West Virginia culture is a captivating blend of rich Appalachian traditions and vibrant high culture infused with the jazz of surrounding U.S. cities like Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The state is renowned for its deep-rooted Appalachian heritage, which is showcased through folk music, storytelling, and traditional crafts such as quilting and woodcarving. Visitors can experience this authentic culture at local festivals and heritage museums throughout the Mountain State. At the same time, West Virginia also embraces high culture, with world-class performances at the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, acclaimed theater productions at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, and art exhibitions at the Huntington Museum of Art. This unique mix of mountain traditions and refined artistic offerings makes West Virginia a true cultural gem in the heart of Appalachia.
BOOMER, W.Va. — Only one church of the Roman Catholic faith in West Virginia is venerated as a “shrine”—a place of special devotion that contains a saint’s relic. But church officials at the diocese in Wheeling, West Virginia, are at a loss to explain how the shrine was designated and what sacred relic may be … Read more
BASIN, W.Va. — Sharp-eyed motorists traveling Barkers Ridge in southern West Virginia may have noticed a faded sign that commemorates the burial of what appears to have been three children. But the origins of “The Little Graves,” now a local historic landmark, is a mystery yet to be recorded, according to two historians searching for … Read more
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Windy nights such as those that sweep through the hollows in West Virginia may put residents of Lewisburg in mind of the legend of Sam Hart. It was here that the proud youth raced the Devil through the streets. Most have heard similar tales, often with a similarly unsettling outcome, though that … Read more
ATHENS, W.Va. — Farmers in the countryside near Concord University in West Virginia sometimes speak of a strange winter phenomenon.When conditions are just right, the sound of the school’s 48-bell carillon, often no more than a distant melody, swells to a thunderous intensity miles from its source. The effect can be haunting.Caused by air inversion, which … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — In almost every respect, the coal camp at Fireco was the end of the line. It was as far up the hollow as you were likely to get in a car in the 1930s when word of a prowling monster began to make the rounds.Then, as now, the community was a pleasant … Read more
HEROLD, W.Va. — The mountains that tower above the Birch River bear the brunt of winter storms that sweep across central West Virginia, and it was here on a snowy night that a legendary battle between man and nature was fought.The legend has grown obscure, but there’s little dispute that Bill Barnett was a kind … Read more
WEIRTON, W.Va. — When pioneers and other explorers first ventured into what would become West Virginia, they encountered artifacts of a much earlier age — carvings, burial mounds, and stone walls, the origins of which natives could not explain with certainty.Petroglyphs inscribed in rock featuring human and animal figures were perhaps the most striking and … Read more
GILBERT, W.Va. — As the tale goes, folks in the neighborhood of Codger Town in Wyoming County were haunted by a thundering rumble, the origins of which were attributed to a ghost they called “Old Thump.”Reuben Mitchell heard it himself as a boy in the ’60s. “I’ll never forget it! One night, I was walking … Read more
WITCHER CREEK, W.Va. — It wasn’t long ago that country folk in West Virginia might tell tales of a turkey witch. Of all the forms a witch could take, that of a wild turkey was the most feared, especially among the farms at the edge of the deep forests where turkeys are most at home. … Read more
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Tales of supernatural lights are not uncommon in the Appalachian Mountains. While science has dispelled some of these phenomena, the lore remains, and one example in West Virginia has yet to be studied and solved. In the case of the Brown Mountain Lights of western North Carolina, scientist George R. Mansfield in … Read more
