Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters and Miracles

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

Passed down over generations, Keystone State legends and lore provide both thrilling stories and dire warnings.

Strange creatures and tales of the supernatural thrive in Pennsylvania, from ghostly children who linger by their graves to werewolves that ambush nighttime travelers. Phantom trains chug down the now removed rails of the P&LE Railroad line on the Great Allegheny Passage. A wild ape boy is said to roam the Chester swamps, while the weeping Squonk wanders the hemlock-shrouded hills of central Pennsylvania, lamenting his hideousness. On dark nights, the ghosts of Betty Knox and her Union soldier beau still search for each other at Dunbar Creek. Join Thomas White and company as they go in search of the truth behind the legends of supernatural Pennsylvania.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626194984
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/22/2014
Series:	American Legends
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,023,827
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Thomas White is the university archivist and curator of special collections in the Gumberg Library at Duquesne University. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Duquesne's history department and an adjunct professor of history at La Roche College. White received a master's degree in public history from Duquesne University. He is the published author of eight books, all of which focus on Pennsylvania history.

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CHAPTER 1

PART I GHOSTS

THE RESTLESS DEAD

Ghosts are history. Whether you believe in them or not, every time a ghost story is told, someone is providing an interpretation of events of the past. The details of a ghost story, aside from the phantom itself, may be factually accurate, or they may only be loosely based on actual occurrences. Either way, ghost stories are a memory of something real that had an impact on people and on the community — an accident, a disaster, a tragic separation, an untimely death, etc. This is, of course, not the type of history that is found in a textbook. Many of the events that are retold in ghost stories are not of national importance, but they are events that affected the lives of everyday people. Often, the people in such stories would remain obscure or forgotten if their supernatural tales were not told.

This is especially true for some groups of people who were underrepresented in traditional history before the second half of the twentieth century. As you will see, many of the ghost stories included in this section involve women who died in eras when their lives would be a mere footnote, if recorded at all, in histories of their day. Yet the stories of their lives and their tragic ends live on through their ghosts.

Ghost stories may also be repeated as a reminder of danger. Some ghosts are said to appear at bends in the road that have been the site of many accidents. Others haunt dangerous industrial sites, where one mistake might mean injury or death. These kinds of ghost stories carry a warning along with history.

We may listen to, watch or read ghost stories for entertainment, because of an interest in the supernatural or because we have experienced hauntings ourselves. We usually do not actively think about the history and messages that they convey, but they are there nonetheless. Every ghost story has multiple levels of interpretation that are not exclusive, and the historical aspect is just one of these. At a different level, some ghost stories may record something truly supernatural. People have reported encounters with ghosts for thousands of years, and despite what many claim, as of yet, they cannot truly be scientifically proven or disproven. Perhaps it is better that way. It will be left for the reader to determine the veracity of the hauntings recorded here.

Our journey into the haunted history of the Keystone State will begin in Beaver County, where a headless ghost has wandered for two centuries.

THE PIG LADY OF CANNELTON

Thomas White

Sometimes her apparition appears with the head of a pig where her human head should be; sometimes it manifests with no head at all. For more than two centuries, the ghost of a young woman named Barbara Davidson has haunted the area around Cannelton Road in northern Beaver County. After she was murdered and decapitated, Barbara's head was never found; neither was her killer. Often referred to as the "Pig Lady," the phantom has allegedly appeared to and interacted with dozens of local residents over the years. Though many who live in the area are reticent to talk about their personal experiences with the ghost, the Pig Lady has been the subject of a local play, and she was even the inspiration for a local Halloween attraction. Her tale is not as widely known as some other regional hauntings, but it has proven to be one of the most enduring and fascinating supernatural legends in western Pennsylvania.

Much of the actual history behind the legend has been compiled and documented by former teacher Rich Oswald, who is a school director in Blackhawk School District and a local historian. Oswald became interested in the Pig Lady through the accounts of personal encounters passed on by his students. He came up with the idea of putting on a play every other year at the middle school to tell the story of Barbara Davidson, recounting local history in the process. The play has gone through several changes as new material has been uncovered, but it has remained a local tradition. Mr. Oswald was gracious enough to share his research with me as I began to look into the legend.

