Ghosts and Goblins on Robinson's Run: A Friday Fright Bite

Stock Image, NOT Robinson's Run

Every once in awhile, I like to offer a little Friday Fright Bite. These are tales that don't have a lot of meat to them, but I find interesting enough to want to share, nevertheless. Today's story comes from the February 22, 1892 edition of the Wheeling Register, a local newspaper from Wheeling, WV in the state's northern panhandle. It goes as follows:

Some young men on Robinson's Run, in Monongalia county, hearing stories of ghosts and goblins which were said to have sprung from a certain Indian grave in the vicinity, visited the grave the other day and dug into the grave, and within eighteen inches of the top of the earth found the remains of a man. The bones were much decayed, many of them entirely gone, but enough remained to show that the skeleton was that of a man of very large stature. The skull was decayed and found in several pieces, but several teeth were found to be sound. We hope after this the children of that vicinity can sleep soundly. Tradition tells us that it was the grave of an old chief. The boys settled the mystery. 

Okay, maybe I'm missing something here, but WTaF? How will disturbing the grave of an alleged Indian chief going to lead to the children of the vicinity sleeping soundly? If folklore and pop culture have taught us anything it's that disturbing human remains, especially those of NATIVE humans, CAUSES activity, not lays it to rest. The ghosts and goblins springing from this grave aren't going to be laid to rest by digging the poor man up! And what mystery, pray tell, has been solved? I guess they confirmed there was body located in a rather shallow grave, but nothing of this article shows that it was proven to be an Indian chief, or that disturbing his final resting place put an end to the ghosts and goblins. The only scenario I can see where this could make sense would be if this original burial was the result someone murdering the chief and hastily disposing of him, or something similar, where the body was not buried according to the deceased person's traditions or final wishes, and as a result, the ghost of the deceased was trying to reach out and have his remains found and treated respectfully. Maybe he even wanted his killer brought to justice.

Was a cause of death established? Was law enforcement, or even scientists involved at any point to identify the remains? Were the remains reburied, or otherwise respectfully treated? If they were, this little newspaper blurb certainly doesn't mention it, and I'm probably waaay over thinking things, trying to make sense in my own mind. Anyway, I know it's cliche, but really...it's just bad form and disrespectful, no matter what your religious and cultural background is, to disturb the final resting place of a buried body without making an effort to properly handle it afterwards. Unfortunately, that was the case with so many American Indians during this period of time, and newspapers of the era have no shortage of stories about bones and other artifacts being dug up and kept in private collections, or worse, being dumped. No wonder we have so many ghost stories...

Note on Robinson's Run: I found this blurb about Robinson's Run on Trails Offroad: "Located in western Monongalia County, 40 minutes from Morgantown, Robinson Run is a fun trail nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. On the drive there, you'll instantly get a feeling for the area. The area is entirely rural, consisting of dispersed homes, farmland, and large tracts of vacant land. Like many trails in Monongalia county, this is an unmaintained public road built to connect communities that arose when the timber and coal industries brought people to the area."

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.