Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State

Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1st, 2008 marked the first ever Historic Guyandotte Candlelight Walking Tours, sponsored by HPIR.  Over 300 people showed up over the course of two days to see HPIR members dressed in period clothing, sharing stories and history of the many Civil War era homes in historic downtown Guyandotte.

A special thanks goes to everyone who came out and supported us, but especially to Guyandotte's Civil War Days, who graciously allowed us to partake in the festival, and to the Guyandotte Branch Library for letting us use their parking lot. 

We only had a little over two weeks  to prepare for this event, and we had MANY more people than we ever imagined come out, but things went great.  We've gotten nothing but positive feedback.  Therefore, we'll continue to expand our research, and we'll see everyone next year with an even bigger and better tour!  Until then, please see below for a brief history and plenty of ghost stories from Historic Guyandotte, WV! 

Civil War Days' Homepage

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HPIR's Candlelight Walking Tour MySpace

HPIR's Candlelight Walking Tour Homepage

In 1861, Guyandotte was a town of divided sympathies, but Confederate sympathies were dominant.  However, in October of that year, a Union recruit camp was set up in the town under Colonel Kellian Whaley.  When word of the this camp spread, the Border Rangers, a local Confederate force led by Colonel Albert Jenkins, were infuriated.

Approximately 150 Union troops were stationed here, but  they were untrained.  Sickness was rampant throughout the camp, and nearly 40 of the recruits were on leave, or had to be hospitalized.  Colonel Zeigler would lend Whaley 35 Cavalry men, but their commanding officer refused to let them patrol outside the town, leaving it open to an attack. 

The first week of November, Confederate General John Floyd ordered  a Cavalry force to  "proceed in the direction of the Ohio River."  About 700 horsemen from Fayette County descended upon Guyandotte, while the Border Rangers would seize the suspension bridge, and a detachment led by Major Henry Fitzhugh moved to the east end of town to complete the circle.

The night  of Sunday, November 10th, 1861 was quiet, as some of the recruits were returning home from worship services or visiting friends.  They were unaware of what was about to unfold.  That night Confederate forces raced into town unopposed.  When the first shots rang out, the untrained Union soldiers dashed into the streets, curious as to the cause of the commotion.  By the time they realized they were under attack, it was too late.

Many of the Union recruits tried to flee; some tried to cross the suspension bridge, but were cut down by the Border Rangers.  Others attempted to swim across the river.  A small resistance force bravely fought back, but a fierce charge by the Petersburg Rangers ended the battle.

That night, at least three Confederates were killed, and ten others  wounded.  Ten Union recruits were killed, and ten others wounded.  Many of the wounded would later die.

The rest  of the night was spent by the Confederate troops rounding up terrified Union recruits, many of whom were still attempting to flee or hide, as well as citizens known to have had Union sympathies.  They were taken prisoner, held overnight at the Keenan home, and marched two by two to Richmond the following day.

On November 11, 1861, as the Confederate troops withdrew from Guyandotte with their prisoners, the steamboat SS Boston, carrying approximately 200 Union soldiers, pulled in from Ceredo after hearing of the attack.  They marched into Guyandotte where they found a number of dead and wounded comrades.

The Union troops and remaining sympathizers were outraged.  Colonel Zeigler figured the town's strong Confederate sympathies were to blame.  In retaliation, he ordered the entire town burned.  The business district was completely destroyed, as were many private homes and churches.  The following homes were those lucky enough to survive the attack.

 (Info above summarized from The Tragic Fate of Guyandotte, by Joe Geiger, Jr.)

(Photo credits: All photos, with the exception of the cemetery and Masonic Lodge were taken by, and are property of Melissa Smith-Stanley, HPIR Founder.  The cemetery photo is property of Theresa Racer, and the Masonic Lodge photo is courtesy of the Cabell County Assessor website.) 

The Crawley House is located at 307 Water Street, and was built in 1855 by Jacob Hiltburner, a tinner born in 1809 to Swiss parents.  Hiltburner operated the home as an inn, known as the Hiltburner Hotel, which hosted a number of social functions in the mid-1800s.

During the Civil War, the home was used as a hospital, hosting both Union and Confederate wounded.  After the war, William "Crawley" Smith came up the Guyandotte River to Guyandotte and returned the structure to its former function as an inn, which came to be known as the Crawley Hotel.

When the flood wall was built, the house and several others on Water Street  were moved inward.  Today, the home serves as an apartment complex, and is owned by Karen and Johnny Nance.

 Ghost Alert!

The Crawley Home is said to be haunted by the ghost of a little boy, who likes to sit on the edge of beds.  Several people have reported seeing the apparition and/or feeling the presence of a little boy around five years old sitting on the edge of their beds.  It  is unknown whether the little boy is a son of one of the former residents, or if he is connected to the days when the home served as a popular inn and social gathering point.

Another ghost said to roam the halls of this historic home is the ghost of a former nurse.  Her name allegedly is Linda, and she is also a friendly, even helpful, entity.

 This 14 room brick Federal Style home is located at 101 Main Street, and is theorized to be one of the first homes of the area's most prominent and earliest citizens, the Buffingtons.  It is also said to be the oldest continuously occupied private home in Cabell County.

The Buffingtons came to the  area and settled on property acquired through the Savage Land Grant.  It is believed that this home was built sometime between 1795 and 1800 by Henry and Charles Lewis, for Thomas and Anna Buffington.  Thomas Buffington ran a ferry across the Guyandotte River, and later across the Ohio.  He was a trustee of the town, and influential in politics.  His son, James, who later married a Holderby heir, is said to have been born in the home.

This home served as the meeting place for the area's first church services until about 1804 when Buffington deeded a tract of land down the street for use as a Methodist  church, cemetery, and school.  Many other prominent families resided in the home over the years, including the the McGinnis, Smith, and Davis families.  The home may have also served as a Union headquarters for much of the occupation of Guyandotte, and as a temporary headquarters for Gen. Jenkins and the Confederacy.

 The Keenan House was built prior to 1840, and is located at 232 Main Street, across from the VFW.  The original owner is believed to have been William Stone, who built the house, but many other residents have made an impact on history as well.

In 1845, Andrew Keenan, a saddle maker, purchased the home from his wife's family, the Russells.  Owner Mark Russell was the first Gentleman Justice of the County Court, and also a sheriff.  His son, Mark Russell Jr., was a ferryman, mail carrier, auctioneer, and preacher.  Russell's daughter, Melcena, married Andrew Keenan, and became his third wife.

Andrew Keenan was born around 1819, and together with Melcena, had five children.  While under his possession, the home was used by Confederate troops as a temporary prison for the Union soldiers captured during the raid.  The men were held overnight, and were tied two by two and marched to Richmond, VA.  Also under the possession of the Keenan family, the house played a role in the 1873 cholera epidemic.  A traveling preacher had gone to Gallipolis to conduct funeral services for cholera victims, when he fell ill with the intestinal disease himself.  Stopping to take shelter at the Keenan home, Rev. John Fox succumbed to the illness and died in the house.

Other owners of the home include Albert Smith, who purchased it in 1894, Wyatt Smith, a newspaper columnist, Richard Blenko, and the VFW.  It previously housed the KYOVA Historical Society's research library, and in the 1980s, fire destroyed the original interior of the home, plus two back additions.

The Madie Carroll House has a long and interesting history with the city of Guyandotte.  The house is said to have been originally built in Gallipolis, OH around 1810, and floated down the Ohio River to Guyandotte by owner James Gallaher, a river tradesman.  Gallaher owned over 20 lots in Guyandotte, and placed the home on what was known as lot 34.

By 1836, the Gallahers no longer called lot 34 home, but did remain in the immediate area.  James was a Marshall Academy trustee in 1838, and became a prominent businessman.   Many of his children married into other prominent local families, and continued to live in the area.

During this time, the home had several owners.  By 1852, Lucian Wolcott owned the home and rented it to Thomas Carroll and his wife, Anne Burns, who had recently arrived from Ireland with their small children.  The Carrolls formally took ownership of the home in 1855, and Anne died shortly after, possibly in childbirth.

Some time between 1855 and 1860, Thomas married his second wife, Mary Fee, also born in Ireland.  Mary is credited with saving the home from the burning of Guyandotte by pleading with Union soldiers, and barricading herself and small children in the brick attached kitchen.  However,the property did sustain some damage, and Mary fought hard to be reimbursed by the government, a fight she won in 1892.

The Carrolls were the first Catholic family in the area, and thus held Catholic church services in the home until a proper church could be established.  The home was also a successful inn, hosting several famous names under the direction of the Carrolls, including Father Thomas Quirk, who established the first Catholic Church in Cabell County, and Collis P. Huntington, who would go on to establish the city of Huntington.  A popular legend is that Mr. Huntington stayed at the inn while surveying a stop for his newly acquired rail line.  While at the inn, his horse, which had been tied to the hitching post out front, somehow managed to get loose and make its way onto the sidewalk.  The mayor of Guyandotte fined Mr. Huntington, who in turn was so angry, that he refused to run the line through Guyandotte, and thus went on to found the city of Huntington instead.

Aside from Mary, one of the most popular residents of the home was Ms. Madie Carroll.  Ms.  Madie Carroll was Mary's step-granddaughter, and came to live in the home after the death of her mother.  Madie was a music teacher and taught piano to local children.  Under her ownership, the home was listed in 1973 as a National Historic Register site, and when she died two years later at the age of 93, she willed the home to her nephew and his wife.  They rented the property until 1984, when he deeded it to the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District.

Ghost Alert! 

 The Madie Carroll house is rumored to be haunted, possibly by the ghost of Madie Carroll, or one of the many other residents/boarders who have stayed in the house over the past 200 years.  Disembodied footsteps are often heard throughout the house, and on occasion, reports of phantom piano music has been heard.  The activity seems to increase during the fall, especially around the time of the Civil War Days.  One reenactor was busy changing inside the home, when she heard the distinct rustling of another woman's skirts and hoop in the room with her, although no one else was in the home...no one living that is.

Possibly one of my favorite stories from the home arises over the tragic death of one of the Carroll Family women who died in childbirth in an upstairs bedroom.  Several visitors to the room have felt uneasy there, women especially, who sometimes report feeling the cramps and contractions of a woman in labor.

 Madie Carroll Homepage

National Register Application

 The Guyandotte Methodist Church Cemetery is located across from the United Methodist Church on 5th Avenue.  This is the oldest church in the cemetery in Cabell County, with markers dating back to the 1810s/1820s.  The land for the cemetery was set aside in 1804 by Thomas Buffington as part of a gift of real property to be used as a church, cemetery, and school house.  

While nearby Highland Cemetery, a public burial ground, seemed to be a more popular burial site in Civil War era Guyandotte, this cemetery still contains the graves of many of Guyandotte's prominent early citizens.  Surnames therein include, but are not limited to: Hite, Smith, Holderby, Wellington, and Letulle.

Due to  the considerable open space, it is theorized that additional burials are located on the grounds in unmarked graves, possibly including several slave burials.  In 1927, the nearly neglected cemetery became the final resting place for several disinterred Revolutionary War soldiers.  Today it is maintained by the Park Board of Huntington, which also maintains Spring Hill, and several other local cemeteries. 

Cemetery Information

The Letulle home is located at 238 Guyan Street, and was built by Victor Letulle in 1839, shortly after his marriage to his second wife, Nancy Forgey, in 1838.

