Abandoned Coal Towns of Southern West Virginia


Book Description

Abandoned buildings provide us with a look at the past. Often these structures are all that's left of the history of a bygone era. The images within these pages will help tell the story of forgotten coal towns of West Virginia and provide a way for others to explore them before they are demolished or reclaimed by nature. Take a visual journey through these abandoned towns with photographer Michael Justice. If you've ever seen a building and wanted to explore but didn't have the time or lacked personal safety equipment (these places are dangerous and caution should be used), this book is for you. While the buildings are abandoned, there are signs of life. No buildings were harmed in the making of this book.




Abandoned West Virginia


Book Description

Explore the haunting imagery of Abandoned West Virginia and see a world most will never realize. West Virginia grips serious history, and its former life will leave an imprint on one's soul, as well as force meditations about discontented spirits lurking inside some of its forsaken palaces of misfortune. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and West Virginia State Penitentiary hold tales of too many tragic scenes played out behind bolted doors and removed from public view. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park still retains silent rusted rides as monuments to its raw past. Harpers Ferry bellows Civil War chronicles with every step on its cobblestone streets. Peek at the pages of derelict homes and wonder about the abandoned memories of its former occupants. We live in a hyper-structured world and faithfully adhere to repetitive patterns of life. Our inner explorer, however, constricts with excessive order, and we often view our environment but do not see what is around us. Step into the unfamiliar and discover the legends and lore of West Virginia, and perhaps fathom that some restless spirits might still prowl within their forlorn domains.




Exploring the Abandoned Coal Towns of West Virginia, the Southeastern Region


Book Description

The coal industry revolutionized early America, driving the economy for years before oil. What's left unheard of is the struggle of mankind and the sacrifices made to launch our nation into power. Exploring the Abandoned Coal Towns of West Virginia takes readers on a guided tour through West Virginia's coal towns, spotlighting the struggles and sacrifices of early Americans to lead the way into our world today. Many of these coal towns thrived while others plummeted practically to the ground, but traces can still be seen today. We cannot forget about those who built the interior of America, whose homes and businesses now lay abandoned like a wrecked ship at the bottom of the ocean.







Ghost Towns of the Upper Potomac


Book Description







The Haunted History of the West Virginia Penitentiary


Book Description

Afterlife with no parole.If you die in prison, your soul stays in prison. At least that's what many inmates believed. 998 murders and suicides combined with 85 hangings and 9 electrocutions all make for a dark and violent past. The Cincinnati Ohio Enquirer called it a "Hell On Earth" in 1886. The New York Times branded it as "One of the Most Violent in the Country". Inmates called it "Bloody Alley" and for good reasons.The Haunted History of the West Virginia Pen is brought to light by Paranormal Investigator, Haunted Heartland Tours owner and author, Sherri Brake. Built in 1866 in Moundsville, West Virginia and situated on 10 acres, this mammoth fortress held some of the country's worst criminals. Explore Moundsville's bloody frontier history, the Grave Creek Mound, the building of the Pen, and the Wardens. Read first hand accounts from past guards and inmates along with newspaper articles, some collected from over 100 years ago. Accounts of executions, torture, escapes and notorious inmates are revealed. Examine over 100 ghostly accounts as paranormal investigators look for Shadow Men, ghosts and proof of the afterlife. Check out the Paranormal Directory and Vocabulary section. Use the Paranormal Guide to the Pen to help you investigate on site or simply read about the Sugar Shack, the Boiler Room and North Hall, all from the safety of your chair.This book is an excellent resource for gaining insight on the history and hauntings of this gothic prison. It is a first hand look into the dark dimensions of one of America's most haunted locations.







Abandoned Kentucky


Book Description

The stunning images found in Abandoned Kentucky offer us a window into our past, showing life in the Bluegrass State as it was back then, and stirring in us a sense of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived. Go inside the historic Columbia Theatre in downtown Paducah and the shuttered Union Station depot in Henderson. From the Old Crow bourbon distillery along Glenn's Creek to the Parker Tobacco Company in Maysville, and a once grand farmhouse in McLean County, these photographs showcase the rich history and untold stories of abandoned places from one corner of Kentucky to the other. Where others may see only decay and rot in these long-forgotten locations, Sherman Cahal, Adam Paris and Michael Maes see exquisite beauty.




The Coalwood Way


Book Description

It's fall, 1959, and Homer "Sonny" Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boys are in their senior year at Big Creek High, launching handbuilt rockets that soar thousands of feet into the West Virginia sky. But in a season traditionally marked by celebrations of the spirit, Coalwood finds itself at a painful crossroads. The strains can be felt within the Hickam home, where a beleaguered HomerSr. is resorting to a daring but risky plan to keep the mine alive, and his wife Elsie is feeling increasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople. And Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl whose dreams are as big as his, finds his own mood repeatedly darkened by an unexplainable sadness. Eager to rally the town's spirits and make her son's final holiday season at home a memorable one, Elsie enlists Sonny and the Rocket Boys' aid in making the Coalwood Christmas Pageant the best ever. But trouble at the mine and the arrival of a beautiful young outsider threaten to tear the community apart when it most needs to come together. And when disaster strikes at home, and Elsie's beloved pet squirrel escapes under his watch, Sonny realizes that helping his town and redeeming himself in his mother's eyes may be a bigger-and more rewarding-challenge than he has ever faced. The result is pure storytelling magic- a tale of small-town parades and big-hearted preachers, the timeless love of families and unforgettable adventures of boyhood friends-that could only come from the man who brought the world Rocket Boys