A Marshall County Poltergeist Tale

On the outskirts of Cameron, WV sits the 
community of Loudensville (Marshall County)

Today's vintage ghost tale comes from the 07 December 1891 edition of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. This newspaper article, which discusses the strange noises and reports from a wealthy Marshall County farmer and his family, can be accessed for free at the Chronicling America website! I'm especially intrigued by this tale as it seems to have some elements more commonly associated with a poltergeist-type haunting.  (Theresa's Note: Loudensville is very close to Cameron, West Virginia...which is the current home to the Archive of the Afterlife Museum! So, the next time you're up that way visiting this awesome museum, keep the following story in mind as well...)

 A GOOD GHOST STORY

Which Comes to Hand from out in Marshall County

STRANGE HAPPENINGS AT A HOUSE

Where Guards Have Tried Night after Night, but in Vain, to find a Clue to the Cause--Explosions, Windows Broken and Doors Rattled. The Perpetrators Bullet Proof.

Reports come from the vicinity of Loudensville, Marshall County of some strange happenings that would make a capital ghost story, but at this age of the world, ghost stories are not in it, so it is enough to relate the incidents as they were given to a reporter and let the reader form his own conclusions.

About two weeks ago strange and weird noises and reports began to annoy the family of a wealthy farmer living on the hills back of the above named town. While the family was seeking repose a loud report would be heard, as of a gun being fired off just outside the house. Search would be made all around the premises, but nothing could be found to indicate the presence of anything or anybody that could cause such a noise. About the time the family would get settled down ready to turn in again, crash would go the glass in a window, and all would be confusion again; then an outside door would be shaken as though somebody was trying to pull it from its hinges.

Not only has the family kept a close lookout, but four or five men have been kept on guard, both in moonlight and darkness, and while the strange noises and weird transactions go on as usual, nothing has yet been discovered that would throw the slightest light on the mystery. Glass will be smashed and loud reports occur "right under the nose of the guard", as the reliable informant put it, but the closest scrutiny reveals nothing.

The family is distracted and the guards worn out and no solution of the mystery in sight. The farmer thought to catch somebody by shooting through the doors when they were shaken; so he loaded his trusty rifle and when the outside door was seized by the shakes he would bang away, sending a bullet crashing through the thin panel of the door, expecting when it was unbolted and opened to find the prostate form of his tormentor lying lifeless at his feet, but no trace of anything has been bagged in this way, although the doors have been in that manner riddled with bullets.

The matter is puzzling in the extreme, and there must be some explanation of it, but it does not appear on the surface. The farmer at whose house these things are taking place is known throughout the county, and he is wealthy and influential.

The source of the information is the most reliable and trustworthy. It is somewhat like the case of the McComas "haunted house" over in Belmont county twelve or fifteen years ago, which attracted national attention before it was discovered that a hysterical girl's very simple tricks were at the bottom of all the seemingly mysterious manifestations. 

Ghost Vs. Poltergeist

 

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a ghost and a poltergeist? Thanks to Poorly Drawn Lines, you now know!  Poltergeists are nothing more than fancier, wine drinking lil' ghosts. 

Happy Friday, everyone.  Have a safe and spooky weekend!

1952 Louisville Poltergeist

1952 started out as a heck of a spooky year for the Thackers, a rural family living near Fern Creek, Kentucky (about 16 miles from Louisville).  Henry, his wife, a 16 year old boarder named Walter Brown, and three sisters (Joyce, 11; Frances, 8; and Betty, 7) all made headlines when poltergeist activity broke out at their farmhouse, located at the corner of Thixton Lane and Oak Grove Road.

The activity actually started on Sunday, December 30th when the family noticed a variety of objects being thrown about the air, seemingly all on their own.  A 2 lb photo album, a knife, a conch shell doorstop, various bottles and caps, and assorted pieces of jewelry were just a small sampling of items targeted by the alleged poltergeist.

