Old Man Winter awaits his fate. |
Mari Llywd! |
Lampion Parade |
Combining the Fact with the Folklore
Old Man Winter awaits his fate. |
Mari Llywd! |
Lampion Parade |
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 a well-known and well-feared entity for many people out there who have claimed to actually have experienced one. Pale crawler, hairless man-dog, tall and thin like Slenderman without the tentacles: these descriptions and others make up the horrifying visuals of these odd beings.
Barry went over many famous sightings and stories, complete with handouts which was a really cool touch. With mediation by Tony Breeden, Barry's talk was followed-up with additional information and more discussion on just why people may be seeing these strange creatures that were admittedly a work of fiction. Sleep paralysis, ghouls, alien abduction, tulpas/thought forms...all these topics merged to create a lively discussion about the Rake.
This first meeting of the Paranormal Discussion Group was PACKED, and everyone had a wonderful time learning about and discussing this unique topic. Seasoned members, along with a few new faces were in attendance, and it was just really cool to see so many people from so many viewpoints respectfully come together over a shared interest and discuss it in a safe, supportive environment. At the beginning of the meeting, there was also time for members to share any upcoming projects or announcements, which is another really cool aspect of the group---it really is for everyone. There is no charge to attend, there's a wide variety of paranormal topics spread out over the year with a wide variety of presenters, and everyone is welcome. I really look forward to these monthly meetings, and am eagerly awaiting February's presentation of meditation by Adam Good!
If you'd like to attend a meeting of the St. Albans Paranormal Discussion Group, we'd love to have you join us! We meet on the last Wednesday of each month at the St. Albans Historical Society Building (404 Fourth Avenue, St. Albans, WV). Meetings start at 6pm and tend to run between one and two hours long on average. Please follow the group on Facebook for more updates and the 2024 schedule of speakers. Stay spooky!
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 agree that these spirits are 'evil,' I do agree that they often get that reputation. There are many locations where we investigate that have garnered a reputation of being home to a malevolent, or in some cases, demonic haunting. Sometimes these entities come across as malevolent and/or demonic, not because they actually ARE some type of evil non-human entity, but because they just aren't very nice. They may curse and growl at us, both through disembodied voice and through spirit boxes. They may tell us to leave, or even try to interactive physically through scratches or shoves.
Aside from the mean spirits of those who were mean in life, occasionally, you'll have a spirit that acts out in an improper way, much like a frustrated child throwing a temper tantrum. I believe that these spirits are desperately trying whatever works to communicate with us, and thus, they too fall under this category of low, undeveloped, and uneducated spirits.
Andrew Jackson Davis, another 19th century Spiritualist known as the Poughkeepsie Seer, had a name for these entities. He called them 'Diakka,' and blamed them for the fraud and trickery often witnessed during seances. In modern times, could these Diakka still be practicing their trickery on paranormal investigators? We often get alleged communication with entities that just doesn't make sense, or have other experiences that just seem like someone is messing with us.
These Spiritualists of the late 1800s/early 1900s believed that the Diakka resided on their own plane or sphere, much like being on probation and that the best way to avoid their influence is to live a pure life...since they liked to seek out those they felt were weak or had minds that most resembled their own.
You can read Davis' book, The Diakka, for FREE via the Internet Archive! LINK HERE
Paris Hammons c. 1920 b. 1856 d. 1926 Source: WV History on View |
Cherry River Source: Tim Kiser Wikipedia |
Zona Heaster Shue The Greenbrier Ghost |
Mary Robinson Heaster Zona's Mother |
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 New Orleans may have more of than ghosts is bars. Bourbon and surrounding streets are filled with places to get a Hurricane, Hand Grenade, or one of many, many other beverages to drink on-site or take with you. And, to no one's surprise, most of these bars are believed to be haunted! Haunted pub tours take visitors to some of the best-known haunted bars, but there's one location that stuck out to me on our recent trip.
Unfortunately, it has been closed for some time, and now sits vacant, but directly across from our hotel on St. Philip Street was the former Flanagan's...known before that as the Morgue Bar and Lounge.
