A Poltergeist in Huntington?

9th Street, Huntington, WV
ca 1912
Source: WV History on View

The year 1895 started off with a bang (almost literally) for one family in Huntington, WV.  Henry Compston had recently moved to Huntington from Ashland, Ky to work for the railroad at the car shop. He and his family set up residence at a "splendid little home" on the corner of Ninth Street and College Avenue. But life in this new city was far from idyllic. In early January, the family was greatly disturbed by a loud and boisterous spirit, haunting their new home.

Many believed the hauntings were the work of multiple ghosts, who made their presence known by slashing around the house, upturning chairs, beds, and even a crib. Then, the ghosts made their way to the roof of the home and were said to have performed a "highland fling."  These acts created so much noise and chaos that the family fled to a neighbor's home, where they spent the night.

Unfortunately, the events of the first evening repeated themselves the second night and the police were called in to investigate. In addition to the police, curious on-lookers flooded the home, all eager to hear the noisy ghost for themselves. Although as of this writing I couldn't find a follow-up, the family seriously discussed moving out of the haunted house. 

Out of curiosity, I did do a little bit of additional research on this topic and discovered that the corner of 9th St. and College Avenue is the same area in which the Cabell County Public Library's main branch now sits. Without more research, I can't be for sure if it is in the exact same spot, but it's intriguing due to the idea that there are stories of that library being haunted! That's a whole other blog post, but I wanted to mention it here as an interesting synchronicity. 

Anyway, this 'noisy' ghost sounds like (pardon the pun) what we'd generally call a poltergeist, which literally translates to noisy ghost. From the brief newspaper article detailing the haunting, it doesn't seem as if there was an apparition or any other visual phenomenon. The ghost or ghosts just kind of threw things around and made a loud racket. That's pretty standard for a poltergeist. 

I'm in the camp, however, that believes that poltergeists aren't really ghosts at all. Rather, it is a phenomenon known as RSPK---recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis. Like a classic poltergeist haunting, there is usually a central person, or agent, that the activity seems to concentrate on. This person is most likely someone going through hormonal changes, often a teen or pre-teen. But whereas some believe that an actual ghost uses that built up energy around the agent, RSPK leans on the idea that the activity is caused, involuntarily, by the agent alone. 

Again, I can't confirm it as of this writing, but I did find a Henry Compston and family buried in Ashland, Ky. If this is the same family, Compston had several children living at home during this time, one of which was a 13 year old son. Is it possible that this son (or another child) going through a move to a new city AND puberty managed to spark up a poltergeist haunting....or was there something else going on?

Sources and Further Reading:

Find-a-Grave Entry for Henry Washington Compston

RSPK Definition by ParaRational 

The Wheeling Sunday Register
13 January 1895

The Weekly Register (Pt. Pleasant, WV)
16 January 1895

Huntington's Mischievous Monkey

 

In the Autmn of 1915, a little monkey named Mary Jane wreaked havoc in the streets of Huntington, WV. 

 

In Early October, Mary Jane, who was owned by the Huntington Police Department, escaped her cage at headquarters and went on a month-long mischief-making romp throughout the city. At first, Mary Jane stayed fairly close by to the police department, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and scurrying overtop streets via telephone lines. No real effort was made to capture Mary Jane until the mischievous little monkey turned to a life of breaking and entering and petty theft. 

Mary Jane wasn't content just to play cat-and-mouse with her former owners. She was heading towards a life of crime. She terrorized the local citizens when she started entering their houses. Once she had found entry into a home, she would go through the residents' drawers, pull pictures off the walls, and even steal purses and other small items. Sometimes all it took was her to show up unannounced in some poor, unsuspecting woman's boudoir.  

The crime spree would not last long. Chief Davis ordered Mary Jane be captured. Shortly after, she was found in the pantry of a local home by City Turnkey, Jack Cole. Mary Jane was busy smearing jam all over her face at the time of the apprehension and apparently returned to her 'prison' without further incident. 

I've yet to find any information on how Mary Jane became a permanent resident of the Huntington Police Department, but ironically, a similar situation was playing out about an hour away in Charleston. The Charleston Daily Mail ran an article on December 18th pleading for someone to come get Jim and give him a home. 

Jim was the pet monkey of Hubert Kelly, fireman with the central fire department in Charleston. He had bought the little monkey and had quickly come to the conclusion that it was too much to handle and was causing too much mischief. The animal was being held at the fire department after Jim's admittance that his attempt of pet ownership was a failure. 

