1. Beales Treasure
Sometime in the 1820's a man by the name of Thomas Jefferson Beale uncovered the mother load of treasure whilst gold mining in Colorado. The treasure is worth an estimated $43 Million. After Beale uncovered the treasure he started on his way towards Bedford, Virginia. On his journey back Beale felt as if he was being followed by some unwanted visitors. Beale felt in danger so he went ahead and buried the treasure. After Beale buried the treasure he made cyphers as a way of being able to relocate his buried treasure. The cyphers were left in a lock box that was in the possession of one of Beales friends. It is believed that Beales buried treasure is still out there in the soil of Bedford, Virginia just waiting to be recovered. It is rumored that the treasure is loads of gold, silver, and jewels. The buried treasures gold definitely is an archetypal symbol of wealth and value. Whoever uncovers the Beale Treasure will be sitting with a whopping $43 Million worth of treasure.
Sources: http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/02/28/5-weird-supposedly-true-urban-legends-from-virginia/ http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ http://mysteriouswritings.com/10-interesting-facts-about-the-lost-beale-treasure/ |
2. The Vampire of Hollywood Cemetery
This story has been floating around since the collapse of Richmond's Church Hill Tunnel in 1925. When the bridge collapsed several workers were buried alive along with the wreckage. The legend of The Vampire of Hollywood Cemetery describes a bloody figure with pointed teeth and skin hanging from its bones. The figure was seen running from the cave entrance towards the James River. The figure was chased until it disappeared into the night. Only one man lived through the wreckage. His name was Benjamin Mosby. He was badly burned and had broken teeth. Ben didn't know anything about the possible existence of this creature. Ben soon died of his injuries. The cave definitely is an archetypal symbol for death considering many people died in the wreckage of the bridge.
Sources: http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/02/28/5-weird-supposedly-true-urban-legends-from-virginia/ http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ https://the-line-up.com/hollywood-cemetery-richmond-vampire |
3. Bunny Man Bridge
In 1904, a recently closed asylum in Clifton was transporting inmates to a new facility when one of the buses flipped over in Fairfax. Most of the people on the bus was killed, but 10 escaped. Only two of the ten inmates were not found, Douglas J. Grifon and Marcus Wallster. Soon after the wreck, the locals began to find hundreds of skinned, half eaten rabbits hanging from trees. When Wallsters body was finally recovered they had found him with a crude homemade hatchet. Authorities thought that they had found their culprit and the horrific acts would stop, but they were wrong. Legend has it that ever since the recovery of Wallsters body that every Halloween there is an unspecified number of bodies hanging from the bridge. The person behind the horrific bunny acts is an archetypal symbol for The Villain.
Sources: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-the-bunnyman/laura-allan https://roadtrippers.com/stories/beware-the-murderous-maniac-that-haunts-virginias-bunny-man-bridge |
4. The Gorilla Train (Evingtons Lost Locomotive)
In 1952, a Ringling Brothers’ and Barnum and Bailey’s circus train derailed in Evington, just outside of Lynchburg. Legend has it that 35 gorillas had escaped from the derailed train. The gorillas were hunted, but never recovered. Supposedly, the gorillas still lived in the woods and was hanging around Campbell county for the next 30 years or so. It is reported that the gorillas monkeyed around with the towns people by harassing family pets, stealing from the locals gardens, and peeking in their windows. The last report of such buffoonery was in 1981. Ever since there hasn't been a single report. The gorillas act as the archetypal symbol for black considering gorillas themselves are outfitted with black fur and black represents chaos.
Sources: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/the-wreck-of-the-gorilla-train?reply=41412512123586937 http://www.retroweb.com/lynchburg/attractions/main.html |
5. Lovers Leap
Lovers leap is the highest peak above the Natural Tunnel in Scott County. Legend has it that Lovers Leap got its name when a young Shawnee brave and a Cherokee girl were forbidden to marry. Their tribal differences kept them apart in life. Sounds familiar right? This story is known as the native american version of "Romeo and Juliet". The couple really couldn't be together so instead of running away they took a “Last of the Mohicans” style leap to their death. The two star crossed lovers are archetypal symbols for the number two considering their separation.
Sources: https://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/LoversLeap/ http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/02/28/5-weird-supposedly-true-urban-legends-from-virginia/ http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ |
6. The Beast of Gum Hill
So this tale is pretty much a basic bigfoot tale, but what kind of website would this be if I didn't have a story on the man himself? This tall, hairy, muscular, ape looking creature has been sighted roaming around Saltville and Abingdon over the past few years. Many of the eye witnesses described the figure in the exact same ways. They describe the creature as tall, dark creature that has either run up on them or away from them. I told you it was going to be a basic bigfoot story. Bigfoot represents the Loner or Outcast archetype rather well to be honest. Bigfoot is known for just being alone in the woods and away from society.
Sources: http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/02/28/5-weird-supposedly-true-urban-legends-from-virginia/ http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/urban-legends-in-virginia/ https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/videos/the-beast-of-gum-hill |
7. St. Albans Sanatorium
In southwest Virginia in the town of Radford, there is an old building that was built in the late - 1800's. This place was known as the St. Albans School for Boys. In 1911 the school was closed leaving a huge empty building that was overlooking the town of Radford. In 1916, Dr. J.C King purchased the building and turned it into a sanatorium for the criminally insane. Dr. King was a researcher that performed experimental techniques on his patients. Some of his experiments included insulin coma therapy and hydro electric shock therapy. The hospital operated until the 1990's. Most of the patients that checked into this place never checked out. Legend has it to this day that the St. Albans Sanatorium still holds the ghosts of these patients that are enraged by years of torture. I would say the closest archetype I could relate this story to is the number 6. The number 6 is known for being evil related and the Sanatorium was bought in 1916 and to this day is claimed to be haunted by vengeful spirits.
Sources: http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/02/28/5-weird-supposedly-true-urban-legends-from-virginia/ http://www.stalbans-sanatorium.com/ https://colonialghosts.com/st-albans-sanatorium/ |