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Parsons, West Virginia
During the years prior to the Civil War, the Underground Railroad was the path to freedom for many slaves who were held in the south. The route through the rugged hills of what is now West Virginia was a favorite among guides for these escaped slaves because of the many hiding places and the treacherous mountains.... but sometimes these places led to death.
And to ghosts....
Near the two of Parsons is a tall, steep hill that is almost entirely covered with loose rock. It is a dangerous place and only one path leads over this hill and it is nearly impassable. The hill is called Darkish Knob and among local residents, it has long had a reputation for being haunted. In the years before the Civil War, the Underground Railroad was busy bringing as many slaves as possible to the north. These escaped slaves had to travel at night, hiding and sleeping in the daytime, so that they wouldn't be seen. One trip through an area had to be different from the next for the guides that led these slaves. They had to sleep in different houses and use different trails to avoid the authorities who might be waiting for them along the familiar routes.
One of the best routes north wound through the mountains of West Virginia (although is was still part of the state of Virginia at that time). There were many places to hide out here but traveling at night through the deadly passes could be treacherous. To the slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad though, only death and despair awaited them if they went back, so these men and women would often travel along trails that most people wouldn't even attempt in the day time. Such was the trail over Darkish Knob. It was here that a small house was hidden near the base of the hill that offered rest and safety for the slaves. The house was so well hidden that many travelers passed it by because they couldn't find it in the darkness. This made it the perfect place to hide out.
One night, a young girl was trying to locate the house. She was being chased by slave-catchers, men who had been hired to find runaway slaves, and missed the house and started up the trail over Darkish Knob instead.
She rode her horse to the top of the hill and along the path that drops down into the Cheat River. As she reached the top, she turned and looked back. The horse lost his footing and plunged over the edge of the hill. As the girl fell to the rocks below, she let out a bellowing scream that was heard for nearly a mile. The ghost of this young girl is said to return to the top of the hill every year on the eve of the date of her death. The ghost moans and cries for several minutes and then lets out a terrifying scream as the moment of her death approaches. Parsons, West Virginia is located in the north central part of the state, north of Elkins and along Highway 219. Copyright 1998 by Troy Taylor, All Rights Reserved
Tags: HAUNTED WEST VIRGINIA
THE ADAM LIVINGSTON FARM
Middleway, West Virginia One of the strangest poltergeist cases of all time haunted the home of a farmer named Adam Livingston, who lived in this small community at the end of the 1700's.... some say, these strange events are still going on at the property today! The Adam Livingston farm in Middleway became a place of both fear and curiosity in 1797, when people came to see the "Livingston Wizard" perform its strange magic. Dishes fell out of cabinets and broke on the floor, fires and lanterns went out with no one near them, things flew about the house by their own power, money vanished, livestock disappeared and died and strange screams and bells were heard around the farm.
One afternoon. Livingston saw a man stopped in the road with a wagon. The teamster demanded that Livingston remove the rope that was stretched across the roadway. When he said there was no rope, the driver angrily slashed at it with his knife.... but the blade passed through nothing. Another wagon came along at the same time and this driver also saw the rope but he couldn't cut it either. Finally Livingston convinced them to move on.
A short time later, the strange events took another turn. Day and night, the family heard the sound of cutting shears in the house, snipping constantly with an irritating metallic sound. Items around the house began to be mysteriously cut apart... clothing, blankets, saddles, shoes, boots, anything that could be cut was scissored into odd spiral shapes.
A visitor to the house wrapped her good silk cap in a handkerchief before entering the house. When she left, she opened the handkerchief and discovered that the cap had been cut into ribbons... but the handkerchief had never been touched. Another visitor, a tailor from Middleway, planned to expose the stories as a fraud. He walked to the house, carrying a suit that was wrapped in a paper bundle under his arm. He heard the sound of the shears, but saw nothing. When he unwrapped the untouched paper, he found that the suit inside had been sliced into pieces. What started these strange events in the house? It is believed that they were tied to a stormy night in 1794 when a stranger appeared at the door of the Livingston house and asked for shelter. They family took him in and fed him but in the middle of the night, Adam Livingston hears strange wheezing and gasping sounds. The stranger was coughing violently, and was barely able to speak, but he did manage to ask his host to summon a priest... the man realized that he was dying.
Livingston, being a devout Lutheran, knew of no priest in the area and besides, he had always sworn that no Catholic priest would ever set foot on his property! In the night, the stranger died and the next morning, some neighbors helped Livingston to bury the man in a corner of his property. A small cross was erected at the grave.