PSA Time: All pets, especially exotic ones with special needs, are a lifelong commitment. Please make sure you are able to provide for the needs of your specific animal before adopting---including safe and adequate housing, exercise, and mental stimulation. There have been a lot of 'cryptid' sightings over the years that can probably be explained by exotic animals that either escaped captivity or were dumped by their owners when it became too difficult to care for them. I hope Mary Jane and Jim lived out the rest of their lives in loving environments suited to their unique needs. They wouldn't be the only monkeys to make the news, though. I'll be sharing some similar stories in the near future, so keep an eye on Theresa's Haunted History! 

12 November 1915
Charleston Daily Mail

13 November 1915
The West Virginian

18 December 1915
Charleston Daily Mail

Cujo in Huntington

 

Ritter Park in Huntington, WV
Photo: WV History on View

Most of us are familiar with Stephen King's Cujo, a tale about a rabid St. Bernard who goes on a violent killing spree. Although inspired by real events, Cujo was a work of fiction, straight from the mind of one of the most popular and prolific horror writers of our generation. But, did you know that Huntington, WV once had its own Cujo?

That may be a little harsh, since there are no deaths associated with the incidents that occurred in the summer of 1915. However, the reign of terror by a cur dog named Whitie who stalked the area around Ritter Park definitely left its mark. 

In a span of two months, Whitie had bitten over 100 people and caused multiple accidents by attacking bicyclists and motorcyclists by pulling them off their vehicles. Patrolmen had shot their revolvers at Whitie multiple times, but they never seemed to hit their mark. Stories spread about Whitie living a 'charmed life'. Could he really not be killed? Was this more than a normal flesh and blood dog?

As it turns out, no. Whitie was as mortal as any of us. When multiple complaints flooded the police station about this vicious creature Sgt. Joe Messenger ordered a police wagon to go hunt down Whitie and take care of him once and for all. After a chase through Ritter Park, Patrol Driver Lon Whitten finally took out Whitie with a shotgun. Huntington's own Cujo had been neutralized at last. 

Today, Ritter Park is still a popular recreational spot in the city, used by many to exercise, play, or simply enjoy the rose gardens. It also has a reputation for being haunted. I haven't personally heard of any stories of a ghost dog in Ritter Park, but the next time you visit, keep an eye out for any unleashed cur dogs roaming the grounds. The spirit of the once-charmed Whitie may still be out there hunting for his next victim. 

25 July 1915
The Sunday Telegram (Clarksburg, WV)

West Virginia Voodoo: Volume I

What do you think of when you hear the word 'Voodoo'? Chances are, your mind is transported to the deep south, around the bayous and swamps of Louisiana. Perhaps your mind goes straight to New Orleans, where even today there seems to be a voodoo shop on every block in the French Quarter. Love spells, curses, sticking pins into dolls, little bags filled with mystical ingredients to aid in protection, wild dancing to the beat of rhythmic drums...all of these things conjure up a stereotypical picture of what we think of the practice of voodoo. 

The mountains of West Virginia, while known for her own flavor of folk magic and practitioners, seems far removed from the mix of African and Caribbean traditions merged with Catholicism. However, as Black Americans began migrating north en masse around the turn of the 20th century, voodoo spread as well. 

After reading a book on New Orleans voodoo last year, I became interested in finding any references to the practice here in West Virginia. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find MUCH of interest (was really hoping for some zombies or some otherwise supernatural tales), but I did find several stories in local newspapers that I wanted to share. The first is from Huntington, WV:

The Daily Advocate (Greenville, OH)
16 March 1933

Mrs. Georgia Burks:

Mrs. Burks was born in Atlanta, GA, but found her way to Huntington, WV sometime prior to 1926. In 1933, the 38 year old Black woman was living with her husband, James. Unfortunately, her health had not been good for some time, and she passed away on February 28, 1933. That wouldn't be the end of her story, however. I'm not sure what prompted it, but about two weeks later, newspapers around the country began running a small article stating that Huntington police had begun an inquest into Burks' death and were awaiting results of an analysis of her stomach contents. Apparently, Mrs. Burks had died shortly after visiting with Robert Fojoe, a Voodoo 'doctor' from New Orleans. Fojoe claims he treated Mrs. Burks' illness with a grapevine tea. 

