WV Woman Imprisoned for Witchcraft

Ladies' Cell at the WV State Penitentiary
at Moundsville ca 1924
Source: WV History on View

Sure, it looks a little cramped, but overall, the women's cells at the WV State Penitentiary at Moundsville didn't look too shabby. Up until a new, all-female prison was established in 1947, the state's female offenders were housed at Moundsville. One such prisoner who called a cell like the one above home for four years was Mrs. Mary Loveall. She didn't She didn't murder her husband, rob a bank, or even write forged checks. She was imprisoned for the crime of witchcraft. 

In the summer of 1918, Mary Loveall of Bridgeport, WV was tried in a Wheeling criminal court and found guilty of witchcraft. The cause of all the trouble started when Mrs. Theresa Kullman of East Wheeling contacted Mrs. Loveall about her sick son. In exchange for $640, Mrs. Loveall was to remove the 'sick spell' that was making Kullman's son sick. However, the son passed away and Mrs. Loveall was consequently arrested and tried. 

There is frustratingly little information about this story, but the same several newspaper articles appeared all over West Virginia, making their way into newspapers across the country. Mrs. Loveall did not deny the charges of witchcraft. In fact, she openly admitted that she believed in witchery and that she learned it from her mother, who also practiced. Mrs. Loveall stated that she practiced in both Ohio and in West Virginia, but, this was the only incident that I could find where her success, or lack thereof, was news-worthy. Allegedly, she had no comment when the judge handed down her sentence of four years in the state penitentiary. 

I can only imagine what the other inmates thought of the Witch of the Women's Ward. I'm sure some thought the whole thing was a scam and that she was a fraud...but there were probably a few of the more superstitious of the lot who didn't dare look at her wrong. Also, can we just take a moment to take in the fact that a woman was sent to prison for WITCHCRAFT in the 20th century?? I'm sure fraud charges were more likely what she was actually prosecuted for, but I still find it interesting how witchcraft was so boldly emphasized by the papers, and possibly even the court. And, going off on another tangent...yeah, even if Mrs. Loveall truly believed that she had the power to remove the spell from the young man in question, and tried to do so in good faith, it probably wasn't the smartest idea for the mother, no matter how desperate, to resort to such measures. But, if she had paid a doctor $640 for treatment and the son still died, would she still have a case to pursue? 

In any event, its a sad case that resulted in the loss of a life and a woman sent to prison. But, it's an absolutely fascinating case that takes its rightful place among the strange and unusual history of West Virginia! 

Sources: 

Martinsburg, WVa Evening Journal. 17 July 1918. Page 3

The Independent Herald (Hinton, WV). 25 July 1918. Page 6

 

 

'Bewitched' Man Adjudged Insane

 

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
22 May 1917

As someone who started her college career as a psychology major, the line between mental illness and the paranormal has always been a topic that has fascinated, but has also befuddled, me. While arguably there a many, many cases that would once be deemed the work of demons and/or spirits that can now be easily diagnosed and treated as a mental disorder, there are always the cases where the lines are blurred. Perhaps there are even cases where the lines overlap. And...in the most frightening scenario, perhaps there are even a few cases where a person was experiencing true paranormal activity, yet was deemed 'insane' by the medical community. 

Which one of these scenarios, if any, fit the tragic fate of Crew Hall, a middle-aged farmer from Mercer County, West Virginia.  In may of 1917, Mr. Hall was was committed to the state asylum in Spencer, WV after being adjudged insane by lunacy commission. What was the cause of this diagnosis? Well, Mr. Hall was convinced that he, along with his farm animals and farm equipment, were bewitched by neighbors. He nearly beat his horse to death, and sold a young heifer because he claimed that both animals were under a spell. He also claimed a spell affected the handles of his plow and axe, causing his to be unable to use them. At the time of being admitted to the hospital in Spencer, Hall was married with three daughters. The local newspaper that reported on the case mentions that three years prior, Mr. Hall had undergone similar delusions, but to a lesser extent. 

