Ghosting 12 Paranormal Presents
The 2010 Ghost Hunters Show

Meet the Legends of Columbiana County Ghost Hunters Show and Walk

July 24, 2010

4:00 PM - 11:30 PM

Ghosting 12 Paranormal is sponsored by
The East Liverpool Jaycees

The Meet the Legends of Columbiana County Ghost Walk will start at 7pm and go through 9pm.   Jaycees will be on hand with a table of their own and they are looking for new members while selling pop and water.

Legends covered will include the following:

The Blue Lady of Thompson Park- This legend has been told for years about the park.  A young woman has been seen near the Big Rock, wandering about, carrying a blue Lantern that casts a blue light upon her, making her appear blue.  She seems to be searching for something, though no one is sure exactly what.  Some say her children who might have died in an accident near the park. 

Esther Hale- Daughter of a Quaker Preacher, Esther Hale lived in Spruce vale (Now Gretchen’s Lock).  She fell in love with a young man who promised to Marry her.  They set the date of August 12 to be their wedding day.  But on that day, Esther, dressed in a beautiful white gown,  stood alone at the alter.  For days after that she could be seen in town, still wearing the white gown, wandering the streets and looking for her lost love.  After a few months she ceased to come to town at all.  Finally some people from town went to her home to check on her.  Her front door banged open and closed in the wind.  When they entered they found her sitting at her table, which was still covered with the now rotten wedding feast.  She had starved herself to death.  Now every year, on August 12, she appears on the bridge, looking for her lost love.  But beware!  If she touches you while on the bridge, you will grow old and wither and die, while she becomes young and beautiful again.

David-the little boy who haunted the old house at Gretchen’s was only 8 years old when he was caught stealing tools from the town blacksmith.  Times were hard, and so was his punishment.  He was hanged near the house.  For years he haunted the house itself, often being seen from one of the second floor windows.  Even though the house is now gone, it is rumored that his ghost is still there…..

Gretchen Gill-Her father, Edward Gill, was the engineer for the Sandy and Beaver canals that were built from 1828 through 1848. At some point during this time, his 12 year old daughter, Gretchen, came down with malaria and died.  Swearing to return her to their native country of Ireland, he had her body entombed in Lock # 40 until such time that he was finished with the canals and could return home.  The story goes that he did in fact retrieve her body and set sail for Ireland.  Sadly the ship went down in a storm taking all hands with it.  Gretchen returned to Sprucevale and the lock she had been entombed in and haunts the area to this day.  Some believe her body still remains somewhere in the lock.
Jake The Night Watchman-  Jake was a man who took his job very seriously.    It was his job to keep watch over the Locks in Sprucevale at night and ensure that no one bothered them.  One night, during a terrible storm, Jake found himself out with a lantern keeping a trusty eye on his locks.  Holding a metal lantern high above his head, he peered into Lock #42 and was struck by lightening.  He fell into the very lock he was trying to guard, dead.  To this day he still protects this lock. 

Lucy Cobb- Lucy was a woman who lived in Sprucevale.  She was large brutish looking woman who was also the best cook in town.  She fell in love with a young man who worked at the barn named Tommy.  She would take him pies and cakes and all sorts of treats often, hoping he would at least, fall in love with her cooking.  One day as she approached her beloved, she noticed a young girl standing beside him, holding his hand.  When Tommy saw her he quickly introduced Sarah, his bride to be.  Lucy was crushed.  She invited the happy couple to her home for a home cooked meal.  They happily accepted and were never seen again.  It was determined that  they ran off together and eloped.  Some 50 years later, a new family moved into Lucy Cobbs home.  As they tilled the garden area, they unearthed a gruesome sight.  Two human skulls.  Many believed that they were skulls of Tommy and Sarah. She now haunts Gretchen’s Lock.  When she is around you, your cameras and other equipment will not work. 

Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd- In 1934, Charles Arthur Floyd, also considered Public Enemy #1, was shot and killed on Sprucevale road just above Gretchen’s Lock.  Some called him a hero and believe he was murdered that day.  While the FBI agent, Melvin Purvis, maintained it was self defense, There are other stories that suggest that Mr. Floyd was executed while laying defenseless on the ground.  To this day, he haunts the area where he lost his life.  Any experienced ghost hunter will tell you he does not like to be called Pretty Boy, a name given to him by the FBI.  He tends to get angry when you do. 

Cry Baby Bridge on Egypt Road in Salem, Ohio.- There was a young girl who found herself pregnant.  Despite her efforts she could not get her love to help her in any way.  Once the baby was born, she felt such shame that she went to the bridge on Egypt Road and threw her baby over the side.  Now, at night, you can hear the baby crying somewhere under the bridge.

Christina Sloan- In Grove Hill Cemetery in Hanoverton, you will find a grave of a girl named Christina Sloan.  It is surrounded by chains.  Accused of being a witch more than 100 years ago, she was dragged from her home in the middle of the night by the town preacher and a few parishners.  They hanged her.  Before her death she swore she would one day return and take her revenge.  The day after she was buried, the chains were put around her grave to keep her spirit bound.  If the chains, which have talismans with human eyes on them, ever fall, she will be free to destroy the town of Hanoverton and the descendents of those who killed her.

