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There is no denying that the southeastern corner of Ohio, and the surrounding area of West Virginia, is considered by many
to be one of the most haunted areas of the country. West Virginia has long been thought of as one of the strangest parts of
the country in regards to ghosts, legends and strange happenings. This part of the country, which was originally a part of
Virginia, was regarded by the Native Americans as a "haunted" spot, plagued with ghost lights, phantoms and strange
creatures. The town of Parkersburg, just north on the river from Point Pleasant, has more than its share of ghosts and nearby
is Athens County, Ohio, home to the most haunted city in the entire state.
But how did this region gain such a reputation? Why are many people not surprised to find stories of the Mothman, phantom
inhabitants and mysterious creatures roaming this part of the country? There have been a number of theories to explain the
large number of haunted happenings here, including that this area may be some sort of "window" between dimensions.
This would, according to the theories, allow paranormal phenomenon to come and go and vanish at will, just as the Mothman
did after 13 months of appearing around Point Pleasant.
Those researchers with a historical bent have offered their own solutions though. They have traced the supernatural roots
of the region back to a bloody event from the days of the American Revolution.. and a great curse.
As the American frontiersmen began to move west in the 1770's, seven nations of Indians (the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandot,
Mingo, Miami, Ottawa and Illinois) formed a powerful confederacy to keep the white men from infringing on their territory.
The Shawnee were the most powerful of the tribes and were led by a feared and respected chieftain called "Keigh-tugh-gua",
which translates to mean "Cornstalk". In 1774, when the white settlers were moving down into the Kanawha and Ohio
River valleys, the Indian Confederacy prepared to protect their lands by any means necessary. The nations began to mass in
a rough line across the point from the Ohio River to the Kanawha River, numbering about 1200 warriors. They began to make
preparations to attack the white settlers near an area called Point Pleasant on the Virginia side of the Ohio River. As word
reached the colonial military leaders of the impending attack, troops were sent in and faced off against the Indians. While
the numbers of fighters were fairly even on both sides, the Native Americans were no match for the muskets of the white soldiers.
The battle ended with about 140 colonials killed and more than twice that number of Indians. The tribes retreated westward
into the wilds of what is now Ohio and in order to keep them from returning, a fort was constructed at the junction of the
Kanawha and Ohio Rivers.
As time passed, the Shawnee leader, Cornstalk, made peace with the white men. He would carry word to his new friends in
1777 when the British began coaxing the Indians into attacking the rebellious colonies. Soon, the tribes again began massing
along the Ohio River, intent on attacking the fort. Cornstalk and Red Hawk, a Delaware chief, had no taste for war with the
Americans and they went to the fort on November 7 to try and negotiate a peace before fighting began. Cornstalk told Captain
Arbuckle, who commanded the garrison, that he was opposed to war with the colonists but that only he and his tribe were holding
back from joining on the side of the British. He was afraid that he would be forced to go along by the rest of the Confederacy.
When he admitted to Arbuckle that he would allow his men to fight if the other tribes did, Cornstalk, Red Hawk and another
Indian were taken as hostages. The Americans believed that they could use him to keep the other tribes from attacking. They
forced the Native Americans into a standoff for none of them wanted to risk the life of their leader. Cornstalk’s
name not only stuck fear into hearts of the white settlers up and down the frontier, but it also garnered respect from the
other Indian tribes. He was gifted with great oratory skills, fighting ability and military genius. In fact, it was said that
when his fighting tactics were adopted by the Americans, they were able to defeat the British in a number of battles where
they had been both outnumbered and outgunned.
Although taken as hostage, Cornstalk and the other Indians were treated well and were given comfortable quarters, leading
many to wonder if the chief's hostage status may have been voluntary in the beginning. Cornstalk even assisted his captors
in plotting maps of the Ohio River Valley during his imprisonment. On November 9, Cornstalk's son, Ellinipisco, came to the
fort to see his father and he was also detained.
The following day, gunfire was heard from outside the walls of the fort, coming from the direction of the Kanawha River.
When men went out to investigate, they discovered that two soldiers who had left the stockade to hunt deer had been ambushed
by Indians. One of them had escaped but the other man had been killed.
When his bloody corpse was returned to the fort, the soldiers in the garrison were enraged. Acting against orders, they
broke into the quarters were Cornstalk and the other Indians were being held. Even though the men had nothing to do with the
crime, they decided to execute the prisoners as revenge. As the soldiers burst through the doorway, Cornstalk rose to meet
them. It was said that he stood facing the soldiers with such bravery that they paused momentarily in their attack. It wasn't
enough though and the soldiers opened fire with their muskets. Red Hawk tried to escape up through the chimney but was pulled
back down and slaughtered. Ellinipisico was shot where he had been sitting on a stool and the other unknown Indian was strangled
to death. As for Cornstalk, he was shot eight times before he fell to the floor.
And as he lay their dying in the smoke-filled room, he was said to have pronounced his now legendary curse. The stories
say that he looked upon his assassins and spoke to them: "I was the border man's friend. Many times I have saved him
and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface
enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young
son.... For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted
in its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood."
He spoke these words, so says the legend, and then he died. The bodies of the other Indians were then taken and dumped
into the Kanawha River but Cornstalk's corpse was buried near the fort on Point Pleasant, overlooking the junction of the
Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. Here he remained in many years, but he would not rest in peace.
In 1794, the town of Point Pleasant was established near the site of the old fort. For many years after, the Indian's
grave lay undisturbed but in 1840 his bones were removed to the grounds of the Mason County Court House where, in 1899, a
monument was erected in Cornstalk’s memory. In the late 1950's, a new court house was built in Point Pleasant and
the chief's remains (which now consisted of three teeth and about 15 pieces of bone) were placed in an aluminum box and reinterred
in a corner of the town's Tu-Endie-Wei Park, next to the grave of a Virginia frontiersman that Cornstalk once fought and later
befriended. A twelve foot monument was then erected in his honour.
And this is not the only monument dedicated to the period in Point Pleasant. Another stands 86-feet tall and was dedicated
in August 1909, one month behind schedule. Originally, the dedication ceremony had been set for July 22 but on the night before
the event, the clear overhead sky erupted with lightning and struck the upper part of a crane that was supposed to put the
monument into place. The machine was badly damaged and it took nearly a month to repair it. The monument was finally dedicated
and stood for years, until July 4, 1921. On that day, another bolt of lightning struck the monument, damaging the capstone
and some granite blocks. They were replaced and the monument still stands today. But what is this bedeviled obelisk that seems
to attract inexplicable lightning on otherwise clear evenings? It is a monument to the men who died in the 1774 Battle of
Point Pleasant, when Cornstalk and his allies were defeated.
Could the freak lightning strikes have been acts of vengeance tied to Cornstalk's fabled curse? Many believed so and for
years, residents of the triangular area made up of western West Virginia, southwest Pennsylvania and southeastern Ohio spoke
of strange happenings, river tragedies and fires as part of the curse. Of course, many laughed and said that the curse was
nothing more than overactive imaginations, ignoring the death toll and eerie coincidences that seemed to plague the region
for 200 years after the death of Chief Cornstalk.
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