I have always wanted to attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Heck, I just always wanted to visit New Orleans at any time of the year, as it was a Bucket List item for me. I was able to finally cross that one off  late last year. And, while we do plan on returning to the Crescent City at some point, it was a little too soon to go back for Mardi Gras. So, I compromised...and managed to knock ANOTHER Bucket List item off in the process: Fasnacht in Helvetia, WV! Helvetia is a really unique little community nestled in the mountains of Randolph County. It was founded in 1869 by a group of Swi ..read more

The St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group kicked off its third year of spooky fellowship on Wednesday, January 31st at the St. Albans Historical Society. We had a very special presenter that evening: Barry Miller! Along with Angie Breeden, Barry Miller was instrumental in the creation of the Paranormal Discussion Group, and is super-knowledgeable about a variety of paranormal topics. For his talk, he chose the topic of the Rake. So what is the Rake? Although largely accepted as being a Creepy Pasta creation, with popular 'photos' of the creature taken straight from pop culture, the Rake is ..read more

Andrew Jackson Davis Source As a paranormal investigator, I follow the creed that 'if you're a jerk in life, you're going to be a jerk in death.' More succinctly put, one's personality follows them in death. Dying doesn't automatically make you a good person, nor  does it necessarily give you a measurable uptick in wisdom. Hudson Tuttle, a 19th century Spiritualist from Ohio, had this to say: "As the spirit enters the spirit world just as it leaves this [world], there must be an innumerable host of low, undeveloped, uneducated, or in other words, evil spirits." While I don't agr ..read more

Paris Hammons c. 1920 b. 1856 d. 1926 Source: WV History on View Sasquatch. Bigfoot. Wild Man. Hairy Man. Hearing any of these names generally evokes the same image of a tall, large, hairy bipedal humanoid type creature roaming the woods. Although here in the eastern United States, we tend to settle on the name of Bigfoot, the mountain people of West Virginia have historically had their own moniker for this classic cryptid. If you've ever heard the term yahoo or yayho in reference to a Bigfoot-like creature in the Mountain State, you may have wondered where that name came from. The ..read more

Zona Heaster Shue The Greenbrier Ghost Since many already know the basic story of Zona Heaster Shue, the Greenbrier Ghost, I'll only give a brief introduction.  On January 23, 1897 the body of Zona Heaster Shue was found lying on the floor of the home she shared with her husband, Edward/Erasmus 'Trout' Shue. After a hasty medical examination and burial, and the odd behavior of Trout, the small WV community had its suspicions...especially Mary Heaster, Zona's mother. Mary prayed to God to show her what had really happened to her daughter. Zona's ghost came to her mother in a ser ..read more

November 2023 I think it may be safe to say that there are fewer places in New Orleans that AREN'T haunted than there are those that have reported some level of paranormal or unexplained activity. Seriously, there is no shortage of spooky happenings around the Crescent City, and the French Quarter is especially prone to tales of ghosts, goblins, and vampires.  Although my interests in visiting New Orleans are mainly for the ghosts, there's no denying that this is a party city year-round, but especially during this time of year as we approach Mardi Gras. In fact, the only thing N ..read more

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette 22 June 1959 Back when SRI members, Brian and Kaysee, joined WVPI for a joint investigation of the Fairfield County Infirmary, they caught a name come over the spirit box loud and clear: Dolph. Dolph isn't exactly a popular name these days, and barring the possibility that they tuned in briefly to a podcast featuring Simpson's side characters, I think it's possible to say that they made contact with a former inmate: Dolph Griggs. On June 20, 1959, the local rescue squad was dispatched to the Fairfield County Infirmary. There, they found 72 year old Dolph with ..read more

So today's blog might be a little...controversial...but that's never stopped me before in the pursuit of the truth! And while the title of this post is 'In Defense Of,' I offer you what historical documentation I've found, give my opinion, but encourage you to look at the facts and come to your own conclusion.  There are several stories that are told to every visitor investigating the Fairfield County Infirmary in Lancaster, Ohio. One of those stories is of a certain Superintendent by the name of Hummel, who was a cruel and abusive overseer of the institution. A shocking claim is that p ..read more

It's been awhile since I did a Fright Bite feature, which simply means that I don't have a ton of information on a topic...but I wanted to share it for posterity anyway! The term 'fright bite' also seems to fit rather well with today's story for another reason. Okay, so hearing a growl on an investigation is pretty common. Whether it's a disembodied sound, or a sound captured solely on our digital recorders, a growling noise is something that many of us have dealt with. But what could be the cause of such a scary sound? Ruling out growling bellies from team members (another common occurre ..read more

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette 13 June 1927 There are so many sad stories that have emerged from the Fairfield County Infirmary. For years, this imposing building was a place where the unwanted were dumped. Anyone who was too ill, too poor, too mentally impeded to take care of themselves could find themselves trapped in this institution with no way out...other than death. One of the more pitiful cases that is often talked about is that of a 'child bride.' Married at 15 years of age, this young woman soon found herself pregnant. What should have been a joyous occasion, turned tragic when the ..read more