The bizarre phenomena began just hours after the burial and would continue for years.
The story of the haunting gained fame in the area and the ghost became known as "The Livingston Wizard". The family was plagued by the events for years and Livingston implored his minister to conduct an exorcism on the property. The Lutheran pastor failed, as did an Episcopalian minister and three Methodists. One night, Livingston dreamed of a man whom a voice said could help him. He was a Catholic priest named Father Dennis Cahill. Some friends in Shepherdstown helped to track the man down and he came to the Livingston farm.
Father Cahill blessed the house with holy water and as he turned to leave, a satchel of money that had been missing for over a year suddenly appeared and fell onto the doorstep. It all appeared to be over at last.... but it wasn't. The manifestations soon began again.
By this time, the story had spread as far as Baltimore and the Catholic diocese there sent Father Dmitri Gallitzin to investigate. After living with the Livingston's for three months, he recommended an exorcism. Father Cahill returned to the house and the two priests, and the entire family, prayed for the spirit to leave the house. The horror was finally over.
Livingston was so grateful that he converted to Catholicism and in 1802, deeded 40 acres of his estate to the church. In 1978, a religious retreat called Priest Field Pastoral Center was built on the land.
But have the strange events of the past really ended? Some say they have not.... A priest who was leading a tour group of the retreat had his metal-rimmed glasses snipped in two by an unseen force and tourists who have visited the site have reported camera straps, purses, clothing, and other items have been mysteriously cut to pieces.
Middleway, West Virginia is located in the extreme eastern tip of the state. The old Livingston farm was located along the Opequon River and the Baltimore-Kentucky trail, which is now Highway 11, which runs through Middleway. The Priest Field Pastoral Center is located on a parcel of the Livingston land.
Tags: HAUNTED WEST VIRGINIA
 The ghost of Zona Heaster Shue appeared to her mother about two weeks afer her death to show her the truth of her untimely death. Zona`s husband was abusive and had strangled her in a fit of rage. However the coroner had labeled it as "childbirth". Zona`s mother never trusted her son-in-law and didn`t believe his story, so she prayed that Zona would return to her and enlighten her with the truth. Zona heeded her mother`s request and showed her mother what had really happened, and this manifestation brought about the arrest and conviction of the husband.
Tags: West Virginia Hauntings
Ladybug When you wear a Ladybug amulet or lucky charm, you are shouting to the world,"I am free." The Ladybug is a small roundish beetle that has a spotted back. Often brightly colored in nature the Ladybug feeds on insect pests.
This talisman or amulet always puts a smile on your face. It is the charm of the eternal optimist. If you are fortunate enough to have one of these insects land on your shoulder or fly into your house it is a sure sign of good luck.
The Ladybug is considered a harbinger of good luck and prosperity. It shall free you from day to day problems. Wearing a Ladybug amulet or having a live one land on you will brighten your day, give you patience with those around you, and most importantly, lessen your burdens.
In nature you should never destroy this beautiful insect. Rather, it should be passed around from person to person, it should be allowed to crawl over your fingers, and then passed on to another person.
It will seldom fly away. As the Ladybug rests upon your hand you should make a wish, but in making the wish, it should be made for another person's good luck, not your own. In the far east many women that have pierced ears will wear Ladybug earrings, because it is stylish without being overbearing. Smaller women prefer this tiny charm because of it's delicate nature.
Wearing this talisman is much like having a snowflake land on your tongue. It seems tailor made for you. It is personal, not commonplace. Many people that usually hate all types of insects can experience an affinity with this particular one.
Under no circumstances should this amulet be bought or sold. In order for it to free you of your worries, it must be given to you. In nature, it must land on you, or at least land on someone, and that person gives it to you.
The Ladybug is a popular name of the colorful red spotted beetle of the coccinellidae group of the Coleoptera order. It is the subject of many folklore superstitions. It brings children, forecasts danger, predicts lifespan by the number of it's spots. It also warns of death.
In British and European folklore the ladybug was captured by a handmaiden and allowed to fly "North, South, East, or West" in the direction in which her lover lived. Whichever way the insect flew there lived her future
Tags: superstitions
Apparitions at Twistabout Ridge Clay County - Mountain Lakes Local residents tell many tales of ghostly happenings on Twistabout Ridge. One of the stories involves a family who moved to the area many years ago. A man came with his pregnant wife and a young girl who was also pregnant. The wife became ill so he hired another young girl to care for her. It was rumored, after the second girl became pregnant, that the man had fathered all three of the babies.
