Shapeshifting Squirrel Monkeys

Squirrel Monkey

I'm not sure if this is a case of synchronicity, or if I am just naive in my assumptions of how common an occurrence it is. But in my quest to bring ya'll wild and weird West Virginia content, I came across two different stories, nearly 40 years apart, of basically the same story. 

In October of 1923, Tom Saunders of Wheeling was visiting the Hinton, WV area to go squirrel hunting. He was in the Upland area when he saw a squirrel jump from one tree to the next. With cat-like reflexes, Mr. Saunders aimed and shot, hitting his mark. However, when he went to collect his prize, to his shock and horror, there was no squirrel. He was staring at the carcass of a monkey!

Apparently, for several months before the incident, a local kept claiming that a monkey was 'haunting' the Upland area, but no one seemed to believe him. Now there was proof, lying there wearing a leather collar with no markings. It was theorized that the monkey had gotten loose from a street carnival that had passed through Hinton. It was also noted that Mr. Saunders would have never knowingly shot a monkey, as their cries are way too close to a human's. 

Fast forward to October of 1962. Wetzel Justice was squirrel hunting in Boone County, WV. He also shot what he legitimately thought was a squirrel but turned out to be a monkey. The mystery of where this particular monkey came from was soon solved when Ruben Lee Pauley came forward to claim the body.

Ruben had purchased the monkey for $19.95, plus shipping costs from a Miami company, Jungle Pets Incorporated. He only had the squirrel monkey for about a week before it escaped and made its way over the mountain ridge where it met its demise at the hand of the squirrel hunter. Not one to waste an opportunity, Pauley planned to have the monkey stuffed. I really wonder if somewhere out there, there's a taxidermy squirrel monkey sitting in someone's living room in Boone County. 

Obviously, monkeys of any type are not native to West Virginia, but they have a long history of getting away from circuses, street performers, and even private owners. It makes one wonder if there could have ever been enough of these rogue primates to create a breeding population, deep in the Appalachian Mountains. I also thought it was pretty interesting that in two separate incidents, those out squirrel hunting saw what they swore was a squirrel but turned out to be a monkey. It's actually kind of scary; I don't seriously think these were shapeshifting monkeys....but why were they so hard to identify? Are hunters really just out there shooting anything that moves? (Don't answer that, lol). 

Anyway, this isn't West Virginia's only weird primate story. In the summer of 1906, an incident with a circus train in the Great Bend Tunnel outside of Hinton led to numerous monkeys being suffocated. The bodies were taken on to Ronceverte for burial. It is thought that those monkeys haunt the tunnel to this day. Also, in 1915, a pet monkey named Mary Jane got loose and terrorized the citizens of Huntington, before finally being caught eating jam in a local home. Then of course we have several BigFoot-type sightings that have been blamed on gorillas and other bigger primates escaping circuses. I've added a few stories below for you to check out, but this fall, keep your eyes open in the woods, especially if you're out squirrel hunting. We're overdue for another shapeshifting squirrel monkey sighting!

Monkey Cemetery

Monkey Loose in Huntington

Hinton Daily News
29 October 1923

Beckley Post-Herald
31 October 1962

A Most Unusual Rooster

Jane Lew Town Hall
August 2026

I recently visited the town of Jane Lew, West Virginia. I've been THROUGH Jane Lew numerous times while traveling I-79 between Charleston and Morgantown, but I never really stopped there to look around. On a recent WV road trip, we made a detour just to eat breakfast at the town's Lightburn Family Diner (which was awesome by the way!). You can read more about those adventures at my blog: WV Road Trip Part One.

As I was just doing some reading on the history of the town for that blog post, I stumbled across a most unusual newspaper article. According to the December 19, 1902 edition of the Clarksburg Telegram, a Mr. Bishop of Jane Lew sent a rooster to R.M. Orr of Clarksburg. This wasn't an ordinary rooster, however. This particular rooster had FOUR LEGS. The strange creature initially caused a stir at the local depot, but many believed that the two extra appendages were not real. It was believed they were somehow stuck on, and then camouflaged by the natural feathers. 

I wouldn't be so quick to call B.S. on that too soon. Chickens are sometimes born with extra legs. It's a condition called polymelia and is often caused by incomplete twinning or some type of genetic mutation. Most often, the extra limbs are smaller than usual or malformed in some way. Rarely can the animal move the extra appendages. They tend to just sort of flop around. Luckily, this doesn't seem to affect the animal's life span or quality of life in any significant way.

This story reminds me of another West Virginia chicken with polymelia. In 1923, a THREE LEGGED chicken went missing from Wayne County. That chicken was a Plymouth Rock breed and while only a couple of months old, was quite the topic of conversation around town. I never did find out what happened to that bird...

Wayne County's Weird Chicken Blog

Clarksburg Telegram
19 December 1902

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)

Cicada Used in 'Armed' Robbery

"Hands up!"