Entrance to Spencer State Hospital
Source: WV History on View 

Unfortunately, it seems as though Mr. Hall would never recover from this latest bout of delusions. On January 20, 1919, C.D. (Crews) Hall died within the walls of the Spencer State Hospital in Roane County. The cause of death was tuberculosis.  It would seem to the modern reader that Mr. Hall was simply another mentally ill patient, admitted to a state facility in a time where there weren't many options in the way of treatment for such issues. But COULD there be something deeper? COULD Mr. Hall have been telling the truth when he claimed that a neighbor bewitched him? 

A superstitious belief in witchcraft was prevalent in the county and surrounding areas, at least until the late 1930's. Back in April, I posted a blog sharing another old newspaper article which not only mentions that residents were still taking witch stories seriously, but told the tale of a young boy, years previously, who had been bewitched by a neighbor. In the boy's case, he refused to take any food or drink. Yet, when a certain neighbor visited, the boy would eat what the man would feed him. The father decided to get to the bottom of what was going on, and nailed a picture of the man to a tree. He then drove another nail straight through the head on the picture, and sure enough, the neighbor came down with a splitting headache, which didn't go away until the nail was removed. After that, the boy's appetite came back and he recovered his full health. 

Just out of sheer curiosity, I looked up the Hall family in the 1910 census, and found Cruse Hall (age 31), with his wife Virginia and infant son, living in Mercer County somewhere in the East River area. All this matches up. I've included a clip of his closest neighbors to each side, both of which who ran farms in the area. Obviously, no one had 'witch' or 'conjurer' listed under their profession, and no one on the whole census sheet really stood out as what would be considered an 'outsider' for that time period. I also just did a really quick, cursory newspaper archive search to see if there were any obvious legal troubles, property disputes, or so forth that were published in the papers, but didn't come up with anything. So yeah...was it just an unfortunate case of mental illness, or has history silenced an actual case of witchcraft in a small West Virginia community. 

1910 Census

Want MORE Articles on Witchcraft in West Virginia? 

Witchcraft in Bluefield, WV

The Witch of Hooker Hollow

The Tyler County Witch

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!

The Witch of Hooker Hollow

Today, I wanted to share with you a story I found in Fall 1985 edition of Goldenseal Magazine. It was told by Vernon O. Giffin and relates the tale of Mineral County's Witch of Hooker Hollow. Giffin was born in Brown, WV in 1915, but moved to Maryland in 1933 to marry. He served in the Navy during WW2. He is the author of several books about West Virginia folklore, including The Witch of Hooker Hollow, which was published in 1981. He passed away six years later, on December 30, 1987.

I've transcribed the story as it appears in Goldenseal. And, of course, you know I had to see what background research I could find. Unfortunately, nothing connected to any of the names given panned out. Still, it's an interesting tale of mountain witchcraft...or, alleged mountain witchcraft, at least. 

There is a road in the Allegheny Mountains in Mineral County that has two names.  At one end of the road the sign says "Limestone Road," while at the other end the sign reads "Hooker Hollow." Just where one ends and the other begins, no one this day and age seems to know. The local people say as long as they can remember it has always been that way.

Near the Hooker Hollow end of the road, some 40 years ago, lived a Mrs. Russel who proclaimed to the world she was a witch possessing great powers.  Most of the population thereabouts doubted her boasts. There were others that were not so sure. A man refused her a ride home from town one day, and for a week his cow gave bloody milk. She warned another family not to allow any of their children to run their lawnmower for at least a week. The family ignored her warning and the very next day their son Seth lost two fingers on his right hand when he caught them in the mower.

A family by the name of Robinson owned a small apple orchard there on the mountain. They had placed "No Trespass" signs everywhere, with no exceptions allowed. One day they found Mrs. Russel eating an apple as if she owned the place. She tried to tell them she was hungry and only wanted one apple. Mrs. Robinson informed her that she could care less about her being hungry and that those signs meant everyone, including her. Mrs. Russel climbed over the fence and turned and smiled out of the corner of her mouth at Mrs. Robinson.