To further complicate matters, another man, a Mr. Henry Nickle, was also taken into police custody. He was charged with practicing medicine without a license for his role in treating Mrs. Burks. For whatever reason, newspapers felt that was the end of the story---I haven't been able to find any follow-ups. I assume, however, that no foul play was ever found in Mrs. Burks' untimely death. Her death certificate states that she died from pneumonia and was buried in Huntington's Spring Hill Cemetery. 

Obviously, there are a lot of questions left unanswered, beginning with motive. Why did Mrs. Burks seek the advice of a voodoo practitioner to aid in her illness? Had traditional medicine failed her, over and over again...or did she believe there was some supernatural cause to her troubles? Did she feel that someone had cursed her? And who the hell was Henry Nickle and what was his role in this whole situation? My quest for information on this case isn't over, and I will update if I find any additional details. Plus, our quest for voodoo in West Virginia isn't over either! Check back soon for more cases throughout the Mountain State! 

The Portsmouth Times (Ohio)
24 March 1933

Death Certificate for Georgia Jackson Burks

Effie Fulton Brings Spiritualist Church to Huntington

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
14 March 1935

Over the years of researching the history behind haunted locations, I've stumbled across information that I have no idea how I found it. Sometimes, its information that specifically relates to a case I'm working on. I'll hit a research block, and then all of a sudden, the information or document I need pops up in the last place I'd expect. Other times, I'll be researching OTHER cases, and come across information for another location or topic, sometimes one that is new to me but immediately grabs my attention, and sometimes one that I've covered in the past but am still researching. After talking with other historians, paranormal researchers, and genealogists who have had similar experiences, I've come to the conclusion that someone or something has guided me to find this information. It can't all be coincidence and dumb luck; there are people on 'the other side' who desperately want their stories told. I think Effie Fulton is one of those people who don't want to be forgotten. 

Effie Leora Fulton was born on in Mercer County on September 12, 1878. She was the oldest of several children born to the Reverend Thomas Boyd Cook and Louisa Estas Thomas Cook, and in early records (such as census and marriage records) she actually goes by Leora Effa. On Effie's 17th birthday, she married her first husband, Joseph Marion Oaks/Oakes in Mercer County. Unfortunately, her husband would pass away in 1906 while living in Colorado, but not before Effie had given birth to three sons and three daughters. 

The Herald Dispatch
12 March 1935

It's not clear what brought Effie to study spiritualism. Her father, the Rev. Thomas Cook, was a devout Baptist preacher and God-fearing man. But, somewhere along the line, Effie realized that she had a gift of mediumship. She remarried, this time to a man named Joseph W. Fulton. I THINK she was still in Colorado at this time, but the couple soon moved back to Effie's place of birth, Mercer County, and settled in Matoaka, WV. 

Around 1914, Joseph W. and Effie came to Huntington, WV. Joseph worked as a conductor for the railroad, and Effie founded and served as the head pastor of the First Spiritualist Church of Huntington. While there is no mention of the Fultons or the church in the 1915 Polk City Directory, by 1920 the couple is listed as living at 1660 10th Avenue, and the church is located at 325 14th St. W, Huntington, WV. 

Approximate location of The First Spiritualist Church
325 14th St. West, Huntington
Image from Google Maps

Unfortunately, the site of the church is now a scary looking empty lot. Even more unfortunately, I can't seem to find much, if anything, about it. Thanks to the Polk City Directory, we have an address and a brief description of the location (southwest corner of 14th St. and Virginia Ave.) and obviously from obituaries, we know that it was founded by Effie Fulton around 1914, and she continued to be the leader of the congregation until her death. Aside from that, the only other mention I've seen is a brief sentence in an article written about a (slightly) less obscure medium from the Huntington area named Cliff Bias. It is noted that when Cliff was living in Huntington, he attended his first development circle with Effie at the Spiritualist Church. The 14 year old paid 25 cents to attend, but chose not to go back because he assumed he had wasted his money when he fell asleep and stayed asleep through the whole thing. However, the article notes that Cliff didn't actually fall asleep---he fell into a trance and vocally channeled a spirit. 

Throughout the 1920's, the Fultons lived at several different addresses in Huntington, but the church pretty much stayed at 325 14th St. W. Around 1928 something somewhat confusing happens. In the Polk City Directory for that year, Effie is listed as living at 1650 McGuffin Avenue and is widowed. However, further down the page, Jos W. is listed as living on 6th Avenue! I was quite confused, thinking maybe he had an adult son not only with his same name, but same occupation, or maybe that he had died, but there was a mix-up in the data reporting for the directory. But, I think I found what actually happened.

