David Sibray
PAX, W.Va. — On lonely roads across West Virginia, the same unsettling scene has played out again and again in the state’s folklore: A driver rounds a bend late at night and sees someone—or something—that should not be there. A woman and child appear beside a Putnam County road. A sinister stranger confronts motorists on … Read more
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — West Virginia officials have broken ground on the largest mountain bike trail project in state history. At Cacapon Resort State Park, a two-hour drive from downtown Washington, D.C., the $3.5 million project will add 35 miles of professionally designed mountain bike trails to the park’s trail system. Brett McMillion, director of … Read more
LIBERTY, W.Va. — Eighteenmile Creek wanders quietly through the low hills of northern Putnam County, revealing not in the least any potential for tragedy along its banks. Yet, tragedy visited a group of hunters camping one night in a cave in the early 1800s. Where precisely this horrific incident occurred is not widely known, though … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A stone’s throw from one of the busiest traffic centers in West Virginia, a spring house and one-room cabin are all that remains of a farm that was long a favorite stop for 19th-century travelers. Now, its owners are working to preserve the cabin and the bubbling spring that watered countless horses … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Questions may always surround a mysterious boulder found 200 years ago in southern West Virginia inscribed with the characters “S. Ferguson F. County 1814.” (The numeral “4” is chiseled in reverse.) Ferguson’s Rock has since been the focus of local legends, including tales of a phantom that roams the scene of its … Read more
EASTON, W.Va. — Hidden in a small wooded valley within the busy municipality of Morgantown, West Virginia, the historic steam-powered Easton Roller Mill roars to life on summer Sundays, attracting the attention of all who enjoy gears and pulleys. The mill, which served as a grist mill and lumber mill, was restored by the Monongalia … Read more
COPLEY, W.Va. — In a quiet meadow along the upper reaches of the Sand Fork of the Little Kanawha River, it’s hard to imagine that there was ever more hustle and bustle than the crow of a rooster. The village of Copley today is a quiet place, but, as with much of West Virginia, one … Read more
LYNCO, W.Va. — Scientists studying ancient carvings in West Virginia say stories that propose a non-native origin for prehistoric landmarks ignore evidence and may dishonor Native American heritage. Mysterious though the carvings are, officials with the A detailed view of the petroglyphs at Lynco is outlined in chalk.[/caption] Archaeologist and council spokeswoman Charity Moore wrote … Read more
GRANT TOWN, W.Va. — If you’ve had the opportunity to descend into a West Virginia coal mine, you might have come away with a new sense of the absolute darkness. The coal itself absorbs what little light might reach into the deep. Though the darkness can inspire dread, the nature of mining can lead the … Read more
GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — Nights in rural Calhoun County are counted among the darkest in West Virginia, so it’s little wonder that the tale of one of the state’s strangest hauntings comes out of its hills. The phantom, which supposedly manifested in the valley of the Little Kanawha River in the late 1800s, is still a … Read more
