By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Melissa Davies doesn’t like to be creeped out in the dark. But give her a ghost story, with a few spine chilling details, and she’s all in.
She describes herself not as a ghost hunter, but as a “wanderer.”
“An open mind is critical,” with a willingness to sense extraordinary experiences, Davies said. “But it’s important to be a healthy skeptic.”
Davies, who has long been intrigued by folktales, has written her first book, “Ghosts and Legends of Wood County, Ohio.”
The book tells the stories of eight ghostly apparitions in the county.
Davies was approached by a representative of Arcadia Publishing, who had heard her podcast “Ohio Folklore.” Her book has joined the “Haunted America” series, and can be found on Amazon and local bookstores.
“These kind of folktales are everywhere. You just have to do the research,” Davies said. “Wood County did not disappoint.”
Davies, whose day job is as a clinical psychologist in Napoleon, researches legends in her spare time. She is supported in her ghostly endeavors by her husband, Jeremy Davies, who works with BGSU Police Department – though he occasionally draws the line.
“No ghost hunts at 3 a.m.,” Davies said.
“I’ve always had a fascination with ghost stories,” she said. “It’s the intersection between history and spirituality that draws me in.”
Spooky stories often start as folktales that get exaggerated over the years. “Sometimes people will sensationalize,” but often underneath it all is some truth, she said. “When you really research, there’s some compelling history behind it.”
Davies often starts her searches by looking at old newsprint.
“Most of my research is from historical newspapers,” she said. “It’s a fun way to get a feel for how a story started.”
From there, Davies visits the sites – in the daylight – and talks with those closest to the ghostly tales.
“I always love the enthusiasm from locals,” who feel some ownership of the spirits that linger, she said. “People are really passionate about the stories.” Most are willing to share the tales, though a few refuse to speak of the spirits that stick around after their lives are done.
Davies’ first personal experience with things that go bump in the night came in the spring of 1996, when she traveled as a Defiance College student to Chowan College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. She wasn’t searching for disembodied voices and footsteps or unexplained electric currents – but they found her.
Davies begins her book with a tease to readers …
“Is Wood County haunted? Sure, in the same way Ohio’s other 87 counties are haunted. Legendary stories are everywhere. Having researched these stories for years, I’ve come to an important conclusion. Often, when unusual happenings keep occurring in one spot, there’s a reason for it. Scratching a bit under the surface, into the historical record, reveals an unresolved past, one worthy of the restless spirits working to make themselves known. So, let’s consider what souls from Wood County’s ancient and more recent past might have to tell us. Their lives hold lessons worth knowing in these tumultuous times.”
The book tells the ghostly tales of the following locations in the county:
- “The Man in Tan – BGSU’s Forgotten Ghost,” whose presence is felt by some in the hat check area of the old theater in University Hall. The story goes … a former student, who always accompanied women home from the theater in the dark, one night did not walk a woman home after a performance, and she was assaulted. The guilt ridden student signed up to serve in World War II and was killed.
- “For Edmund Keep(s)” – where the spirit lingers of a man murdered in a robbery gone wrong at an old illegal gambling den in the downtown. The man’s spirit is said to continue creating mischief in the downtown shop of For Keeps.
- “Fort Meigs – Spirits of the War of 1812,” where some see a ghostly image frantically waving his arms from an artillery battery during a siege of the fort. “It appears that some soldiers have yet to be relieved of their duties,” the book states.
- “The Legend of Holcomb Road” – on a rural road east of Bowling Green, shares the spooky tale of a school bus full of children driven by a crazed and angry man. Going mad because of the unruly students on board, the story states the driver sped the bus off the road and into a big tree. Some who travel the road report seeing eerie lights and hearing disembodied screams of children.
- “Indian Hills – Rossford’s Native History” – tells the well documented story of an elementary school opened in 1970 in an area rumored to be a burial ground for those who settled here long ago. Stories tell of students hearing the rhythmic pounding of drums and residents seeing ghostly figures in very old Native American attire. Many artifacts and remains of those who lived there have been discovered.
- “Haunted South Main School in Bowling Green” – which was open from 1890 to 2005. Some say the old school is haunted by a former student whose legs were amputated in 1908 when he tried to jump a train, and by a Hungarian stonemason whose body was discovered in 1909. The mason was reportedly working on the weekend to pay for his family to come to the U.S., but he died of heart failure due to overexertion.
- “A Tale of Tontogany” – which tells the story of a fire at a pharmacy, with a woman found dead after a bullet reportedly started fire on her blouse. It was a strange case that involved the town doctor, the barber, his common law wife, and a peculiar stranger with a German accent. The crime was never solved, and some report seeing hovering lights over the woman’s grave and shadowy figures in the cemetery.
- “The Legend of Woodbury House” – tells the tale of a “mansion” built around 1820 near the corner of South Dixie Highway and Jerry City Road, south of Bowling Green. The house, which was built in the middle of swampland, was demolished more than a century ago. Those who visited the home said it was haunted by a wandering salesman who had been killed by the owner.
