Patty A. Wilson - Haunted West Virginia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Mountain State

Haunted

West Virginia

Ghosts & Strange Phenomena of the Mountain State

Patty A. Wilson

Illustrations by Heather Adel Wiggins

STACKPOLE
BOOKS

To my friend Jenifer Roberts, who introduced me to West Virginias ghostly side.

To my children, who are always my inspirationincluding Jenna, who has become part of our family.

And to all of those who have had paranormal experiences and shared their tales with others.

Copyright 2007 by Patty A. Wilson

Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
www.stackpolebooks.com

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

Design by Beth Oberholtzer
Cover design by Caroline Stover

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wilson, Patty A.

Haunted West Virginia : ghosts and strange phenomena of the mountain state / Patty A. Wilson.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8117-3400-4 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-8117-3400-5 (pbk.)

1. GhostsWest Virginia. 2. MonstersWest Virginia. 3. Haunted places West Virginia. I. Title.

BF1472.U6W558 2007

133.109754dc22

2007000347

Introduction

A T THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTY - FIRST CENTURY , ABOUT HALF OF ALL Americans believe in ghosts. Ghosts are thought to haunt for many reasons. They may be reliving important past moments, righting wrongs, or fulfilling promises. It often seems that a great passion, love, or turmoil drives the dead to reach back into this world to influence the living.

West Virginia was birthed by the passions that churned during the Civil War. The people of Virginia split over the issue of seceding from the United States at the beginning of the war. The people of the western part of Virginia were patriotic and chose to leave their mother state rather than abandon the great experiment of liberty that was the United States. But that decision also caused great turmoil for the people of the land now called West Virginia.

As a historian, I have come to realize that a regions ghost stories represent the history of a people and reflect their culture, beliefs, and hopes. I have been honored to get to know the people of West Virginia so well and am impressed by their bravery, endurance, and hard work. The people of the Mountain State are proud, independent, and tough, and their stories are as diverse and colorful as they are.

Some of the stories in this book are oft told because they are an enduring part of the fabric of the people of West Virginia. Others have never been told publicly before. I hope you enjoy reading the unusual tales of hauntings and other mysterious phenomena set in this rugged state.

New River and Greenbrier

Valleys

The Headless Man of Fayette County

When the railroads arrived in the area, they changed more than the topography. People found the flat, level railroad beds easy to walk. The railroads were the most direct route between towns, and because of the convenience, people often ignored the danger of walking along the tracks. As they walked along, they frequently met others traveling the same route, and they would pass a pleasant hour or two until they reached their destination.

From time to time there were tragic accidents. On occasion, a traveler made a grisly discovery, finding a decapitated body or one that was cut in half. Train engineers often didnt realize they had struck someone and did not stop. Many stories are told of railroad tracks where pedestrians or railroad workers haunt the scene of their death.

People walking along the tracks between the towns of Pax and Weirwood in Fayette County have reported seeing bright lights dancing erratically in the distance ahead of them. Somehow the lights manage to keep the same distance between them and whoever is watching them, no matter how hard people try to catch up to them.

When people reach the bridge between Pax and Weirwood, they see the lights suddenly come together to form the glowing image of a headless man. Horrified, they watch as the figure stumbles along toward the bridge. Suddenly the man is gone, and the poor witnesses look around in terror, realizing they are all alone on the deserted railroad tracks after just having witnessed the apparition of a headless man. As they glance around, they realize that the headless man has somehow gotten behind them.

The headless man stumbles toward them, and they are forced to step onto the bridge to avoid being touched by the repellent figure. As the witnesses watch, the phantom plunges off the bridge into the water. Only later do these people learn that their experience is not unique. They have encountered the ghost lights of Fayette County.

As local legend has it, a man was walking along the tracks when he was taken by surprise by a train running quickly toward him. The man either stumbled or tried to lie down on the track, but he wound up being beheaded. His body plunged into the river below the railroad bridge, and his head was never found. It is said that on occasion the man returns to search for his head. He relives the last few seconds of his life, but he never finds his head. Until he does, the headless man will never rest.

The Mean-Spirited Spirit

Come to America, young man, the streets are paved with gold, or so people said in Europe in the 1920s. Europe was experiencing an economic depression, and people all over the continent were suffering. Europeans heard from relatives and friends who had gone before them that across the ocean lay a land of riches and opportunity, and many thought about making the journey to America in search of a better life. Mr. Jachimowicz was one of them. He decided that he and his family would make the journey from Poland so that his five children could grow up in the land of opportunity. They poured every cent they had into the journey.

Unfortunately, the Jachimowicz family did not find a rich, new life in America. Though Mr. Jachimowicz had been a respected scholar and teacher in Poland, his education was not recognized in America, and he could not teach. Instead, he was forced to take a job in the dangerous coal mines of Fayette County, West Virginia, in order to feed his family. The mine owners had company housing on Wingrove Hill for mine families, and the Jachimowiczes moved into one of those little houses.

Soon the family across the street came over to introduce themselves. The Dudas were also immigrants who had come to work in the coal mines, and their children were similar in age to the Jachimowicz youngsters. It was not long until the two families were very close. They visited back and forth, and Mrs. Jachimowicz and Mrs. Duda became friends.

One day Mrs. Duda confided that her family had a secret: They were living in a haunted house, and the spirit there was a mean prankster who did terrible things. She told Mrs. Jachimowicz stories of events in the house, telling her the spirit could speak out loud for anyone to hear and that he mocked them, threw things at them, and made life miserable.

Mrs. Jachimowicz believed that ghosts were possible, but she did not have any direct experience in dealing with them. Still, Mrs. Duda was her friend, and she was determined to support her.

One day Mrs. Jachimowiczs sister was visiting, when there was a frantic pounding at the door. Mrs. Jachimowicz hurried to open it, to see a very distraught Mrs. Duda. The poor woman was terrified. She insisted that the ghost was sewing spectral cloth on her treadle sewing machine and begged the two women to accompany her back to her house.