SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — The tale of the “Ford Ghost” southwest of Summersville, West Virginia, appears several times in local lore. This telling by J.W. Benjamin, published in the W.Va. Heritage Encyclopedia, couches the story in a manner that captures the essence of a good ghost story with the help of Lonnie E. Legge, who might … Read more
PAX, W.Va. — West Virginia is warm enough to welcome family camping at least six months out of the year, and there’s little more exciting about a night under the stars than campfire tales told over roasted marshmallows. As the embers dim, inexplicable sounds come out of the darkness. The crash of a falling branch! … Read more
ELKINS, W.Va. — Lilacs bloom in April and May in West Virginia, which may be a good time to recall one of its best-known ghost stories — that of the tell-tale lilac bush, a story that’s grown into legend, thanks to the late folklorist Ruth Ann Musick. In 1965, Dr. Musick, who taught folklore at … Read more
SAINT MARYS, W.Va. — West Virginia has always been reasonably peaceful. Violence erupts occasionally, though one might say it’s sleepy in a home-spun Andy Griffith Show way. It had been remarkably free of violent crime during the Great Depression when most folks were too occupied with the business of surviving to carry out a murder. … Read more
SUTTON, W.Va. — Locals know there’s a Bigfoot, or several of the creatures, living in the forests of central West Virginia, according to the curator of the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum in Sutton, West Virginia. David Petolicchio says that when he established the museum in the town’s historic district in 2021, he had only a … Read more
CENTRALIA, W.Va. — The ghost town of Centralia, with no more than a dozen houses and a country store, might seem one of the most isolated communities in West Virginia (though it’s a drive of only 20 miles from the nearest interstate). Now the site of a popular campground bordering the backwaters of scenic Sutton … Read more
BURNT HOUSE, W.Va. — Motorists traveling WV-47 between Weston and Parkersburg are sure to have noticed the sign for the village of Burnt House and wondered about the name. Like every good town name in West Virginia, there’s a story behind it. In this case, it’s a ghost story. The tale goes something like this: … Read more
SILVER VALLEY, W.Va. — Is there silver in the hills of West Virginia? Parts of what’s now western West Virginia enjoyed a kind of silver rush in the late 1800s, and many prospectors opened mines, though geologists say their efforts were for naught. Geologists seem to agree that strata underlying the valley of the Ohio … Read more
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Possibly because of a resurgence of ideas about chivalry and codes of conduct, dueling surged in popularity in the U.S. in the late 1700s, especially in the Deep South. Alexander Hamilton was infamously killed in a duel with sitting vice-president Aaron Burr in 1804 as a result of the trend. But dueling … Read more
WITCHER CREEK, W.Va — It’s likely that few English speakers who have observed the “Witchers Creek” road sign on US-60 have done so without considering the association with the word “witch,” surely a coincidence. But it turns out a witch legend is, in fact, associated with the stream, though few seem to know how believable … Read more
