An urban legend starts like a campfire game of “telephone”.
One person whispers something to another, which person passes it on and so the
story grows, until finally, it’s become larger than life with only shreds of
truth. But for some reason, we are drawn to these legends and too often, we
don’t even care if they’re true, because let’s be honest, fiction is usually
more fun than fact.
In Virginia, there are many urban legends that have
circulated through the years. Vampires in Richmond, gorillas on the loose
outside of Lynchburg and buried treasure in Bedford. And whether these stories
are backed by solid evidence or they have simply grown from a seed of truth
over the years, they are still fascinating to tell.
Here is a just a few of the more interesting stories we
found circulating around Virginia….
The Beale Treasure –
millions in gold buried on a farm in Bedford
Ok all of your treasure hunters out there. Tell me what you
know. Word on the street is that Thomas Jefferson Beale and a team of 30 men
unexpectedly discovered a mother lode of gold and silver in Colorado. Sometime
around 1819 – 1821, Beale buried the treasure, estimated to be worth millions,
in Bedford County at what is now the site of Johnson’s Orchard. After burying
the treasure, Beale and his party set out on another expedition. Knowing their
trip would be dangerous, Beale left three coded messages in a locked box with
Robert Morriss of Lynchburg. Beale made Morriss promise that he would use the
key that Beale would mail to him at a later date to decipher the codes if 10
years passed with no word from Beale or his men. The first code contained the
treasure’s exact location, a second code described the contents and the third
named the members of Beale’s 30-man party along with their next of kin. 10
years came and went and the key never arrived. To date, only the second cipher
has been broken and the treasure’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
The Vampire of
Hollywood Cemetery
This fantastically creepy story has been floating around
since the collapse of Richmond’s Church Hill Tunnel in 1925. When the tunnel
collapsed, several workers were buried alive in the wreckage. The legend
describes a bloody figure with pointed teeth and skin hanging from its bones
emerging from the cave-in and running towards the James River. The figure was
pursued until it disappeared into the mausoleum of W.W. Pool in the Hollywood
Cemetery. Research into the Vampire legend revealed that one survivor did
manage to escape the deadly cave-in, but far from a vampire, he was Benjamin
Mosby, a 28-year old firefighter who had been shoveling coal in the tunnel when
it collapsed. He was badly burned with broken teeth when he escaped the ruins
and later died from his injuries in a local hospital. “Facts” haven’t stopped
the legend and Hollywood Cemetery is still a favorite haunt for ghost hunters –
by which I mean teenagers looking to have the bejesus scared out of them.
Bunny Man Bridge
Remember that episode of “Friends” when Joey gets so scared
reading “The Shining” that he has to keep the book in the freezer? Suffice it
to say, if my laptop would fit in the freezer, that’s where it would be right
now. I’ve seen several versions of this story over the years, but the one that
gets me every time goes a little something like this... In 1904, a recently
closed asylum prison in Clifton was transporting inmates to a new facility when
one of the transport buses overturned in Fairfax. Most of the passengers were
killed, but 10 escaped. All but two were found, Douglas J. Grifon and Marcus
Wallster. Soon after, locals began finding the remains of hundreds of skinned,
half-eaten rabbits hanging from the trees. When Wallster’s body was eventually
discovered, with a crude homemade hatchet in hand, hanging at the Fairfax
Station Bridge, officials believed they had found their culprit and the dead
bunny rampage would stop. No such luck. In the years that followed, dead
rabbits appeared periodically, and as legend tells, an unspecified number of
bodies have been found hanging at the bridge every Halloween, the approximate
time of the crash. Most often, the victims were teenagers looking for a haunt
at what is now known as “Bunny Man Bridge.” The last reported incident was in
1987, but if you know more, please let me know – especially if you have proof
that this is just an elaborate legend meant to scare weak-kneed wimps like me.
Zebulon Miller Tomb –
who says you can’t take it with you?
