Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Creatures people keep reporting and nobody has caught.
Ivydale, WV
Clay County students built this roughly 10.5-foot, 1,800-pound Bigfoot sculpture for the Elk River Trail, giving the rail-trail its own Sasquatch landmark. The statue stands near Mile Marker 47 about two miles upstream from the Ivydale trailhead, so reaching it requires walking or biking the trail.
Point Pleasant, WV
Point Pleasant spent thirteen months in 1966 and 1967 reporting a winged figure with red eyes, and it has never really stopped. The museum keeps the newspaper clippings, the witness statements and props from the film adaptation in one small storefront on Main Street, a short walk from the statue.
Point Pleasant, WV
Bob Roach's twelve-foot stainless-steel Mothman, installed downtown in 2003 and now one of the best-known cryptid landmarks in the country. It stands beside the Mothman Museum and is free to visit day or night.
Point Pleasant, WV
The abandoned World War II explosives complex north of Point Pleasant is inseparable from the original Mothman story, with many early sightings reported around the old TNT bunkers in 1966–67. Portions can be explored on foot, but the former industrial landscape includes remediated Superfund land and mixed property boundaries, so visitors should stay on established public paths.
Stories a place tells about itself, passed down and still repeated.
Alderson, WV
This marker preserves the bizarre local story of "French," a lion kept in Alderson between 1890 and 1894 after being adopted from a traveling circus. According to the marker, the lion was allowed to roam until it frightened a salesman into the Greenbrier River, prompting the town to require lions to be leashed.
Blue Sulphur Springs, WV
This Greek Revival pavilion is the lone major survivor of a nineteenth-century resort built around a mineral spring once advertised for its healing properties. After extensive restoration, the pavilion was rededicated in 2023 and is now open to the public daily during posted daytime hours.
Sarah Ann, WV
Hatfield clan patriarch Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield is buried in the family cemetery beneath a life-size marble statue imported from Italy. The cemetery is publicly visited as part of Hatfield-McCoy heritage tourism, but reaching the graves requires a steep climb and visitors should use care on the slope.
Smoot, WV
This roadside marker commemorates the extraordinary 1897 Greenbrier Ghost case, in which Zona Heaster Shue's mother claimed her daughter's ghost revealed that Zona had been murdered. The resulting murder conviction made the story one of America's most famous cases in which alleged supernatural testimony played a role in bringing attention to a crime.
Lewisburg, WV
Greenbrier Valley Theatre keeps the Greenbrier Ghost story alive through performances and displays connected with the famous Zona Heaster Shue case. The theatre is an active arts venue, so interior access follows box-office and performance schedules rather than open exploration.
Talcott, WV
The park commemorates the legendary steel-driving man John Henry and the story of his race against a steam drill during construction of the nearby Big Bend Tunnel. Visitors now find a large John Henry statue, interpretive displays and walking areas at the location traditionally associated with the legend.
Hotels, theatres, prisons and back roads with a reputation.
Martinsburg, WV
This historic downtown theatre is one of the stops on West Virginia's Paranormal Trail, with stories of unexplained activity tied to the old performance space. Visitors can see the building during scheduled performances and special haunted events, while paranormal investigations are offered only at selected times or by arrangement.
Salem, WV
Also called the Flinderation Tunnel, this roughly Civil War-era railroad tunnel is now reached from the North Bend Rail Trail and has accumulated stories of ghostly voices and unexplained figures. The tunnel is dark enough that a flashlight is necessary, and reaching it requires trail travel rather than simply pulling off the highway.
Lewisburg, WV
Built in 1902, Lewisburg's Carnegie Hall has accumulated reports of footsteps, whispers, lights and other unexplained activity inside the historic arts venue. It remains an operating performance hall, so visitors should attend a scheduled event or view the exterior rather than treating it as an unrestricted investigation site.
Harpers Ferry, WV
This guided walking tour uses the historic streets around Harpers Ferry to tell local ghost stories, Civil War tales and legends attached to the town's old buildings. Tours meet near St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church and run on a scheduled basis, so reservations are recommended.
Wheeling, WV
This former railroad tunnel is now part of Wheeling's trail system and has become associated with reports of voices, figures and other unexplained activity. It is publicly reachable on the trail, but the tunnel is dark and should be approached with a light and normal trail precautions.
Glen Ferris, WV
The riverside Glen Ferris Inn dates to the nineteenth century and has long been associated with stories of a resident spirit commonly called "The Colonel." It remains an operating inn and restaurant, so travelers can visit normally without needing a paranormal event.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Washington, WV
Built in 1916, Lock and Dam No. 19 once helped move river traffic past a wicket dam on the Ohio River before the system was replaced in 1968. Ruins of the old powerhouse remain near a public boat ramp, but the structure is deteriorated and should be viewed without climbing; the former lock houses uphill are private property and should not be approached.