"I see you're pregnant," she said. "Soon you will see someone a lot more hungry than I am now. I don't think you'll like the price you'll pay for your apples." She waved and grinned as she walked slowly down the road.

About a month later the Robinson's first child was born. It cried almost constantly. The doctor tried one bottle formula after the other. None seemed to work. One day the doctor told Mrs. Robinson the baby was starving to death and he had done absolutely all he could. As he left that afternoon, he picked up an apple from a nearby table and began eating it as he walked out the door. That caused Mrs. Robinson to remember the words Mrs. Russel had spoken in the orchard only a few weeks before.

The next morning she bundled up the baby and went to see Mrs. Russel. "My baby is ill, very ill," she said. "If you did cast a spell over him, won't you please take it away? I'm sorry the way I spoke to you that day in the apple orchard. You can have all the apples you want as long as you live. Won't you please help me if you can? He's our first child."

"I'm afraid you have waited too long with your apology," said Mrs. Russel. "Maybe, just maybe, I can help him. I'll try. Lay him out there on the porch so I can measure him. Measuring a baby can do a lot of good, you known. That's about the only thing I can do for him now."

She went into the house and came out with a cloth tape measure and measured the baby. She then made an "X" on the baby's chest with her right forefinger and told Mrs. Robinson to take the baby home, for she had done all she could do.

The next day the baby died. Whether Mrs. Russel was the cause of the baby's death or not, the Robinsons would think so as long as they lived.

In her later years Mrs. Russel's grandson, Jason Lambert, came to live with her. Jason was a quiet, likeable fellow in his early teens and slim as a rail. A new family moved into the hollow that summer who had a son, David, about Jason's age. The boys soon became good friends and spent many happy hours that fall roaming the hollow during evenings after school. David, of course, had heard that Jason's grandmother was a witch and one day asked him if it was so.

"Naw," said Jason. "I don't think so. But I'll admit she does do and say some funny things at times. You don't believe in witches, do you, Dave?"

"No, I guess not," said David

About the time school started that fall, Jason developed a dry hacking cough. David suggested he see a doctor, but Jason said his grandmother was taking care of him and he'd be all right. As the cooler weather of winter approached, Jason's cough became worse. One day David and his father insisted so strongly that he see a doctor that he finally agreed if David would go with him. The doctor diagnosed tuberculosis and suggested Jason go to a sanatorium immediately. When Mrs. Russel was informed of the situation, she simply shook her head, placed an arm around Jason's shoulders, and, in no uncertain words, informed anyone who cared to listen that she could take care of her own.

The day before school was to close for Christmas vacation, Jason was absent. That evening David went to see why. He found his friend in bed, face red and flushed with a high fever. He asked Mrs. Russel to please get Jason to a doctor, but she reminded him she had great powers and Jason would be up and ready to go rabbit hunting with him in a couple of days.

Snow began falling the day school closed and it kept falling for the next two days and nights. As the storm raged, David could not help but worry about Jason and hope he was better than the last time he had seen him. When the storm finally ended, the snow measured three feet on the level and six feet and more in some of the drifts. The road in the hollow was almost impassable. The next day it rained and turned bitterly cold. One could walk anywhere on the frozen crust and not break through.

Christmas day dawned clear and cold. As soon as David finished breakfast, he told his parents he was going to see Jason and take him a box of shotgun shells for a Christmas present. As he approached the house, he sensed something wrong. To this very day he cannot explain why he felt that way as he knocked on the door. Mrs. Russel opened the door and calmly invited him in.

"My, Davie, it sure is nice of you to come out in this cold to see Jason," she said. "I've got something I want you to help me with."

"How is he?" asked David as he removed his coat and threw it across the back of a chair.

"Oh, he died last night," she said. "But don't you worry none, Davie. You see, I'm going to take care of my grandson. You can bet on that. Come on, let's go see him. I'm gonna need a little help and you're just the one to help me.

"There he is stretched out on the bed just like he was asleep," she said as they entered the room. "Davie, I'm an old woman, witch if you will, and Jason is so young. He's just too young to die. So, what I aim to do is this. I'm gonna breathe my life into him, but you gotta help. I can do it, too. Just you wait and see. I guess I'm gonna die; and, if I do, don't worry none about me. It's Jason we gotta worry about now. Will you help me?"

By this time David was petrified. He had always thought she was at least half witch and now he was certain she was all witch. He was so scared he could not utter a word. He was afraid to refuse because of what she might do to him, so he slowly nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Good," said Mrs. Russel. "Now I'll tell you what to do. You hold Jason's nose closed, so when I breathe my breath into him by his mouth, it can't get out his nose. You'll have to hold it till he starts to breathe on his own."

"Oh! My God! Please, Mrs. Russel," wailed David. "I never touched a dead person before. Please, I'm scared. Do I have to?"

"Oh, for goodness sake," said Mrs. Russel, taking David's hand and placing it on Jason's forehead. "See, it's just like any cold piece of meat. Nothing to it. Now do like I told you so we can get Jason breathing again."

By this time, of course, rigor mortis had set in, but David shut his eyes and slowly began to squeeze on Jason's cold, stiff nose. He was shaking like a tree caught in a storm.

David opened his eyes for a second and the room began to spin. But he was afraid if he fainted she might take his life and give it to Jason. This brought him back to the world of reality in a hurry. He liked Jason, but not that much.

"Just can't understand it," said Mrs. Russel after awhile. "You can let go now. I know I can do it. They are not going to embalm him, Davie. They're just not. I just know I can give him my breath of life. I know I can. I guess I'll have to get word to a doctor and buy a casket. Will you do that for me and Jason? If I do get life into him, you can bury me in the coffin instead of him. And, Davie, just in case Jason's still dead this evening, will you come back and set up with him tonight?"

"Dad and I will take care of things," said David. "Someone will be here tonight to set up with Jason, I promise."

On the way home David's knees almost buckled under him a couple of times. He could still feel that cold, dead flesh under his hands and hear the voice of the witch. Yes, he was sure now she was one. No doubt about it.

For the next two nights David and a couple of his friends sat up with the body. Each evening as he approached the house, he half expected to see Jason wave from the door or a window. But Jason lay still and white in his coffin.

The day of the funeral arrived. David and his friends were pallbearers. They carried the casket out on top of the snow to the main road where a horse and sled waited. Some hour and a half later, the casket rested in the front of the Zion Church. There the casket was to remain open for viewing for the next 30 minutes. Then the funeral services would begin.

As David looked around the church, cold chills played cat and mouse up and down his spine. There, on a seat in the back row, wearing a long black cape, was Mrs. Russel. She was shaking her fist in the air but making no sound. The minister rose from his chair and took a step forward. As he did so, Mrs. Russel let out a bloodcurdling scream and ran forward. She threw her black cape over the casket and tried once more to breathe her life into Jason's corpse. It took two strong men to restrain the frail woman. Finally Jason was laid to rest in the church cemetery to be followed by his grandmother, Mrs. Russel, within a week.

As David walked away from Mrs. Russel's funeral, he was heard to remark, "Maybe she did breathe at least part of her life into Jason, after all."

Witchcraft in Bluefield, West Virginia

Bluefield, WV in 1890
Source: WV History on View

Bluefield, by West Virginia standards, is a decent-sized city, located in Mercer County. It sits in the southeastern part of the state, bordering Virginia, and is home to Bluefield State. It's also home to a strange tale of witchcraft, chronicled in a 1936 newspaper article:

Witch stories still are believed, it has been found. At least, the story of mysterious happenings near Bluefield is taken seriously.

It seems that many years ago, a small boy suddenly stopped eating, although he was not ill. Every few days, however, a certain neighbor would visit the boy's home to feed him, and the boy 'would eat like a pig,' according to reports, for this man only and no one else.

The boy's father thought of a way to get to the bottom of the mystery. He drew a picture of the man and tacked it to the wall. He then drove a nail through the head.

