Harpers Ferry a big draw
HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - John Brown's body might be a-mouldering in the grave.
But there are some who are convinced they've seen Brown's ghost wandering the streets of Harpers Ferry.
The gaunt, white-haired man is often accompanied by a small black dog.
That is just one of many stories of haunting and mysterious events in West Virginia.
Guided ghost tours are offered in history-filled Harpers Ferry, a pretty town where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet.
Harpers Ferry Ghost Tours offers lantern-lit walking tours at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through early November. Reservations are needed for October and November trips. Admission is $5 a person. Call (304) 725-8019.
Ghost encounters are also frequent in Charles Town, Martinsburg and Berkley County in eastern West Virginia.
Martinsburg Ghost Tours offers guided tours of local haunted graveyards on Fridays and Martinsburg on Saturdays from late May to the end of October. Call (304) 267-0540.
Brown was hanged on Dec. 2, 1859, after his ill-fated attempt to trigger a slave rebellion in the town.
Brown, accompanied by five black men and 16 white men, arrived in Harpers Ferry on Oct. 16. He had a wagon with 200 rifles, 200 pistols and 1,000 pikes with which he intended to arm the slaves.
His plans failed and the U.S. Army, under Col. Robert E. Lee, stormed the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry. Ten of Brown's men were killed, including two of his sons. Brown was captured and convicted of treason.
The town's No. 1 attraction is John Brown's Fort, the one-story brick building in which Brown and a handful of supporters barricaded themselves before being overpowered.
It is the only armory building to escape being destroyed in the Civil War. The building is about 150 feet east of its original location.
Brown, however, is not the only ghost reported in Harpers Ferry. Most of the ghosts appear to have ties to the Civil War, when the town changed hands eight times.
Harpers Ferry is a very neat, outdoorsy place. It is filled with lots of history, rugged scenery and hiking trails, white-water rafting and bicycle trails.
In fact, the restored 1850s industrial village with its cobblestone streets is the most popular tourist attraction in West Virginia.
The central attraction is Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and its Lower Town with its quaint preserved buildings. There are museums and ranger-led programs.
Most of the town's restored buildings of brick and stone are tightly aligned along narrow Shenandoah, Potomac and High streets, and pedestrians rule Harpers Ferry.
The 3,646-acre historical park covers part of the town and historical attractions in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
For additional information, contact Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, P.O. Box 65, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425; (304) 535-6029 (visitor information) or (304) 535-6222 (park administration). The Web site is www.nps.gov/hafe.
Park admission is $5.
Other haunted West Virginia sites are said to include Darkish Knob at Parsons, the strange lights on Coal Mountain at Mooresfield, a tall bald-headed man along a fence row outside Seebert, two headless college-age women at Cheat Lake north of Morgantown and Shepherd College in Shepherdstown.
Odd doings have also occurred at the old Moundsville Penitentiary, the Point Pleasant area and Flatwoods, where a UFO was reported to have landed in 1952.
The West Virginia Division of Tourism has even put together a Web site that provides tales, events and information about the Mountain State's haunted happenings. It lists 23 sites across the state. The site is www.callwva.com/hauntings. For details, call 1-800-225-5982.
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