Folklore of Appalachia
Monsters of Paranoia
Oh God,
Can't sleep,
Haven't slept all week.
It's like my mind's a wild house
And the party's hitting peak.
I shift,
I turn,
Like a freshly salted worm
Attempting for that spot
Not too cold and not too warm.
I roll,
Although,
Then I'm facing the window
It sure is black outside
But there're two things set aglow.
Oh yeah,
That's right,
Two incandescent streetlights.
They're kinda flickering
And they complement the night.
They're so,
Pretty,
Their flickering's a pity.
I stare at the two lights
Until a glorious sleep hits me.
Alarm,
Please no,
I get up tired and slow.
Did I really fall asleep?
I look out my open window.
What's that?
Oh God,
That's really frickin' odd
My windowsill's all ruined
Like the wood was scratched and clawed.
Beyond,
Repair,
I'm kind of getting scared.
And now looking at my street,
I could've sworn two lights were there.
Mothman Sightings
The legend of the Mothman is not too unknown in West Virginia, most notably Point Pleasant. In fact, Pont Pleasant even holds annual Mothman festivals, a Mothman Museum and Research Center, and a twelve-foot-tall metallic statue of the being. Point Pleasant definitely prides itself in its correlation with the Mothman.
Ever since two couples in 1966 saw a “flying man with ten-foot wings and glowing-red eyes” following their car, other sightings spurred up in the newspaper as well. Over the next few days, more people reported similar sightings, describing the same general appearance—“large bird with red eyes,” “like bicycle reflectors.” After the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 (the resulting death of forty six people), no more Mothman sightings were reported, and rumors spread that the Mothman and the collapsed bridge were related.
Skeptics argue that the Sandhill Crane, a crane almost as tall as a man with a seven-foot wingspan and reddish coloring around the eyes, could have temporarily strayed off its migration route and been mistaken by some as the Mothman. However, even today, sightings of the Mothman continue.
Dear Jeff Wamsley,
I have recently discovered your website and want to share to you an experience with the “Mothman” that might be of interest. It isn’t a personal tale of mine, but one of my aunt’s. Now,
my aunt is a very big believer in the paranormal, so it’s not uncommon of her to report her old, crickety house as a victim of ghost activity but she’s never claimed something like what I am about to tell you.
My aunt Gloria was washing dishes in her kitchen late at night when she happened to look out of the window and see two red dots, small but very close to each other. She didn’t know what it could be—no vehicles would be in her kitchen window’s line of sight, and no other possible sources of red light would shine like that from a distance. She retrieved her husband and showed him the red lights, and he went out onto their porch thinking it was some sort of animal to chase away: a coyote or cat or bird of some sort. However, when he went out there the two red dots were already gone, and nothing unusual was left in its place.
The next day, their dog was found on their porch, dead, not even bleeding. A trip to the vet concluded that the dog was strangled.
I have no idea if these strange events would be related to the Mothman in any way, but our family does get spooked when my aunt retells this story. After viewing your site and reading other peoples’ experiences, I might even start to believe my aunt’s little experience with the Mothman…
Sincerely, Leticia F.
True Story
SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED HERE,
NOT SO LONG AGO
SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED HERE
THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
SEEMS LIKE SUCH A QUIET PLACE
WITH NOTHIN’ MUCH TO DO,
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! AWFUL HOW HE CRIED.
TRUE, OOH, OOH, OOH—
WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
BLACKSMITH WASN’T HERE A WEEK,
SO THE TALE WAS TOLD.
MET A GIRL YOU'D NOT CALL MEEK,
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.
MAYBE THEY WERE MEANT TO MEET
BEFORE THE MONTH WAS THROUGH
TOO BAD THERE’S NOT A WITNESS
WHO CAN TELL US WHAT IS
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! FAR TOO YOUNG SHE DIED.
TRUE, OOH, OOH, OOH—
WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
GO AS FAR AS MEADOW BLUFF,
OUT TO LIVESAY’S MILL,
DOWN A PIECE FROM CATTAIL KNOB,
UP SKEETER HILL,
FOLKS ALL KNOW THE TRAGIC TALE
WE'RE HERE TO TELL TO YOU.
WE MAY ALL TELL IT DIFFERENT, BUT
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE FORGOT
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE CANNOT SAY
EXCEPT THE PARTS WE’LL NEVER KNOW
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE MADE UP,
IT’S ABSOLUTELY
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! TRUTH WON’T BE DENIED
Greenbrier Ghost
The Greenbrier Ghost is famous for her “testimony of a ghost” at her murder trial. Zona Heaster Shue married a blacksmith named Edward, and one year later Zona’s corpse was found by a young boy. Zona’s husband Edward seemed to show much grievance over his wife’s death, and even though she had bruising on her neck, Edward insisted her death must have been caused by childbirth.
