MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — Due to its remarkable fertility, the valley of Dunloup Creek in south-central West Virginia was once called by settlers “Egypt.” But pioneers discovered something even more remarkable when they arrived—a prehistoric ruin built by an earlier culture, and only a few recollections of the ancient stone works survive. The legendary ruin … Read more
Until just after the Civil War, large parts of the valley of the Ohio River in what’s now West Virginia were controlled by pirates. Sparsely settled, these marauders in watercraft hid easily in the river’s coves, sporadically raiding ships and riverside communities. The opportunity to plunder along the route, far from civil authority, was extremely … Read more
To see it now, a visitor might hardly guess the Ohio River at Parkersburg was a stretch of river that many boat captains feared. Long ago known as the “Graveyard of the Ohio,” it was considered one of the most dangerous sections on the 981-mile river. Now a popular destination for water recreation—fishing, kayaking, and water … Read more
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Tales of hidden treasure appear throughout the annals of West Virginia history. The legends of hoards buried by prehistoric peoples, retreating soldiers, and reclusive misers could fill a book. One of the best-known tales is that of the Branch Mountain Treasure, which allegedly included $40,000 in gold secreted by three deserting Rebels … Read more
STRANGE CREEK, W.Va. — Too much time may have passed to confirm anything of the indomitable legend of Strange Creek, long among the most haunting tales in West Virginia history. Few travelers now pass through the old town by that name or ascend the stream that follows a winding course from the Elk River into … Read more
PETERSTOWN, W.Va. — Diamonds don’t exist naturally in West Virginia, yet one of the largest ever found was discovered in a horseshoe pit in Monroe County in 1928. Geologists are still unable to explain how it got there, and speculation has never died. The Punch Jones Diamond—also known as the Horseshoe Diamond—remains the largest alluvial … Read more
In the late 1990s, I was asked to pen a book of West Virginia folklore. I opted instead to create my own tales based on local legends, but other legends are more closely grounded in the soil of West Virginia. Maybe you haven’t heard such tales. Perhaps you’re planning a trip to the state. Well, … Read more
One of the most publicized cases of extrasensory perception (ESP) reported in West Virginia involved the deaths of a mother and six children in the town of Sutton, near the very center of West Virginia, on February 19, 1911. The tragedy unfolded shortly after midnight in Sutton, though the incidence of second sight was reported … Read more
A husband and wife living in a remote corner of Fayette County in southern West Virginia claim to have encountered and photographed a bigfoot only a stone’s throw from America’s newest national park, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Billy Humphrey, of Danese, says that before the incident he had ridiculed such claims … Read more
Need help finding a ghost? Ghost hunters who are exploring West Virginia will have an easier time sharing and investigating experiences thanks to a new interactive map of hauntings being published by WVGhosts.com. Available at haunts.WVGhosts.com, the map locates the sites of more than 200 reported encounters with ghosts and other supernatural phenomena across the … Read more