Located at 625 St. Philip Street, the old Morgue Bar and Lounge is part of a larger building, subdivided by address. From what I can gather, it was built in the 1840's by Jean (John) Gleises, a wagon-wheel maker born in France. It was while the Gleises family owned the home that perhaps its darkest times would befall the Creole townhouse. During the summer of 1853, a particularly nasty yellow fever epidemic hit the New Orleans area. Those who had the money to spend the warm summer months in a more hospital climate did so. However, 50,000 residents of New Orleans would have no means of escaping the city. In a span of only 3-4 weeks, 10,000 of them would die from the dreaded disease.
1960's |
This overwhelming amount of death required increased space for the bodies, and homes throughout the French Quarter and beyond were opened up as makeshift morgues. That was the fate of the Gleises residence. Not only were the bodies of yellow fever victims stored here, but those dying from other causes as well. Unfortunately, Jean wouldn't live to see the end of the year either, and died on September 4, 1853.
After his death, there are conflicting stories about just who the building was willed to...either his wife, or a daughter living in France. Either way, the property went through a handful of different owners with apparently nothing significant enough going on to really be recorded. It wasn't until the 1920's that the Ruffino family acquired the property. The Ruffino's were an Italian family who started up a bakery and ran a restaurant out of the location. The Ruffino's owned the property up through the 1960's.
Banking off of the spooky history of its use as a morgue (sometimes said to be the first or one of the first desegregated in the city), a witty entrepreneur opened up the Morgue Bar and Lounge, featuring a signature cocktail called Embalming Fluid. During its operation as the Morgue (and later Flanagan's), this bar became known as one of the city's haunted hot spots---a great place for spirits and spirits. Bathroom lights were known to completely dim into pitch darkness, and toilets overflowed for no reason. Workers were troubled by a refrigerator that always seem to break...but in reality, the plug was being pulled from the outlet by unseen hands.
The website, Haunted Hovel, has an interesting explanation for some of the activity. Not only is the building haunted by the many, many poor souls whose bodies were stored here before burial...but also by the 'mortician's daughter.' I'm not entirely sure there ever was an actual mortician associated with the building, as it was only used as a temporary storage space for dead bodies, but the stories go that this young woman had a nasty habit of stealing jewelry from the deceased! After her own death, perhaps as punishment for her misdeeds, she's stuck at the location, where she is still up to her old tricks. Women will often report jewelry or other small items going missing after a trip to the bar's restroom.
I'd love to see this place open and fully functional on our next trip down south, and I'd love to see a return to the morgue-themed bar---a macabre, but historical tribute to the building's long-ago past.
Sources and Further Reading:
Ghost City Tours: The Haunted French Quarter Morgue
The Haunted Hovel: Haunted Places in Louisiana
Old New Orleans, by Stanley Arthur
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 a 2.5 inch cut across his throat. Dolph was either unable or unwilling to tell anyone what had happened, so first aid was administered and he was taken to the hospital for further treatment. Luckily, the wounds were not serious, and Dolph was released a few days later.
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette 06 June 1959 |
There never was a public explanation for what happened to Dolph; we can only speculate. It's possible it was just an accident---perhaps he cut himself shaving. It's also possible he was attacked, as inmate-on-inmate wasn't unheard of. However, I think Dolph may have tried to end his own life.
Dolph was originally from the area, but for several years had been living with his wife, Veatress, near Houston, Texas. She was ill for about two years before passing away in Houston hospital. The Lancaster newspapers ran her obituary on June 6, 1959. It stated that she was being brought home to Fairfield County for burial.
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette 2 April 1962 |
Two weeks later, Dolph is in the county Infirmary and being taken to the hospital for a mysterious wound. I think that Dolph, accompanying his wife home, found himself either too ill to return to Texas, or with no reason to go back, but nowhere else to go, either.
Death would finally come for Dolph. He died on April 1, 1962 at the Fairfield County Infirmary. His body was interred next to his wife's at Maple Grove Cemetery in Baltimore, OH. What's sad is that there is a tombstone marking the couple's graves....but there was no one around to make sure the dates of death were ever filled out.
Find-a-Grave by Ann Lodder |