Monday, September 19, 2011

Seneca Caverns

Seneca Caverns are located in Pendleton County, West Virginia.  First used in the 1400s by the Seneca tribe, they were later rediscovered in 1742 by Laven Teter, a German immigrant who was searching for water for his livestock.  The caves stayed in the Teter family until 1928.  Two years later, the caverns were opened up as a tourist attraction, where one can now still tour...and see the world's largest ribbon stalactite!

One may also experience an array of paranormal activity...

Tour guides, additional staff, and guests alike have all had run-ins with several different phenomena.  One such example is what appear to be baseball sized balls of light, or orbs, that can be seen with the naked eye, bouncing and zipping along the caverns.  These lights are most often seen in what is known as the Council Room, an area where the Seneca are said to have had their meetings and ceremonies.  People also report the flickering of the man-made light sources, as well as doors that will slam as they are approached.  However, the prolific hauntings seem to be that of a phantom tour!  Many tour guides, maintenance personnel, and others, have been in the cave and have heard the sounds of an approaching tour...footsteps, talking, laughing...the normal sounds of a group making its way through the tourist attraction.  However, the tour never arrives.  Some have theorized that this is simply a play of acoustics in the massive cave system.  Unfortunately, to those who have witnessed this phenomena when there have been NO tours in the cave that day, this theory simply does not hold up.

Seneca Caverns Website

3 comments:

  1. Hi, I am from Pendleton County and I would like to tell you about a few other things that you might find interesting. At Seneca Rocks, there is a rumor that a man committed suicide from either jumping off the top or from the observation deck. Also, in the county seat of Franklin there is the supposedly haunted Anderson House. Finally, there is a huge festival called Treasure Mountain Festival which is based on the historical Native American raid on Fort Seybert which ended in the deaths of several people and, tragically, a baby. The Indians loaded up loot into an iron pot and tried to carry it with them, but ended up burying it somewhere on the mountain. I knew a girl who lived only yards away from the site who said that she had experienced apparitions of people dressed in period clothing around the area.

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    1. That's really fascinating! Thanks for sharing those experiences with me and everyone else.

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