Coffin Hollow and Other Ghost Tales (19 page)

At a neighbor's house the family had just sat down to their meal when they heard a noise outside. At the door stood a very old man in ragged clothing. The old man said that his son .was in the fields plowing and needed help. The neighbor quickly put on his coat, saddled his horse, and started in the direction the old man had said his son lay. When he found the man on the ground, he went over, picked him up, and put him on the horse, so he could take him home.

After the man had rested for a time in his own house, he began to feel better. As the neighbor was talking things over, he said it was very lucky that the old father had been visiting and had gone with his son to the field. The sick man looked up in surprise and said, “My father! What do you mean? My father has been dead for five years.”

94: A Timely Warning

A deep autumn haze hung low over the wooded area of Smokehole. The brisk wind rustled the leaves on the ground. This was the first day of the hunting season.

As the sun rose, bright and promising, the hunters were already in the woods trying to shoot their quota of squirrels for the day, The squirrels sensed the danger and did not venture out of their soft hiding places. As a result, not many hunters were successful, so they decided to try their luck the next morning.

Frank Genson and his son Bob did not return to the lodge. They decided to make camp and spend the night in the woods. This would give them the advantage of being up earlier and perhaps having better luck. A hasty meal was prepared over a fire built on a large flat rock. The sun was fading very fast and the forest took on the deep purple and dusty gray colors of evening.

A peaceful quietness fell over the forest and all sounds of animal life came to a stop. The two men placed their sleeping bags near the fire to keep warm and felt secure within the circle of the red glow. In the fading twilight a hunter appeared from nowhere. A hound dog, wagging his tail, followed close at his heels. Both man and dog stood just outside the fire's glow.

“Men, I wouldn't camp here for the night,” he said. He explained that underneath the flat rock was a rattlesnakes' nest. “Your fire is heating the rock now,” he said, “and before morning the rattlesnakes will come out and bury their fangs in you.”

He turned to go and waved a hand with a missing left forefinger. After a few steps, he and his dog vanished from sight.

A bright fire welcomed the men back at the lodge. They sat down to talk with the other hunters and told them of their visitor with the missing left forefinger — and his warning.

“Missing left forefinger?” one of them asked. “Why that's the ghost of Tom Martin. Ten years ago Tom camped on that very same rock and was found dead the next morning. His body had several fang marks of rattle-snake bites.”

95: The Ghost of the Rails

A neighbor of ours tells this story of his youth. He had been a wild, headstrong young man and had wanted to see all of our beautiful country before he settled down. So at seventeen he had packed a few things, left a note for his folks, and hopped a freight train to a new, exciting life. Mr. Lantz is an old man now and his wanderlust is cured, but he says that on stormy nights he always remembers the strange events of a trip from Cleveland to his home town of Rowlesburg, West Virginia.

It was during the winter of 1919, he says, that he walked to the outskirts of Cleveland, planning to hop a freight that was going close to home. After waiting a few minutes, he was surprised to notice a man squatting on his heels by the tracks. He had not heard him walk up. He remarked on the stranger's quietness and then asked him where he was bound, for judging from his gear he was a rail bum too.

Without turning, the man told him he was going to Rowlesburg. Mr. Lantz was delighted to find he would have a companion for the trip, but his friend wasn't very encouraging when he heard that the boy intended to join him.

“No,” he said, “you aren't going to be on the 11:15!”

At first, Mr. Lantz was a little angry, and then he began to laugh. He told the stranger that he'd “make it” — with more confidence than he felt.

The stranger said, “No!” again, more sharply and strangely than before.

“Why not?” Mr. Lantz asked. “And why don't you come over here by the fire where I can see you?”

The strange man just sat there, staring at the rails.

Again Mr. Lantz was slightly angry and began to douse the fire. He could hear the whistle of the 11:15 in the distance. His companion got up slowly, his back to him as he was preparing to leave.

“That train will cause your death,” he said in his slow chilling voice.

Mr. Lantz just stared at him, noticing for the first time that his shirt, a red and green plaid, was streaked with blood. Muttering “You're crazy!” under his breath, he bent to finish dousing the fire. He confessed that he was in a great hurry to leave, for he was afraid of the man, and angry with himself for being afraid.

