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Lore and Legend

West Virginia is a land steeped in rich lore and enduring legends that captivate the imagination of visitors and locals alike. From the mysterious Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant to the ghostly tales surrounding the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, West Virginia is a treasure trove of Appalachian folklore. Deep in its misty hollows and rugged mountains, stories of supernatural creatures, haunted locations, and mysteries have been passed down through generations. These chilling yet fascinating tales make West Virginia a top destination for paranormal enthusiasts and fans of folklore. Whether exploring ancient Native American myths or Civil War ghost stories, West Virginia’s legends add an eerie charm to its scenic beauty.

Historic black-and-white photograph of spiritualist medium Elizabeth Winn Blake seated with three men, one holding a long speaking trumpet.
Lore and Legend

The mysterious Mrs. Blake: The Ohio River medium who claimed to speak with the dead

by David Sibray

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — In August 1906, a Huntington physician conducted an experiment to test the reputed supernatural abilities of Elizabeth Winn Blake, a spiritualist medium whose séances were drawing visitors to the Ohio River Valley. Dr. L.V. Guthrie, superintendent of the West Virginia Asylum at Huntington, reported that a voice claiming to be his deceased … Read more

Rafters descend the Gauley River in West Virginia, one of the world’s celebrated whitewater runs. A form of the river’s unusual name appears in records dating to at least 1774, though its origin remains uncertain. (Photo courtesy ACE Adventure Resort)
Lore and Legend

How did West Virginia’s Gauley River get its unusual name?

by David Sibray

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — Every autumn, thousands of paddlers descend into West Virginia’s mountains to run the Gauley River, one of the world’s celebrated whitewater runs. They come for rapids named Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, and Sweet’s Falls, as scheduled releases from Summersville Dam send enormous volumes of water through the river’s rugged gorge. But the … Read more

Civil War soldiers are depicted as apparitions near the observation tower at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park, where stories of soldiers, cannon fire and other unexplained encounters have circulated for generations. The Pocahontas County battlefield has been added to the West Virginia Paranormal Trail for 2026. (WVExplorer illustration)
Lore and Legend

West Virginia Civil War battlefield known for ghost stories joins paranormal trail

by David Sibray

HILLSBORO, W.Va. — Visitors to a West Virginia Civil War battlefield have reported hearing galloping horses and cannon fire and seeing soldiers who seemingly disappear. Now Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park in Pocahontas County is joining the West Virginia Paranormal Trail, a statewide tourism route devoted to places associated with ghosts, cryptids and other unexplained … Read more

Kanawha Valley historian Forrest Hull illustrated the old association between autumn, “Indian summer” and frontier stories in this drawing preserved with his writings. The terminology reflects the period in which Hull wrote and is reproduced here as part of the historical record.
Lore and Legend

Where are the autumns of yesterday? A West Virginia writer remembered a different fall

by David Sibray

CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. — Forrest Hull remembered autumn before foliage forecasts, scenic-drive maps, and photos of mountainsides ablaze with color became common ways to mark the season in West Virginia. “Where are the autumns of yesterday?” Hull asked in a 1970s essay appropriately titled “Yesterday’s Autumns.” He remembered little boys who “played so hard all … Read more

The Bank of Huntington, at right, appears in this view of Third Avenue circa 1880, only a few years after four armed men robbed the bank in 1875. The identities of two of the robbers remain uncertain.
Lore and Legend

The James Gang supposedly robbed this West Virginia bank, though records are less certain

by David Sibray

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — One of West Virginia’s most famous outlaw stories holds that members of the James Gang rode into Huntington in 1875, robbed a bank in broad daylight, and fled toward the mountains with thousands of dollars. The robbery certainly happened, but whether the famous outlaws were responsible remains another matter. Contemporary newspaper accounts, later … Read more

A secluded road near present-day Countsville recalls the isolated Roane-Jackson border country, where a series of murders and acts of vigilante violence unfolded in 1877.
Lore and Legend

The West Virginia farmer that some believed God struck down with lightning

by David Sibray

GANDEEVILLE, W.Va. — In the turbulent years after the Civil War, a remote corner of the border country between Roane and Jackson counties became the scene of one of West Virginia’s least remembered outbreaks of vigilante violence. A string of ambushes, assassinations, lynchings, and retaliatory killings shattered the isolated farming community of Countsville in 1877, … Read more