The Marrtown Banshee

 The Marrtown Banshee

By Cole Herrold

Banshees are traditionally only associated with Ireland, but their range is far greater than just the Emerald Isle reports of a female spectral omen of death or washerwoman are common throughout Scotland, Wales, France, and England and goes by several names other than Banshee such as Lavandière de Nuit, Lavandière, Laveuse de Nuit, Kannerez Noz, Cannerez Noz, Gannerez Noz, Bean Nighe, Bhean Nighe, Caoineachag, Nigheag Bheag a Bhroin, Washerwoman, Night Washerwoman, Washer of the Ford, and Little Washer of Sorrow. When many of these European countries with Banshees immigrated, they either brought their tales of Banshees with them or the vast ships that carried these travelers also brought several faeries aboard with them for while this may seem like a purely European phenomenon beginning by the early 19^th century America too began having reports of Banshees.

One of perhaps the most famous American Banshees is the Marrtown Banshee. Now before we get into the old girl, let's set the scene with the family that the Banshee seemed to align itself with. For while the name is slightly misleading as one would think that this Banshee is actually associated more with a place than a person, this is not to be the case and that this entity is, in fact, associated with one particular family. Thomas Marr, a Scottish immigrant and founder of Marrtown, came to the area in 1836 and, along with several other Scotts, developed the community as best they could in the hills of West Virginia. Marrtown today is a small community that is only almost a mile and a half away from Parkersburg, the scene of another famous West Virginia Case in 66'. At the time, Thomas Marr, as his community grew, came to fall in love with a local West Virginia gal by the name of Mary and eventually got married. The pair was happily married and had several children, but as was the misfortune of the time out of the nine, she gave life to only three survived to live to marry and have a full life. These trials, however, were simply steppingstones and elements that made Thomas and Mary enjoy their life to the best of their ability and to succeed as best as possible. Then the Civil War hit. The war between brothers caused a great stir all over the nation but especially in West Virginia as the state seemingly created itself after breaking out of the Confederacy as the land was a part of Virginia. Times were tough, and Marr attempted to raise his children as best he could until the conflict was resolved. He succeeded in this, but after the war, he suddenly realized that he now was struggling financially and needed to find a better way to gain some finances; from here, he took a job as a watchman.

As a watchman, the now 66-year-old Marr would have to protect the borders of the town at a given time in the evening at the nearby bridge that gained access to Marrtown. As he took this position, he soon began to notice a bizarre figure that would appear around the bridge as he was on his way to and from work. The figure was a cloaked person who road a bright white horse. Marr was never able to officially make out the gender on his time as a watchman but strongly felt that whoever this person was, was most definitely female. He had seen this figure and its mount on more than one occasion and several times came surprisingly close to her, but whenever a time would come that he would approach the figure, it suddenly would disappear before his eyes. Seeing this on almost a daily basis disturbed Marr, and eventually, he broke down and told his wife about the bizarre apparition he kept seeing near the bridge. His wife was unsure of what to make of the story her husband told her that is until the date of February 5, 1876. On this particular day, Thomas left to work like any other, and as the time for him to return was about to approach, a bizarre figure began to approach his property. His wife seeing that someone was coming, came out to see just who it was and noticed that it was a woman wrapped in dark-colored clothing and that she was approaching the house on top of a pure white horse. The figure remained quiet and seemed frozen to the spot for some time before finally speaking and said, "I am here to tell you, Mary Marr, that Thomas Marr has just died. Say your prayers, lady. I bid you well". The figure then turned and rode off until it disappeared into mist. A short time later, a coworker of Thomas arrived at Mary's home and confirmed what the being had said. Just how Thomas had died is varied; some claim he was shot by an assassin's bullet, others claim he drowned into the river, but the State Journal and Parkersburg Examiner would go in their obituary of Thomas to say that he was that he fell from a ladder of a distance of ten feet at his job site and upon impact died most likely from a broken neck and that he was found near the platform of the freight drop. Regardless of the method, the Banshee did come at the exact moment of when her husband had shuffled off this mortal coil. Some years later, Mary too would be prognosticated by the Banshee as cries would be heard around their property, and these cries would be heard by many upon when she too passed away at the age of 90 at her viewing in her home. The Banshee wailed, cried outside of the property as the procession went on, and also dropped and rattled spectral chains in the attic all while the procession went on.

While it is unknown whether the Marrtown Banshee prognosticated or appeared before or during any of their children or descendants' deaths, it is rumored that the apparition does still appear. There are claims that people to this day will see the faerie woman riding on horseback out in the hills and fields or into the woodlands of Marrtown very close to the bridge and home where both Mary and Thomas had lost their lives. Yet no one at least has reported any similar encounter with this kind of oracle of demise in the same way as Thomas and Mary did in the area.