Suddenly, he heard the man say, “You aren't going on that train, mister!” — right in his ear.

He turned quickly and the sight of that man's face chilled him. It was traced in patchwork fashion with still-bloody scars, and his whole face was twisted out of shape, the eyes bulging with a look of horror.

Mr. Lantz stared, speechless, and then tried to push the horrible creature out of the way — but his hand went right through him. He screamed and then fainted. When he regained his senses, the train had gone and so had his companion.

When Mr. Lantz arrived in Rowlesburg the next day, he went straight into the depot to see if Mike, the Irish janitor, would give him a handout. He ate his fill and started to go. Then he couldn't resist asking any longer.

“Mike, did a strange fellow drop off here yesterday?”

Mike answered that nobody had dropped, but someone had
tried
to jump off the Cleveland Special and had been caught beneath the wheels. No two pieces of him ended up in the same place — the only thing left was a piece of plaid shirt.

“Red and green plaid?” Mr. Lantz asked, fearing the answer.

“Sure, and how did you know?”

Mr. Lantz says he thinks of it often. He had heard of ghosts coming back, but he says he never heard of one traveling forward in time.

96: The Lady in White

It was late in the afternoon, many years ago, when my grandfather and his brother were riding back from town. When they were just a few miles from the farm, they noticed another rider a little way in front of them. Since it was dusk, they could not make out who it was. All they could tell was that the person was dressed in white and was riding a white horse. They knew all the people who lived around them and all of their stock, but they did not recognize the horse or the rider.

Since it was getting dark, they decided to ride up and see if they could be of any assistance to the stranger. As they drew nearer, they recognized the rider to be a lady. This seemed very strange to them, since a woman riding the backwoods at that time of night was not a common thing.

As they approached the young woman, my great-uncle called out to her. This seemed to frighten her horse, because it began to gallop after he called. It looked as if the rider couldn't control the horse, so my grandfather and his brother galloped after her.

They followed the woman over fields and onto a seldom-used road. A little way up the road they saw a buggy overturned in front of them. The lady in white rode right past the buggy — not even slowing down to see if she could offer any assistance. She then turned off and rode into the woods.

When my grandfather and his brother reached the buggy, they saw it was their mother's. It was now a wreck; it looked as if it had turned over several times, and it had landed against some rocks. They could not see their mother anywhere around.

All of a sudden the lady in white rode out from the woods a few yards down the road. My grandfather ran over to where she had been and found his mother lying there, unconscious but alive.

When they got her home and she was feeling better, she explained that she had been out visiting and decided to take a shortcut home. Something had frightened her horse, and he began to run. Then a wheel hit a hole and the buggy overturned; that was the last thing she remembered.

She asked what made the boys take this out-of-the-way road, and they explained that they had seen and followed the lady in white. They told her how they had found the buggy, but at first couldn't see its driver. Then they explained how the lady in white led them to the spot where she had been thrown out.

They never found any further sign of the lady in white or heard anything more about her. But they believed if it had not been for this mystery woman they might never have gotten their mother back alive.

NOTES

1. A Strange Illusion

Harvey Thorp, Grafton, 1965, as told to him by an old lady who lived in the Grafton area. Her grandfather was the traveler.

Motifs — V229.21: House and family appear overnight to shelter priests (variation); E230: Return from dead to inflict punishment.

2. The Jailer's Dog

Jeff Smith, 1965, as told to him by his grandfather, now of Fairmont, but formerly of Brownsville, Pennsylvania.

Motifs — E232: Return from the dead to slay wicked person; B299.1: Animal (ghost) takes revenge on man.

3. Coffin Hollow

Charles Shaver, Monongah, 1967.

Motif — E232.1: Return from dead to slay own murderer.

4. Earl Booth's Pot of Gold

Daniel O'Brien, Barbour County, 1965.

Motif — E234.3: Return from dead to avenge death.

5. Revenge of an Oil Worker

Denver Kendall, Mobley (near Smithfield), 1965, as told to him by his father.