The man failed to appear the following day. It developed that he had been stricken suddenly with a splitting headache. The father then withdrew the nail from the picture---and the man's headache mysteriously disappeared. The boy regained his appetite and never again was troubled by a lack of it. 

To this day people familiar with the story believe that the man had placed some sort of spell over the boy, "just for fun," and the driving of the nail through his likeness caused him to release his strangle hold on the boy. 

Throughout Appalachian folklore, you'll find tales of similar apotropaic measures against witchcraft. An iron nail being driven through a likeness of a suspected witch, an effigy of that witch, or even the witch's footprint, can be beneficial in binding a witch's powers and causing physical harm. What I personally haven't seen much of is tales about taking a child's appetite, but coming to feed them. I'm not sure what the end game for such an action would be, unless it's just 'for fun,' as the article surmises. This is one of those stories where I'd love to know more...such as what the relationship between this unnamed man and the family was before the boy's affliction, and was the food being eaten brought from the man's home, or was it food prepared by the boy's family? But, maybe I'm reading too much into what is otherwise just a fascinating tale told of Appalachian witchcraft! If you're interesting in learning more about the protective elements of pins/needles/nails, check out THIS LINK. 

Happy Witchy Wednesday!

The Charleston Daily Mail

26 January 1936

The Witch of Wildwood

Witch of Wildwood
Photo by Robin Smith, Find-a-Grave

October 30th. The evening before All Hallow's Eve. Devil's Night. 

What would be a more fitting date to burn a witch alive? As one West Virginia urban legend states, that's exactly what happened to a witch named Kazimir Kiskis. She was burned alive, presumably for her association with witchcraft, and was buried nearby at Beckley's Wildwood Cemetery. The grave faces in the opposite direction, so that the witch doesn't have to spend eternity watching all the 'good Christians,' and they don't have to await the Resurrection looking at her.  Her spirit returns every Halloween eve to haunt the place where she was buried. For years, locals have been freaked out by the upside cross, covered in strange symbols, that marks the witch's final resting place.

As ya'll know, I love taking a peek behind the curtain of West Virginia's spookiest legends, and over the years, have found that even the most outlandish of tales often are rooted in a tiny grain of truth. Here's some truth about Kazimir Kiskis:

Kazimir Kiskis was born in Lithuania, but of Russian descent. HE was a coal miner who immigrated to the United States in 1907 and was living and working at the Lanark Coal Camp, located just a few miles from Beckley. On October 25, 1924, Kazimir Kiskis (known by his anglicized name of 'Charlie') was involved in a terrible house fire and received burns over his entire body. He lasted five long, agonizing days, before succumbing to his burns. He passed away on October 30, 1924. He was 38 years old. 

Death Certificate for Kazimir 'Charlie' Kiskis
WV Archives

Along with his strange, eastern European language and customs, 'Charlie' brought with him his religion. Charlie was a Catholic, and like many from his mother country, was probably Eastern Orthodox. Now, there are plenty of Christian sects TODAY that equate Catholicism with witchcraft, and back in the 1920's in southern West Virginia, things probably weren't much more...enlightened. Anyone who was seen as different generally was considered someone to be feared or to be ridiculed. 

Nevertheless, Charlie had a rather impressive tombstone erected in his honor, and hopefully, his funeral and burial were held in accordance with his beliefs. The tombstone actually featured a normal cross and obviously wasn't covered with symbols of witchcraft. Rather, the symbols and writing are probably a combination of Catholic symbolism and an epitaph written in Charlie's native language, Lettish. 

June 2025
Photo by Theresa

It's possible that the vandalism of Charlie's tombstone started early because of his Eastern Orthodox religion. However, I think its probably more likely that the tombstone MAY have originally broke from natural causes, and since then, vandals, wishing to add fuel and validity to the urban legend of a witch being buried in Wildwood, continue to deface the stone, turning a regular cross into an upside down one. And from there, the legend grew. 

This location is featured on Haunted Beckley's Wildwood Cemetery Tours, where the correct information behind the stone and the person buried beneath it are shared, finally giving Charlie the respect he deserves. I know it's fun to think about creepy legends, visit these locations for ourselves, and share the stories. But, just keep in mind that behind these urban legends are real people. 