Victor Letulle was born in France on July 11, 1783.  He was one of nine children born to Lawrence and Mary Anne Letulle, grocers from the Normandy area of France.  He is also one of at least two Letulles to settle in the area as early as the 1820s, the other being his younger brother Louis/Lewis.  As a young man, Victor married his first wife, Eleanor, who was twenty years his senior according to records.  However, those records may have been misread, putting Eleanore's birthdate as 1783, not 1763 as previously stated.  Eleanore died in 1836 and was buried in the Guyandotte Methodist Cemetery.  It is believed that Eleanore and Victor brought five children with them from France: two unnamed girls, and three sons, Victor Dean, Louis, and Pietre. The older Letulle children, along with Victor's brother, migrated around this time into the Louisiana and Texas areas.

Three years later at the age of 55, Victor married 28 year old Nancy Forgey, of Lawrence County, Ohio.  Together they had eight surviving children, and ran a grocery and baking business out of the back of the house.

Victor died in 1853 of pneumonia and was buried in the Guyandotte Methodist Cemetery with his first wife, leaving Nancy at home with the children during the burning of Guyandotte.  The family survived the raid, and the home spared, possible due to the idea that it was used at one point as Union headquarters and an escape tunnel was allowed to be put into the basement, remnants of which still exist today.  Several of the  Letulle daughters remained unmarried, and worked as weavers during this time.

Nancy died in 1892 and is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.  Shortly after, Victor's body was removed from the Guyandotte Cemetery, and moved to Spring Hill to join his wife and seven of the eight children.  The eight child, Victoria Letulle Hayslip, is buried in Highland Cemetery with her husband.

The Letulle home is an example of the French Colonial style of architecture, which was popular during the mid 1700s.  It is the only such home in Cabell County, and despite extensive renovations, the home retains an original fireplace and the original framework.  An interesting architectural feature is that the home's kitchen was located in the raised basement.

The Wellington home is located at 415 Main Street, and was built around 1847 by Erastus and Charlotte Wellington of Connecticut.  The Wellingtons had six children, including the youngest,  Zachary Taylor (Z.T.) born April 12, 1847.

By the beginning of the raid on Guyandotte, the two oldest Wellington brothers were already of age, with families and homes of their own.  Z.T. was only thirteen years old during the onset of the war.

Possibly due to Union sympathies, or sheer luck, the Taylor home was spared from the burning of the town, and passed down to Z.T. as he was the youngest child still at home at the time. 

Z.T. was a carpenter by trade, but also very active in local politics.  In 1870, he was appointed to the office of assessor, and also served as a deputy sheriff for eight years.  In addition, he briefly served as a councilman and treasurer for the city of Guyandotte.  During this time period, he married Rebecca Smith (1871) and used his skills as a carpenter to upgrade the family home, giving it Italianate Victorian features, and adding the second story.

While Z.T. was seemingly a jack-of-all-trades, he is most known for his service as Guyandotte's postmaster, and the home is most known for being the town post office.  Z.T. was appointed to this position during President McKinley's first term, and held the position until his death in 1923.  He is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.

 National Register Application

The Fruetel-Hennen-Hysell House is located at 313 Main Street and was built around 1835.  During the era of the Civil War, it wars used as the office of Dr. James Hysell, who soon enlisted as a surgeon in the Union Army.  Julius Fruetel, a local butcher and livestock dealer was probably the next owner.  Freutel and his wife, Sophia, emigrated to America from Germany aboard the Gustav, landing in Pennsylvania in 1848. Ownership followed by the Hennen family, who lived there from 1912 until the 1980s.  The house is built in the Jenny Lind style, which is rare in Cabell County.

 This house, located at 302 Main Street, was built by William Henry Wilson around 1841, and later became the home of Dr. James Hysell.  James Hysell was born in Meigs County, OH in 1837, and married Mary Luella Hayslip of Guyandotte.  The couple was married December 22nd by Rev. William McComas.

