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Wild West Virginia

Mighty_Emperor

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Sunday, August 08, 2004
— Time: 3:41:52 AM EST

Paranormal issues normal fare at annual conference

By BELINDA CAPEL

PARKERSBURG - Ghosts, fairies, spirits and things that go bump in the night were just a few topics of discussion at the 2004 Haunted West Virginia Ghost Hunters and Spirituality Conference.
The conference, which started Friday and runs through today at the Parkersburg Art Center, is in its third year.

Susan Sheppard, coordinator of the event, originally started the convention as a way for people to get advice on paranormal experiences from the experts.

"After doing my Haunted Parkersburg tours for ten years, I would have people come up to me and ask me about pictures they had taken, so I wanted to bring in the experts to explain them," said Sheppard.

The theme for this year's convention was "The Ghosts of the Civil War."

"We picked the Civil War as a theme because there were five different Civil War hospitals in Parkersburg," said Sheppard.

One of the hospitals was located at Quincy Hill. The Hill's hospital was a tent overflow hospital. Quincy Hill, the location for the conference's Saturday evening Ghost Hunt, is well-known for its hauntings.

Even the location of the conference was a haunted place. The Parkersburg Art Center sits on the former location of the Camden Theater. The theater burned to the ground in 1928.

In 1926, Harry Houdini performed at the theater.

People in the buildings on the city block where the theater was built often smell hot buttered popcorn and notice heavy objects being lifted and falling over, said Sheppard.

This year around 100 people attended the conference. Most in attendance were from out of town, said Sheppard.

"About 60 percent of the people at the conference are from out of the area," said Sheppard.

The conference began Friday with the Haunted Parkersburg tour. After the tour, conference attendees and presenters attended an informal reception at the Blennerhassett Hotel.

The conference continued early Saturday morning with a day of workshops.

Presenters included Troy Taylor, founder of the American Ghost Society, author Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Rick and Bobbie Atristain of the Virginia Ghost and Hauntings Research Society, Allison Lynch of the International Ghost Hunters Society and local Civil War expert Brian Kesterson as well as members of the Haunted West Virginia and Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Hunters.

Saturday's workshop topics included "Ghosts of the Civil War," "How to Conduct One's Own Ghost Hunt, "The Science and Art of Ghost Hunting," and "Investigating the Spirit World in the 21st Century."

During a meet-the-panel session, presenters stressed the importance of history in ghost hunting.

"Knowing the real history and people involved is important in understanding the psychic history," said Rick Atristain.

"Unless you have a structured history behind (the experience,) there's no basis," said Taylor.

Presenters also talked about their ideas regarding ghosts, hauntings and the supernatural during the panel discussion.

"What determines an experience is the place, time and our own state of mind," said Guiley.

Guiley said she tries to explore what happens under what conditions as well as how the person explains the phenomena to himself.

As part of the conference, vendors set up booths and sold their wares throughout the day.

Lisa Brussl and her partner Christopher Okonski travelled from Akron, Ohio to sell their books and accoutrements for spiritual living such as stones and crystals. Brussl and Okonski met Sheppard at a convention in Pennsylvania and decided the convention in Parkersburg would be a fun summer activity, said Brussl.

Okonski also performed energy healing at the convention. He is certified in Amanohuna healing and Karuna Reiki healing.

"It's an impressive group (in attendance,)" said Brussl.

The Rev. Rose St. John, owner of Lilyrose Curios in New Brighton, Pa., came to the conference to sell metaphysical, divination tools and New Age merchandise. St. John and her husband Frank like to travel, meet people and go ghosthunting. They attended the convention last year as well.

"I loved the convention last year," said St. John. "It's a lot of fun and everyone's so friendly and helpful. Susan and Roger (Sheppard) just bend over backward to make sure everyone's happy, especially the vendors."

Sherry Ruais of Dale City, Va. attended the convention with her mother, Beatrice Davis of Parkersburg.