The wife mysteriously died, and locals believed she had been poisoned because they couldn't keep her tongue in her mouth after she died. After her death, the man married the last of two girls who came to live with them. She soon became pregnant again and not only lost that baby, but every baby she became pregnant with after that. There was a cemetery on a knoll surrounded by pine trees where all the little babies were buried. It was said that anyone who came to stay in the house after that would see an apparition of a woman with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Supposedly, the cemetery where all the little babies are buried is haunted.
On the same ridge, there was a log cabin where a woman lived. She was stoned to death by her neighbors, who left her lying under the stones after they killed her. After that, anyone who lived in the cabin couldn't keep the front door closed and they could hear the sounds of someone screaming and running around the cabin.
There is also a haunted mud hole at Twistabout. There was an old tree next to the mud hole that was once used for a hanging. Witnesses have seen a floating dog on the same road as the mud hole, and a ball of light coming from the hole. People have also heard huge objects falling to the ground near the tree, but never find anything.
Is this ridge haunted by the former inhabitants? No one knows for sure, so why not do some investigating and find out for yourself? Call 1-800-CALL-WVA for travel information.
Tags: HAUNTS OF WEST VIRGINIA
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, I consecrate
my life to the destruction of slavery......
John Brown, 1837 Along the streets of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, a strange, gaunt, white-haired man walks along with a small black dog at his side. The two odd companions stroll past the storefronts and the buildings and the tourists who come here notice him and remark on his eerie resemblance to the man that made this town famous, John Brown. In fact, the resemblance is so uncanny that many will ask this man if they can take his photograph.
Little do they know that when they get their film developed, no man will appear in their photograph.
The man walks down the street to the door of the fire engine house, where he abruptly vanishes.
Such are the encounters with the ghost of John Brown. For most of the citizens of America, the Civil War began in 1861 with the firing upon of Fort Sumter, but for many, the war for freedom began many years before. For the abolitionists of the north and the slaves who were held in chains in the south, the Civil War was about the question of slavery. To those people, the war actually began in 1859....although for the instigator of this savage event, a man named John Brown, the war had begun much earlier than that. On October 16, 1859, the fanatical prophet of doom led a small army of five black men and thirteen white men into the village of Harper's Ferry. He brought along a wagon filled with 200 rifles, 200 pistols and 1000 pikes to arm the slaves that he was sure would rally to his cause of freedom... at any cost. He would lead his army south along the Appalachians and destroy slavery through the plantations of the south. Brown was many things in his life, from failed businessman to guerilla leader in the Kansas Territory. When the question had come about whether or not Kansas was to have slavery, Brown had formed a personal strike force of killers to insure that it didn't. There was fierce fighting on both sides of the issue and towns like Lawrence suffered by being burned to the ground by pro-slavery forces and men like those in a cabin at Pottawatomie Creek were hacked to death with swords by Brown and his army of anti-slavery men.
Brown became a symbol of the abolitionist movement and men who would speak out against slavery, but would not strike with the sword, railed his cause in abolitionist newspapers of the day. Brown moved east, bringing the fight to the slavery strongholds of the southern states. At Harper's Ferry, Brown quickly seized the federal arsenal, the armory, and the engine house and then gathered up hostages from the village. After that, things started to spiral out of control. The first man killed was the town's baggage master, a free black man. The army of slaves did not appear, but the townspeople did after Brown and his men opened fire on an incoming train. The first of Brown's men to fall was a former slave who hoped that Brown could liberate his wife and children, still being held in the south. Someone in the crowd cut off this man's ears as souvenirs. Before the battle was over, Brown would lose nine more men, two of them his own sons. Federal troops soon arrived from Washington and in command was Colonel Robert E. Lee, who had come so quickly with 100 men that he had not even had time to put on his uniform. A dozen of Lee's men stormed the arsenal and fought their way inside. Brown was slashed with an officer's sword and captured to be held by the state of Virginia for treason.
He was hanged on December 2. No one had any idea what an effect Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry would have on the northern public. Those who opposed slavery spoke out in anger and marveled at the courage shown by Brown. Herman Melville would call him "the meteor of the war".
In the south, people were horrified by the raid and by the sympathy shown to Brown for his reckless actions. It would be one of the catalysts to the coming secession by the southern states. As for the village of Harper's Ferry, the events of that day have left a lasting impression, from the ghost of John Brown to the memories and the history of those who fell and those who won the day. I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty
land will never be purged away but with blood...