A neighbor, Mrs. Robert Covington, was hit quite hard in the back by a fingernail file located on a dresser about 15 feet away.  Walter Brown, the 16 year old boarder, claimed to actually SEE with his own eyes Mr. Thacker's spectacles lift off a radio and land in a chair three feet away.  

Despite dozens of neighbors and schoolmates witnessing the activity, there were several skeptics who came to inspect the ghostly goings-on at the Thacker home.  Two such skeptics were local patrolmen, Russell McDaniel and Jack Fisher.  Despite almost being hit in the head with a cardboard box himself, McDaniel still couldn't accept the idea of an otherworldly source for the activity.  He noticed that whenever objects began to move, one person was always nearby:  Joyce Sanders.

On Thursday, he and Fisher asked to speak privately with the girl.  After an hour, the trio emerged with a confession.  Joyce admitted that she was throwing the objects when no one was looking.  She did it for attention.  "It made a lot of people come see me," she is quoted as saying.  Joyce and her sisters had been wards of the Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home.  They had been staying with the Thackers for about 13 months because their mother was terminally ill with cancer, and their father was not in the picture.  It was deemed that Joyce, a depressed and lonely young girl, made up the whole thing, and therefore, this is where the story ends for many.

But...does it really end there?  Was the whole poltergeist act simply a hoax, perpetrated by an 11 year old to gain attention?  I'm not so sure that's the case.  Here's why:

Mrs. Thacker answering calls about the poltergeist

In newspaper articles from the time period, McDaniel admits that he never actually SAW Joyce pick up an object and throw it.  He just noticed that she was the one who constantly seemed to be nearby when activity occurred.  So, he said to her that all the people who came to witness the poltergeist would be disappointed if they didn't see anything move. "They just won't come back anymore," McDaniel is quoted as saying to the girl, to which she replied, "You mean they'll all go home?"  It was shortly thereafter, a brooch was seen moving. Thinking that his suspicions were confirmed, McDaniel and Fisher took the girl aside privately and assured her that she would not be in any trouble if she confessed to the poltergeist activity.So, we have no witnesses, not even the policemen, coming forward to say they actually saw Joyce faking the activity.  We do, however, have a witness (Walter Brown) saying that he saw an object actually being moving, unaided by any human hands.

We also have some elements of a classic poltergeist case.  Poltergeist activity is characterized by activity seemingly centered on a human agent. This human agent can be anyone, but historically tends to be a child on the cusp of, or going through puberty OR someone who has a lot of bottled up emotions that aren't able to be expressed in their ordinary lives.  Joyce fits both scenarios---she was a young girl, about the age of puberty's onset, and she was most likely very troubled by the situation of her mother being critically ill.

Many modern researchers agree that poltergeist activity is NOT caused by an outside ghost or entity, but is in fact recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK) manifested unconsciously by a human agent. That's why she was nearby when these events occurred.

But why would she confess to a hoax she didn't take part in?  In the book, The Poltergeist Experience, by D. Scott Rogo, the author mentions that there are a number of reasons why poltergeist agents tend to confess to a hoax that they had no part in. Some will confess because they realize, either consciously or subconsciously that they ARE responsible for the turmoil and are compelled to take responsibility for it, which will often cause the activity to cease. Others may confess simply because they were pressured into it and are just trying to appease their accusers.

But, I think what REALLY happened is another scenario that is often seen in poltergeist cases.  I think the original activity was not a hoax.  Objects were moving around on their own, and nobody knew why.  Joyce discovered that her schoolmates were fascinated and would come to witness the activity.  Joyce and her sisters were heaped with attention, as reporters from radio, newspapers, and even television all wanted to hear and share their story.  To a lonely, troubled girl, being in the spotlight, surrounded by people, probably did offer respite from her sad circumstances.  

