West Virginia Folklore?

Hello. I am very interested in folklore (stories, legends, strange creatures, or hauntings). I moved to West Virginia a while ago and was wondering if anyone knows any folklore from this state. If so, I would be very interested to see what you have to say. Thanks for reading this and for any info you can send. Have a great day.

hmm
Your question prompted me to search on a story my father told me over 10 years ago.
I could NOT remember the name of the mythical creature, and had forgotten about it.
So I searched again today, and FOUND it!
Abbagoochie

Not as well known as Mothman, an other WV mainstay of folklore.
But...

the evening after my dad told me the story, I was driving on a dark backroad. One of those paved roads, with 1 and a half lanes, no lines, and a canopy of trees. From the right, comes an animal of some sort. Not one I was familiar with. It was mammalian, walked on four legs, but the front legs appeared longer. It's gait was a bit like an alligator, though it could have be posturing out of fear or something, it had a long bushy tail. IT darted across the road and into the brush on the left side.
I told my dad I saw one of those Abbagoochies that night!

Flatwoods Monster.

Telltale Lilac Bush is a classic book of WV ghost stories...most any public library has it.

Bob Teets has written a few books on UFO's in the state.

And there's been numerous reports of "bigfoot" sightings in places like Greenbrier County.

Hope that helps get you started.

Edit: Oh, and welcome to the Mountain State.

Look up Nancy Hart, Rebel from Richwood Wv...
Local legend has her Ghost haunting Summersville, which she helpede burn during the war between the States..

a reply to: Skid Mark

a reply to: spacedoubt

Wow! Now, that was cool. Thanks a lot for posting this. I'd hate to see one of these in the woods.

a reply to: FatherStacks

Thanks for the comment. I looked up the Flatwoods monster. That thing looked weird. Some people say it's some kind of alien or something. That's another thing I wouldn't want to run into. I'll be sure to check the book out. Also, thanks for the welcome. It's a great state.

a reply to: Greywolf13A

Thanks for the comment. I'll be sure to look her up. Sounds like the kind of thing I'm interested in.

originally posted by: Skid Mark
Hello. I am very interested in folklore (stories, legends, strange creatures, or hauntings). I moved to West Virginia a while ago and was wondering if anyone knows any folklore from this state. If so, I would be very interested to see what you have to say. Thanks for reading this and for any info you can send. Have a great day.

Alls I can say is I hope your enjoy West Virginyee *Hollars to cousin Kitty-May* Hey, Kitty, bring me dat dare opossum. We alls 'gon be eating some good dinner!

Seriously though, it's not as outback as we are portrayed lol; although, probably the most beautified state, but also the most looked down upon state. It does have some rough areas lol.

I would say the biggest folklore would be Mothman. I mean there's been two movies that I know of created off of the 'lure.

Now, instead of reading this, go get your hind-end fishin'!

Congratulations!

You've moved to one of the most weirdness-infested places in the country.

As you know, WV is home to the Mothman, but did you also know that it is home to "white" monters in general? I bet ya didn't.

You know what else? The local Native Americans wouldn't live there and warned settlers against it; virtually all of what is known as West Virginia was uninhabited until settlers arrived, and it was still that way more than 100 years after there were already colonies thriving in Virginia.

It's also full of burial mounds.

Choice part of the country.

a reply to: wwe9112

I'm living in a hollar at the moment. I like it here. I haven't had a Deliverance moment yet lol. Seriously, though, it's a great place. I think my favorite thing is Free Fishing Weekend. It should be a holiday lol. I saw a movie about the Mothman. That was freaky. I still don't know what to make of it.

a reply to: Bybyots

Well, I love weirdness. I'm a bit of a weirdo, myself. I don't name my boogers or anything but I'm out there. I'll have to check out that book about the White Monsters. That sounds really interesting. Thanks for posting.

There's really only one thing you need to know... If you hear banjo music.... paddle FASTER!!!

But seriously, I live in Virginia myself and West Virginia is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen. It seems like the folks here have mentioned most all of the folklore I have heard of. It certainly has rights to many disturbing happenings and tales, so you should not run out of fun facts for quite a while.

If you run up on anything new or interesting, be sure to bring it back for the rest of us to peruse.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

Yeah, it is pretty here. Half the time I feel like I'm trapped in a painting. I'll let you know if I find anything new.

MOTHMAN..... Pt. Pleasant Wv. My buddy just moved down there and we traveled down on memorial day weekend.

The Mothman museum is almost worth the 3 bucks it cost to get in lol...

Personally I prefer the true stories of the local legend Simon Kenton. Not so much WV but all along the Ohio river.

a reply to: tinner07

I heard about the Mothman museum and festival. I'd like to check those out some day. I just looked Simon Kenton up. He sounds like he was very interesting. Thanks.

I'm from East Tennessee and there are lots of superstitions there. For example one of the scariest I remember growing up was A dog howling was a sign that there was going to be a death of someone close soon. If your nose itched it meant unexpected company. Lordy mercy, momma would have a nose itch and it meant time to get the house cleaned up LOL. Also a creepy story is The Bell Witch. If you look up any information, it will give you the chills.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

How 'bout that! I live in Virginia as well...and actually not too far from WV. I have some friends that live in WV so, I've spent quite a bit of time there.

One thing I do know is that the view from my friend's house is absolutely stunning. I especially like visiting them in the fall when the leaves are changing. It's a site to see for sure.

originally posted by: Skid Mark
a reply to: wwe9112

I'm living in a hollar at the moment. I like it here. I haven't had a Deliverance moment yet lol. Seriously, though, it's a great place. I think my favorite thing is Free Fishing Weekend. It should be a holiday lol. I saw a movie about the Mothman. That was freaky. I still don't know what to make of it.

LOL, theres several "Free Fishin' Weekends" but you should still get a license. Help support the fishing areas lol. I'm assuming you're referencing to Tyler County; I have family down there. I live in the Northern Panhandle now, however. I will say, from my experience, once you leave the Nothern Panhandle, about 80% of the people are so much more kind. People in this state are so much more friendly. I remember having to travel to various states for Wrestling, Football, and Marching Band; just didn't like them. I felt as though everyone only cared for themselves. West Virginia is not really so much like that -- from what I have seen and experienced. It's a great place to live that gets a poor reputation for being "out-back" but when it all comes down to it, every state has their problems; we are a poor state that education isn't given much of a thought. ENJOY! After college, I dread having to leave this beautiful state, hopefully things turn around with the Natural Gas and Mills hopefully start opening back up and paying well -- I'm pursuing Mechatronics Engineering.

I'll shut up now, lol. Oh yeah, better learn to hunt! lol. As I said, I live in the Northern Part of the State near Steubinville Ohio. (Handcock County). Hunting and fishing is popular, but no where near as big as it is the rest of the state.

a reply to: maybee

I heard about the Bell Witch. That one freaked me out.

Im a great lover of urban legends and love to do research into them. Now I never heard half these tales before as im from N.Ireland but have been wathing online a show called mountain monsters and it has got me interested into doing more research into these legends but have never found a good place online to start researching. Has anyone got some websites were I can go to, to research these legends?