However, Zona’s mother, Mary, had always suspected Edward killed her daughter. Mary prayed for weeks for guidance and the chance to speak to her daughter again. Four weeks after Zona’s wedding, Mary claims that her daughter visited her in a dream, in which Zona explains that Edward snapped her neck—and demonstrates by twisting her neck completely around until it was facing backwards.
Desperate for justice, Mary pleaded the local prosecutor to reopen the case of her daughter’s death. After hours of convincing, he dispatched deputies to re-interview people related to the case and a more thorough autopsy to be performed on the body; Edward “vigorously complained” about the re-examination of his wife’s corpse. The three-hour autopsy proved that Zona’s neck really was broken and her windpipe was mashed; her throat had bruises and marks in the shape of fingers and the ligaments were torn.
Edward was arrested for murdering Zona. At the trial, Mary testified that her daughter had haunted her and informed her of the murder, and the jury didn’t disregard her stories. Edward was consequently found guilty of murder.
The legend of the Greenbrier Ghost was made into a major stage adaptation; a musical called, The Greenbrier Ghost, which is where the above song (True Story) is from. A state historical marker is near the cemetery in which Zona is buried, and it reads:
“Interred in nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared to her mother to describe how she was killed by her husband Edward. Autopsy on the exhumed body verified the apparition’s account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to the state prison. Only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.”
Blennerhassett Hotel
The Blennerhassett Hotel, opened in 1889, can be found at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This hotel is infamous for several ghosts associated with it; including William N. Chancellor, the man who built it. Customers staying here have reported smelling cigar smoke or seeing cigar smoke when there was no source of the smoke. Elevators will often open on the wrong floor and keep stopping and opening on the second floor even when the button has not been pushed; people have tied this to repeatedly seeing a man dressed in a grey suit pacing the second floor hallways. In the Blennerhassett Hotel’s library, books will fall off of their shelves with no provocation. The doors in the hotel open and close and sometimes get stuck.
Many customers and employees in the hotel report some sort of paranormal activity, and it’s not uncommon to capture orbs or faint faces with cameras and film.
Haunted footsteps step-step nearer,
Orbs that cameras can see through,
Tortured faces in the mirrors,
Elevators stuck on level two,
Listen more and you might hear her,
Softly speaking just to you.
Monsters of Paranoia
Oh God,
Can't sleep,
Haven't slept all week.
It's like my mind's a wild house
And the party's hitting peak.
I shift,
I turn,
Like a freshly salted worm
Attempting for that spot
Not too cold and not too warm.
I roll,
Although,
Then I'm facing the window
It sure is black outside
But there're two things set aglow.
Oh yeah,
That's right,
Two incandescent streetlights.
They're kinda flickering
And they complement the night.
They're so,
Pretty,
Their flickering's a pity.
I stare at the two lights
Until a glorious sleep hits me.
Alarm,
Please no,
I get up tired and slow.
Did I really fall asleep?
I look out my open window.
What's that?
Oh God,
That's really frickin' odd
My windowsill's all ruined
Like the wood was scratched and clawed.
Beyond,
Repair,
I'm kind of getting scared.
And now looking at my street,
I could've sworn two lights were there.
Mothman Sightings
The legend of the Mothman is not too unknown in West Virginia, most notably Point Pleasant. In fact, Pont Pleasant even holds annual Mothman festivals, a Mothman Museum and Research Center, and a twelve-foot-tall metallic statue of the being. Point Pleasant definitely prides itself in its correlation with the Mothman.
Ever since two couples in 1966 saw a “flying man with ten-foot wings and glowing-red eyes” following their car, other sightings spurred up in the newspaper as well. Over the next few days, more people reported similar sightings, describing the same general appearance—“large bird with red eyes,” “like bicycle reflectors.” After the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 (the resulting death of forty six people), no more Mothman sightings were reported, and rumors spread that the Mothman and the collapsed bridge were related.
Skeptics argue that the Sandhill Crane, a crane almost as tall as a man with a seven-foot wingspan and reddish coloring around the eyes, could have temporarily strayed off its migration route and been mistaken by some as the Mothman. However, even today, sightings of the Mothman continue.
Dear Jeff Wamsley,
I have recently discovered your website and want to share to you an experience with the “Mothman” that might be of interest. It isn’t a personal tale of mine, but one of my aunt’s. Now,
my aunt is a very big believer in the paranormal, so it’s not uncommon of her to report her old, crickety house as a victim of ghost activity but she’s never claimed something like what I am about to tell you.
My aunt Gloria was washing dishes in her kitchen late at night when she happened to look out of the window and see two red dots, small but very close to each other. She didn’t know what it could be—no vehicles would be in her kitchen window’s line of sight, and no other possible sources of red light would shine like that from a distance. She retrieved her husband and showed him the red lights, and he went out onto their porch thinking it was some sort of animal to chase away: a coyote or cat or bird of some sort. However, when he went out there the two red dots were already gone, and nothing unusual was left in its place.
