Werewolves of West Virginia
- Bee Williams
- Apr 14
- 6 min read
West Virginia’s motto has always been Wild and Wonderful. However, to most this means the beautiful nature of the state. To others, it is a direct reference to our wild and wonderful cryptids and other creatures. West Virginia’s alleged werewolves live at the blurry edge between folklore and fact.
To outsiders this may come as a surprise. To locals, well, they know what sorts of creatures lurk in the woods. And like most wild and untamed beings, they are not to be trifled with! While no hard evidence for such creatures exists, several notable incidents have been reported over the years – from a bizarre grave discovery that sparked vampire rumors to local legends of wolf-like monsters stalking the woods. This blog explores the legends of the werewolves of West Virginia.
What lurks in West Virgina?
The legend of Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster have gained notoriety across West Virginia and the world. But, there are other creatures in this beautiful state that are perhaps lesser known.West Virgina has had numerous reports of werewolf-like creatures roaming the moonlit Appalachian backwoods.
West Virginia’s rugged mountain counties have long been a breeding ground for werewolf legends. One of the best-known is the Webster County Werewolf, a creature that reportedly stalks the central WV wilderness. Tales describe this beast as an enormous wolf-like humanoid: over 7 feet tall, 400 pounds, with a broad chest and shaggy black fur.
According to local lore, its origins may trace back to Native American myth. One story claims that in the 1700s a Shawnee chief was killed along an old trail in what is now Webster County and was reincarnated as a werewolf, seeking vengeance on those who trespass his land. Whether one believes that or not, the legend holds that “something” monstrous is out in those hills.
Interestingly, In modern times, reports of a “wolf-man” in Webster County have occasionally surfaced. Hunters and campers whispered about uncanny howls and yellow eyes in the woods. In one account, a local trapper nicknamed Boone claimed he saw a large wolf stand up on its hind legs about 150 yards away in the darkness. He never forgot the creature’s glowing neon-yellow eyes piercing through the night.
Such sightings frightened residents enough that they avoided certain hollows except during the day. The legend gained wider fame when the TV show Mountain Monsters featured the “Werewolf of Webster County” in a 2014 episode, treating it as a cryptid hunt. No concrete evidence was caught on camera, but the local response was one of excitement – it put their little county’s legend on the map. Skeptics note that actual wolves were extirpated from West Virginia by the 1800s, and suggest sightings could be misidentified dogs or coyotes, or pure folklore. To date, the Webster werewolf remains unexplained – a mix of indigenous lore, backwoods whispers, and a dash of TV embellishment – but it’s a fixture in the state’s monster lore.
The Werewolf Hitchhiker (Randolph County, 1990s)
Not all West Virginia werewolf tales are old folklore; at least one is relatively recent and comes from an eyewitness. In the late 20th century (circa the 1990s), Randolph County was the scene of a bizarre “werewolf sighting” on a snowy night. Vicki Cunningham, a manager of a Days Inn in Elkins, recounted this experience to folklorists in 2001.
She and her husband were driving on County Route 151 between the small communities of Jimtown and Norton when they noticed an oddly lone man walking along the road late at night. Concerned, they slowed down – only to have the shock of their lives. As they passed, the stranger turned his face toward them, and in the glow of the headlights they saw that his face was like a dog’s. The figure had a long snout and canine features, even though he was walking upright like a human. Startled, the couple did not stop to investigate; they sped off into the night as fast as possible.
No one knows who or what the couple really saw. There were no further reports from that area, and skeptics might dismiss it as a misperception (perhaps a man wearing a canine-like mask or a large stray dog rearing up). However, the witness was credible enough that her story entered the local ghost story repertoire. The public response was mostly intrigue – it’s the kind of story told around campfires or discussed on paranormal forums, rather than in newspapers. Authorities were not involved since no crime or harm occurred, and thus the incident remains officially unverified. To this day, the Randolph County werewolf remains an uncanny anecdote, unexplained and unrebutted, lurking in the state’s recent folklore.
The Phantom White Wolf of French Creek (Mid-1800s)
In the mid-1800s, the community of French Creek in Upshur County (central WV) was plagued by a mysterious white wolf that would come in the night. This albino wolf began attacking livestock in the area, slaughtering sheep and cows with impunity. What made it especially frightening was that true wolves hadn’t been seen in that region for years – they had largely been hunted out – so when a ghost-white creature started wreaking havoc, people believed it must be something supernatural.
Locals formed hunting parties and shot at the beast repeatedly. According to legend, bullets had no effect on the white wolf – even at close range it would yelp and flee, only to return later unharmed. This invulnerability (much like the werewolves of lore that require silver bullets) convinced many that it was no ordinary animal.
As the attacks mounted, a veteran hunter named Bill Williams (No Relation) decided to take matters into his own hands. Williams had formerly earned fame (and bounties) as a wolf hunter before retiring to farm. When the white wolf killed one of his cows, he broke his vow never to hunt wolves again and vowed to slay the monster. In January of that year, Williams went out with his rifle, tying a live lamb as bait in an area the predator frequented.
He waited through the night for his nemesis. By dawn, when he hadn’t returned, townsfolk went searching. What they found was ghastly: Bill Williams’s body lay near the staked lamb, his throat ripped out and his head nearly torn off! The lamb was alive and untouched, bleating in the morning light – and no blood, tracks, or any sign of the wolf were found around the gruesome scene. It was as if the white creature appeared only to kill Williams and then vanished into thin air. The death of Bill Williams sent French Creek into a panic. Residents interpreted the event in supernatural terms: some said the wolf took vengeance on Williams for violating his promise not to hunt its kind, while others whispered that the creature was a demon in wolf form.
Other Wolfman Legends and Responses
The French Creek wolf may be the most famous, but it’s not the only ghostly wolf in West Virginia lore. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, scattered reports described “white things” or unknown wolf-like creatures in the Appalachians. In southern West Virginia, for example, old-timers spoke of a “White Thing” that roamed the hills of Kanawha, Putnam, and Boone counties. One tale collected in the 1950s described a woman riding home at night who heard an unearthly scream like a woman in agony. Suddenly, a “raging bundle of white” burst from the woods beside her – larger than a dog but smaller than a horse, covered in white fur with jagged teeth jutting out of a huge mouth.
She spurred her horse and managed to escape, but the next morning her horse was found dead and mutilated, as if the white beast had overtaken it after she fled.
The Legend Lives On
Such stories were shared around campfires and eventually published by folklorist Dr. Ruth Ann Musick in 1965, preserving them as part of West Virginia’s ghost tale canon. These legends rarely involved any official action – no posse ever caught the “White Thing,” and newspapers at the time often dismissed these as tall tales. Yet the public response in those localities was real: people avoided the areas where the creature was said to appear, and parents would warn children to come indoors before dark. Whether called a werewolf, a wolf-spirit, or simply a strange beast, the motif of a wolf-like monster became a staple of Appalachian folklore, reflecting the very real dangers and fears of the wilderness in earlier times.
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