Beckley, WV
Visitors ride a mine car roughly 1,500 feet into a historic drift mine while veteran miners explain the equipment and working conditions of West Virginia coal mining. The surrounding complex includes relocated coal-camp buildings, but the underground attraction operates seasonally.
Parkersburg, WV
Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett built an extravagant estate on this Ohio River island, which later became tangled in Aaron Burr's mysterious western political schemes. A reconstructed mansion and historical grounds can be toured today, but normal visitor access depends on the seasonal sternwheel boat from Parkersburg.
Cass, WV
Cass preserves a former lumber-company town and the steam railroad that once hauled timber out of the surrounding mountains. Visitors can explore the historic town area, while the famous Shay-locomotive train rides operate on scheduled, ticketed departures rather than as an always-available attraction.
Dingess, WV
The 3,327-foot Dingess Tunnel opened in 1892 as part of the Norfolk & Western Railway and later became a one-lane county-road tunnel after the rail route was abandoned. It was substantially rehabilitated in 2019 with lighting, drainage and paving, and travelers can still drive through this unusually long former railroad bore today.
Moundsville, WV
Built by Adena people around 250–150 B.C., Grave Creek Mound is one of the largest surviving conical burial mounds of its culture and required the movement of tens of thousands of tons of earth. A free state museum beside the mound interprets West Virginia archaeology and the people who built it.
Small, specific collections run by people who care far too much.
Webster, WV
Anna Jarvis, the woman who successfully campaigned for the creation of Mother's Day, was born at this house in Webster in 1864. The restored home now interprets Jarvis's life as well as its Civil War connection to Union General George B. McClellan, but it is a small attraction with a limited operating season.
Cameron, WV
This small paranormal museum houses allegedly haunted and unusual artifacts collected by investigator Steve Hummel, with displays built around the stories attached to each object. Its official information lists an April–November tour season but currently also displays a temporary-closure notice, so it should be verified before OddWay actively routes someone there.
Martinsburg, WV
Built in 1853, this was the childhood home of Confederate spy Belle Boyd, one of the Civil War's most notorious civilian intelligence figures. The restored house now serves as a historical museum and visitor center with exhibits on Boyd, local history and the surrounding region.
Harrisville, WV
This privately owned collection packs thousands of pieces of automobile, gasoline-station and roadside memorabilia into a roughly 13,000-square-foot building. The owner welcomes visitors without a normal admission charge, but the museum operates largely by appointment or when someone is available, so call before making a detour.
Sarah Ann, WV
This museum occupies the Hatfield homeplace area and preserves family material connected with Devil Anse, the famous feud and later generations of the family. It operates with varying hours and visitors should call ahead.
Sutton, WV
In September 1952 a group of Braxton County children went up a hill after a light in the sky and came back down describing something ten feet tall in a pleated metal skirt. The museum grew out of a single display case in the county visitor centre and now holds the clippings, the witness accounts and a wall of Flatwoods Monster memorabilia. Admission is free, and it doubles as the Braxton County Visitors Center.
Giant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
Martinsburg, WV
This oversized fiberglass apple was installed in 1990 as a Community Pride Project honoring Berkeley County's apple-growing history. The base contains a time capsule intended to remain sealed until 2040, while the apple itself is a permanent public photo stop.
Barboursville, WV
Billy Bob's Wonderland is a family entertainment center that preserves a working Rock-afire Explosion animatronic band, the characters made famous by ShowBiz Pizza Place in the 1980s. It has become a destination for animatronic enthusiasts because very few complete public shows remain in operation.
Weston, WV
This strange life-size glass figure was constructed from Blenko glass pieces by sculptor John Zidek and is distinctive enough that even its two right feet have become part of the story. It now stands inside the Museum of American Glass, where visitors can see it along with a much broader collection of American glassware.
Shinnston, WV
Charlie is a 21-foot scrap-metal coal miner with a lunch pail and a working light in his helmet, unveiled in 1999 as a memorial to local miners. He stands outside the Repair King property at 253 Lincoln Drive and can be photographed from the parking-area approach without entering any restricted industrial space.
Morgantown, WV
Morgantown unveiled this life-size bronze statue of hometown actor Don Knotts in 2016 outside the Metropolitan Theatre. The sculpture includes references to his best-known roles and is freely accessible from the downtown sidewalk area.
Berkeley Springs, WV
A small stone-lined outdoor bath in Berkeley Springs State Park marks the tradition of George Washington bathing in the warm mineral springs here during the 18th century. The present structure is a reconstruction rather than Washington's literal surviving bathtub, but it has become one of the state's most photographed historical oddities.