1928 Polk City Directory

Joseph W. Fulton passed away on May 3, 1930 after what looks like from his death certificate a pretty horrific accident. On his death certificate where marriage status is recorded, he's listed as being divorced. I guess it was less scandalous at that time for Effie to just tell the city directory people that she was widowed (which wasn't a lie; her first husband had died) rather than divorced. 

Mrs. Effie Fulton would join her two husbands in death on March 12, 1935. She passed away at her home at 1309 17th St. from complications due to pneumonia. Funeral services were held for her that evening in the home, and then her body was sent back to Mercer County the next day, where additional services were held at her mother's home before burial in the Athens Cemetery. Although she legally kept the last name Fulton, she was buried under the name Effie Cooke Oakes.  She was survived by her mother and her six children. 

Effie's Tombstone
Find-a-Grave, uploaded by D. Mack

I'm really surprised that information on the First Spiritualist Church of Huntington, WV wasn't more easily accessible, as to me, that seems like a pretty important piece of the city's history! I also wish that I could have found more research on Effie herself, as being both a medium AND the pastor/founder of a church seems like attributes that people would want to put out there. But, I'm thrilled that I just happened to stumble upon her obituary while looking up a newspaper article for another case. I have a feeling that there are plenty of hours of manually going through newspaper articles at the library for any mentions of the Spiritualist church and it's founder. Personally, I find the topic fascinating, and I'm looking forward to learning about Effie as a person, as well as Effie as a medium. I'd like to think that Effie reached out beyond the grave and chose me to be the one to tell her story...and I don't want to let her down! 

Further Reading and Sources:

Biography of Rev. Thomas Boyd Cook, written by grandson, William Lyons. Geni.com article. 

Clifford Bias: Trumpet Medium, by Travis Sanders. November 11, 2019

Effie Fulton Death Certificate. WV State Archives

JW Fulton Death Certificate. WV State Archives

Find-a-Grave Entry for Effie Cook Oakes

Marriage Record for Effie and J.M. Oakes (FamilySearch)

The Giant Skeleton of Central City

Visitors and residents of Huntington's Central City neighborhood today might never realize that while driving down Thirteenth Street between Madison and Jackson Avenues, they are driving over the remains of one of the many lesser burial mounds that once dotted the landscape throughout the Ohio Valley.  What's even stranger is that the former burial mound held an interesting surprise---the skeleton of a giant!

The idea of a mound containing an extremely large skeleton came to my attention a few years back when a website devoted to the history of mounds and the mound builders posted a newspaper article from the Washington Post dated June 23, 1908. The article noted that a 7 foot tall skeleton was found, along with huge copper bracelets, in the Thirteenth Street mound. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to head on over to the Cabell County Public Library and see what the local papers had to say.  There were several articles from both the Huntington Advertiser and the Huntington Dispatch, all with pretty much the same information.  Here's the transcription from the June 23, 1908 edition of the Huntington Dispatch:

REMAINS OF ANCIENT MOUND BUILDER DISCOVERED

Yesterday afternoon a most interesting find was made by workingmen engaged in removing the mound in Thirteenth street, between Madison and Jackson avenues, Central City. Some time ago the authorities decided to remove this obstruction from Thirteenth street, and for several days the work of leveling the mound has gone forward.  Yesterday when at a point twelve feet above the base of the mound, a huge skeleton was discovered. While it was impossible to determine the exact height of the skeleton, it is believed to be near an accurate estimate to state that the owner of the bones stood near seven feet in his moccasins.

That the remains are those of a person of distinction in his tribe is evidenced by the wealth of trinkets which were found in close proximity.  There were about the ankles of the prehistoric chieftain massive copper bracelets, while similar ornaments but of lighter patterns were found in the vicinity of the wrists. When the mold was burnished from the trinkets it was found that they were of the finest type of beaten copper and were in a perfect state of preservation.  Quantities of beads, arrow heads and stone hatchets were also discovered.  The copper bracelets are in the possession of J.V. Fetty, of Central City.

News of the discovery attracted hundreds of persons to the spot, and scores of relics were carried away by the curious.

The excavators have yet twelve feet to go before the base of the mound is reached, and other interesting discoveries are expected.