John Brown's final public statement But John Brown's ghost is not the only spirit to linger in Harper's Ferry... there are other ghosts here too, like that of one of Brown's murdered men, who was mutilated by townsfolk and left to die with the hogs. There is also a haunted church, which was hit by a mortar round during the Civil War. This building is haunted by a priest who has been seen disappearing into the walls and by the sound of a baby crying, which can be heard on the front steps. Harper's Ferry National Park is located in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia at the far eastern tip of the state. The site is located off Highway 30. There are also private ghost tours available of the park...check with the tourism bureau of Harper's Ferry.
Tags: HAUNTS OF WEST VIRGINIA
While Ruth slept, a spider crawled across her face. It stopped for several minutes on her left cheek, then went on it's way.
"What is this red spot on my cheek?" she asked her mother the next morning.
"It looks like a spider bite", her mother said."It will go away, just don't scratch it."
Soon the small red spot grew into a small red boil. "Look at it now," Ruth said. "It's getting bigger." "That sometimes happens", her mother said. "It's coming to a head."
In a few days the boil was even larger. "Look at it now", Ruth said. "It hurts and it's ugly."
"We'll have the doctor look at it", her mother said. "Maybe it's infected."
But the doctor could not see Ruth until the next day.
That night Ruth took a bath. As she soaked herself, the boil burst. Out poured a swarm of tiny spiders from the eggs their mother had laid in her cheek!
Tags: Halloween- tales
&nb sp; The Witches Caldron
"Eye of newt, and toe of frogWool of bats, and tongue of dog"
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"
"For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and babble"
"Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble"
William ShakespeareWitches have had a long history with Halloween. Legends tell of witches gathering twice a year when the seasons changed, on April 30 - the eve of May Day and the other was on the eve of October 31 - All Hallow's Eve. The witches would gather on these nights, arriving on broomsticks, to celebrate a party hosted by the devil. Superstitions told of witches casting spells on unsuspecting people, transform themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief. It was said that to meet a witch you had to put your clothes on wrong side out and you had to walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight you would see a witch. When the early settlers came to America, they brought along their belief in witches. In American the legends of witches spread and mixed with the beliefs of others, the Native Americans - who also believed in witches, and then later with the black magic beliefs of the African slaves. The black cat has long been associated with witches. Many superstitions have evolved about cats. It was believed that witches could change into cats. Some people also believed that cats were the spirits of the dead. One of the best known superstitions is that of the black cat. If a black cat was to cross your path you would have to turn around and go back because many people believe if you continued bad luck would strike you.
Tags: Halloween
During the years prior to the Civil War, the Underground Railroad was the path to freedom for many slaves who were held in the south. The route through the rugged hills of what is now West Virginia was a favorite among guides for these escaped slaves because of the many hiding places and the treacherous mountains.... but sometimes these places led to death.
And to ghosts.... Near the two of Parsons is a tall, steep hill that is almost entirely covered with loose rock. It is a dangerous place and only one path leads over this hill and it is nearly impassable. The hill is called Darkish Knob and among local residents, it has long had a reputation for being haunted. In the years before the Civil War, the Underground Railroad was busy bringing as many slaves as possible to the north. These escaped slaves had to travel at night, hiding and sleeping in the daytime, so that they wouldn't be seen. One trip through an area had to be different from the next for the guides that led these slaves. They had to sleep in different houses and use different trails to avoid the authorities who might be waiting for them along the familiar routes.
One of the best routes north wound through the mountains of West Virginia (although is was still part of the state of Virginia at that time). There were many places to hide out here but traveling at night through the deadly passes could be treacherous. To the slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad though, only death and despair awaited them if they went back, so these men and women would often travel along trails that most people wouldn't even attempt in the day time. Such was the trail over Darkish Knob. It was here that a small house was hidden near the base of the hill that offered rest and safety for the slaves. The house was so well hidden that many travelers passed it by because they couldn't find it in the darkness. This made it the perfect place to hide out.
One night, a young girl was trying to locate the house. She was being chased by slave-catchers, men who had been hired to find runaway slaves, and missed the house and started up the trail over Darkish Knob instead.
She rode her horse to the top of the hill and along the path that drops down into the Cheat River. As she reached the top, she turned and looked back. The horse lost his footing and plunged over the edge of the hill. As the girl fell to the rocks below, she let out a bellowing scream that was heard for nearly a mile. The ghost of this young girl is said to return to the top of the hill every year on the eve of the date of her death. The ghost moans and cries for several minutes and then lets out a terrifying scream as the moment of her death approaches. Parsons, West Virginia is located in the north central part of the state, north of Elkins and along Highway 219.
Tags: HAUNTS OF WEST VIRGINIA
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