This story is rarely remembered sadly. It's more of an elder story now.
Kanawha County might have been the only place in the world where you could see a real dead, petrified witch had you lived there in the early 1900s.
The stories go that a witch had asked friends not to bury her when she died but to place her coffin under a cliff near the head of Witches Creek, now Witcher Creek. They agreed. Those who saw her laid out in an open chestnut coffin would never forget the sight of "brown hair, an ugly-and-evil face, and of a bluish or brown color."
About her.
People who new or heard of her believed she helped using her powers or spells with the 1912 mining strikes. Those in her town would laugh when she predicted that the Paint and Cabin creeks would flood and she would float away on a steeple. When it did happen and when the church was wiped out no one saw her float on it but it did fuel their beliefs of her being a witch.
No one knows what became of her body. Some say it was stolen for a show. Others say Governor Glasscock ordered a burial. Some even say that Governor Hatfield tried to squelch the story in 1915 by announcing that there were no such things as witches. Though the people did see her body.
Apparently the spooky thing is a tree was said to have developed what looked like a face. Though, there's no verification for that other than stories. If there was such a tree than it was chopped down.
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Folklore, Spirits, and Urban Legends of WV.
ParanormalI used to live in West Virginia for about twelve years and I heard and read on my own about creatures that skulk about in the Mountain State as well as the spirits that will hopefully find peace. (Photo is my moms).