A giant, eerie creature with wings and menacing red eyes. At any other time, such a description found here on Theresa's Haunted History would probably indicate a post about West Virginia's infamous Mothman. However, on this particular Weird Wednesday, we're talking about something quite different, yet arguably, just as strange.

On June 4, 1987 two men in their 20s were accused of robbing the Cincinnati, OH restaurant, Grand Slam. They walked into the establishment and approached Marquisa Kellogg, a 22-year-old cashier. Instead of a firearm, or even a knife...the 'deadly weapon' of choice brandished by the alleged robbers was a big, nasty cicada. Yes, a cicada. 

Despite being a harmless insect, Marquisa fled in terror at having this thing thrust at her, which left the cash register unattended for several minutes while she composed herself. Upon returning to her post, she found the men (and their bug) gone, along with $25 in cash. Unfortunately, there were no security cameras there at the time, and no one saw the men take the money. To my knowledge, they were never identified. 

That summer, the 17 year cicadas were out in full force across the Eastern United States, including in Ohio, where local police would even claim that the insects were to blame for an increase in traffic accidents. In a later article by David Sarasohn of the Flint Journal, a rather tongue-in-cheek discussion emerged as to whether or not brandishing a cicada could qualify as a deadly weapon under the law, and thus, up the charges to first degree armed (winged?) robbery. 

But, is this story too weird to be true? Unfortunately, yeah...but there is a basis in truth to the whole tale, as Marquisa told a local newspaper in 2021. Decades after her story went viral, Marquisa was interviewed about what really happened that summer at Grand Slam. According to her, she and a friend were sitting outside the restaurant. She decided to play a prank on him, and grabbed a handful of cicadas that had accumulated there in abundance, and put them on him. Of course, he screamed and flailed around a bit, while Marquisa laughed. She then went inside to wait on two male customers. She knew these guys from the neighborhood, and considered them friends. While she was with them at the register, her friend from outside took that moment to exact his revenge. He rushed up to Marquisa and tossed a handful of cicadas directly at her FACE. 

Understandably, she booked it out of the way...and out of sight of the open register. When she returned, she noticed that the bills in the till were no longer straight and organized. She counted down her drawer and found that $25 was missing. The two customers swore they didn't take the money, and Marquisa was forced to call the police and make a report of a robbery. A poorly written police report (Marquisa believes the cop sold the story to the media) was picked up and published in newspapers across the country. 

As West Virginia and surrounding areas are currently dealing with our own cycle of cicadas, I can only hope that no one reading this takes a certain inspiration from the events transpired in Cincinnati back in 1987. These poor little creepy crawlies don't have much time here above the soil, so please don't implicate them into a life a crime, nor use them to terrorize your friends while they are at work. 

Stay weird, stay spooky, and watch out for those cicadas. And a big shout-out to the Facebook page, Historian of the Strange, where I first learned about this extremely interesting and bizarre story! 

The Bay City Times (Michigan)
06 June 1987

The Flint Journal (Michigan)
07 August 1987

The Times Recorder (Ohio)
16 June 2021

Weird Wednesday: One Stubborn Elephant at Lake Shawnee

Photo by Theresa, 2024

A couple of weeks ago, I got the opportunity to tag along with WV Unseen Paranormal to a location that I had wanted to investigate for a LONG time! On May 31st, we made the trek to Mercer County for a private investigation of the former Lake Shawnee amusement park. At this time, instead of dedicating a new blog post to the experience, I'll just be giving my current Lake Shawnee post a much-needed update. However, I DID want to add a few new blog posts featuring some additional research---including today's Weird Wednesday about a rather unique traffic situation. The road running past Lake Shawnee has a long history of traffic accidents, many fatal, and while compiling some of these, I stumbled across this story in the Friday, March 25, 1949 edition of the Raleigh Register, a newspaper out of nearby Beckley, WV:

STUBBORN ELEPHANT BLOCKS TRAFFIC IN LAKE SHAWNEE AREA

By the Associated Press

BLUEFIELD-"What's the traffic jam about?" a motorist asked.

"There's an elephant blocking the road," another replied.

"I ask a civil question and what do I get? A blankety-blank silly answer," fumed the first motorist.

But it really was an elephant that had traffic blocked along U.S. Rt. 19-21 near Lake Shawnee, according to a story told here today. 

W.R. (Pete) Cooke of Bluefield, assistant to the Mercer County superintendent of schools, said he was at the scene. Cooke related that:

One day earlier this week, an elephant somehow broke out of one of the trucks of a circus that was headed North from Florida winter quarters.

The elephant took a stubborn stand in the middle of the road and refused to budge, even for his trainer.

Traffic was held up nearly an hour before a farmer broke the blockade with cornbread.

The farmer brought to the scene some cornbread left over from his noon meal and used it to lure the elephant slowly back into the truck. 

(This isn't the only Weird Animal story from Lake Shawnee I've found recently. In April, I included an article about a rain of frogs on the Lake Shawnee property in a post about Fortean Falls from around West Virginia!)

