Due to the hunting nature at these haunted places,
listener discretion is advised.
I'm your host, Mark.
And I'm Courtney.
And this is Mountain State Mysteries, State Haunts.
Music
Today, we will be telling you ghost stories from the town of Beckley, West Virginia.
Beckley is a seat of Raleigh County.
It was founded in 1838.
It was named after John James Beckley,
the Librarian of Congress and the First Clerk in the U.S. House of Representatives,
and the father of Alfred Beckley.
In the early days of Beckley, it was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Courthouse.
Beckley has some notable haunts in the town and the vicinity,
including one that made the news.
The Soldiers Memorial Theater at 200 South Canal Street is now a concert venue.
The latest of its incarnations since it was constructed in 1931 through 1932.
It was originally the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Theater built in honor of World War I veterans.
In its time, it served as the YMCA, a temporary courthouse, a county library, and a community center.
The building was closed in the 1970s, but reopened in 1993.
It was presently owned by the Raleigh County Commissions
and operated by the theater West Virginia.
Some of the haunting activity has been traced to an incident
when the bleachers collapsed during the laying of the cornerstone
ceremony on November 15, 1931.
Fortunately, no one was killed, but some people were injured,
including a tuba player named Bob who suffered a severe neck injury
and later was given living space in the basement of the theater where he died.
People have reported seeing his ghost wearing gray clothing in the basement,
hearing footsteps, whispers, and knocks.
The ghost of a man dressed in clothing from the 1930s has been seen in the balcony
and throughout the building.
The sound of ghostly children can be heard throughout the building.
Once during a show, the sound of a saxophone was heard,
but no saxophone was in the building.
In 2011, an investigation was conducted by Eastern States Paranormal.
The group captured numerous EVPs, including a female's voice that said
balcony.
Could you have been trying to direct the attention to the ghostly gentleman who
haunts that area?
The investigators also captured sounds of phantom tap dancing, knocking,
and other unexplained noises.
When they asked Bob to walk across the stage, you could hear his footsteps.
You're listening to state haunts by mountain state mysteries.
When you're headed downtown to Main Street, you see a stunning ordeco courthouse
that was constructed in 1936 to 1937 around the original brick courthouse built in 1894.
Luckily, couried sandstone was used for the new building.
Courthouses are notorious for being haunted as a result of the emotionally charged dramas that
occur there.
The Riley County Courthouse has a few haunts of its own.
The most known is the lady in red, the ghost of a woman who wears a red dress
and is usually seen in the jury room.
Her identity is still unknown, but perhaps she served on a jury.
She is also seen in the May Court room.
In September of 2000, a mysterious dark figure sat in the seat in the back row of the
circuit courtroom for several days.
And when the courtroom was dark, its features could not be distinguished.
County Circuit Court Judge John Hutchison told the Associated Press,
We have a ghost.
The ghost has been occupying the courtroom for a number of days and we don't know why.
You're listening to State Haunts, The Million State Mysteries.
This again couple killed on their wedding night, Haunt the Road at Cherry Creek Dip.
Or is it the haunting of only a legend?
According to many people in the area, a couple was driving a white Pontiac Transam
through the Cherry Creek Dip area when their car was struck head on and killed them both instantly.
Some say the ghostly car appears on the road during the anniversary of the accident.
Showing up just after midnight and disappears as it goes down the road.
It's said that the accident took place in the summertime, but the exact date is unknown.
Some motorists driving through the area around midnight have seen a woman dressed in a wedding gown,
standing on the side of the road.
When they stop and ask her if she needs help, she vanishes.
You're listening to State Haunts by Mountain State Mysteries.
Cranberry is an unincorporated area about three miles north of Becley.
According to local legend, the area where there once was train tracks is haunted by a man named Frank Easter.
A strange story is told in the background.
The area where there once was train tracks is haunted by a man named Frank Easter.
A stranger who came to the area looking for work in the 1940s and met his tragic end.
Noah knew much about Easter, who kept to himself and lived like a hermit.
He got a job working for the coal mines.
One morning a fire was seen burning on the tracks and it was a burnt corpse of Frank Easter.
He knew how or why he wound up burnt to death on the tracks.
Some speculated that he had walked to Becley to drink at a tavern and had sat down to rest on the tracks on the way home.
Or perhaps he was drunk and just couldn't make it home.
He smoked a pipe so he maybe pulled it out for a smoke, fell asleep and caught his clothing on fire.
Easter was buried in an old cemetery on top of a slight dump which is now behind some apartment buildings.
Legend said after his fiery death Easter walked the tracks.
And every morning around 4.30 am a fire started up at the spot where he died.
The outline of his body was said to be visible on the tracks which were hot to the touch.
If people walked along the tracks Easter pushed them away from his death site.
His ghost looked like a pale man wearing miners clothing with a long crook neck pipe hanging from his mouth.
The tracks no longer exist and have been replaced by the rail to trail system of hiking and biking paths in the state.
However, it's said that the burn outline of Easter's body is still visible and the gravel is still warm to the touch.
And during the winter snow melts on his grave.
Thank you so much for listening to the first episode of Mountain State Mysteries State Haunts.
Stay tuned for our next episode as we tell you the Haunts of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
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