A land ancient and eerie, with tales beyond our time: Appalachia, my home. The most beautiful place on earth and simultaneously one of the scariest. I was born deep in the roots of America’s greatest mystery, West Virginia, also known as the only state entirely covered by the Appalachian mountains. A long, long time ago, when the supercontinent Pangea existed, these very mountains were still connected to the Scottish Highlands. After millions of years of shifting tectonic plates, they were ripped from each other and now form the two most notoriously haunted mountain ranges on Earth.
Now, with the reputation of being haunted comes many superstitions. Appalachians have many beliefs and rituals surrounding the cycle of life and death. Lots of their core values stem from indigenous peoples who had a great reverence towards Mother Nature and human life. Some of these traditions are carrying the dead out of their home feet first, painting outdoor ceilings ‘haint’ blue (light bluish-teal) to repel evil spirits, and covering mirrors when someone dies. All of these have at least one thing in common: keeping spirits free. Carrying the dead out feet first and covering mirrors prevents the spirit of a dead family member from being trapped in the home and/or bringing other family members with them as they leave on the journey to the afterlife. As for the blue ceilings, haint blue is believed to keep evil spirits away from homes and is to protect those who live inside of them. Examples of evil spirits in Appalachia are skinwalkers and wendigos. These beings are essentially the same thing but have two different names as they come from the differing cultures in Appalachia. These beings are evil, demonic spirits who lure people in the woods by mimicking other neutral beings like dogs and babies. They are known to frequently take the form of deer but stand out as people usually describe them as looking “off” or “unnatural” with features like their antlers being too misshapen or their legs too long.
Another creature of Appalachian folklore, specific to my home state, is Mothman. Mothman is a creature that comes out during the night in the town of Point Pleasant. He is most commonly associated with the Silver Bridge Collapse of 1967 that injured 64 people and killed 46. Before and after the collapse, locals reported seeing a roughly 7-foot-tall winged creature with glowing red eyes. This creature was noted to avoid the headlights on cars, earning it the name Mothman due, of course, to its exaggerated man-shaped body and moth-like tendencies. Whenever disaster struck in Point Pleasant, residents knew who was at hand.
On a positive note, there are also some benevolent creatures, such as Bigfoot. Bigfoot, also commonly called Sasquatch, is a large man-like creature covered entirely in long brown fur and hair who freely roams all of America’s wilderness. Although Bigfoot is not unique to Appalachia, there are frequent sightings of him/the species in the mountains. Bigfoot is not known to harm anyone and is usually seen running away from humanity.
To conclude, Appalachia is rich with folklore and traditions that ultimately make up a deep history that will never be ignored and forgotten. I always liked to say Katniss from The Hunger Games wasn’t from coal-mining District 12 (West Virginia) for nothing. Just like Katniss, Appalachians are hard-working storytellers who know there is always more than what meets the eye.
Sources-
https://www.mothmanmuseum.com/
https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/mothman-point-pleasant-west-virginia
