The Clarksburg Ghost Dog: A Friday Fright Bite

On January 11, 1869, the Wheeling Daily Register ran a small news item from the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia. The article read:

"They have an original ghost on the railroad near Clarksburg. The spook takes the questionable shape of a black dog with a red ring around its neck, and is impervious to pokers and "sich."" 

That's it. That's all that I could find mentioned, and its somewhat of a head scratcher. What do they mean when they say a red ring around its neck? Like...a collar? I'm sure things are MUCH different today than they were in the years immediately following the Civil War, but I do think the mention of a red ring is rather interesting. According to modern practice, if you see a dog with a red leash, collar or bandana on, it is generally taken to mean that the dog is potentially aggressive. It may bite, snap at, or lunge at people and other animals, so if you see it out, don't approach it without owner's permission.

My own black pup, Nazy, was red-collared. She was rescued from a horrible existence as a bait dog and although she was gentle with humans and learned to get along with her canine sister, she was aggressive towards unfamiliar dogs. She was controllable, but she couldn't be trusted to interact normally with other animals she met out on her walks. 

Red tends to be a universal color meaning STOP or warning. Was the red ring around this phantom dog's neck some sort of warning system to those it encountered, warning them to stay away? Did the red denote there was something bad or evil, even...supernatural...about the dog? 

While we may never know the fate of the phantom dog haunting the railroads near Clarksburg, we know it wasn't alone in a long history of phantom dogs seen in West Virginia. Below is a list of just some of the phantom dog stories from all over the state, which you can read about right here on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State!

The Ghost Dog of Peach Tree (Raleigh County)

The Witch of Wyoming County

Pt. Pleasant's Phantom Black Dog

The Murdered Merchant's Ghost

The Snarly Yow *Coming Soon!*

Wheeling Daily Register
11 January 1869

The Ghost Dog of Peach Tree

Brindle Plott Dog
Photo by Mary Bloom

In his 1975/2008 book, Witches, Ghosts and Signs, Patrick Gainer shares an interesting story told by 'Uncle' Bud Workman. The story comes from Peach Tree, a small mining community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, and deals with what locals believed to be a ghostly dog.

The event takes place over a three-week span in 1880. A very large brindle-colored dog suddenly showed up in town, only being seen by the townspeople after dark. Although it was said this dog approached a local house where its very presence sent the owners' dogs (noted as being the meanest in town) running to hide with their tails tucked between their legs, it was never know to show any aggression towards humans. Still, since no one knew where the dog had come from and why it only appeared at night, the townspeople were fairly well spooked. Most everyone avoided going out at night for fear of running into the ghost dog. 

However, some were brave enough to actually try to confront the dog. One person tried to throw rocks at it, but the rocks went right through it. A local preacher took things a step further at fired five shots at the dog from close range. The bullets didn't touch the dog, nor did it seem bothered by this attempted murder. 

Luckily for the people of Peach Tree, sightings of the phantom canine only lasted about three weeks. Then, the dog disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as it had appeared.  Never again did the phantom dog bother the people of that small Raleigh County community. 

I find this story really interesting because when you think of ghost dogs and supernatural dogs and superstitions surrounding dogs, rarely does a brindle-colored dog appear. Generally, black dogs (especially here in Appalachia) and occasionally white dogs are the subject of such rumors. There are also some elements of this story that are reminiscent of a similar tale from nearby Wyoming County, where a 'witch dog' was said to frighten passersby, and was even shot at to no avail.  Anyway, I'm glad no one was hurt in this telling of the tale, including the dog.  Please see the links below for more spooky tales of phantom dogs here on Theresa's Haunted History!

Witch of Wyoming County

Pt. Pleasant's Phantom Black Dog