Julia Walls (The Barrel Lady) -murdered in 1940, her body was stuffed into a barrel and she was found on the corner of Jennings and St. Clair Avenue in East Liverpool.  Her murderer was never found.
 
Unidentified Carnival Girl- Murdered in 1942, an unknown girl who worked at a traveling carnival that had been there the night before, was found wrapped in a sheet, strangled.  Much the same as Julia Walls.  She was never identified and her murderer never found.  Both women are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery.

Alice Lyons, who was 17 years old, was murdered in 1943.  Her body was found on Dresden avenue, which at that time was called California Hollow. wrapped in an old carpet.  Her circumstances were very similar to those of Julia and the carnival girl.  It is believed there may have been a serial killer in East Liverpool at that time.  The killer or killers were never caught.

Willis Payne -man who started the Adamant Pottery Fire in 1918. He killed two men    to do it, cutting off the head, arms and legs of one of them. He was mentally handicapped and sent to an insane asylum in Lima, Ohio for the rest of his life.  The Adamant Pottery was located where the pedestrian bridge is today down by West Gate School.  Some have heard screams coming from nowhere in the area.  Willis said he started fires because he liked to hear the people trapped inside scream.

Bigfoot-Ohio actually ranks third or fourth in the country for Bigfoot sightings, right behind the Pacific Northwest.  There have been at least 10 sightings in Columbiana County since 1971.  Most of these are in the Beaver Creek Area.  Collectively, between Columbiana, Stark and Mahoning Counties, there have been more than 25 sightings. 

The Captain and the Lady-Down in the Grimms Bridge area there are three canals that belong to the Sandy and Beaver Canal system.  There were many people who lived  around them.  There is the story of a young girl who fell in love with a canal boat captain.  They would meet secretly up in the woods above where the Grimms Bridge is now.  He would always be seen walking in the woods, carrying a lantern and being accompanied by two large Russian Wolf Hounds.  One night, the young girl’s father caught them together.  A terrible fight occurred and the father killed the Captain and threw him in the creek.  In shock and misery at her lover’s death at the hands of her father, she threw herself into the creek during a terrible storm and drowned.  Now, you can see them walking in the woods, announced by the captain’s lantern light bobbing through the woods.  Sightings of the large dogs have also been seen.

Sadie Barker, the Witch of Salineville-Accused of withcraft, people from town went to Sadie Barkers little cabin in the middle of the night.  They tied her to her bed.  Leaving her dogs inside with her, they set her cabin on fire and   Sadie and her dogs were burned alive.  Now in the spot where the cabin once stood, there have been reports of  someone screaming and howling dogs. 

Billy Amos-  Billy was born in 1919.  His family lived right across the street from Spring Grove Cemetery.  In 1925, when he was almost 7 years old, little Billy died of a heart defect.  Not long after he was buried there were reports of people seeing him in the cemetery playing hide and go seek among the stones.  He was also seen trying to cross the street to get to his home. 

Chief Logan-  was an Indian who lived in the Wellsville area in the late 1700’s.  Around 1797, his whole family was massacred near the Rout 7 rest stop.  This area is now considered to be cursed.  There have been several fatal car accidents here, as well as the infamous McCullough children’s Home, where the once child residents refer to themselves as survivors.  There have also been several murders in this area.  Is the land cursed by Chief Logan, who was quoted as saying “Who shall mourn for me?”  History would suggest yes.

Bowman’s Cemetery Witch-  Dressed in black, her hair pulled into a bun, and an angry look on her face, this woman has been seen in the woods surrounding Bowman’s Cemetery.  A witch was found murdering children in the very spot of the cemetery.  She was dragged into the woods and hanged.  No one knows where she is buried, though some say in those very woods where she was hanged. 

General John Hunt Morgan-   During the Civil War, he and his men, confederate Soldiers,  were known as Morgan’s Raiders.  Coming up from Kentucky, he crossed into the state of Ohio and made his way clear to Columbiana County, where he was finally captured near West Point.  This band of confederate soldiers have the distinction of making it the furthers north during the Civil war by the south.  General Morgan was taken to Wellsville and stayed as a prisoner of war in the Whitacre House.  There he was treated so kindly, he gifted his war sword to the owner.  This sword can now be seen at the River Museum in Wellsville.  General Morgan was sent to Columbus to the Ohio Penitenary.  He later escaped and returned to Kentucky, where he was shot and killed trying to escape Union Soldiers.  His ghost has been seen walking the streets of Wellsville, perhaps looking for his battle sword.

Shadow People-dark forms taking on a sometimes human shape that looks like someone wearing a hoodie.  They can be seen moving quickly in dark areas.  Upon being spotted they always retreat in the other direction, away from the living.  They are often thought of as evil, perhaps due to being dark in color.