Ruais had originally planned on visiting Parkersburg for a family reunion and accidentally found out about the convention through the Internet.

"I just decided to come a few days early so I could come to the convention," said Ruais.

Davis said that she and Ruais were especially interested in the paintings by Parkersburg artist Lily Irene Jackson currently on display at the center.

Conference attendees were encouraged to view the paintings as Jackson is one of the "most active and entertaining spirits" on Sheppard's tour. Davis and Ruais are descendants of the Jackson family.

"As a child I always grew up hearing stories about Lily because my mother's family were Jacksons," said Davis.

Members of the 4th U.S. Cavalry were on hand throughout the day to lend an ambiance to the convention and provide historical background on the presenters' topics.

Area re-enactors camped on Quincy Hill Saturday afternoon and then led conference attendees on the walk up the Hill for Saturday evening's Ghost Hunt with experts Taylor, Lynch and the Atristains.

Saturday morning the re-enactors shared experiences with the paranormal during Civil War re-enactments and investigations.

"A lot of people see those who have seen apparitions or had experiences as kooks, but until you see it yourself, you just don't understand," said Kesterson.

The convention continues today. Visit http://www.hauntedparkersburg.com for schedules and more information.

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/story/088202004_new04_ghosts.asp

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Some other links:

WV Ghost story books:
http://www.prairieghosts.com/wv_books.html

http://www.wvghosts.com

West Virginia Hauntings:
http://www.callwva.com/hauntings/

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Although they seem big on ghost over in that neck of the woods letss not forget other WV discussion here:

Mothman:
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2069
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1027

Point Pleasant serial killer (or not):
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2648
 
Not sure if this might hel explain some strange behaviour (although that isn't saying we condone such negatiity):

Abercrombie W.Va T-Shirt Upsets Governor

Wed Aug 25, 5:35 PM ET


CHARLESTON, W.Va. - It's Gov. Bob Wise vs. Abercrombie & Fitch — round two. Wise said the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer's latest T-shirt poking fun at West Virginia is "cruel."

The T-shirt's slogan is "West Virginia: No Lifeguard At the Gene Pool" and it has an image of a boy and girl in a kiddie pool superimposed on an outline of the state. The company is selling the T-shirt in women's sizes for .50.

"What I've learned about a bully is if you don't respond to a bully they just keep punching you," Wise told WSAZ-TV on Tuesday.

"I'd rather punch back. But I'd rather punch back using my plan, my scheme and at the same time get a positive message out about West Virginia," he said.

In March, Wise sent a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch demanding that the clothing retailer dump another T-shirt that spoofed the state with the slogan, "It's All Relative in West Virginia." He also criticized that T-shirt during an appearance on NBC's "Today."

"It is unfortunate that Abercrombie & Fitch continues to perpetuate stereotypes rather than positive things like the number of residents serving in the military or the state's PROMISE scholarship program," Wise spokeswoman Jodi Omear said Wednesday.

Omear said she did not know what the state's response would be.

Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman Tom Lennox did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday. Lennox had said in March that the company's shirts — which target young adults — are meant to be "humorous and lighthearted."

West Virginia is not the only state being lampooned by the company. Other T-shirts target Kentucky ("Electricity In Almost Every Town") and Wisconsin ("Wisconsin Cuts the Cheese").

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said state officials should ignore the T-shirt.

"This is all about money and drawing attention to them, so I don't really care what they do," Jones said.


-------------------
On the Net:

Abercrombie & Fitch, http://www.abercrombie.com/anf/index.html

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040825/ap_on_fe_st/t_shirt_tussle_1
 
Haunting tales spook series' readers

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Ghosts keep cropping up all over Virginia, and L. B. Taylor Jr. continues to write about the scary doings

By LUCIA ANDERSON

Date published: 1/7/2005

Williamsburg author continues to chronicle Virginia's specter stories

Virginia's ghosts just won't be laid to rest.

Just when author L.B. Taylor Jr. is sure that he's written about every ghost in the commonwealth, another story lands on his desk.

