by its chains. Upon reaching the courtyard, the ghost suddenly vanished.

Now on his own, Athenodorus carefully marked the spot where the ghost vanished with a handful of leaves and grass. The following day, he asked the magistrate to have that spot dug up, and in that spot was found – intertwined with chains – the skeleton of a man. The body had lain in the ground a long time and had left the bones bare and corroded by the fetters. The bones were then collected and given a proper burial at public expense – and since the ghost’s tortured soul had been finally laid to rest, the house in Athens was haunted no more.

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