Dr. Hysell was a graduate of the  Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, and received his MD at the University of Buffalo (NY). At the onset of the Civil War, the nation's army lost over 27 of its 115 army surgeons due to Confederate sympathies.  Dr. Hysell, a Union supporter, signed up and quickly raised to the rank of major.

Dr. Hysell passed away in 1905 as a result  of malaria contracted from his service in the Spanish American War.  He is buried in Beech Grove Cemetery in Pomeroy, Oh.  Subsequent owners made massive alterations around 1910, but the original roof is still said to be intact under the current roof.

 Ghost Alert!

We've heard from SEVERAL different sources that this is the most haunted house in Guyandotte, but no one has, or is willing to part with any details.  Update: we do have more information on this home; please check back later for updates.  And, like the Madie Carroll House, this home is also said to be at its most active around the time of the Civil War Days.  

The Roseberry home is located at 240 Main Street.  Construction on this home started prior to the Civil War and was finished sometime around 1865 to 1870. It was built by A.J. Roseberry, who took over the defunct woolen mills from the Buffingtons after the war.  A.J. Roseberry was the son of a Revolutionary War veteran, and had a daughter who married John William Wiatt, a descendant of Sir Francis Wiatt, governor of the Jamestown Colony.  Two of the Roseberry children are rumored to have died in the home due to a flu epidemic.

In 1887, J.E. Robertson took possession of the home, followed by the William Dusenberry family in 1907.  The home only had two closets, because when it was constructed, the county charged taxes on how many doors a home contained.  It survived the floods of 1913, and 1937, but suffered substantial damage.  As a result, the original floors are still in the home, but are covered with  newer hardwoods.  The home contains at least two original fireplaces, and in 1911, a back room was added.

In the 1970s, the home served as apartments before being completely abandoned.  A leaky roof caused the upper floors to crash down through the house.  Gene Baumgardner was instrumental in restoring the home to its status as a single family dwelling, and the home is now privately owned. Work is being done to further restore the home to its former splendor, and plans are being made to have it listed on the National Register of Historical Places.  It is the oldest still-standing brick structure from the time period.

 Ghost Alert!

 Plenty of activity has been reported over the years in this home.  Children have been heard playing, laughing, and even crying. The sounds of heavy boots trudging along the porch and in the house, and things physically flying off shelves have also been reported.  At one point, the sound of a china cabinet full of china crashing down the staircase was experienced.  The owner could hear the thumping of the heavy piece of furniture falling, and could hear the sounds of glass and china smashing and breaking.  However, when he ran to investigate, found nothing out of place, and no china cabinet was even IN the home at the time.  A photo was also taken in front of one of the original tiger oak fireplaces, showing no less than three faces, including one belonging to a bearded Confederate soldier.  An EVP caught in the home clearly documents a male voice saying "Hey!"

Prior to 1802, there were no formal church services in the area. Instead, meetings were held at the Thomas Buffington/Edmund McGinnis home on Main Street. An old pioneer, John Miller, was unhappy with this situation. Miller, who was living in an area now known as Miller, Ohio, felt that if he had to cross the river and walk ten miles into Guyandotte for church services, he should at least have a proper church to attend.

Subsequently, John Miller set out to establish a Methodist Church. Over 200 people agreed with Miller, and signed his petition, which was then sent to a preacher in Redstone, PA. As a result, William Steels, a traveling preacher, was sent to the explore the area. The exploration was successful and the recommendation for a formal church was made.

In 1804, Thomas Buffington and family donated a portion of land along Guyan Street to be used as a church, cemetery, and school house. John Miller was credited as being the first of 25 members that first year under Pastor Asa Shinn.

By 1844, the Methodist Church was divided on a national level over the issue of slavery. The Guyandotte church split, and the old Methodist Episcopal moved to Main Street, and then later to Bridge Street.

