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
GASSAWAY, W.Va.— Is West Virginia monster lore going corporate? A new commercial app that features the Mountain State’s most famous monsters suggests it could become big business.Long the subject of campfire stories, the monsters that allegedly haunt the West Virginia hills may have gone fully mainstream with a new rewards system instituted by GoMart, which … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — While recent bigfoot sightings in southern West Virginia have gained national attention, one investigator says it’s no surprise, given the number of sightings he’s cataloged in the southern mountains.Investigator Les O’Dell says he’ll attest to the trustworthiness of a recent report of an encounter in October 2019 near the New River Gorge … 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
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 but … Read more
Bigfoot and the Flatwoods Monster aren’t the only bizarre creatures being reported at the center of West Virginia in Braxton County. Apparently, the fishing is hard to believe, too.Trophies of legendary size are being taken in its lakes and rivers, and fishing in the area appears to be on the increase as the coronavirus outbreak … Read more
If you’re a fan of the Mothman legend and haven’t visited its alleged lair, also known as the TNT Area, you owe yourself the hair-raising experience, says the executive director of the Mason County Convention and Visitors Bureau.“And if you really want to experience Mothman, you’ve got to be in the TNT area at night,” … Read more
As any student who attends West Virginia University at Morgantown can tell you, there’s an air of mystery that grows over the Monongahela Valley at night.Ranked among the most haunted locales in West Virginia, Morgantown—and all of the Monongahela Valley, from Pittsburgh to the Allegheny uplands—is imbued with a sense of the uncanny.It is for … Read more
Organizers of the annual Mothman Festival at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, say they’re expecting record visitation on the weekend of September 21 as interest in the legend of the winged beast grows world-over.Partly as a result of the recent release of the Fallout 76 video game—which features the Mothman and other alleged West Virginia beasts—as … Read more
MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — Thousands of scouts attend the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree in southern West Virginia, filling a virtual city of some 10,000 acres built around outdoor recreation at the edge of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.The scouts and their guests participate in many recreational activities for which the New … Read more