The story of Barbara Davidson begins around the start of the American Revolution. She was born in South Carolina in 1777, the daughter of rice planter Samuel McCaskey. Samuel fought on the side of the rebels and was driven off his property when the British invaded. After the war, McCaskey decided to relocate his family to present-day Darlington Township in Beaver County. At that time, it was part of the Depreciation Lands, which were tracts of land on the frontier that were offered cheaply to veterans of the Revolution. It was the new American government's attempt to compensate veterans for the almost worthless continental money with which they had been paid. McCaskey's tract was near the Little Beaver River and present-day Cannelton Road.

Barbara grew up on the family farmland, helping with chores and tending to the pigs and other livestock. She was a very open and sociable young lady, liked by all of her Scotch-Irish neighbors. Her beautiful voice and musical talent were well known in the community, though she remained something of a tomboy and was a good shot with a rifle. Many suitors were attracted to Barbara, and in 1791, at the age of fifteen, she married an army veteran named Nathan Davidson. Marriage at such a young age was common at the time, especially if the husband was well established. Davidson lived in Virginia, so Barbara went to live with him there.

We do not know exactly what happened to Nathan, or if the two had a falling out, but by 1794, Barbara had returned to live with her parents in Beaver County. She resumed her work on the farm, and everything seemed to return to normal. The following summer, in 1795, her parents and the rest of the family made a trip to Pittsburgh for a few days to purchase livestock and poultry. Barbara was left behind to tend the farm in their absence. Samuel and Cora McCaskey would never see their daughter's face again.

When the family returned, Barbara was nowhere to be found. After several hours, it was clear that something was very wrong. All of the McCaskeys' neighbors joined in the search, but they found no trace of her. After several days, the family made a horrific discovery. Barbara's contorted body had been jammed into a crawlspace under their house. The beautiful young woman had been decapitated, and her head was missing. She was buried in the cemetery about two miles from her home. Her tombstone, which is now gone, was made of wood. The inscription read:

Barbara Davidson b. Ap 11 1777 d. July 22 1795
A headless form neath this molde doth lie Murdered most foul Loved by all ... save one

Despite their best efforts, friends, family and the authorities were never able to find or identify her killer. Her death shattered the peace and tranquility of the community. But that was not all. According to dozens of witnesses over the past two hundred years, the shocking and untimely death left Barbara unable to rest. Her headless ghost wanders the old family property and the area around Cannelton Road, seeking vengeance on her killer.

Over the years, many residents have only told of their experiences with Barbra's ghost anonymously, fearing public mockery or derision. Yet their large numbers speak volumes about the legend. The earliest accounts appeared around 1800, and they continue to this day. Barbara's ghost has appeared in different ways at different times and has wandered in an area covering at least a square mile. Frequently locals report that her shape first forms slowly out of a column of mist and fog, gradually taking the shape of her headless body. The ghost walks the woods surrounding her old home and the grounds of the cemetery where she was buried. Those who see her are insistent that the apparition moves like a young woman, her arms even stroking hair on a head that isn't there. On some occasions, the ghost has been heard sobbing, whether visible or not.

The story of the ghost was so well known that in 1935, the financially struggling Negley Traction Company tried to use the legend to make some extra money. It offered a tour called "Barbara Davidson's Midnight Excursion," charging fifty cents a head to ride the trolley out to the graveyard and past some of the locations where the ghost had allegedly appeared. Forty-three people participated in the tour, and they were not disappointed. The trolley arrived in the evening and parked for several hours while passengers anxiously looked around for any sign of Barbara. After some time, her headless apparition began to form out of the mist and moved across the property near the Fennel House. It came close enough to the trolley to convince the passengers that it was not a trick perpetrated by the company, and many could hear sobbing and cries in the distance. The ghost was visible for almost fifteen minutes, and after the trip, everyone onboard was convinced that something strange had really happened.

