Three Eclectic Ghostly Tales For Halloween

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ~ Hamlet

The ghost story.

We’ve all heard them, but do we believe?

Skeptics, like myself, find ourselves on the side of incredulity when we hear the old chestnut about the lady in white (archetypal to countless stories) who goes or glows by candlelight and haunts in historical places. Years ago, the Elk Hotel in Sutton had such an ethereal guest.

Yet, like Fox Mulder of The X-Files, I want to believe.

Seeing a ghost is actually on my bucket list. Also on that list was seeing a UFO – now past-tense because in the late 90’s, in Charleston, I saw something one winter evening hovering silently in the sky – for which I have no logical explanation. That’s a tale for another time.

Earlier this year, I was visiting friends who have a summer home along the Elk River in Clay County. One clear night, under an immense spread of stars and planets, I heard myself asking:

“Have you ever seen a ghost?”

That question let me to ask for ghost tales from our West Virginia audience. Here are three of those tales for your enjoyment:

• Dennis Hedrick, a friend of forty-five years, recounts the strange, inexplicable things had consistently happened while remodeling an office.

• Courtney Buterbaugh shared this story, not of specter, but of a time slip.

• Charleston playwright, Dan Kehde, submitted this tale of dark unrest.

As for me, I believe, but await my own experience.

You can hear Eclectopia Fridays at 10 and Saturdays at 11 on WVPB.