West Virginia, Hardy County
Cole Mountain. According to tradition, the slopes above Moorefield are associated with a mysterious nocturnal light, often described as reddish and fast-moving. Many lonely spots in North America—especially mountains, swamps and railroad crossings—once had such “ghost lights,” “spook lights” or “will-o’-the-wisps,” though many have been bulldozed out of existence. The vast majority were natural atmospheric phenomena to which the neighbors attached legendary origin stories, usually involving historic misfortune. The Cole Mountain Light, for example, is often traced to the disappearance of a long-ago slaveholder known for hunting raccoons by night by lantern light; it is also credited to the servant who later disappeared looking for him, a version of the “faithful slave” narrative beloved by apologists. The Cole Mountain Light also is said to be both purposeful and audible.
What makes the light unique is that it seems to seek out hunters in particular to show itself to. Years ago, a group of raccoon hunters claimed to have encountered the ghost light. They said that it slowly approached them, and as it drew close, it suddenly emitted a loud scream that frightened them so badly that they ran off. One of the men got off three shots at the ghost light before he followed his comrades. The light seemed to chase them down a hillside before it suddenly went out at the bottom of the hill.
See Wilson, Patty A. Haunted West Virginia: Ghosts & Strange Phenomena of the Mountain State. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2007. Kindle edition. Pages 125-127.
Fort Buttermilk. This long-gone French and Indian War structure, likely a stockade, was built in 1756, one of many forts hastily built in these mountains in the general panic after the rout of the British Army under General Braddock. It may have been just as hastily abandoned, as it falls out of the historical record after 1758. “The origin of this fort’s name is unknown,” says The West Virginia Encyclopedia, which proceeds to quote an unlikely legend:
One story would have us believe that at the time the fort was being constructed, a party of Indians ventured into the area and so harassed the cows about the place that at milking time, they gave buttermilk instead of the standard variety.
See McBride, Stephen, and Kim McBride. “Fort Buttermilk.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 30 November 2023. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2407