The Raleigh Register
25 March 1949

Wayne County's Mystery Animal

Wayne County News
2 January 1936
Source: Wayne County News Archives FB

MYSTERY ANIMAL KILLED AFTER ALL-DAY CHASE

Wayne County's mystery animal is dead!

The animal which has harassed residents of Grant district for more than six years was killed December 24 after an all-day chase by Will Spry of Milum Creek. Mr. Spry shot the animal in the shoulder after it had fallen into the creek when the ice broke in crossing.

More than a dozen men and several dogs chased the animal. It was discovered by Milton Nelson, who chased it with his dog all day. Other men and dogs joined in the chase but the dogs would quit when they got near the animal, except Rouster, Mr. Nelson's dog, which stayed in the chase the entire day.

Early in the chase the animal ran the ridges but in the evening, when the animal became tired, it dropped down to the creek level. 

Other men in the chase where Sammie Nelson, Norman and Boyd Finley, Fletcher Spry, Keither Caldwell, Charley Maynard, Ballard Finley, Max Lester, Noah Nelson, Carlos Nelson and Lindsey H. Perry, Jr.

It was not learned what kind of animal it is, but it was described by those in the chase as being about five feet in length, with the height of a sheep and feet and legs larger than those of a fox hound. Its weight was estimated at 75 pounds. It has a nose sharp and and long like a fox and its tusks are 1 1-2 inch in length. The animal is heavily furred, and tinted brown and gray. 

The animal was fond of pigs and sheep and several farmers have reported loss of their domestic animals during the past year or more. 

Several people saw the animal during recent years and it became almost a legend in that section of the county.

The animal, it was reported, is being mounted and will be on display in Wayne in the near future. 

Theresa's Note: I found this story in the January 2, 1936 edition of the Wayne County News, which was posted to the awesome Facebook page, Wayne County News Archives at the Wayne Public Library. The headline caught my attention immediately, because ya'll know I love me a good mysterious animal story! 

I was further intrigued when I tried to find out some additional information on the story and found the legend of the Booger Cat, posted to Wayne County History Portal website. The article states that during the early 1930's, the residents of southern Wayne County, especially around the area where Cabwaylingo State Park was currently being built, were being harassed by some weird animal that was eating up their livestock. A group of about 20 men finally hunted the creature down and shot it, but still could not figure out exactly what it was---it was black, had a bushy tail, and sported a snout like a dog's, only shorter. They sent the creature off to Charleston to be identified, where experts came to the conclusion that it was a...grey wolf.  The only problem was that grey wolves were allegedly extinct in that area. Could a small population still have been living deep in the dense forests of Wayne County for over a hundred years, mostly undetected? It is said that even after this creature was shot, other sightings of a similar animal continued. Perhaps the Mystery Animal shot on Christmas Eve was one of the last remaining relatives in a small family of wolves living in the area. 

The Bewitched Hen of Roney's Point

 

A Leghorn hen like this one laid a really weird egg
in West Virginia! 

It's Weird Wednesday! It's also Witchy Wednesday! Today's blog is a 2 for 1 in witchy weirdness, with the tale of a Leghorn hen that laid a rather interesting egg, near Roney's Point, West Virginia in 1886! The following story can be found on page 4 in the Daily Register, a newspaper from Wheeling, West Virginia, in the March 31, 1886 edition. 

MYSTERIOUS WORK OF A HEN

She Lays An Egg That Contains Cabalistic Inscriptions

Col. Jacob Nunge has a very peculiar Hen's egg on exhibition at his place in upper Market Square. This piece of hen fruit is about an inch and three quarters in diameter one way, and a fraction over that the other, it being almost perfectly round. On the outer edge of the shell the surface is corrugated all the way around, while inside of this is another circle in which the letters T A M N I O I U in Roman letters are plainly visible. At one of the ends of the egg a figure "6" is also to be seen.

A white Leghorn, owned by Jacob Fisher, of Roney's Point, gave up this mystery on the 25th inst, but whether the hen was bewitched or whether she performed this little feat just to have some fun, cannot be told. Nevertheless the curiosity is there and anyone can go and see it. 

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this strange incident, but I can't help to think that this is the sort of thing that the famed Charles Fort, collector of bizarre and unexplained occurrences in the natural world, would have been proud to have in his collection. And, it happened right here in wild and weird (and of course, wonderful) West Virginia!

Want MORE weird animal stories? Check out my blog post, Weird Wednesday: Weird Animals Around Charleston!

Weird Wednesday: Animals Around Charleston

Back in the early days of the 20th century, Charleston, WV was kind of a weird place. I mean, it still is...but back then, it was much more common to see such interesting sights as a horse in pants or a trained bear, escaped from a local theater, wandering around the federal building. Luckily, these delightful tales were odd enough to warrant the attention of local newspapers, and are preserved for us to enjoy today. I found both of them while researching other spooky stories in the area, and while there's nothing really PARANORMAL about these tales, they're definitely strange, and deserve a Weird Wednesday mention!

From The West Virginian
30 August 1916

From The Charleston Daily Mail
24 August 1914