Haunted Parkersburg
TransAllegheny Bookstore
What is amazing about the TransAllegheny Bookstore, it registers extremely high on equipment during ghost investigations but what is behind the hauntings is somewhat vague. A small girl has been reported on the wooden stairs that leads onto the second floor of the bookstore. Customers have actually tripped over her! (True, one man fell, knocked me over on the stairs then red-faced said, "I know I tripped over something right there! -- S.S.) Once the Carnegie Library in Parkersburg, the bookstore seems to have four to five primary spirits, three of them are women -- psychics say one ghost is a local newspaper reporter who was murdered in her home (which is close by) in the 1980s. The reporter had spent a great deal of time there when it was the Carnegie Library and it was a second home to her. There is no doubt, the TransAllegheny Bookstore is "alive" with presences. They even have their resident black cat, along with two tabby cats. The TransAllegheny Bookstore has many great antique and used books, as well as new books of interest to the area. They are open daily except on Sundays. For out-of-towners TransAllgheny Books is open until 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays
Blennerhassett Hotel
Famous for its hauntings, the Blennerhassett Hotel located at 4th & Market Streets in Parkersburg has a number of ghosts as with many fine old hotels. The primary visitor seems to be that of the builder, Mr. William N. Chancellor, who appeared to an unsuspecting guest in the summer of 2003 when the hotel was undergoing renovations. Late one night, the guest climbed into bed when a few moments later, he felt the bed weight down as if someone had just sat down at the end. When the hotel guest opened his eyes, he made out the form of an older gentleman. The older man turned to the hotel guest and said, “I was here first!” and before his very eyes, the apparition of the gentleman vanished! At the time, the portrait of Mr. Chancellor (that typically hangs in the library) was taken down due to extensive renovations. Once the portrait was put in its original place, the ghost has quieted down considerably. Ghostly children are also heard playing in the guest rooms and unsual manifestations occur throughout the hotel such as man in a white tuxedo in the mirrorsl.
A number of the staff have had uncanny experiences, while others who work there have not had anything unusual happen. The ghosts seem to pick out the people who least expect them. The hotel is a magnificent feature of downtown Parkersburg.
Boreman Wheel House
Located at 4th and Avery Streets, the Boreman Wheel House, now a popular restaurant, bar and meeting center, is next door to the old Civil War Hospital in Parkersburg. It is reported expensive wine glasses roll out of their shelves and shatter for no reason. One ghost hunt located the spirit of a man in the basement who appeared behind a bar that was otherwise empty. He said "Hello!" to them and disappeared. Ghost orbs have been photographed in the attic of the old house, once owned by a relative of the first governor of West Virginia. Phantom voices and sometimes whispers can be heard, as well as the sound of phantom footsteps. As with most hauntings, there are problems or inconsistencies with the lighting at the Boreman Wheel House. Because the hauntings often involve liquor it is theorized maybe it is the ghosts of Civil War soldiers who surely passed away next door. Many were addicted to alcohol, and relied upon it to kill their pain.
The Boreman Wheel House once belonged to the daughter of the first governor of West Virginia. (West Virginia's 1st Governor Arthur I. Boreman's home was across the street, but unfortunately was torn down in the 1970s.)
Otherwise, the atmosphere at the Boreman Wheel House is relaxed and not at all ghostly. They offer live music, meeting rooms and a menu of delicious meals. Lunch is served Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m.
Southside K-Mart
Built
in the mid-1970s, the Southside K-Mart sits on the spot where a terrible fire
took place, one that wiped out an entire family. But it wasn’t just any old
fire. The fire was not only found to be arson it was also determined to be a
murder. Two teenagers where charged with murdering their parents and other
family members after a family squabble. After the grounds were leveled, many
tried to forget about the place. A few years later, a K-mart store was built on
the area. Those who work the graveyard shift at the Southside K-Mart report
eerie happenings, such as items floating from their shelves, and boxes being
knocked over when left by workers to take care of other things. Or, even eerier,
leaving merchandise in a cart and then returning workers will find it neatly
stacked and placed on shelves, when no one else was there, or could have been.