The next day, their dog was found on their porch, dead, not even bleeding. A trip to the vet concluded that the dog was strangled.
I have no idea if these strange events would be related to the Mothman in any way, but our family does get spooked when my aunt retells this story. After viewing your site and reading other peoples’ experiences, I might even start to believe my aunt’s little experience with the Mothman…
Sincerely, Leticia F.
True Story
SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED HERE,
NOT SO LONG AGO
SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED HERE
THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
SEEMS LIKE SUCH A QUIET PLACE
WITH NOTHIN’ MUCH TO DO,
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! AWFUL HOW HE CRIED.
TRUE, OOH, OOH, OOH—
WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
BLACKSMITH WASN’T HERE A WEEK,
SO THE TALE WAS TOLD.
MET A GIRL YOU'D NOT CALL MEEK,
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.
MAYBE THEY WERE MEANT TO MEET
BEFORE THE MONTH WAS THROUGH
TOO BAD THERE’S NOT A WITNESS
WHO CAN TELL US WHAT IS
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! FAR TOO YOUNG SHE DIED.
TRUE, OOH, OOH, OOH—
WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
GO AS FAR AS MEADOW BLUFF,
OUT TO LIVESAY’S MILL,
DOWN A PIECE FROM CATTAIL KNOB,
UP SKEETER HILL,
FOLKS ALL KNOW THE TRAGIC TALE
WE'RE HERE TO TELL TO YOU.
WE MAY ALL TELL IT DIFFERENT, BUT
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE FORGOT
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE CANNOT SAY
EXCEPT THE PARTS WE’LL NEVER KNOW
EXCEPT THE PARTS THAT WE MADE UP,
IT’S ABSOLUTELY
TRUE STORY—BLACKSMITH LOST HIS BRIDE!
TRUE STORY—WOULDN’T LEAVE HER SIDE.
WHOO, GLORY! TRUTH WON’T BE DENIED
Greenbrier Ghost
The Greenbrier Ghost is famous for her “testimony of a ghost” at her murder trial. Zona Heaster Shue married a blacksmith named Edward, and one year later Zona’s corpse was found by a young boy. Zona’s husband Edward seemed to show much grievance over his wife’s death, and even though she had bruising on her neck, Edward insisted her death must have been caused by childbirth.
However, Zona’s mother, Mary, had always suspected Edward killed her daughter. Mary prayed for weeks for guidance and the chance to speak to her daughter again. Four weeks after Zona’s wedding, Mary claims that her daughter visited her in a dream, in which Zona explains that Edward snapped her neck—and demonstrates by twisting her neck completely around until it was facing backwards.
Desperate for justice, Mary pleaded the local prosecutor to reopen the case of her daughter’s death. After hours of convincing, he dispatched deputies to re-interview people related to the case and a more thorough autopsy to be performed on the body; Edward “vigorously complained” about the re-examination of his wife’s corpse. The three-hour autopsy proved that Zona’s neck really was broken and her windpipe was mashed; her throat had bruises and marks in the shape of fingers and the ligaments were torn.
Edward was arrested for murdering Zona. At the trial, Mary testified that her daughter had haunted her and informed her of the murder, and the jury didn’t disregard her stories. Edward was consequently found guilty of murder.
The legend of the Greenbrier Ghost was made into a major stage adaptation; a musical called, The Greenbrier Ghost, which is where the above song (True Story) is from. A state historical marker is near the cemetery in which Zona is buried, and it reads:
“Interred in nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared to her mother to describe how she was killed by her husband Edward. Autopsy on the exhumed body verified the apparition’s account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to the state prison. Only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.”
Blennerhassett Hotel
The Blennerhassett Hotel, opened in 1889, can be found at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This hotel is infamous for several ghosts associated with it; including William N. Chancellor, the man who built it. Customers staying here have reported smelling cigar smoke or seeing cigar smoke when there was no source of the smoke. Elevators will often open on the wrong floor and keep stopping and opening on the second floor even when the button has not been pushed; people have tied this to repeatedly seeing a man dressed in a grey suit pacing the second floor hallways. In the Blennerhassett Hotel’s library, books will fall off of their shelves with no provocation. The doors in the hotel open and close and sometimes get stuck.
Many customers and employees in the hotel report some sort of paranormal activity, and it’s not uncommon to capture orbs or faint faces with cameras and film.
Haunted footsteps step-step nearer,
Orbs that cameras can see through,
Tortured faces in the mirrors,
Elevators stuck on level two,
Listen more and you might hear her,
Softly speaking just to you.
Haley
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