Cry Of The Banshee: History and Hauntings of West Virginia and the Ohio Valley

by Susan A. Sheppard

Born of the popular Haunted Parkersburg Tours, these unique stories of the unknown not only delve into the history and hauntings of West Virginia but also reveal how to recognize ghosts, how to know if your house is haunted and even the 13 most likely places to find phantoms. Includes tales of haunted houses, spirit infested cemeteries, Civil War ghosts, ghostly railroads, eerie tunnels, and much more. Some of her stories feature 20th century ghosts, such as the spirits haunting a Parkersburg radio station or the city's historic Blennerhassett Hotel. Many of these Sheppard has witnessed firsthand. She has experienced innumerable hauntings in and around Riverview Cemetery, Parkersburg's version of the twilight zone. And of course, always a motherlode of tragedy and violence, Moundsville Prison has supplied plenty of tales of its tortured inhabitants.

Cry of the Banshee, a comprehensive guide to the hauntings and tales of the paranormal in West Virginia and along the Ohio River.

A phantom from the shores of Scotland and Ireland is the banshee, a cursed omen of bad news and death that plagued early settlers. Read on to meet a more famous West Virginia portent of doom, the Mothman. And here for the first time is the truth behind the West Virginia encounters with the infamous Men in Black and the terrifying Ingrid Cold, never before in print!

Sheppard is fascinating as she spins her yarns about tragic Civil War ghosts, grieving women in white, and haunted railroads and tunnels. Plan your next trip into this twilight zone: visit tragic Margaret Blennerhassett, haunting her island home; or the rock-n-roll bartender who haunts The Empty Glass in Charleston.

For any history orghost buff, Cry of the Banshee is a guaranteed interesting read. Some readers will want to travel the state to experience some of these ghosts for themselves; others may want to visit Parkersburg for one of Sheppard's ghost tours, complete with the inexplicable legion of black cats that always show up. Of course, there's always the chance that if you read the book late at night, alone, you may never want to come within 100 miles of Parkersburg or Sheppard. But you can always sleep with the lights on . .

252 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2008

About the author

Susan Sheppard of Parkersburg, West Virginia, has poetry published in over 100 magazines and has been writing poetry for more than 30 years. She is descended from the Blackfoot-Saponi and Lenape-Shawnee tribes of her region. In 1998, she was awarded a Poetry Fellowship from West Virginia Arts & Humanities. Sheppard is the author of a number of books, including four non-fiction and one novel. Her poetry chapbook, Balefire, was published in 2015 by Crisis Chronicles Press. Susan teaches poetry every Thursday at Sacred Way Arts in downtown Parkersburg. Her seasonal ghost tour, the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours, is rated the #8 most popular ghost tour in the nation.

Reviews

[Kat Saunders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good. This took me FOREVER to slog through. Who knew that ghost stories could be boring? I was also perplexed how this book was published in the first place given the amount of typos and proofreading errors. This is a sloppily executed book. I'm actually a believer in ghosts, but even I had to roll my eyes at many of the "hauntings" presented (with a straight-face) in this book.

However, it was a good introduction to some of the famous West Virginia mythology--like Mothman and Indrid Cold. That's why book gets an extra star.

[NhaughtyV says Damn the Zon Save the Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a WV girl, and my husband took me on the walking tour of 'haunted' Parkersburg, WV. The author of this book told the stories of the local haunts. I really enjoyed the tour, as well as this book. I'm a read aloud volunteer for one of the local middle schools, and I always share with the students these ghost stories every October. Would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good spooky tale.