A curious and significant fact noticeable in connection with the work of removing the mound is that the entire structure is made up of surface soil, showing that the mound was erected by the process of gathering small quantities of surface soil from the adjacent bottoms.  The diameter of the mound at the base in 63 feet.

13th Street from Jackson Avenue looking toward Madison

Rotary Park--Haunted or Not?

I'm always looking for new haunted locations to include here at Theresa's Haunted History, but also for HPIR investigations, and I've been reading up on good ways to find non-reported or under-reported locations that have a lot of potential.  After coming across a story about a brutal murder that happened in the park in the 1950s, I decided that this place was definitely worth looking into...at least from a historical viewpoint!

Rotary Park first opened in 1921 when the City Civic Community, spearheaded by the local Rotary and Kiwanis clubs pushed for a public park project in Huntington.  Public parks were viewed as an asset to public social and physical health, so together, these organizations raised money to buy up land for use in the project.  Over 60 acres were purchased from John Hite, and would become the basis of Rotary Park, located just off Rt. 60 today.

When it opened, the park was nothing like it is today.  The site, chosen for its outstanding panoramic views, was not accessible by automobile traffic.  Rather, it was a place for hiking and rustic outdoors activities.  In 1925, the park expanded its acreage and control was given over to the Huntington Board of Park Commissioners (an organization which later became the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District.

It wasn't until 1929 when the park became more accessible to the citizens of Huntington.  Roads were built throughout the park, including a historic stone bridge, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Picnic areas were also built, making the park more open to the everyday citizen...but still offered a secluded, wooded natural sanctuary.

However, that same seclusion would be used for nefarious purposes as well as tranquil ones.  In particular, one of Huntington's most brutal murders took place in the park on January 4, 1958.  Mrs. Inez Booth was at home reading one evening, waiting for her husband, Melvin, to return from his Guyandotte grocery store business.   Mrs. Booth was forced at knife point from her Collis Avenue home, into a car, and driven to an especially secluded area of the park where she was raped and stabbed, suffering a slit throat, abdomen, and leg.

Mrs. Booth did not die right away.  In temperatures reaching lows of around 7 degrees, she laid in a pool of her own blood down in an embankment where she was thrown and left for dead.  With her last remaining strength, she managed to crawl towards a residence on Glendale Avenue, one of the housing developments located below the park.  It was in the Withrow's backyard that a police officer found her around 11:30.  She was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where she died that morning at 2:30am.  She was 51 years old.

Before Mrs.  Booth passed away, she was able to name her attacker, 25 year old Larry Paul Fudge.  Fudge was a family friend who had grown up with the Booth family's children.  Fudge, a former honor student at Huntington East High School, had just recently visited the family's home and it was even a known fact that Melvin Booth had signed a bond agreement for Fudge for an incident 5 years earlier, where Booth was convicted of extortion of a 17 year old girl.

Fudge was arrested for the murder of Mrs. Booth less than an hour after she was found.  He was picked up at his parents' home in Altizer and confessed to the crime.  After a short trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty.  On Tuesday, July 1, 1958 at 9pm, Fudge met his end at the WV State Penitentiary in the arms of Ol' Sparky.  He was the first man from Cabell County to be sentenced to electrocution.  His remains were brought home, and he was buried in Barboursville's Ridgelawn Memorial Park.

Today, that same tranquil seclusion of the park that is enjoyed by so many nature lovers is still one of its most dangerous aspects.  Despite the addition of modern baseball fields, and a top-notch disc golf course, much of the park is still wooded, and its developed quite a seedy reputation.  It is known locally as an excellent place (all times, day AND night) to go "cruising."  Drug deals and thefts are also fairly common.  Because of all the criminal and adult activity, as intrigued as I am about investigating this location, it doesn't seem to be a good idea, lol.

I do urge, however, that anyone who DOES wish to check out claims of paranormal activity take precautions.  Do not go alone, let someone know where you'll be and when you'll be back, and consider a daytime only investigation of the better trafficked areas, keeping a cell phone handy.

I'd also love to know if anyone has heard any actual stories of this location being haunted, or if anyone has had any paranormal experiences here.  If you have any information, please email me at theresarhps@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.  Thanks!

Links of Interest:

Historic Bridge National Register application
Death Certificate for Inez Booth
Death Certificate for Larry Fudge
Article on the murder of Inez Booth

Feel free to email me for more information on this location!  I've got a ton more that just doesn't "fit" with the blog, lol.