Stay spooky my friends! 

Historical Information for this blog came mostly from the Find-a-Grave page for Kazimir Konstanti 'Charlie' Kiskis

Hexenritt

 

Happy Tuesday! Today's blog is a quickie---I just wanted to share this beautiful piece of witchy art with everyone.  The title of this painting is Hexenritt, translated to Witches' Ride. It was completed around 1875 by German artist, Carl Spitzweg. 

I hope your week has started out strong and continues to get better and better. And don't forget to take a few minutes to appreciate the arts---the creepier the better!

The Unquiet Grave of Mary Nasson

Close up of Mary Nasson's tombstone

In trying to complete my challenge of finishing out Volume 2 of Haunted America here on the blog, I stumbled across an interesting cemetery legend from York, Maine. It seems that in the historic Old York Burying Ground, there lies a unique tombstone, said to mark the final resting spot of a witch!

When Mary Nasson passed away on August 18th, 1774 at the age of 29, her husband Samuel had her grave marked with tombstone bearing a carving of Mary herself. From my experience, its rare to see portraits carved on tombstones of this time period, especially portraits that do somewhat evoke an image of fictional witch, Winifred Sanderson. But, even more damning in terms of legends and lore, Samuel covered the top of her grave with a granite slab. 

No one knows for sure just when the rumors of Mary being a witch began, but they date back to at least the late 1800's. George Alexander Emery's 1894 book, Ancient City of Georgeana and Modern Town of York (Maine) from it's Earliest Settlement: Also its Beaches and Summer Resorts, mentions Mary's grave in the Old York Burial Ground, noting that the granite slab was added as a means of keeping the witch in her grave. Since then, the legends of Mary Nasson being a witch have only grown and evolved with each telling. 

Protective Granite Slab

Some believe that Mary was actually hanged, or otherwise executed, for being a witch. However, there is no proof of that.  Others believe she was simply a woman who knew a lot about the medicinal properties of herbs...too much, in fact...and that's how she gained a reputation as a witch. Crows that hang out in the cemetery during the summer are often attributed to being her familiars.  And, others just believe that the best explanation for a granite slab (sometimes said to emit its own heat) is that it must be there to keep something sinister at bay. 

More than likely, the granite slab was put over the grave to keep cattle, pigs, and other roaming animals away from the body. In fact, it was a pretty common practice, and there's a good chance that even though Mary's grave is the only one that STILL has its slab in place, at one time, quite a few burials implemented the system. 

But, granite slab or not---witch or not---if you believe local legend, the slab hasn't succeeded in keeping Mary's spirit still. According to Joseph Cito's book, Weird New England, Mary's ghost enjoys interacting with children. Her apparition has been seen giving them wildflowers and pushing them on swing sets. 

Sources:

Atlas Obscura

Find-a-Grave

New England Folklore

The Witch of Wyoming County

Castle Rock 1916 Source

Shirley Donnelly was a native of Jackson County, WV.  A local historian, Donnelly spent 27 years writing a column for the Beckley Post-Herald, called Yesterday and Today. Each column featured tales of local folklore, mountain superstitions, and my favorite: West Virginia ghost stories!

For his December 21, 1964 column, Donnelly rehashes a ghost story from the Sizemore Gap area near Pineville, WV. The story comes from another West Virginia historian, Barty Wyatt.  Barty tells of a dark and rainy night in the 1870's when a man named Saul Clay encountered a phantom black dog!

Today, the area of Sizemore Gap (named for the George Sizemore family) is more commonly referred to as Jackson Hill, and is located near the small community of Rock View, named for its close proximity to Castle Rock. The area was first settled around 1840 and is known today for its natural beauty.  But, in the 1870's it was better known for being haunted by what some thought was a witch!

