Evidence

 

Do you see? Do you see why you need to stay away?

 

A Warning

Things have totally gone to Hell. It's about 3 a.m. 30 minutes ago we were all still sitting around staring into the fire. No one was talking so everything was silent except for the sounds of nature. But suddenly, I noticed I couldn't even here those anymore. No crickets, no owls, nothing. I could tell everyone else was starting to get uncomfortable too. Then, it started. The growling. It was just as terrifying as the last time I heard it. The sound seemed to be coming from all around us, and we began to hear branches snapping, like people were walking through the woods. Right then, I realized we'd made a horrible mistake. This was way beyond anything we were equipped to deal with. We all got up and clustered together close to the fire like it could protect us. I was huddled between Agnes and Peter, the three of us trembling nonstop. And then it got worse. The growls turned into savage screams and a sudden gust of wind blew our fire out, plunging us into darkness. The sky was overcast, so we didn't even have light from the moon. Something shoved me from behind, and I fell to the ground. I heard one of my team members scream; I think it was Peter. I looked up and saw a dark figure stalking towards me. It was one of the co-eds. Despite my earlier optimism about trying to reason with them, I knew it was no use. I panicked and ran into the trees. As I fled, I heard one of my team members scream again, but there was nothing I could do. I sprinted for what seemed like hours, but I still couldn't find the road. My adrenaline began to wear off, so I had to take a break and sat down against a tree. I finally had the presence of mind to call the police, who naturally thought I was nuts. They said they were sending people, but it would be awhile since I couldn't give them my exact location.
So, now I'm still sitting here by this damn tree blogging to a bunch of strangers on my smartphone. Is this really how my life is gonna end? I have the horrible feeling that my team members might be dead and that I'm next. I mean, if they were still alive I would have heard them, right? They would be yelling or...oh God. I can hear the growling again. They're here. I'm gonna try to take a picture so you guys can see why you need to stay out of these woods. Please, just stay away.

 

Live Update

It's about 2 a.m., and I'm freezing. The temperature has dropped to under 40 degrees, and I'm beginning to regret this trip even though we haven't even seen any ghosts yet. At least we have some cell service out here. We found a little clearing close to the lake and set up our tents and equipment. We have cameras set up all around camp. Some are filming and the others are periodically snapping photos. Hopefully, they catch a glimpse of something even if we don't. After making camp, we split up and explored the surrounding area until about 10 p.m., but once it got pitch dark we gravitated toward the comfort of the fire and each other. Although the ghostly co-eds have yet to make an appearance, I think everyone if feeling really on edge. I guess all we can do is wait. But what are paranormal investigators supposed to do when they sit around a campfire? At this point, telling ghost stories doesn't sound appealing. There's no way we can relax enough to sleep. I managed to talk Tim and Agnes into playing I Spy for a little bit, but we lost interest in that pretty quick. So now we're just sitting here staring into flames. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

Back to the Beginning

Well, I think we've gotten pretty good at this ghost hunting thing. I finally felt brave enough to suggest investigating the woods near Cheat Lake, which is where all this began. I'm really not looking forward to the prospect of running into the decapitated co-eds again, but it feels like something I just have to do. Sort of like finding some closure. I still have the occasional nightmare about the girls stalking towards me on the side of the road, and I think going back with my friends will help. Maybe if I see the co-eds as just another investigation they'll stop haunting my dreams. Who knows, now that I'm used to the idea of ghosts I might even be able to communicate with them.What if they're not actually hostile, just scared and in pain because of the way they suffered? We're heading out to the woods at about 6 p.m. to set up camp. I haven't been camping since I was 5 (I got poison oak), so this will definitely be interesting. Peter's bringing along some extra recording equipment since these are the most corporeal ghosts any of us have ever encountered and we might be able to film some great evidence. I'll try to add some live updates if I have a signal on my phone. Wish us luck.

Oak Grove Cemetery

Since the Hotel Morgan investigation was a huge success, we decided to explore some more reportedly haunted locations (after giving Tim some time to recover from his ghostly encounter). Next, we decided to visit Oak Grove Cemetery. There have been numerous accounts of disturbed grave sites and spectral images on the premises. We arrived at the cemetery around midnight, since all of the sightings occurred late at night. I was more worried about attracting the attention of law enforcement than ghosts since groups of people hanging around in dark graveyards tend to arouse suspicion.
For this investigation, we all brought cameras along, because film sometimes catches what the human eye cannot. We split up and wandered around taking pictures in the graveyard for about two and a half hours. Nothing spectacular happened, and everyone left feeling cold, tired, and frustrated. However, when we examined our film the next day, we discovered the night hadn't been a waste after all. Agnes and Peter both had unexplained figures in some of their photos. One of the figures appeared to be a man in a torn, dirty suit and the other a dark haired woman in a long, white dress. Both of the figures showed up in pictures taken near a particular ancient looking mausoleum.
So, now we're two for two. I'm starting to suspect there's something special about Morgantown.

The Meeting

Today I finally got to meet the people I have been talking to online. A couple of days ago Peter, the reporter, suggested we all get together, so we decided on today at noon in Jay's Daily Grind. I was nervous, because meeting everyone in person made the whole thing seem more real. People talk about crazy things online all the time, but meeting up with strangers to talk about paranormal activity in a coffee shop felt like a point of no return.
Things were a little awkward at first. The five of us (me, Peter, Tim, Alcyone, and Agnes) huddled around a table in the corner to ensure privacy. No one really seemed to know what to say at first. Alcyone finally broke the ice by talking about her knowledge of spectral activity and sharing some of her own paranormal experiences. She seems more comfortable discussing the supernatural than the rest of us. After that, one by one, each of us shared our own experiences and opinions on the existence of ghosts.
After talking for around two hours, we decided it was time to take action. We agreed to conduct an official investigation of a supposedly haunted location, Hotel Morgan. Up until this point, all of our paranormal experiences had been completely unexpected and out of our control. As a result, it is hard to determine how much of what we saw was real or the product of fear and panic. Hopefully, since we're going to the hotel in search of paranormal activity, we'll be able to record and process anything we see more reliably and rationally. I jokingly suggested we should give ourselves a group name like those douchey ghost hunter guys on tv, and everyone really jumped on the idea. So, after a few minutes of deliberation, we decided to call ourselves the Morgantown Association of Paranormal Investigators (MAPI). I guess that makes everything official.

Reported Hauntings

I’ve been talking to my online friends a lot lately. We’ve come up with a list of possible haunted locations. We plan on visiting all of these places and trying to determine whether the hauntings are real or just the result of overactive imaginations. I know Alcyone believes in paranormal activity, but I’m not sure about the other 3. As for me, I’ve come to the conclusion that I truly did encounter the ghosts of murdered college students, and I’m ready to prove that the paranormal exists.

Cheat Lake (obviously)
Hotel Morgan
Morgantown Public Library
East Boreman
Oak Grove Cemetery
West Run Road
Peirpont Apartments
Seneca Center
East Moore Hall-Elizabeth Moore's ghost spotted hovering over pool.
WVU Library
Gobblers Knob

More on My Ghosts

So, it occurred to me that if I did in fact encounter ghosts, then there might be a record of their deaths. I assumed they probably died at the same time since they prowl around together and suffer from the same injuries. As it turns out, my hunch was accurate. After a little bit of googling, I discovered my ghosts' real names: Karen Ferrell and Mared Malarik. In 1970, the 19 year old WVU students decided to hitchhike from dowtown Morgantown to their Evansdale dorm. They disappeard, and their decapitated bodies were found 3 months later. Eventually, 36 year old Eugene Paul Clawson was sentenced to life in prison for their murders. However, their heads were never found. Here are the links to the articles about the investigation and Clawson's trial.

 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19761030&id=LuZdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GF8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4367,4335466


  http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19761113&id=jUViAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MXcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3370,1937890

Coping With Crazy

It's been three days since I got up close and personal with two headless ghosts in the woods near Cheat Lake. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to cope with this. I've changed (because I'm scarred for life) but no one else has. I mean, the only people I've talked about my experience with are strangers from the internet. I guess I talked to the reporter guy over the phone, but the conversation wasn't exactly therapeutic. There's no way I can tell Sandi, my roommate, or any of my friends in Morgantown. Sandi is so self-absorbed she makes the cast of Jersey Shore look humble and my friends are more like casual acquaintances (and you do not share traumatic ghost encounters with casual acquaintances). Calling my friends and family in Sacramento is also out of the question because they already think I'm off my rocker for wandering aimlessly across the country for two years and deciding to live in West Virginia. Now, since I can't share my experience with anyone in my life, I'm walking through my days in a daze and starting to feel kind of isolated. As a result, I'm beginning to get a little testy, which is very abnormal for me. For instance, yesterday at work (I'm a waitress at Boston Beanery), I almost dumped a plate of food over a customer's head when he complained that his fish tasted too FISHY!!! All I could think was, "I'm sorry you're fish tastes like fish, I almost got eaten by decapitated growling ghost girls two days ago, but you don't hear me complaining about it, do you?!!!" So, as you can see, keeping everything bottled up inside isn't going so well. I'm afraid I may do something rash and unfortunate if I can't vent or blow off steam soon. I'm thinking about asking the people I met on the internet if they'd like to meet in person. We could go to Jay's Daily Grind or something. That way, if they turn out to be complete weirdos at least I can enjoy some decent coffee.

Ghostly Encounter on Cheat Lake (Seriously)

Yesterday was complete Hell. I’m not going to subject you to all the sordid details, but it involved my roommate, her boyfriend Jim, a chinchilla, and a very angry biology professor. So, in order to recuperate and fend off an approaching bout of insanity, I decided to drive out to my favorite stress relief destination, Cheat Lake. I discovered Cheat Lake’s magical soothing powers about two years ago when I decided to go exploring on a whim. However, last night the lake wasn't so soothing. It was actually kind of horrifying.

I parked off the shoulder of the road on the northeast side of the lake. Only a short stroll through some woods, nothing more than a little leisurely nature walk, would bring me to the water. I began moving through the woods, and tried to identify the types of trees I saw along the way (I had learned about tree types in a bio class the day before and decided to practice...I know, I'm nerdy beyond belief). However, about five minutes into my walk I began to hear strange noises. Initially, I thought they were coming from an animal, possibly a dog. They were low, guttural growls, at first far away, but coming closer. I began to walk faster, because the idea of getting mauled in the woods by Cujo was unappealing, to say the least. All was quiet for the next couple of minutes, but then the growling started again, closer than ever. And this time it was different. This time one of the growls turned in to a high-pitched, eardrum-piercing scream. The scream was especially terrifying, because it didn't sound scared, it sounded angry. Furious, even. At that point, I decided it was time to turn around. I started to sprint back towards my car, tripping and falling over a tree root on the way. How very “every horror movie heroine that ever existed” of me. I got back up and the cold ball of terror that had formed in my chest began to thaw when my car came into view. But when I was only about twenty feet away, my pursuers appeared between me and safety. I froze, only capable of staring in shock and disbelief. Two girls. At least, they used to be girls. They were covered in blood from....well, neck to foot. Because neither of them had heads. Oddly, one of my first thoughts was How are they growling and screaming if they don't have heads?, which was quickly followed by Holy shit, they don't have heads! The girls (ghosts?, zombies?) were approaching me at a steady pace, their hands clenched at their sides. I began to stumble backwards, because I didn't feel comfortable letting them out of my sight. Suddenly, their images flickered, and they reappeared about 5 feet in front of me. I was so startled that I tripped and fell, leaving me stunned and helpless. At this point, I was pretty much resigned to my cruel fate. I was going to die in The Middle of Nowhere, West Virginia, murdered by headless growling ghost-girls. As I was coming to terms with my imminent demise, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance. The car was coming fast, and when it sped by the headlights blinded me. When I could see again, the girls had vanished. For a moment, I stayed on the ground and stared at the spot they had previously occupied. Then, my sense of self- preservation kicked in and I scrambled up to race toward my car. Once I was safely inside, I turned on the engine and tried to gain control of my shaking hands, because it would be a shame to die in a car wreck after escaping decapitated ghosts. By the time I finally got back to my apartment, it was around 11 p.m. My roommate and her boyfriend were gone, and for once I wished they were there to keep me company. Wow, I was definitely in shock. On autopilot, I got ready for bead, brushing my teeth and changing into sweatpants and a Sacramento Kings t-shirt. I left the lights on and curled up under my heavy comforter with no idea of how to process what I had just experienced. I was already beginning to question whether or not the encounter had actually happened. What if I was just going crazy? I mean, my family had always suspected my Great-Aunt Linda had a mild case of schizophrenia. I was dying to talk to someone, but who could I tell? I knew none of my friends in Morgantown would believe me. A few of my good friends in California might be more receptive, but I also didn't want to risk making them think I was going crazy on the other side of the country. As the adrenaline wore off, I began to tire quickly. But before I fell asleep, I formulated a plan. I decided to put my story online, where I could remain relatively anonymous. Maybe someone will believe me, or better yet, even contact me to say they experienced something similar. But I'm a bit of a cynic, so I'm not holding my breath.

 

A (Brief) Story of My Life

Hi, my name is Cassandra Elise Evans. I'm 24, born and raised in Sacramento, California. I come from a slightly crazy, but loving family. My parents met in college, sometime during the 70's. They were both idealistic hippies that listened to the Grateful Dead and smoked a lot of weed. After a couple months of dating, they moved in together and decided not to get married because they didn't think their love could be "defined by an antiquated socio-religious ritual." Anyway, they moved in together and started breeding like bunnies, hence my 6 siblings. Mom and Dad never really grew out of their hippy phase, so we all grew up hearing about the importance of becoming one with nature (despite the fact that we lived in the suburbs) and being subjected to Mom's crystal healing techniques. Our house was pretty crazy, because neither of my parents were disciplinarians, which is kind of necessary when you have 7 kids. As a result, everything was disorganized and loud and pretty much a free-for-all. I'm the 4th child, so I was blessed with 3 younger siblings to annoy me and 3 older siblings to boss me around. I always had to share my bedroom and never knew the meaning of privacy. Usually, I would try to spend the night at a friend's house at least twice a week to get a break. I mean, I loved all of them, but I was dying for some peace and quiet. So, after graduating from high school, I told my family I loved them and that I was going on a cross country road trip. I’d begun to feel restless over the last few years and hoped traveling would give me some perspective and direction in life. I had been saving money since freshman year to fund the trip, so I estimated I could at least make it a good ways into the Midwest. My parents have always encouraged "self-discovery" and thought it was a fantastic idea. When I set out I didn't exactly have a plan, and I ended up traveling throughout the U.S. for about 2 years. I'm not going to go into major detail about my various adventures at this moment, but there was a lot of car trouble, odd jobs, and wonderful/questionable people involved (some of my stops are mentioned in my Google map). Eventually, after months of travel, I decided to settle in Morgantown, WV. My car had died on I-79 and fixing it would’ve cost more than it was worth. I caught a ride into town with the tow truck driver and got a hotel room. I was tired, and decided Morgantown was as good a place as any to relax for a while. I managed to get a waitressing job at Boston Beanery and then an apartment. After a few months I began thinking a little education might give me some further direction in life, so I applied to WVU. Now, 4 years later, I'm a Senior Biology major with a cat and an annoying roommate. I thought finishing my degree would mark the beginning of a traditional life where I got a real job, got married, and became a respectable member of society. However, one chance encounter in the woods near Cheat Lake changed the course of my life forever.