It was not only Barbara's headless body that was appearing, however. There are several accounts of individuals encountering her spectral head. Because Barbara's head was never found, there has always been speculation as to its fate. Some people believe it was tossed into an old mine on the hillside above Cannelton. The mine sat along the side of the road that leads up to the Evergreen Orchards. Over the years, there have been reports of the ghostly head emerging from the mine entrance at night and frightening those who travel down the road at a late hour. Rich Oswald recounted one of the most dramatic encounters from over a century ago. Details of the incident were first recorded by Ira Mansfield in the book Recollections of Life Along the Little Beaver Creek, though many versions have been told over the years. It happened late one night when a man named either Bertram Drummond or Dick Gray (depending on the version) was bringing a wagonload full of freshly picked apples down the hill. Drummond/Gray was proceeding slowly down the dark road, with only one kerosene lantern and a little moonlight to guide him. As he passed the mineshaft, he was startled by a ball of light that emerged and streaked directly toward his wagon. The glowing shape seemed to attach itself to his lead horse, spooking the animal. As Drummond/Gray realized the light actually had long hair dangling behind it, the head turned and faced him. He was terrified by its burning red eyes. In a state of panic, he whipped his horses so they could escape. The ghostly head tormented the horse as the wagon sped recklessly down the road. Apples flew from the cart at every bump, and the horses did not stop until they reached the bank of the Little Beaver River. The spectral head finally abandoned the horse and disappeared in the direction of the mine. Drummond/Gray never took the road at night again.

The strangest part of the legend of Barbara Davidson is the alleged manifestation of her ghost with the head of a pig in place of her missing human head. Oswald believes that this part of the legend probably emerged in the twentieth century as teenagers went looking for the ghost. Stories are told of young people seeing a strange woman in the distance, but when they approach, she turns and reveals the grinning face of a pig. Sometimes the apparition is accompanied by a grunting sound, such as a pig might make. The Pig Lady has been spotted all around the Cannelton area, including the wooden footbridge over the north fork of the Little Beaver River, referred to locally as the "Hippie Bridge." While recording stories of these alleged encounters, Oswald discovered two theories as to why Barbara's ghost would appear with the head of a pig. One postulates that since Barbara raised livestock and took care of the pigs on her parent's farm, she selected the "replacement head" of an animal she had worked closely with. A second theory speculates that her ghost wandered for a long time in search of a head. Eventually, she encountered either the severed head of a slaughtered pig or the head of a dead wild pig and chose it to replace her own. The story of the pig head has become so popular that Barbara's ghost is often referred to only as the Pig Lady.

Supernatural encounters with the Pig Lady have not slowed in recent years. In fact, a recent community effort may have actually increased the number of encounters. In 2010, the Little Beaver Lions Club was looking to open a haunted house and hayride to raise money to help the blind and other people with disabilities. Dave O'Neill, then vice- president of the club, suggested basing the haunted attraction on the real story of Barbara Davidson. Though O'Neill unfortunately did not live to see his idea come to fruition, John Gishbaugher and others transformed a barn along Cannelton Road (which was donated by Brian McCarl) into a recreation of the legend. The accompanying hayride took visitors through the fields to places where the ghost of the Pig Lady allegedly appeared. Volunteers played the roles of the various characters in the legend. Many of these volunteers began to have their own experiences with Barbara's ghost while they were attempting to tell her story.

One of those who encountered something otherworldly was Maddison McKeel, who has played the role of Barbara in recent years and other roles in the past. During her first year at the barn, while alone in the room that depicted the murder scene, Maddison turned to see the shape of a headless woman in a black dress. She immediately went to get another volunteer, but when she returned, the figure was gone. A more frightening experience occurred when she was crossing the field behind the barn. Numerous strange lights and shadowy figures have been seen in the fields over the past few years. One evening in her second year at the barn, Maddison was cutting through the field to check the location of other volunteers. Partway through her walk, she felt as if someone had kicked the back of her knees. She fell to the ground and hit her head, briefly losing consciousness. When she came to, she realized that she was in a different part of the field than where she had fallen.

