Lore and Legend
First documented poltergeist in U.S. haunted this historic W.Va. town
MIDDLEWAY, W.Va. — The Wizard Clip haunting, the first documented poltergeist in America, occurred in the late 1700s in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Though centuries have passed, its legend endures, earning residents the nickname “Clippers” to this day....
Mysterious Horse Creek ghost in West Virginia said to foretell the demise of presidents
PAX, W.Va. — Of the many spirits said to haunt the hills of West Virginia, few stir as much unease...
McKinley Rock: The eerie stone face watching over Thurmond, West Virginia
THURMOND, W.Va. — High above the abandoned rail town of Thurmond, West Virginia, a weathered stone...
The captivating West Virginia legend of Kanawha Falls and her daughters
GAULEY BRIDGE, W.Va. — Though beautiful, the following tale of Kanawha Falls in West Virginia may...
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The secret origins of Twistabout Creek’s twisting W.Va. name
PROCIOUS, W.Va. — The strange name of Twistabout Creek in the mountains of central West Virginia may still be a mystery, says a historian questioning a popular local origin story. Cascading down from Twistabout Ridge to join the Elk River in a particularly scenic...
Was mysterious “lunatic” first to discover what would become W.Va.?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One enduring West Virginia legend posits that the first person of European descent to visit the land now within the boundaries of the Mountain State was a “lunatic.” The late Jim Comstock, publisher of the celebrated West Virginia Heritage...
West Virginia mountains provided refuge for wayward “Indian fighter”
CRANY, W.Va. — How did the grave of a soldier from the Shenandoah Valley wind up in one of the most remote and rugged mountain regions in southern West Virginia? According to the legend, as it’s come to be told, a band of marauding Shawnee burned Ralph Stewart’s...
Legend of Van Bibber’s Leap echoes in West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley
GLEN FERRIS, W.Va. — The arrival of spring in what would become West Virginia in the late 1700s was not met with the enthusiasm with which we might greet it today, for fair weather also increased the potential for attack by native tribes. While the Iroquois and...