When looking at Banshee cases, typically, there are two possibilities as to the identity of the entity; the first is that the entity is the classical fairy woman that appears in the traditional tales, and the other variety would be that of a spectral apparition, in this case, there are a lot of factors that seem to point towards a fae version of the Banshee than an apparition. The entity riding a horse is very similar to other accounts of the fae, but this is very different than almost every Banshee account I've come across as Banshee, at least from the research I've read, do not ride or have mounts. Banshees frequently will appear near rivers and streams and will be seen with washing basins and blood-stained clothing from those who are about to die, so the fact that this entity is seen very near a river is interesting, and the same goes for the fact that the entity also later appeared at the home of Mary and Thomas both during and after both of their deaths is indicative of traditional Banshee behavior. The fact that the figure was also described as being robed is a feature that has also been described in the crone version of Banshees, and of course, the fact that this entity appeared to a Scottish family and seemed to be connected to them specifically seems to indicate that it is a familial fae.

While the overall description and behavior of this entity do appear to be that of a fae, one cannot remove the possibility off the table that the entity observed was a traditional ghost. There are countless cases of apparitions of typical ghosts appearing before family members of death. Many times people will claim to have experienced ghosts of this variety tend to simply be ways of guiding the about to be deceased to the afterlife, but on occasion, they warn or tell of a family member's death. These cases, however, are particularly rare in the realm of classical ghost encounters but do, in fact, happen.

Ghosts associated with animals are rather frequently reported the ghost of Anne Boleyn for example, the most famous of King Henry the VIII's wives is said to be the most traveled Ghost in all of London was said to at Blickling Hall appear with a set of headless spectral horses and a headless horseman that pull her carriage. These accounts of Headless horsemen and headless horses are an ancient spectral tradition that, much like the Banshee, can be traced back to another fae known as the Dullahan. The Dullahan is an incredible figure in Irish folklore, and he is the original Headless Horseman; he is seen usually as a male figure (though females are reported) riding a horse and in one of his hands is his severed head, and in the other a whip made from a spinal cord. The Dullahan, much like the Banshee, was an omen of death but unlike the Banshee seeing a Dullahan was not a guarantee of death; in fact, one would be more likely to get their eyes whipped out of their skull by the skeletal whip or have a basin of blood thrown in your face by the fae than be killed by the entity. If someone was being chased by a Dullahan or sees a Dullahan, if they had a piece of gold on their person and showed it to the entity, they would be safe from impending doom as the entity has an intense hatred for gold. The Dullahan also is associated with leading a spectral procession of the dead and is at times known as the coachman to the afterlife, which includes a spectral cart with wheels made from human thighbones and skulls that are filled with fire to help light the way and that features headless horses and a headless rider. Much like Banshees, Dullahan also are both described as fae and spirits of the dead, and Headless Horsemen, similar to the Dullahan, are seen in other countries such as Ewen of the Little Head from Scotland, who also is an omen of death. Even the fact that the horse is seen as white is something that has appeared in many cultures; a pale or white horse was the mount of one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, specifically the rider Death. So, the horse riding apparition is something that is heavily associated with similar types of cases.

There are also cases of people seeing spectral apparitions of themselves known as Doppelgangers traditionally, these copycat ghosts are in almost every case an omen of death as there are several legends that simply seeing a Doppelganger instantly leads to death in the same way as seeing a black dog three times or hearing a Cu Sith's bark three times instantly causes one's demise. It is important to point that in this case, there is no definitive description of the apparition aside from the fact that it was conceivably female and that from this lack of description, perhaps the figure might have been the Doppelganger of Mary or some other family member. Many times, in Doppelganger cases, members of the family will report seeing duplicates of their family members even though they could be in alternative places of the country or right next to them, and just as seeing one's own Doppelganger these cases usually lead to death.

While just what the Marrtown Banshee is, we can only speculate. I do think that it is particularly interesting that this case is one of the closest to a classical encounter with a faerie Banshee in America. Faerie encounters in America, while not particularly uncommon from a native standpoint, are particularly rare when it comes to faeries typically associated with European folklore and fairy lore. I had discussed the idea that faeries do have connections with people and will follow them to new locations, such as in the Trolls of Sorenson's Woods Case, where several reported Trolls seemingly followed Norwegian and Swedish immigrants over to a Minnesota community. Banshees typically, when one reports them in America, they seem to be more apparition-like and less like what one would expect from a traditional fae. I think again that this is overly interesting and something that the Fortean community needs to do more research on. The fact that such accounts exist is mind-boggling to me as the fae seem like something from before the dawn of technology, and while the late 1800s is not exactly modern, it is interesting that in a time where the world was seemingly developing away from the old ways and traditions that such beings were still being reported. Is this evidence of their existence? I can only stand to guess, but I hope so for who wouldn't like to have a being with you as a kind of lookout or warning something that not only could prepare oneself but also their family that something bad would happen. Until the day that this case and the phenomenon is either validated or debunked, I'll definitely keep an eye out for any bizarre figure and an ear open for any cries or sobs that might permeate some dark mist-filled night.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Faerie, Ghost, Supernatural Entity

Location: Marrtown, West Virginia

Sighted: 1875-1876

Works Cited:

Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Haunted West Virginia By Patty A. Wilson

The Magick of Faeries: Working with the Spirits of Nature By Cassandra Eason

Monsters of West Virginia By Rosemary Ellen Guiley