Even before she had become involved with the haunted attraction, Maddison had a few supernatural experiences in the area. On one occasion, she was climbing a nearby hill toward a spring when she felt someone pull on the back of her shirt. When she turned to tell the friend that was with her to let go, she realized that she was too far away to have touched her. Maddison then turned around to see the fading image of a woman at the top of the hill. Another time, she was with a friend in the same woods when the pair spotted a set of glowing red eyes. They had heard the story that the eyes were those of Barbara's killer, and that if you stared too long, he might possess you. They both fled quickly.

Other volunteers at the site have also had experiences. Mara Rooney and several other volunteers parked their cars near the barn and walked to the nearby White Cemetery to look around. When they returned, one of the young men found that all of the doors on his truck were open, even though it had been locked and he had the key. Shadowy figures also followed Mara and Maddison once when they were crossing the field, and Mara had seen a strange fog follow other volunteers around the property on several occasions. Mara and her friends also ventured to the grave site of Barbara late one night. As her friends spread out with flashlights, Mara remained still. It was then she felt something grab her hip. Those who came with her were too far away to have touched her. The group left and returned to the barn. When a light was shone on Mara's hip, a red hand mark was plainly visible.

Other volunteers who wished not to be identified also witnessed strange happenings at the barn and in the surrounding fields. The headless form of Barbara has been seen crossing the fields holding a candle in her hand. Many have reported seeing the strange flashes of light in the fields and have had tools and other objects disappear in the barn only to reappear in other locations days or weeks later. One volunteer saw her apparition materialize out of campfire smoke. As he sat watching the fire, mist and smoke slowly gathered into the clearly identifiable form of a headless woman. The man could not believe what he was seeing, but things quickly became even stranger. A woman's voice quietly emerged from the ghostly form. It said, "Tell them re-no." The apparition then dissipated before the man's eyes. At first, the man was unsure of what the ghost meant by "re-no," but he eventually decided that the apparition was really saying the French name Renault, which has the same pronunciation. When Rich Oswald heard the story, he conducted some background research on possible local connections to the name. He discovered that a half-French and half-Indian trapper named Renault was residing in the area around the time of Barbara's death. The trapper had a bad reputation among the local farmers. Could it be that Barbara was trying to identify her killer from beyond the grave?

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Thomas White.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction: the Supernatural in Pennsylvania 11

PART 1 Ghosts

The Restless Dead 13

The Pig Lady of Cannelton Thomas White 15

The Ghost of Betty Knox Tony Lavorgne 25

Supernatural Cemetery Tales Robin Swope 29

She Watches from the Grave Candice Buchman 35

Slag Pile Annie Thomas White 42

Mary Blck's Grave: the Anatomy of a Legend Trip Gerard O'Neil 45

The Historic and Haunted Dravo Cemetery Stephen Bosnyak 56

The Lady in White in Pennsylvania Lore Rachael Gerstein 66

Haunted Libraries of Pennsylvania Elizabeth Williams-Herrman 71

PART II Monsters

There's Something Out There in the Dark 85

The Lake Erie Sea Serpent: Two Hundred Years of Sightings Stephanie Hoover 87

The Werewolves of Pennsylvania Thomas White 92

The Squonk: A Small Tale from Franklin Country Gerard O'Neil 105

Red Menace? the Ape-Boy of the Chester Swamps Edward White 109

UFOs Invade the Poconos Tony Lavorgne 113

PART III Miracles and Magic

Help from Beyond 117

Mining Miracles Katherine Barbera 119

The Lost Children of the Alleghenies Michelle Bertoni 130

A Practitioner Explains Powwow Rob Chapman 137

Letters from Heaven Katherine Barbera 143

Indes 147

About the Contributors 153

About the Editor 157