By Riley McCoy
For The Register-Herald
Fayetteville — Cryptid Weekend shrouded the gorge in mystery March 7-8 as folklore, art and downtown businesses united around West Virginia’s legendary creatures.
Cryptid Weekend, organized and operated by the Visit Fayetteville visitors center, served as a community-wide folklore event centered in downtown Fayetteville. The festival used familiar figures such as Bigfoot and Mothman as a cultural framework to pay homage to the history of hill-inspired folklore.
Local shops, galleries and restaurants participated in a themed art walk and festival crawl, while additional programs included a cryptid art exhibition, scavenger hunt, youth cryptozoology activities and guided tours connected to local history.
Stories of that history, like those shared over the weekend, have long circulated across Appalachian communities. Les O’Dell of Appalachian Ghost Tours recalled one such account connected to Bigfoot sightings in West Virginia.
“One story from the 1970s involved a man watching his nephew cross the yard to a cellar when an arm covered in red hair reached around the house like it was going to grab the boy,” O’Dell said. “The uncle ran outside with a shotgun, but whatever it was disappeared before he reached the corner.”
Regional paranormal groups also participated in the event — including Appalachian Ghost Tours, which organizes paranormal and storytelling experiences throughout southern West Virginia.
Founder Pamela Huff said the organization began as a way to preserve local legends that might otherwise fade from memory.
“We started Appalachian Ghost Tours because there was so much history here and so many stories that people didn’t know about,” Huff said. “At first it was just small walking tours and storytelling. Over time it grew as more people became interested in the paranormal and local legends.”
Visitors joined in the folklore celebration as well. Mandy Petry of Cannelton arrived dressed as another legendary West Virginia creature.
“I am dressed as the Flatwoods Monster, or the Braxton County Monster, or as people call it, Braxy,” Mandy Petry said. “Around about the ’60s in Braxton County, some people started seeing what they thought was some kind of being with a red spade-shaped head and a green kind of almost dress-like metal.”
Petry added that “they didn’t know if it was aliens or if it was military” and that the Flatwoods Monster “has become one of West Virginia’s classic cryptids.”
Karen Douglas, a visitor center associate with Visit Fayetteville, said the event marked the beginning of a new local festival.
“This is our first one,” Douglas said. “We’re always looking for good ideas for what we call the offseason when there aren’t as many outdoor visitors.”
The original concept focused on a single creature before expanding into a broader folklore theme.
“Someone suggested doing a Bigfoot festival, but we already have one fairly close by, so we decided to open it up to all the cryptids,” Douglas said. “We thought it was going to be a smaller event, but after we announced it we got so much interest.”
Douglas said organizers are already considering how the event could grow in future years.
“If it continues to grow, we might eventually have to close down part of downtown for it,” Douglas said. “We’re hoping this becomes something we can do every year.”
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