Sometimes there is the crackling sound of a radio when no radio should be
playing, but the radio plays blares out ball games, music or interviews from
long ago. Sometimes a woman’s voice breaks in either over the radio or intercom,
but sounds far away, or as if under water. No
Quincy Hill
Now a residential area of downtown Parkersburg, with an excellent view of the city and the Ohio River, Quincy Hill played an important role during the Civil War. Not only was it a lookout point for Union troops, it also served as a tent-city Civil War hospital which housed anywhere from 500 to 1000 soldiers. Many of the soldiers not only were wounded from battle, they were also stricken with small pox, typhoid fever and dysentery.
There are a number of interesting ghost stories involving Union soldiers and haunted houses on Quincy Hill. The most interesting one I've heard, is one of the most recent ghost-involved incidents which comes from my friend Ron Nelson, a reputable ghost hunter, Civil War historian and re-enactor. He decided to go up on Quincy Hill one evening, take a few pictures and sit a while. Ron also took along his tape recorder since he seems to have a special gift at capturing EVPs, or Electronic Voice Phenomena. It seemed like an uneventful ghost hunt until Ron listened to his tape after returning home. There was a whistle on the tape. Not only was there a whistle -- the person was whistling the Irish Spring soap commercial. Curiosity got the best of Ron, so he decided to research the song.
Ron Nelson soon found that the tune was a popular folk song among the Irish in the mid-1800s. When he called a local Civil War expert to ask what he thought of the song, the expert was stunned over Ron's findings. Ron soon learned that the soldiers on Quincy Hill were ones kept separate from the others -- they were what was then call the colored troops and the immigrant Irish -- from exactly the time period as the Irish folk song!
Whistling sounds are still reported on Quincy Hill even to do this day. Many ghosts inhabit Quincy Hill.
Captain's House On Juliana Street
Also once called the "Markey House," the Captain's House on Juliana Street was actually built by New England sea Captain George Deming, probably in the 1850s. (The plaque reads 1860 but the owner of another one the Captain's houses says Captain Deming built hers in the early 1850s and the Markey House is the older of the two.) The house is interesting from the standpoint that it is in the style of a New England street house and does not have much of a yard.
One eerie happening in this house occurs in the attic which you can see on the right. Strange foot prints appear in the dust and they are small, the size of a childs'. Light flutters in the windows where light should not be. The glowing orange light of a pipe is witnessed in the casement window. The Captain's grave is only a few block up the street in Riverview Cemetery. He died in 1861. Beside his grave is the grave of his small child, who died in 1862, probably of Typhoid Fever. It is very likely the footprints that always reappear in the dust in the attic belong to the Captain's young son.
Bickel Estates
Witnesses have reported the apparition of a woman cloaked in shapeless black standing along the road outside the Bickel Estates, a 368-acre estate in the Larkmead section of Marrtown near Parkersburg. The figure is seen especially during lightning storms and downpours. As with most spirits, the woman, though pale and distraught, is said to look very much alive but when drivers turn back to see if they can help the stranded woman, they find she has vanished. The ghost of a white horse is said to also haunt this section of Wood County.
Many believe a woman dressed in black garb rides the hillsides of nearby Marrtown on a white horse. Both stories appear to have connections to the Marrtown Banshee tale—a Scottish death fairy that people claim still haunts the countryside south of Parkersburg. Another variation on the woman who haunts Bickel Estates appears to share some of the elements of the Marrtown Banshee tale
Riverview Cemetery
Despite its reputation for hauntings, Riverview Cemetery on upper Juliana Street
in Parkersburg, is an extremely important cemetery in terms of West Virginia
history, and in some respects, in American history. It houses the graves of both
Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as important abolitionists, early
governors of West Virginia, Marie Lavassor, the French wife of Joseph H. Diss
Debar who designed the state seal, riverboat and sea captains, unmarked graves
of slaves, cousins to the confederate General Stonewall Jackson, and a number of
interesting statues and graves, including the famous Weeping Woman statue who
grants wishes to the pure in heart and the good. Riverview is also an active
graveyard in terms of hauntings, but truthfully, all places are haunted when a
mediumistic or psychically receptive person is present. Spirits gravitate to
those who are most open to them. They learn not to waste their time on mortals
who cannot hear or see them.