Either the activity had already started to wind down on its own, or Joyce was scared that it was going to, thanks to McDaniel's statement, prompting her to stage at least one object being thrown, as a way to keep people happy and coming to see her. Poltergeist activity seems to stop as abruptly as it starts and Joyce wasn't ready to let go of the benefits just yet.  To further support this theory, Joyce actually does state in one newspaper interview that she WASN'T responsible for all the objects moving, although she believes that people just imagined those things.

Obviously, it is possible that Joyce DID knowingly trick her friends and neighbors, possibly assisted by her sisters and even Brown.  Perhaps peoples' imaginations ran wild, causing a childhood prank to escalate into a nationally recognized poltergeist case that within a week would come crashing down as a not-so-elaborate childhood hoax. However, the case was long ago written off as trickery and to my knowledge, neither Joyce nor the case has ever been formally studied. I can only hope that the lonely little girl was able to live a happy life, post-poltergeist. 

Sources and Further Reading:

The Poltergeist Experience: Investigations Into Ghostly Phenomena, by D. Scott Rogo

Lonely Girl, 11, Was a "Spook" Just for Fun. The Courier-Journal. 04 January 1952

Objects Floating About Residence. Charleston Daily Mail. 03 January 1952

Haunter of House Fails C-J Reporter, by Phil Harsham. The Courier-Journal 03 January 1952

Idaho's Haunted KMart

Awhile back it was announced that my local KMart store would finally be joining the long list of closed retail chains throughout the tri-state.  This store, which held on while other area KMarts bit the dust a couple of years ago, now joins Elder-Beerman, Magic Mart, Rite-Aid, and Toys R Us in becoming an empty and abandoned shell of a building.

There are numerous reasons why I hate to see this death trend in brick and mortar stores, and one of those is...where are all the ghosts going to go?  Retail stores, many of which are located in relatively new strip malls or shopping complexes, don't usually come to mind when it comes to spooky places with a haunted reputation.  But...there are more haunted retail stores out there than you'd think!  We've seen the infamous Toys R Us ghost photo taken at a Sunnyvale, CA location, and there's even a haunted KMart here in Parkersburg, WV.  Back in my early 20s, I worked at a haunted Dollar Tree where the resident ghost liked to walk the aisles after closing, unplug vacuums, and knock merchandise off shelves.  Today's blog, however, is about another haunted KMart---this one located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho!

Okay, so in the spirit of full disclosure, the KMart itself isn't haunted.  The haunting involves an object housed within the store.  This KMart is home to a possessed cash register.

The story of the spooky cash register surfaced back in October of 2013 when a local newspaper in northern Idaho asked its readers to send in their own ghostly experiences for a Halloween piece.  One such story that came in was so fascinating that it got its own feature in The Coeur d'Alene Press!  Cashier Tamara Dobbs wrote in to share her experiences with Register two at the Kmart store, located at 201 West Neider Avenue.

Register 2 is accused of being possessed by a potential poltergeist because of its penchant for malfunction.  The older register is the only one in the store that is known for frequently freezing up, dumping transactions, and generally causing chaos for the cashier assigned to it.  When a manager is called in to assist with the problem, or when technicians are called in to service the machine, there are never any problems.  It seems like the ghost, whom employees believe to be a male spirit, only likes to mess with cashiers.

The Coeur d'Alene Press reached out to store manager, Lauren Larson.  Larson confirmed that the register in question was known to cause problems for cashiers and even referred to the machine as "an independent thinker" that regularly "loses its mind."

Unfortunately, it appears as if the Coeur d'Alene KMart closed last October.  I'm not sure if the register is still in use at another location, but if it is, today it would be 18 years old. I hope that wherever the machine ended up, its paranormal inhabitant can now find peace. 

GHOST IN THE MACHINE: KMART CASH REGISTER HOME TO PICKY POLTERGEIST

The Coeur d'Alene Press

Article by David Cole; October 24, 2013

The Poltergeist Trilogy Curse

They're Heeeeree...

It's been 31 years since the first Poltergeist movie hit the big screen and the iconic horror film trilogy has been scaring the pants off people ever since!  Even if you haven't seen any of the movies, the very image of young Carol Anne kneeling in front of a static-y television uttering those two, horrifying words in that innocent sing-song voice is enough to invoke an innate sense of fear.

But why is it so scary?  We KNOW its just a movie, right?  Of course, but like any good horror movie classic, the very circumstances surrounding the film itself are wrought with legends and alleged "true" paranormal activity!  Let's take a quick look at some of the eerie coincidences that are often cited as evidence of the Poltergeist curse:

Deaths of Cast Members:
Years ago, it was rumored that everyone who worked on the film met an untimely end.  Obviously, that isn't true, but there were at least four notable deaths of cast members that occurred during or slightly after the six year run between the release of the first and last Poltergeist movie.  Two of these deaths were not highly unusual.  Julian Beck, who played Kane in the second film, died after an 18 month battle with stomach cancer.  Will Sampson, who played the shaman died from complications after a heart/lung transplant.  Both actors were older, not in good health, and had been battling terminal issues for some time before their respective deaths.

The deaths of Sampson and Beck are still tragic, but not necessarily evidence of a curse.  Instead, most people point to the very untimely deaths of two other stars:  Dominique Dunne, who played the oldest daughter Dana, and Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne throughout all three movies.

On October 30, 1982, Dunne, who was 22 years old, was confronted at her home by her ex-boyfriend, John Sweeney.  Sweeney had come to reconcile, but when Dunne refused, he attacked her, choking her for an estimated 4-6 minutes.  Dunne passed out and lapsed into a coma.  She died on November 4.  Sweeney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, and served less than six years in prison.

Heather O'Rourke was just 12 years old when she passed away in February of 1988.  Believed to have been suffering from the flu since January of that year, Heather continued to get worse until fainting at breakfast one morning.  On the way to the hospital, she went into cardiac arrest.  It was later discovered that she had an intestinal blockage, a condition brought on by her previously diagnosed Crohn's Disease, and was experiencing sepsis.  She underwent surgery to remove the blockage, but the toxins coursing through her blood stream were too strong and she died on the operating table on February 1st, shortly before the release of the third film.  Because she died prior to the release of the film, it is debated as to whether or not she had actually completed filming all her scenes.  Her parents claim that all scenes were completed the previous June, but producers claimed that subtle changes had to be made to the script to accommodate her passing.

Other Creepy Stuff:
There were some other interesting things that happened on set or to actors during the filming of the movies, again, most notably the first.  During the first movie, Oliver Robins, who played Robbie, nearly died when one of the mechanical clowns malfunctioned and began choking him.  At first, it was thought that he was a really good actor, but when he actually started turning blue, it was realized that he was in serious trouble.

JoBeth Williams, who played the mom in the first movie, had her own supernatural experiences OFF set.  She claimed that when she'd go home in the evening, all the framed photos on the walls of her home would be askew.  She'd fix them back, but find that the next evening, they'd again be out of place.

So...the above points are the "evidence" that is often presented when the curse is discussed, but WHY would this movie be cursed?  Many people believe that there is a very simple reason for this...simple, but very, very creepy!

Remember the pool scene in the first movie...the part where all the human skeletons pop up, confirming that the subdivision was built atop a cemetery where the headstones were moved but not the bodies?  Those were REAL human skeletons.  Seriously.  At the time, it was much cheaper to purchase human skeletons than ones made of plastic.  In fact, when I was in high school, we still had a skeleton in our science department who was 99% real human remains.  Those same skeletons were used again in certain scenes in the second film.

Obviously, the cast wasn't too thrilled with this revelation.  A film about the dangers of treating the bodies of the dead with disrespect using real human remains as props is rather ironic and even prompted Will Sampson, who was a medicine man in real life, to conduct an exorcism on set.