Taylor, a 72-year-old freelance writer, recently published the ninth volume in his "The Ghosts of Virginia" series, which includes a couple of local tales.

Before he widened his focus to include the whole state, he had written several books about ghosts in specific localities, including one on Fredericksburg. All told, he's written 17 ghost books.

"I got started by accident," Taylor said in a telephone interview from his Williamsburg home.

He'd been writing nonfiction books for Simon & Schuster, who asked him to do a story about haunted houses in the United States. During his research for the nationwide book, he found a lot of material on Virginia haunts.

Taylor suggested a book on Virginia ghosts, particularly those in Williamsburg, but the publishers turned him down.

"They said regional books don't sell," Taylor said.

He went ahead and wrote "The Ghosts of Williamsburg" anyway, publishing it himself.

"It's now in its 22nd printing," he said.

A private company now runs year-round ghost tours of Williamsburg, based on Taylor's book. In Fredericksburg, tours based on his book often are scheduled around Halloween. There are even a few local ghost hunters who prowl the area with cameras, trying to document some of the phenomena mentioned in his Fredericksburg book.

"There's been a veritable explosion of interest in the paranormal in the last 15, 20 years," Taylor said.

He hasn't been able to authenticate any of the stories he's compiled, but, "I believe there are a lot of things that cannot be explained scientifically," he said. "And the sincerity of the people I've interviewed is beyond reproach."

Where possible, Taylor investigates the rumored ghostly doings in person.

"I'm convinced the people do believe they've seen something," he said. "Ninety percent could be explained rationally, but there's a small percent that are inexplicable."

He did extensive research on Fredericksburg's ghost lore back in 1991 for "The Ghosts of Fredericksburg and nearby environs," but turned up a couple of fresh ones for Volume IX.

There's an update on "Old Mansion" in Bowling Green, quoting an article written by Susan Fitzhugh Beason in which the daughter of the house is haunted by her dead horse. The book also includes the story about the psychic and the mysterious note found under the stair carpet at Jeff and Rona Costello's house on Charles Street, first reported by Free Lance-Star columnist Rob Hedelt.

And Taylor's not finished yet.

"When I wrote the first volume [of "The Ghosts of Virginia"], I used every scrap of material I had," Taylor said. "I said, 'That's it.'"

But it wasn't.

He keeps getting letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls, telling him about ghostly doings.

"It's totally consumed my life for the last 22 years," he said.

"When I first started, people were reluctant to talk about their experiences. They were afraid people would think they were crazy."

Now, he said, hotels and bed-and-breakfasts use their ghosts as marketing tools.

And he's at work on Volume X.

"It amazes me that I'm able to find fresh material," he said. "It seems to me I must have written about every historic house in the state."

Although he's spent 22 years chronicling paranormal phenomena, Taylor has never seen a ghost himself. He hasn't given up, though.

"It's what I live for," he said with a laugh. "It would probably scare the dickens out of me, though."

-------------------
Date published: 1/7/2005

Source
 
Summary of one of my favorite W.Va. ghost tales can be found here.

I'll try and dig up more once I get some more free time. This story always sticks out in my memory as it's frequently referred to as the only one in history where someone's ghost testifies at their own murder trial. (Ooops -- story a little muddled -- its the only case in the United States where a man has been convicted of murder on the testimony of a ghost)

EDIT:
Couple more Greenbrier ghost links:
http://photos1.ghostweb.com/greenbrier1.html
With pictures of the roadside marker and of Zora Heaster Shue's headstone. I love that the headstone designates her "Greenbrier Ghost."

http://www.prairieghosts.com/shue.html
Excerpt from "No Rest for the Wicked" -- another retelling with some historical photos.

http://www.ferrum.edu/AppLit/StudyG/west/htm/grghost.htm
The West Virginia Appalachian Literature version, mostly geared toward kids, I think, complete with rather odd "activity."
 
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