Motifs — E234.4: Ghost an unjustly executed man; Q556: Curse as punishment.

6. The Shue Mystery

Eleanor Harper, Parsons, 1967- Evidently, this is based on an actual happening. The young wife did die, was buried, and her mother testified that her daughter appeared to her four times and told how she was murdered. The husband was convicted and hanged after the wife's body was dug up and an autopsy performed.

Motifs — E231: Return from dead to reveal murder; E231.1: Ghost tells name of murderer.

7. The Peddler's Story

Eleanor Harper, Parsons, 1967. The murder was confirmed by the wife, and no one has lived in the house since, evidently.

Motifs — E281: Ghost haunts house; E231.5: Ghost returns to murderer, causes him to confess (variation: here the
wife
confesses).

8. The Black Dog Ghost

John Joseph Martray, 1965, student from Connelsville, Pennsylvania, as told to him by his grandfather.

Motifs - E521.2: Ghost of dog; E230: Return from dead to inflict punishment.

9. The Barn Ghost

Harvey Thorp, Grafton, 1965, as told to him by his grand-mother, who heard it from her father many times.

Motif — E232.1: Return from dead to slay own murderer.

10. The Miner's Wife

John Joseph Martray, 1965, as told to him by his grandfather.

Motif — E230: Return from dead to inflict punishment.

11. Yankee Thrift

Myra Townsend, Huntington, 1963, as told to her by her grandfather, as his own experience.

Motifs-E281: Ghosts haunt house; E293: Ghosts frighten people (deliberately); E275: Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune.

12. The Mysterious Music

Charles Hannum, 1969, as experienced by him and his friends.

Motifs — E530: Ghosts of objects (house); E402: Mysterious ghostlike noises heard.

13. The Last Lodge of Ravenswood

Thomas Schoffler, Ravenswood, 1970. This is his own experience.

Motif — E275: Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune.

14. The Farmhouse Ghost

Carol Marks, 1966, as told to her by her aunt.

Motif — E281.3: Ghost haunts particular room in house.

15. The Wealthy Widower

Linda Richards, 1966, as told to her by a dormitory student.

Motif — E236.4: Return from dead because last will was not fulfilled.

16. The Ghost of Hangman's Hollow

Richard Swick, 1963, as told to him by an older relative in Gilman — just outside of Elkins.

Motif — E334.2.2: Ghost of person killed in accident seen at death or burial spot.

17. The Haunted Field

Theresa Britton, Rowlesburg, 1966, as told to her by her grand-father.

Motif — E275: Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune.

18. The Misty Ghost

Theresa Britton, Rowlesburg, 1966, as told to her by her grand-father.

Motif — E275: Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune.

19. The Murdered Girl

Jeanette Coger.

Motif — E231.1: Girl tells name of murderer.

20. The Hitchhiking Ghost of Buttermilk Hill

Richard Stickler, Marion County, 1964, as told to him by Mrs. Luella Freeland of Monumental, as her own experience.

Motif — E272.2: Ghost rides behind rider on horse.

21. Midnight Whippoorwill

Sheila Ireland.

Motifs — E337: Ghost reenacts scene from own lifetime; E451: Ghost finds rest when certain thing happens.

22. Galloping Horses

Mrs. Florena Duling, Fairmont, 1972, as told to her by her mother, Mrs. Arna Becker Evans, many times.

Motifs — E363: Ghost returns to aid living; E321: Dead husband's friendly return.

23. A Confederate Soldier

Eleanor Harper, Parsons, 1967. Evidently this is a well-known story in Tucker County.

Motifs — E281.3: Ghost haunts (ghosts haunt) particular room in house; E279.2: Ghost disturbs sleeping persons; E337: Ghost reenacts scene from own lifetime.

24. Return from Death

Elizabeth Barnard, Elkins area, 1967.

Motifs — E327: Dead father's friendly return; E363.1: Ghost aids living in emergency.

25. A Face in the Window

Elizabeth Barnard, Elkins area, 1967.

Motifs — E281: Ghosts haunt house; E275: Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune.