The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales

4. Murdered Kinsmen

4 Murdered Kinsmen NONE OF THE victims of these unnatural murders come back with good intentions, but rather with ill will in their hearts for their relative murderers. Who can blame them? Murdering one's own flesh and blood is traditionally one of the most repugnant crimes, and a father who kills his own son for drinking up all the wine deserves just what he got. Brothers seem to be particularly murderous of each other in West Virginia, but for that matter "fraticide punished" has been a popular literary theme, at least since the twelfth century. 21. The Glass Jug MR. PECK had beaten his son to death, because he drank up all his wine. The day of the son's funeral he told the 34 people he'd fallen and killed himself, and nobody knew but what this was true. That night, after the funeral, Mr. Peck decided to go down town and buy himself a drink or two. On his way home he could hear something beside him, but couldn't see anything. He went on a little farther and saw a jug, tipped up, walking beside him. It seemed as if someone were drinking out of it. Then a voice said, "Thirsty, Pop?" and repeated this over and over. Frightened, Mr. Peck grabbed the jug and broke it against his chest. A piece of the glass cut his throat badly, and as he was getting very weak, the voice said, ''I'm still here, Pop." Then Mr. Peck fell over and bled to death. 22 Chop Chop IN SOME families the good and evil are not properly balanced. Instead of being two ordinary boys with a lot of good in them and a few faults, the Harrison brothers were exact opposites. One was quite good and one was quite bad. The boys' father passed away and left the farm, which had been in the family for generations, to the two unmarried sons. When the good brother wanted to sell his half, the bad one grew angry and killed him with a hatchet. After the murder he simply put his brother's body under the floor. To cap his crime, the bad brother wooed and wedded the deceased one's girl. On the first night after the marriage, his troubles started. The trouble was-a steady chop, chop, chop. Every time he approached his wife, the noise would start. The frightened girl, after a week in the house, begged her 35 husband to leave with her. He refused and tried to kill her. Escaping, she rushed to the neighbors for help. Returning to the house, they found the bad brother had hanged himself, after opening the floor to look at the body. Beside the dead good brother was a hatchet. 23. Rose Run FAR BACK on Bunner's Ridge close to Morgantown, there is a "run," as all of the little valleys in this area are called. It was and still is referred to as Rose Run. The name came from the wild roses that once covered the valley and choked out everything. In this small valley once dwelt some of the better-off farmers of the ridge. One of the richer, prouder farmers had a beautiful daughter whose name was Rose. In spite of her father's objections, she loved a city boy. One night while she was with her lover at a dance, her father shot at the young man. But the bullet hit and killed Rose. The father swore the young man had killed her. The other farmers naturally believed him, and the young man was hanged shortly afterward. Still filled with bitterness, the father took the girl's body and buried it in a remote spot on his farm. Soon, however, from her grave sprang a multitude of wild roses that seemed to spread like wildfire, choking the very sunlight from the soil. In a short time the whole farm was covered, and then the valley too. The roses are gone now, but the story remains. 24. The Brother and His Horse IN SOUTHERN West Virginia, there is a house standing on the most prominent point in the country. It is a large, two37 story, frame house, with stone chimneys and a fireplace in every room. Just outside the kitchen door is an unusually large well, dug by pick and...