Wild, Wonderful and (a little) Weird
Love the weird as well as the wild and wonderful? WV is home to some colorful creatures, ghostly happenings, and haunted facilities.
The Mothman (pictured) has its own yearly festival in Point Pleasant WV, as well as a very unique museum. It was first spotted in the area between 1966 and 1967. But did it really have something to do with the collapse of the Silver Bridge?
The Flatwoods Monster, first spotted about 90 minutes north from Charleston on September 12, 1952, it has its own museum in Sutton, WV and appears in the game Fallout 76.
And while the Snarly Yow doesn’t have the celebrity status of the other two monsters, it still provides some legendary folk tales. It was sighted in the Harper’s Ferry area of West Virginia in the 1700s.
If you are brave enough, you can tour the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum or the West Virginia Penitentiary. Both offer historical tours and have Halloween special events.
For less chilling but still thrilling adventures, WV is home to the longest steel-span bridge in the western hemisphere. The New River Gorge Bridge measures 3,030 feet long. Each year, Bridge Day celebrates the sport of base jumping, with jumpers from all over the world leaping off the bridge. The New River Gorge was recently named a US National Park.
Speaking of bridges and impressive heights, the Phil G. McDonald Bridge, located in Beckley, is the highest truss bridge in the world at 700 feel tall.
Going from the heights to the depths, the Exhibition Coal Mine, located in Beckley, offers visitors a ride through a vintage coal mine. Guides are veteran coal miners who share the history of the coal industry. The Coal Mine also offers period coal camp buildings offering a representation of early 20th century coal camp life.
Other impressive West Virginia spots include the world’s biggest teapot, the coal house, and the Mystery Hole (said to defy gravity).
A declassified bunker is housed at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The construction began in 1958 and was completed in 1961. During the years that it was an active facility, technology was constantly updated so that the bunker was always ready in case of emergency. While today you can tour the bunker, the location of the facility, critical to its effectiveness, remained a secret for more than three decades.