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.
I hardly remember a time when the U.S. 19 expressway didn’t climb Powell Mountain on its journey between Sutton and Beckley in southern West Virginia. Raised in Beckley by parents who hailed from the Monongahela Valley, I spent countless hours on the route visiting grandparents, and later, while attending West Virginia University, spent many more … Read more
The weather was turning cold in mid-November 1966 when stories of a strange creature began to scatter like autumn leaves across West Virginia. Men digging a grave near Clendenin claimed to see “a brown human being” gliding through the trees above. The following night, two couples in a wood near Point Pleasant reported being chased … Read more
WVExplorer.com has published the first of five videos that discuss the backstories for legendary monsters apparently featured in the soon-to-be-released video game Fallout 76. According to publisher David Sibray, who is interviewed by Alfred Clark throughout the series, the strange beasts are among those introduced in 2014 by author Ted Fauster in “The top five … Read more
Cacapon Resort State Park will host West Virginia native and professional storyteller Adam Booth Aug. 11 for a family friendly evening of campfire ghost stories and tall tales. Booth has been professionally telling stories for more than 12 years, has performed across the country, and was featured in Wonderful West Virginia magazine’s May 2018 issue, … Read more
On June 16, 1964, hell broke loose in Grafton, West Virginia, a sleepy town on the Tygart Valley River. Excitement here normally came by railroad rather than lurching out of the forest. Though the Grafton Monster, or “Beast of Grafton,” as it came to be called, left not so much as a footprint, folks still … Read more
Fallout from the announced release of the “Fallout 76” West Virginia-based video game is driving record traffic to West Virginia Explorer, according to its publisher. The post-apoclyptic game set in West Virginia features many of the landmarks and characters about which the guide has published. “Our advertisers should certainly be happy that we’re driving numbers … Read more
In time for Christmas 2018, Bethesda it will unleash “Fallout 76,” a video game of enormous proportions that appears to be entirely centered in a post-apocalyptic West Virginia set in the 2076. The trailer for the video begins to pay homage to the Mountain State from the state, invoking the state song “Country Roads, Take … Read more
Of more than 400 artifacts collected in this museum of the paranormal in West Virginia’s “city of the dead,” one is attracting more attention than all others, though curators are at a loss to explain why. “You can see why the lost execution-cap from the penitentiary’s electric chair is popular,” says Steve Hummel, referring to … Read more
A new film aims to tell the true story behind what happened in a rural West Virginia town when a group of locals encountered a monstrous being moments after seeing strange objects in the sky. “The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear” is a new documentary from director Seth Breedlove, which will unlock a decades-old … Read more
Scientists working with the remote National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, have detected repeating radio signals being emitted from a dwarf galaxy three billion light-years away. Astronomers dedicated to finding signs of intelligent alien life recorded 15 repeating fast radio bursts on August 26, according to an August 30 Newsweek article. The … Read more
