The Ghosts of Williams Hollow Road.

   For those of you that are regular readers of my blog, you will recall that I live in the country farmlands of Virginia. This area is littered with old hollows or "hollers" as locals call them. Many of them have frightful histories of murder, monsters, and ghosts stories. Williams Hollow Road is one such place.

   Our tale takes place during the late 1930's to early 1940's. Unfortunately most of the facts of this story have faded with time. I can't be sure of exact dates or names but only the heart of the legend itself.
    There was a family that had lived back on Williams Hollow for many years. They were reclusive people that did not get out and around the other township often. This was due mostly in part to the couples only son.

   He was reported to be ," Monstrous in both his looks and his actions". The young boy was somehow hideously deformed and most likely shunned and shamed by his own family. Living way back in the hollow gave them some protection from outside ridicule.

   The town of Big Stone Gap known for it's iron and coal mining, and as such attracted many job seekers from the north. One such family had relocated to this area for just such a reason. This new family consisted of a hard working father who had ties to the railroad, a loving mother, and their beautiful daughter of age 6. They purchased a plot of land at the far end of Williams Hollow and started their new life.
   As it was, the "monster boy" was intrigued by this new family who set up housekeeping in his neck of the woods, especially the young daughter. He was fascinated and confused by this new family. Their actions, laughter, and love made him both eager to learn more, and angry that he had never had such a life. The more he watched this family from the darkness of the surrounding woods, the more he longed to be involved. On one such occasion, he found the little girl playing alone and approached her. She was frightened by his hideous appearance and screamed for her father. He ran the "monster boy" off with a few firm lashes from a hedge switch. This of course, did not set well with the mentally unstable boy.
   The "monster boy" kept watching the family and the little girl from the safety of the forest as his anger grew. One day he found the little girl walking alone down Williams Hollow Road. She may have been headed into town, to the general store near Cadet, or just down to the river to play. The only thing to be certain of was she was alone, and being followed by one very confused creature.

  The family never saw their daughter again. Her bloody clothes were located by the river at the end of the road where apparently the backwards boy had beaten and then drowned the poor child. As the story goes, the father of the little girl went into a rage, located the "monster boy" and beat him to death in the woods where he found him. 

    That would be the end of a very tragic tale if it were not for the multiple sightings of ghosts on the road to this very day. 

    Williams Hollow Road is a popular parking spot for teenagers looking to escape the watchful eyes of parents. Many have reported feeling something watching them from the trees. Others have even seen a small child like apparition walking down the hollow. The small ghost seems to almost be walking backwards as if the spirit feels the presence of something watching and following it down the road. This leads many people to believe that the spirit of the slain child is forever being stalked to the river by the cruel ghost of the deformed boy who killed her. Perhaps the feeling of being watched is the ghost of the "monster boy" looking into the cars with envy and a little anger at the normal people who invade his home? 

   I have had this story sitting on my computer for almost a year now. I had intended to post it closer to Halloween, but as fate would have it, I received an email from a local resident, Sarah Chandler, who stumbled upon my Blog while searching for this very legend. Sarah went on to recount an experience from one of her friends :

"My friend's sister's boyfriend walked in on us telling ghost stories one night and said, "Why tell stories when you can see the real thing". So we all loaded up in the car and headed to Williams Hollow Road. He drove us all the way up the dark road until it ended and then turned around. About a quarter of the way down he stopped and said to wait a few and look up the embankment. We waited about 15 mins and you could see this thing walking down the embankment. The closer it got the more it looked like a child. The child looked in the opposite direction the whole way down until it got beside the car. As soon as it did it looked over at us. I was so scared that I just kept hitting the car seat and screaming go go go....."

"A few weeks later I was telling a close friend of mine this story. He said that his dad told him that when he was younger he would go there parking and it felt as if someone was watching him..."

   Thank you Sarah for sharing with us. So, is Williams Hollow Road truly haunted? There is only one sure way to find out. Just head down to Williams Hollow at night, park your car, and keep your eyes open. You never know what you might find.....or.......what might find you!