FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A lesser-known encounter with an extraordinary Mountain State cryptid is still capturing the imagination of West Virginians a half century later. On a warm July day in 1968, in the hills near Grant Town, West Virginia, Jennings Frederick was hunting for groundhogs when he heard a high-pitched noise that morphed into a … Read more
GREEN BANK, W.Va. — A renowned paranormal investigator says West Virginia has a remarkable association with UFO activity because of its role in the search for extraterrestrial life and because it was the location of many early alleged UFO encounters. Dave Spinks, perhaps best known for his appearances on the Travel Channel, the History Channel, … Read more
SAULSVILLE, W.Va. — While reports of the Polk Hollow Monster haven’t reached the frequency they had in the 1970s and ’80s, there’s no doubt in the minds of a few locals that something haunts the vicinity of the hollow in Twin Falls Resort State Park. State officials even developed a hiking trail, the “Poke Hollow … Read more
CUNARD, W.Va. — Tales of a “monster” said to haunt the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia have surfaced in recent years, and a lodging entrepreneur who’s developed a cryptid-themed vacation rental is looking for corroborating stories. “There’s something in the New River Gorge—at least on paper there is,” says Nate … Read more
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — America’s quintessential Atomic Age monster, Mothman continues to attract attention in the Ohio Valley, so much so that more than 30,000 visitors attended the annual Mothman Festival in West Virginia. As much as people might know or suspect about the legendary beast, which made its first recorded appearance in 1966, three … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Driven by tourists’ fascination with the eerie and unexplained, West Virginia has developed a statewide paranormal trail, guiding thrill-seekers to its most haunted and spine-chilling destinations. Chelsea Ruby, director of the W.Va. Department of Tourism, says a trail system’s digital passport lets visitors check in at haunted sites, earn points, and unlock … Read more
FLATWOODS, W.Va. — In the annals of West Virginia lore, the Rolling meadows near Flatwoods, West Virginia, in Braxton County.[/caption] Descriptions of the event have led some to speculate that what a group of young boys encountered one night on the edge of Flatwoods was not an Highway US-19 wanders through Flatwoods near the alleged … 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
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
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Far from the city lights that shimmer about its mouth at the Golden Triangle at Pittsburgh, the Monongahela River rises more than 200 miles away in some of the most remote reaches in the Appalachian Mountains. Many of its tributaries descend from forests so old and large that only the most intrepid … Read more
