Like any other place, West Virginia has its fair share of ghost stories and urban legends. We’ve all heard of Moth Man and the Greenbrier Ghost. Here are more haunting legends from the Mountain State that will have you sleeping with a light turned on. These urban legends in West Virginia may just keep you awake at night, but it’s hard not to learn more about the folklore from this incredible state. To read more West Virginia ghost stories, see this previous list.
Thurmond was found killed in Logan County June 21, 1932. Her throat was slashed ear to ear and she was shot twice in the left side of her head. A local boy found her body in a blackberry patch. Her jewelry was found with her, which ruled out the possibility of robbery being the motivation for the slaying. A handy man was eventually arrested and convicted of the murder. Mystery surrounds where she is buried and who actually killed her. Her death certificate says she was buried at Logan Memorial Park, but other records say she was laid to rest in Bradfordsville, Kentucky.
Today there have been reported sightings of Thurmond’s ghost on 22 Mine Road. You can read more about the unsolved murder of this young woman and the controversy surrounding her untimely death in this small town.
The Dingess Tunnel was built in 1892 for the Norfolk and Western Railroad, largely by African American and Chinese immigrant workers.
Legend has it that residents of Dingess, who didn't take kindly to outsiders, used to hide in the hills just outside the tunnel and shoot any dark skinned passengers aboard the train, according to internet reports. No records were kept but it’s estimated that hundreds of black and Chinese workers died. In addition to the murders, workers also died during construction, and at least two trains collided on the tracks there, causing more deaths.
The tunnel has the reputation of being haunted by the souls that perished there. Visitors have reported hearing organ music and hearing a voice say "hi," according to Theresa’s Haunted History of the Tri-State. One person even claims to have gotten a picture of a little ghost girl standing in the tunnel. The Dingess Tunnel has many stories, and by the time it became inactive in 1913, the train tunnel later became road. It was used by horses, cars, and is now a mile long highway tunnel.
Here’s a video tour of the tunnel from Youtube user Joey Ferris.
3. Big Foot sightings in West Virginia
The internet is full of Big Foot sightings in West Virginia. I found a whole website dedicated to it. There are even articles as recent as <a href=”https://wvexplorer.com/2020/03/19/bigfoot-sightings-clustering-in-southern-west-virginia/” target=”_blank”>March 19th, 2020,</a>detailing clusters of Bigfoot sightings through West Virginia. But this video is really interesting. It claims to show a sasquatch walking through the forest at Snowshoe Mountain in 2008.
Legend, retold on Americanfolklore.net, has it that Jenny, a poor woman with no family, lived in a shed along the B&O Railroad in Harpers Ferry. She barely had enough money to eat, and the shed stayed cold during the winter months. One day in late autumn Jenny was drinking broth over a fire and trying to stay warm. She was so focused on the broth that she didn't notice a spark had flown up from the fire and caught her skirt on fire. Her skin started to burn, she leapt up and threw the rest of the broth onto the flames, but it did little to put it out. She began to run along the train tracks to Harpers Ferry station, trying to find someone to help her, but it wasn’t long until her entire body was alight with fire. Overwhelmed and screaming in pain, she mistakenly rushed onto the tracks, when a train came around the corner and ran her over.
To this day, every year on the anniversary of her death, an engineer has rounded the corner to the station and seen a women completely on fire and seems to be hit by the train. When the train stops, there's nobody there! It’s now one of the most haunted places in West Virginia!
She ran screaming out of the shed and onto the train tracks as she looked for help. In her agony, she did not see the lights from the train's headlight as it rounded a bend and mowed her down. She was given a pauper's funeral and buried in a church yard. People say that on the anniversary of her death, Jenny's burning ghost can be seen on the train tracks. Many engineers have seen Screaming Jenny as she makes her desperate attempt to find help while her body burned.
Were these creepy or what? And these are just a few of West Virginia’s urban legends. How many of these urban legends in West Virginia h ave you heard about? Can you think of any more? Let us know in the comments below!
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Urban Legends In West Virginia
Megan McDonald|April 24, 2021
Does West Virginia have a lot of urban legends?
Yes! West Virginia is known as a state with many ghost stories and urban legends. Just about every town has a least one story to tell you that will make the hair raise on your arms.
Can you visit the sites of these ghost stories?
Yes you can! In fact, Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry will take you out to explore the many sites in the area that are said to be haunted.