Some people just like to be right. In 1885, Zebulon Miller
of Lynchburg made his point, even after death. 5 years before he passed on to
the other side, Miller built a concrete mausoleum with 3-foot-thick walls. He
then hired a Swiss agent to make sure that $2.3 million in gold and silver
coins were safely installed along with his body. A $1 million trust was also
left to ensure upkeep – of the armed guard kind – for the tomb. The guards were
dismissed when a high-tech security system was installed – and so, the treasure
remains intact to this day. What do you think, folks? Fact or fiction?
Evington's Lost
Locomotive - the Gorilla Train
This is hands down, absolutely, 100% my favorite story. And
I can only hope that someone, anyone, out there will tell me that it’s true.
The story goes that in 1952, a Ringling Brothers’ and Barnum and Bailey’s
circus train derailed in Evington, just outside of Lynchburg. 35 gorillas
escaped and although they were hunted, none were ever recovered. Supposedly,
they lived in the woods in and around Campbell County for the next 30 years or
so, where they monkeyed around with the locals, harassing family pets, stealing
from gardens and peeking in windows. The last report of gorilla-related antics
was in 1981. Only one picture exists from 1967 when Horace Dalrymple caught one
of the gorillas posing like “The Thinker” on his roof. Unfortunately, the photo
wasn't available for publication here.
Lovers Leap – A
Native American Romeo and Juliet Story
There’s no way to prove it, of course, but Lover’s Leap, the
highest peak above Natural Tunnel in Scott County is said to have gotten it’s
name when a young Shawnee brave and a Cherokee girl were forbidden to marry.
Their tribal differences kept them apart in life, so they took a “Last of the
Mohicans” style leap to their deaths from the peak into the gorge below.
Whether it’s true or not, it certainly makes for a tragically romantic story.
Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson was discovered while working as a bellhop at The
Jefferson…or was he?
Another urban legend debunked. It has been said the legendary
tap-dancer (and highest paid African American entertainer in the first half of
the 20th century) got his start when a talent scout saw him tapping away as a
bellhop at The Jefferson. Although he was born and raised in Richmond, the more
likely story is that he began street performances as early as the age of 5 and
joined a traveling group in his early teens. He went on to become a well-known
star of the stage, screen and vaudeville. What IS true, however, is that he
didn’t care for his given name, “Luther”, so he traded names with his brother
“Bill.” My siblings were never that accommodating – or maybe I was never as
persuasive.
The “Gone With the
Wind” Staircase at the Jefferson Hotel
I am not ashamed to admit that I am a die-hard “GWTW” fan.
I’ve read the book at least 8 times and the movie, well, let’s just say I have
lost years of my life to Scarlet and her dramas. So of course, growing up
knowing that the very staircase that she swept up and down with such elegance –
and tumbled down so tragically – was the same one at the Jefferson Hotel in
Richmond was more than magical to me. Until I found out that it’s not true.
Sadly, no part of the movie was filmed in Richmond. However, Margaret Mitchell
did stay at The Jefferson during the 10-year span in which she was writing the
novel. So maybe, just maybe, she took inspiration from the staircase that still
stuns visitors in all of its polished marble glory. I can live with that.
The Beast of Gum Hill
– Bigfoot on the loose?
A February 2012 episode of the Animal Planet’s “Finding
Bigfoot” set out to answer that very question. “The Beast of Gum Hill” is a
local legend in the Saltville area. Supposedly, this enormously tall, hairy
figure has been sighted roaming the woods in and around Saltville and Abingdon
over the years. The eyewitnesses, many of whom came forward for filming,
describe a large, dark creature that wandered up to them or was seen running
through the trees. The show ended without any conclusive evidence of Bigfoot in
the Virginia hills, but there is no shortage of teams around the country
devoted to proving the existence of Bigfoot, or the Sasquatch. And while most
reported sightings come from the more rugged mountains of the Western part of
the country – but who’s to say we don’t have our own Bigfoot roaming the hills
of Southwest Virginia? Of course, it could just be a gorilla from
Evington…hmmmmm.
Are you ready for a spooky ride in Virginia?!
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