Meanwhile, the main church continued to grow as the only Southern Methodist church in the area, and it quickly outgrew its present building. Members Robert and Susan Holderby donated the land on which the present church now sits, and in 1848, a brick and stone-block building was erected at the corner of Fifth and Main Streets.

During the spring of 1862, the Union occupied much of the area and took control of the church. Due to its brick and stone structure, it survived the fire set to much of the town, but it did not survive the abuse it endured as a Union commissary and storehouse. Soldiers knocked out bricks for portholes, and loaded the church with so much hay, ammunition, and other supplies that the floors eventually collapsed.

After the war, the congregation built a temporary platform atop the stone foundation, and held services there when weather permitted such, or in private homes. In 1869, presiding elder John Fletcher Medley, finally organized a team of volunteer labor to construct a new framed structure over the original stone foundation. Construction was completed in 1870. In the early 1900s new pews and a prayer room were added with Federal restitution money.

The North and South branches of the church finally reconciled and reunited in 1948, and the current building was renamed the Guyandotte United Methodist Church. In 1950, the three-story educational building was added, and in 1993 under Rev. Lafayette Vinson, the church became a registered historic site.

The Guyandotte First Baptist Church is located at 219 Richmond Street. 

In the early 1850s, the Baptist population was becoming significant in Guyandotte.  Monthly services were held in private homes under the direction of the Teays Valley Baptist Association.  In August of 1856, the idea of constructing a formal house of worship was presented to and approved by the association.  No time was wasted, and a lot was purchased that fall, and a building committee elected shortly thereafter.  In 1857, a shortage of funds caused the construction to be temporarily halted, but by the following year, the building was completed and dedicated the first Sunday in November, 1858.

The building is said to have been a brick structure with green shutters and a balcony for the colored members of the congregation.  The first sermon, given that first Sunday in November, was First Peter 2-6, given by J.M. Kelly.  Following the service, a business and organizational meeting was conducted.  Articles were approved, J.C. Reece (Rece) was appointed pastor (a position he held until 1871), and a collection was taken  up to raise money for the remaining balance on the construction.

No church records were kept during the Civil War era, but other sources tell us that the Union unsuccessfully attempted at burning the church down twice.  Sextons William Brown and Uriah Petit probably put out the first two fires, but the Union was determined to see the building burn.  In their third attempt  in 1861, soldiers ripped off the shutters, and stuffed the belfry with hay to help it burn.  The bell was melted, turned into rings, and sold by Union soldiers.

In 1866, church records were once again being kept, showing that services were held in private residences.  In 1867, a new church was constructed on the original stone foundation, and remains to this day.

The Guyandotte Masonic Lodge is located at 222 Richmond Street, and is home to the Western Star Lodge #11.

Between 1884 and 1888 the land was deeded to the Huntington Board of Education by a local man named James Price.  At the time, this property was referred to as the Town Hall Property.  The current building was erected in 1893 for the purpose of a school house.  According to the 1910 census, the school was referred to as the Richmond Street School.  There are actually two entries for a Richmond Street School located in the immediate area, one listed as simply Richmond Street School, and the other as Richmond Street School (colored).

By 1919 the school was no longer in use, and was put up for auction by the Huntington Board of Education.  The high bidder was the Western Star Lodge #11, a local branch of the Freemason society.  The Masons' winning bid for the building was $4015, and they remain in the building until present day.  Some credit the Western Star Lodge #11 as being the oldest lodge in Cabell County.

With as much history behind a town such as Guyandotte, it is inevitable that you'll find plenty of ghost stories and legends at every corner.  Here's just a few of the stories HPIR has uncovered.  If you know of any additional stories, or know any additional information on the ones presented, please let me know at theresarhps@yahoo.com 

 
Undisclosed Abandoned Property:

An abandoned home in the town is said to be the site of a malevolent haunting.  People are said to move in, but they always quickly move out, as bad luck and tragedy seem to plague all who live there.  Two people have been reported to have been pushed down the stairs by an unseen force, one of which who died, and the other who was left paralyzed.  We were tipped off by a local resident that one of the early residents of the home was a practitioner of a darker branch of Witchcraft.  This lady had summoned an entity for the purpose of harming her husband, who was subsequently pushed down the stairs. 

