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Not an OTD piece, today, but rather one which just caught my eye when looking for an OTD piece. While some might think it’s just a little early for ghost stories, this piece from the Jan. 21, 1854 issue of the Richmond Dispatch is still entertaining. Clearly, the author had a little fun, tying what was […]
March 24, 2016 by Robert Moore
I touched base with Mr. Hamner last year, in the hopes of having an interview with him. Regretfully, it wasn’t long after his surgery, and he encouraged me to reach out to him again, later. Regretfully, things continued to decline. Hamner was, without a doubt, an incredible inspiration to me. Sad, sad news… You can’t […]
October 30, 2014 by Robert Moore
Since it’s Halloween Eve, I figured I would fall back on an article that I read in the past year, which was written by a Shenandoah Valley author. I’ve mentioned Henry Ruffner in this blog before, mostly because of the famous “Ruffner Pamphlet” and how it pertained to slavery in antebellum Virginia. Yet, as with all […]
January 2, 2013 by Robert Moore
Off topic… sorta, but… In the last week, I’ve scored three major pieces on Ebay; at least “major” to me, personally. All three have to do with my Moore family, specifically rooted in my third great grandfather (the same one I mentioned in the blog post the other day) or his sons. The first piece […]
October 3, 2012 by Robert Moore
I was surfing the Web the other day and ran across a couple university pages in which Folklore is the focus of masters degrees. I have to say, it felt a bit strange to see such a thing. Even as one who holds two masters degrees, I feel as if the art of the folklorist/storyteller […]
October 31, 2011 by Robert Moore
Laid out ca. 1794, and better known as Smithfield or Middleway, Wizard Clip has a peculiar story, related by Confederate veteran, clerk, and author Thomas Kemp Cartmell (1838-1930), in his book, Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and their Descendants (1909)… One of the newcomers was Adam Livingston, who purchased desirable property in the vicinity of this village, […]
October 31, 2011 by Robert Moore
From Samuel Kercheval’s A History of the Valley of Virginia (original date of publication, 1833), pages 280-281: I shall not be lengthy on this subject. The belief in Witchcraft was prevalent among the early settlers of the western country. To the witch was ascribed the tremendous power of inflicting strange and incurable diseases, particularly on […]
October 31, 2010 by Robert Moore
As I’ve mentioned several times in my postings throughout the month, October brings to mind stories of witches and ghosts, but one ghost story captures my thinking frequently throughout the month. I suppose, one can almost say that it literally “haunts” me. The story actually developed over time, with each piece of information I uncovered […]
October 30, 2010 by Robert Moore
On two separate occasions, Page News and Courier columnist Jacob R. Seekford wrote of an account of an undertaker and his encounter with a ghost. The first mention of this was in 1930 and the second was in 1937. It is interesting to note that the story got a little better with age. The story […]
September 20, 2016 by Robert Moore
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