The ghost (or witch) was said to appear to travelers on the road through Sizemore Gap, and even those who WEREN'T necessarily believers still avoided the area at night...just in case.  Saul Clay was not one of these people.  Saul was a fearless man, standing close to 7 feet tall, and he wasn't going to let any phantom scare him off.  At least, that was his mindset when he set off through the gap one dark and rainy night. His confidence was further bolstered by the American Bulldog pistol and hunting knife he carried with him.

Somewhere between the old Missionary Baptist Church and the school house (Barty believes it was the vicinity in which the home of Rev. Harry S. Stevens would later be built) the ghostly apparition appeared.  This wasn't a normal apparition, however.  What Saul Clay saw was a giant black dog, the size of a calf! Startled by the creature, Saul yelled at it to leave, but when it refused and started coming towards it, Saul fired his gun.

Beckly Post-Herald, 21 December 1964

The shot either missed or went through the creature (it being a witch or a ghost, obviously), but Saul's braveness still prevailed.  He started up the hill towards the old Rock View post office with the phantom black dog trotting alongside him.  It didn't take long before Saul's courage returned, full-force, and he decided that he was done with this creature once and for all.  Again, he gave the dog a rather stern verbal warning to get lost.  When it failed to do so, Saul LUNGED at it, rammed his pistol into its side, and fired off five shots.

Once again, the shots had no affect and Saul resorted to trying to out-flee the creature. In his haste to get away, he abandoned his hat and his gun and literally ran for the hills towards Rock Castle Creek. All the while, the phantom black dog was still right on his heels. Luckily for Saul, as soon as he reached the creek and began to cross, the creature disappeared.  Local folklore tells us that a witch's power cannot cross running water, confirming the suspicion that the phantom black dog must surely be the product of witchcraft!

If you're interested in MORE phantom black dog stories from West Virginia, check out my blog post on the Phantom Black Dog of Point Pleasant!

Map of the Area Today

Pressing Questions: Familiars

If I were a witch and had my own familiar, I'd totally be the type of witch who'd baby-talk my little demonic helper!  In fact, my son once told me that our black cat, Ichabod, was my familiar and I baby-talk to her all the time.  I'm not sure where he learned what a familiar is...but it makes sense to me!

Anyway, according to a Wikipedia article on familiars, the image above is of a witch and her familiar spirits, taken from a publication that dealt with the witch trials of Elizabeth Stile, Mother Dutten, Mother Devell and Mother Margaret in Windsor, 1579.

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Louisville's Witches' Tree

Louisville Witches' Tree (Source)

Gnarled, twisted, strangely-shaped trees can be spooky enough on their own.  However, its when they are given a supernatural back story and explanation that they catch my attention!  That's the case with this creepy old tree in Kentucky's Old Louisville District.

You can find the tree at the corner of Sixth Street and Park Avenue, among the breathtaking architecture of the area's Victorian era homes.  Local author, David Domine, who has written extensively about the haunted history of Old Louisville, tells the legend of the Witches' Tree.  According to that legend, there used to be a grand maple tree growing on the spot of today's tree.  In 1889, this tree was a favorite meeting place for a coven of witches in the area. The witches would meet at the mighty maple tree and cast spells, brew potions, and generally do whatever it is that witches would do.

Unfortunately, the city wasn't too fond of this coven of witches.  However, they WERE fond of the maple tree, believing it would make the ideal May Pole for that year's annual May Day celebration.  The witches warned the town that they'd be sorry if they cut down the tree.  But, the warning was ignored, and the tree was cut down and fashioned into a May Pole.  Meanwhile, the witches found a new location on the outskirts of town to practice...and to plot their revenge.

Exactly 11 months after the maple tree was cut down for use as a May Pole, a catastrophic tornado ripped through Louisville.  The storm hit on March 27, 1890 at 8:30 p.m. It only lasted about 5 minutes, but left a path of death and destruction through Old Louisville.  During the chaos, lightning struck the tree stump---the only thing remaining of the old maple.

As the town struggled to clean up and put the pieces back together after the tornado, something began happening with the tree stump.  From its remains grew a new tree, a tree twisted and gnarled and full of knots.  Locals believed that the witches had conjured the tornado to get revenge on the town for cutting down the maple tree.  The strange and unusual tree that grew in its place was a reminder that the town chose poorly for their May Pole that year.