Various versions of this story have been told to us, and the home is now owned by a local, who uses it only for storage.  After another accident involving someone being "pushed" down the stairs, the upstairs portion was temporarily closed off.

VFW Building:

John was a founding member of Civil War Days and a beloved citizen and friend to all.  He enjoyed dancing, and it is said he never met a stranger.  During Guyandotte's Civil War Days, a ball is held in the ballroom of the VFW.  It was this ball that would be John's last.  He finished his dance, and then died right there on the ballroom floor.  Since then, several women have claimed that they have experienced John's presence in the room, looking for his next dance.  They say his friendly spirit will approach women, and bow down to them as if asking them to dance.  

 The Lady in Black:

The following is quoted from an article in Huntington Quarterly Magazine 

Perhaps the earliest published local account of the supernatural is
contained in the Huntington Advertiser for September 23, 1905 in an
article titled "Guyandotte Inhabited by Ghost." At the time, Guyandotte,
then nearly a century old, was a sleepy little river town located two to
three miles east of Huntington.

The article reports that for the past few nights, Guyandotte residents
"have been considerably worked up over the persistent and mysterious
appearance of a ghost dressed in the black habit of a woman in
mourning."

The story states that the ghost "frequents North Bridge and Short
Streets where the shade is the thickest and the gloom and stillness give
to the surroundings the appearance of a most desirable stop...selected
by goblins and spirits to prowl."

The ghost is described as having "the appearance of a woman dressed in
the deepest shade of black," and when pedestrians are passing along the
above named streets, she walks up behind and keeps pace with them
whether they walk fast or slow or, if they stop, she also will stop. It
adds that the spirit continues this pace until the pedestrians reach
better-lighted streets when she disappears. Most Guyandotte women avoided the area after several had encountered
"the mysterious personage."

Several nights before, as a man was on his way home and was walking
along one of the haunted streets, "the lady in black approached him from
behind," says the story. It adds that the man thought it was someone
wishing for him to stop, so he waited for her, but when she got close to
him she also stopped. He tried to speak to her but she did not utter a
word and kept her distance from him. He then resumed walking with the
ghost following behind him. He walked faster and she followed. Then he
stopped and so did she. At about this time, he began to get cold chills
up his back and he tried to think of a way to escape from the apparition
but it was useless. Finally he started to run for home and looking back,
he found the woman pursuer close behind him. When he arrived within a
block of his home, "the report goes that the neighbors were awakened by
the loud yells in a masculine voice calling to his wife to open the door
for him."

Whether the ghost of "the lady in black" ever reappeared to stalk
desolate Guyandotte streets is not known.

Fun Fact

The concept of wearing all black during the mourning process is a relatively new concept.  Prior to the Civil War, only the very wealthy even HAD any type of special mourning attire.  However, the color black as a mourning dress began to become popular custom around the time of the Civil War, and throughout the Victorian era and Spiritualist movement. The reason behind this was that the color black would make the wearer less visible to the spirits of the dead.  This way, there was less of a chance that the deceased would be attracted to the living and refuse to cross over.  Widows began the tradition, so that their husbands would not come back and bother them.  These special black mourning clothes were referred to as "widow's weeds."

Widows were expected to wear nothing but black for the first year and a half after their husband passed.  After that, they could add touches of gray, lavender or white to their wardrobe.  If it were the parent or the child of a woman who had died, they were expected to wear nothing but black for only one year.  Six months was an acceptable mourning period for the loss of a grandparent, sibling, or close friend, and three months appropriate for extended family.

(Info from Your Guide to Cemetery Research, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack)