What is the scariest ghost story you heard as a child?
ON COLD NIGHTS …
There’s just something about walking past a cemetery on a cold autumn night that makes us zip up our jackets and think about the different things that could be waiting in those shadows and the dark secrets that are just waiting to be told …
A RICHMOND GHOST STORY
While looking into “Black Dog” legends, I came across the story of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. A little girl died back in the 1800s. There was a statue that she used to play with when she was alive. It was of a large iron dog. As a gesture to the family, the statue was moved to her grave after she died.
It is said that her ghost sometimes returns to play with the dog.
Want to see a ghost? Well, you better be careful and not get too close. Some say the statue will growl if you get to close to her tombstone. People also say that the dog itself changes position throughout the day, standing guard over the little girl.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU EAT
Second helpings aren’t always a good thing. Well, neither are first helpings.
In 1878, a Canadian trapper named Swift Runner ate his family during an extremely bleak and brutal winter. After his first child died, he butchered and ate the remains. Though near food supplies and ways to restock, he ate his remaining family members as well.
It is said that eating of flesh like causes a human to become a beast called a wendigo. Such a monster always craves humans flesh. They are often in more isolated areas that are heavily forested.
So as the wind grows cold and shadows grow dark, know that in the bleak of winter, there is no hunger like that known by the wendigo.
THE MOON-EYED PEOPLE
According to Cherokee Legend, the Moon-Eyed people inhabited the Southern Appalachias. They were very different from the Native Americans in that they were very pale and bearded and could only see at night. Full moons would blind them.
Small structures can be found carved into the mountains that are said to be left by these nocturnals.
Georgia actually has a nod to the moon-eyed legend in one of their state parks where remnants of a mysterious wall can be found.
Click HERE for more information.
SOMETIMES, SOMETHING’S WATCHING …
“Bloody Bones” is a boogeyman that scared children in England. The stories spread and now are persistent in the South.
Sometimes he goes by the name “Tommy Rawhead”. But you better be good. No matter what you call him, he usually lives near ponds. Sometimes, though, he lives in cupboards. If you’re brave, turn down the lights and look through a crack in the cupboard doors. You just might see a hunched figure with blood smeared across his face. He sits upon a nest of raw bones, the bones of children that misbehave.
So you better be good. He’s watching.
There really are scarier things in the pantry than the SPAM from two years ago.
A NEW YEAR AND A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
I haven’t been writing on this site for a while. I’ve been working on my writer’s page. But I’m going to try my best to keep up both blogs. Wish me luck. If you have time, go check it out here.
There are a lot of Virginia Haunts and monsters waiting for us.
Let’s get started.
Better not curse your children, or it may come back to haunt you and everyone else!
It is said that a woman, “Mrs. Leeds”, had too many children. And when the thirteenth one was born, she cursed him. Instantly, the infant turned into a vicious monster, attacking everyone in the room. The beast is said to have the head of a goat or horse, large leathery wings, hooves, and stands on two legs. It’s a gawky- looking beast with it’s stretched-out body and forked tail. Talk about a face that only a mother could love … well, she didn’t think too much of it either.
The thing is said to let out a blood-curdling scream and is a skilled hunter, flying through the night skies. While mostly associated with New Jersey and sometimes referred to as a Jersey Devil, this monster has also been sighted in several other states.
Monster Personality Quiz!
What monster from the novel Lott’s Mountain are you? Are you the loyal will ‘o’ the wisp? A pishacha tricster? Or something totally different?
Check it out to find out what monster you are.
WAMPUS CATS
A bobcat has a haunting cry. While it can make a “chuff” noise that sounds like a cough, it can also make a soft noise that sounds like a baby or smile child weeping. It’s a noise that a dog can recognize right away. A wampus cat howl is something far darker, something you will never forget. It’ll make the hair stand on the back of your neck should you ever be unlucky enough to hear it.
There are stories of them in Floyd, VA, where they are large black panthers. Other stories have them as more of a human-cat hybrid. These creatures stalk children and animals as they prowl through forests and farmlands.
There have been many sightings of these fearsome creatures throughout the South. In East Tennessee, seeing one of them may mean that someone’s going to die.
According to Cherokee legends, the “Ewah”, a similar creature, is a woman that wanted to eavesdrop on men, hearing their sacred legends. As a punishment, the pelt that she wore to disguise herself then grew into her skin, transforming her. Another story has a woman donning such pelts seeking revenge for her warrior husband that was driven insane by looking into the eyes of a great beast that haunted the woods.
There are West Virginia stories of a witch woman whose transformation into a cat was interrupted, living her half-cat and half-woman.
Ever hear of a “catty-wampus”? I grew up with that word. It always meant that something wasn’t right. Some say that a wampus cat is a play off of that word. It’s a beast that isn’t human and isn’t cat, but something inbetween.
Virginia's Hidden Haunts 