Today, visitors flock to the area to get a glimpse of the tree for themselves.  They also leave offerings at the tree, possibly for a small blessing of good fortune, and possibly as a reminder of what happens when you cross a coven of witches!

Further Reading and Info
The Witches' Tree Facebook Page
Legend of the Witches' Tree by Katie Molck (October 26, 2015)
1890 Louisville Cyclone--The Filson Historical Society

Storm damage of Union Depot (Source)

Witchy Wednesday: Blue Moon Edition

Today is a special day for lunar lovers! It is a rare Blue Moon AND Blood Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse rolled into one! And, since its Wednesday, I wanted to share this stunning picture. It's been shared around the internet so much that I cannot find its original source in order to give credit. If you know who created this beautiful representation of a full moon, let me know!

The next Blue Moon (second full moon within a calendar month) will occur on March 31, 2018. If you're interested in reading more about Blue Moons, check out this awesome article from EarthSky. 

Aunt Kate and the Booger: Guest Blog #2

Nolan, WV

Theresa's Note: Today's blog post is another wonderful Guest Blogger submission, this time from local paranormal researcher, Chris May. Chris has shared this awesome story, passed down to him from his Grandmother, about a suspected witch living in the small coal town of Nolan, WV. Enjoy this fascinating tale of what happens when you don't give a witch what she wants...and make sure to share this post with anyone you'd think would also appreciate a little spookiness from West Virginia's southern coalfields! A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Chris for sharing this story; I personally love hearing these old tales passed down from generation to generation, and I'm a sucker for anything related to our state's coal history. 

My Grandmother told this story to me. According to her when she was a child, an old woman lived next door to her and her family in the small coal town of Nolan. My Grandmother stated that many strange things happened in and around the old woman’s home. On one occasion my Grandmother, who was scared to death of old Aunt Kate, witnessed the old woman stick her hand back into a coal burning stove and pull out hot coals and wiggle them in her hands without being burned. 

Grandmother also stated that Aunt Kate would openly admit to witchcraft and on one occasion claimed to have fought with the Devil himself, ripping his leg off and throwing it behind a bed. 

The most disturbing story about Aunt Kate pertained to the old woman not getting something that she wanted....

My Great Grandfather had produced a garden several miles from his home every year. This particular year was very dry; water had to be carried to the crops as well as extra care needed to be taken with ensuring the crops survival. My Grandmother helped her father throughout the growing season and when time came to harvest the crops my Grandmother worked with him to bring the crops the long distance back to the old home place. As my Grandmother and Great Grandfather were wheeling the crops past Aunt Kate’s, she stopped them and stated, “Harrison, give me some of them beans.” 

Now, my Great Grandfather was a very generous man, but felt that due to the hard work that they had put in, the family should get first choice on the crops. He replied, “Old woman we’ve worked hard for those beans and your not gonna get any”. Aunt Kate was very angry at this reply and stated, “Ok Harrison, you’ll be sorry”, and were they ever. 

That night after the family went to bed my Grandmother stated that she heard something walking in the house. According to her the “thing” walked into her room and stood at the head of where she was sleeping and then it would turn and walk out of the room. My Grandmother said she had never been so scared. Because of this walking, she did not sleep all night. The next morning my Grandmother came in for breakfast and was confronted by my Great Grandfather about the “thing” that walked the night before. My Grandmother stated that she and my Great Grandfather were the only two in a house of twelve to hear it walk. My Grandmother stated that her father took old Aunt Kate the beans without haste and as he gave them to her, he told her to “take your booger back!” She replied in an evil tone, “it won't bother you no more” and it didn’t.

Chris May is a 42 year old married father of two. He resides in Barboursville. He holds a master’s degree in leadership studies and a master’s degree in counseling. Chris has worked in the law enforcement field for nearly 13 years as a probation officer. When he is not reading or researching the paranormal and history, he enjoys bass fishing with his 10 year old.