Jaunt to haunts
Harpers Ferry, W.Va., boasts army of ghosts, guided tours
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - John Brown's body may be a-mouldering in the
grave.
But there are some who are convinced that they've seen Brown's ghost
wandering the streets of Harpers Ferry.
The gaunt, white-haired man is often accompanied by a small black dog.
That is just one of many stories of haunting and mysterious events in
West Virginia.
Guided ghost tours are offered in history-filled Harpers Ferry, a pretty
town where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet.
Harpers Ferry Ghost Tours (304-725-8019) offers lantern-lit walking
tours at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from Memorial Day through early
November. Reservations are needed for October and November trips.
Admission is $5 a person.

Ghost encounters are also frequent in Charles Town, Martinsburg and
Berkley County in eastern West Virginia.
Martinsburg Ghost Tours (304-267-0540) offers guided tours of local
haunted graveyards on Fridays and Martinsburg on Saturdays from late May
to the end of October.
Brown, a strange man with strong Ohio and Akron ties, was hanged on Dec.
2, 1859, after his ill-fated attempt to trigger a slave rebellion in the
town.
Brown, accompanied by five black men and 16 white men,arrived in Harpers
Ferry on Oct. 16. He had a wagon with 200 rifles, 200 pistols and 1,000
pikes with which he intended to arm the slaves.

His plans failed and the U.S. Army, under Col. Robert E. Lee, stormed
the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry. Ten of Brown's men were killed,
including two of his sons. Brown was captured and convicted of treason.
The town's No. 1 attraction is John Brown's Fort, the one-story brick
building in which Brown and a handful of supporters barricaded
themselves before being overpowered.
It is the only armory building to escape being destroyed in the Civil
War. The building -- 35 ½ feet by 24 feet -- is about 150 feet east of
its original location.
Brown, however, is not the only ghost reported in Harpers Ferry. Most of
the ghosts appear to have ties to the Civil War when the town changed
hands eight times.

Picturesque village
Harpers Ferry is a very neat outdoorsy place. It is filled with lots of
history, rugged scenery and hiking trails, white-water rafting and
bicycle trails.
In fact, the restored 1850s industrial village with its cobblestone
streets is the most popular tourist attraction in West Virginia.
The central attraction is Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and its
Lower Town with its quaint preserved buildings. There are museums and
ranger-led programs.
Most of the town's restored buildings of brick and stone are tightly
aligned along narrow Shenandoah, Potomac and High streets, and
pedestrians rule Harpers Ferry.

The 3,646-acre historical park covers part of the town and historical
attractions in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
For additional information, contact Harpers Ferry National Historical
Park, P.O. Box 65, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425; 304-535-6029 (visitor
information) or 304-535-6222 (park administration).
The Internet site is www.nps.gov/hafe.
Park admission is $5.

Other haunted sites
Other haunted West Virginia sites are said to include Darkish Knob at
Parsons, the strange lights on Coal Mountain at Mooresfield, a tall
bald-headed man along a fence row outside Seebert, two headless
college-age women at Cheat Lake north of Morgantown and Shepherd College
in Shepherdstown.
Odd doings have also occurred at the old Moundsville Penitentiary, the
Point Pleasant area and Flatwoods, where a UFO allegedly landed in 1952.

The West Virginia Division of Tourism has even put together a Web site
that provides tales, events and information about the Mountain State's
haunted happenings. It lists 23 sites around the state. The site is
www.callwva.com/hauntings. Information: 800-225-5982.

Other states, including Ohio, have their own reports of ghosts.
You can find walking ghost tours in plenty of eastern cities including
Boston, New York, New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Philadelphia
and Washington, D.C.
Ohio sites with reports of ghosts include Beaver Creek State Park in
Columbiana County, where a woman haunts an old mill, and the Moonville
railroad tunnel near Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County,where a dead
man is said to linger.

At Beaver Creek, the ghost of Esther Hale, a stern Quaker preacher, is
found wandering through the old mill at night.
In Vinton County, a careless railroad brakeman waved his lantern to stop
a train at the old coal camp of Moonville. He stumbled into the path of
the train and was killed. Some say that late at night, you may see the
green and red lights of a brakeman's lantern near the old tunnel.
The ghost of a lovesick teenager, Ceely Rose, is said to haunt a white
house on the grounds of Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County.

Nearby, the ghost of pioneer Paul Lyons, who fell to his death while
searching for a lost cow, is said to haunt a trail at Mohican State Park
on the line between Richland and Ashland counties.
Other haunted Ohio sites include the lodge at Punderson State Park in
Geauga County, the old Mansfield Reformatory in Richland County and
Clifton Gorge State Park in Greene County.
Friendship Hill ghost

In western Pennsylvania, one frequently mentioned haunted site is
Friendship Hill National Historic Site at Point Marion in Fayette
County.
It was the one-time estate of Swiss immigrant Albert Gallatin, who was
secretary of the U.S. Treasury for 13 years under presidents Thomas
Jefferson and James Madison.
The property off state Route 166, now managed by the National Park
Service, is supposedly haunted by Gallatin's first wife, Sophia.

The couple married in May 1789, but she died that October and is buried
somewhere on the property.
Park rangers and visitors claim to hear Sophia walking around the upper
floors of the house.
For more information, contact Friendship Hill National Historic Site,
223 New Geneva Road, Point Marion, PA 15474; 724-725-9190 (park
information) or 724-329-5512 (park headquarters); www.nps.gov/frhi.

Bridge fest
Pennsylvania's Kinzua Bridge State Park will hold its annual Fall
Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 16-17 with arts and crafts,
entertainment and a stunning view of the Kinzua Viaduct. 814-778-5160.

Heritage fest
Pennsylvania's McConnell's Mill State Park will hold its Heritage
Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24.
It will include tours of the old mill. Call 724-368-8811.

Big trees
Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania will measure four of its biggest
old-growth trees on Nov. 19. The program begins at the Log Cabin Inn
Environmental Learning Center and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain
or shine. Bring a snack and water. 814-744-8475.