Whether or not the souls of those whose bodies were used in the filming of this series came back to wreak vengeance...or whether or not you believe there is ANY type of curse associated with this trilogy...its still interesting to think about all the coincidences and spooky things that keep popping up with not just THIS movie, but so many other horror movies out there.  In any event, with Halloween barreling its way towards us, the Poltergeist trilogy will inevitably hitting the small screen on at least a few different channels.  If you choose to watch, just remember that the pool scene has a couple of un-credited extra actors involved!

*Check out this REAL Poltergeist story from Texas!*

Poltergeist Activity at the Kingwood Library

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

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

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

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

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

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

Also, who is this gentleman?

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

Library Homepage
Preston County Journal article

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

A REAL Poltergeist Story from Texas

The house, according to Google Streetview, May 2011

803 Poppet's Way, Crosby, Texas:  This address, located within the Newport subdivision outside Houston, is a real life Poltergeist story:

The upscale neighborhood first began acquiring modern residents in the 1980s. Ben and Jean Williams were the first to begin reporting problems...mundane things at first like toilets flushing and lights flickering. They also had a tree in their yard covered with strange markings, and rectangular sinkholes began appearing in their backyard.

In 1983, neighbors Sam and Judy Haney began putting in a swimming pool in their backyard and unearthed two coffins containing the bodies of a man and a woman. After some research, the neighbors got in contact with an elderly man named Jasper Norton, who was formerly employed as a gravedigger. He told them the area was once the site of the Black Hope Cemetery and that as many as 60 people, many former slaves, were buried there. The two bodies uncovered in the Haney yard belonged to Betty and Charlie Thomas, former slaves who were buried in the 1930s.

The land the subdivision sits on had remained in the custody of one family from a time prior to the Civil War, to up until when the property was sold in the 1970s to real estate developers. This family owned and operated a plantation, and after the Civil War, continued to employ many freed blacks as farm hands.

It is argued that the former owners of the property did not disclose the inclusion of a small portion of the land that was deeded for use as a Potter's Cemetery, however, it is claimed that the buyer was quite aware of its presence. Eyewitness testimony states that developers bulldozed several wooden crosses and a picket fence during the early stages of development.

In any event, Ben and Jean were the first to build a home on what was the cemetery in 1980, followed soon after by the Haney's. Out of respect for the dead, the Haney's made the tough decision to rebury the Thomas' in the yard, but shortly afterward, the Haney's started reporting hauntings in their home...disembodied voices, etc. Other neighbors were also experiencing activity and began moving out, but the Williams' and the Haney's decided to stay.

Unfortunately, the Williams' began to experience more and more problems. Their grand- daughter became ill, and the sinkholes began opening up. Ben even reported seeing an apparition hovering over his sleeping wife. The Haney's were also still experiencing problems and unexplained illnesses decided to file a lawsuit against the neighborhood's developer. The jury found in favor of the Haney's but the judge overruled the decision. The Haney's, now broke, filed for bankruptcy and fled the home.

The Williams' decided to try their hand at a lawsuit, but decided to gather more evidence first. In their quest, they found an older resident who told them that the strange markings on the tree in their yard actually marked the spot where two young girls were buried. Jean started digging but when exhaustion took over, her 30 year old daughter Tina began. After no more than 30 minutes, Tina suffered a major heart attack and died two days later. The Williams simply abandoned the house after that, seven years after they had first built it, and fled to Montana. The later went on to help co-author the book based on their experiences, the Black Hope Horror.

No current residents are experiencing problems in the neighborhood as reported by a local investigation team who has investigated and researched the area.

(Above photo property of THIS excellent site on the Black Hope Horror. Please visit for more information and more photos.)

UPDATE 2012:  I'm pretty sure the first time I heard of Poppet's Way was on one of my favorite TV shows as a kid...Unsolved Mysteries.  The segment featuring this real-life Poltergeist story can be found on YouTube!  The Black Hope Horror segment appears first in the episode.