A Dancing Ghost in Lewis County

Early Hot Air Balloon

In June of 1872, a Braxton County man was tending to his colts in neighboring Jacksonville, WV, just across the border into Lewis County. He was in the area of Abram’s run, and while most of the town were attending church services at the nearby chapel, the unnamed man noticed what he felt was a GHOST!

A field surrounding the local ‘haunted house’ was currently the site of a what appeared to be a fiery, dancing phantom image. Alarmed at what he was witnessing, the man ran and got the closest neighbor, a former Confederate soldier. Unfazed by the possibility of a supernatural entity haunting this particular field, the former soldier bravely approached it and snatched it up. 

Unfortunately for the paranormal enthusiasts reading this, it wasn’t a ghost. It was a balloon! Emboldened now that the threat of spooks and spirits was no longer an issue, the first man grabbed the balloon by the string, declared ‘finders, keepers,’ and proudly took it back home to Braxton County, showing anyone and everyone who he ran into his cool new find. 

But why was there a balloon found in a field in rural West Virginia in 1872?

The Weston Democrat, the newspaper who covered the story, notes that the balloon was a Greeley Balloon from Cincinnati, sent out as a message of peace and hope. 

The previous month, the Liberal Republican Party held its convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Newspaper editor, Horace Greeley, was nominated to represent the party in the upcoming Presidential Election, a choice even the Democrats cross-supported. In what we’d today call a viral marketing campaign, Greeley hired renowned balloon pilot, Professor Samuel Archer King to tour the east coast in a huge hot air balloon called Colossus. As Colossus sailed over the open skies, it waved Greeley’s distinct campaign flag. Apparently, smaller balloons were also released, one of which found its way to a field in Lewis County, WV….right next to a rumored haunted house. 

Ultimately, Greeley would lose the election to Ulysses S. Grant, and Professor King would have multiple issues with Colossus. It was a cool concept, but it wasn’t enough to sway the majority of voters. What it DID do was cause a couple of paranormal-related scares, as those not realizing what the stunt was all about were witnessing an unidentified craft fly through the air….and occasionally finding the remnants of smaller items in unexpected places. 

The Weston Democrat 10 June 1872