Blennerhassett Island Overnight

Blennerhassett Island Overnight – 8/17/24

On August 17, 2024, I had the privilege of joining the Hidden Marietta Tour Company along with several other paranormal investigation groups for an overnight stay on Blennerhassett Island in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

First, let me say how amazing the Hidden Marietta team is. The event was well organized, and the group members were super friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable. The island is a state park that only allows overnight camping if you attend a Hidden Marietta overnight event. My understanding is that they usually host two of these each year.

We met in downtown Parkersburg and took a ferry to the island. Once we arrived, we set down our gear and enjoyed a carriage ride tour. Our guide gave us a general history of the island and even shared some strange experiences he had personally witnessed. After the ride, we were free to set up our tents wherever we wished. I chose to camp toward the back, near the beach.

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A Brief History of the Island

Archaeological evidence shows that Native Americans inhabited the island as early as 13,000 years ago. Chief Nemacolin of the Delaware Nation lived there until his death in 1767. In the late 18th century, European settlers began arriving. Elijah Backus purchased the island in 1792, and it was known as Backus Island during that period.

Sources: Greater Parkersburg, Wikipedia, WV Encyclopedia

In 1789, the Blennerhassett family arrived, giving the island its lasting name and reputation. Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett came from Ireland, reportedly fleeing political persecution and personal scandal. In the years that followed, the mansion they built became one of the most celebrated homes in America.

According to West Virginia State Parks:

“Over the years, the couple’s mansion gained a reputation for being the West’s most beautiful home. Then, in 1805, they allowed their estate to become headquarters for Aaron Burr’s military expedition to the Southwest, an episode that raised the island to national renown and awarded it a permanent footnote in American history. The Burr conspiracy, which is suspected to have involved a treasonous plot to create a new country independent of the United States, has become the subject of many stories, poems, artwork and Broadway shows. The Blennerhassetts fled the island when Burr’s scheme collapsed, but the mansion and history remain.”

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Paranormal Experiences

That evening, a park ranger gave us a tour of the reconstructed Blennerhassett Mansion and spoke about the island. While he personally had not experienced anything paranormal, he admitted that many others had. Some staff members even refuse to remain on the island after dark. Reports range from sightings of ghosts to encounters with mysterious shadow beings.

Our guides from Hidden Marietta shared their own experiences—many of them had not only seen and heard ghosts but had also encountered shadow beings in both the mansion and the surrounding woods.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical before this trip. I had read about shadow beings in other supernatural hotspots and spoken with researchers who swore they’d seen them, but I had never experienced anything myself—until that night.

While peering into one of the bedrooms, hoping to glimpse a ghost, I saw something else entirely. It looked like a layer of moving darkness, as though the light was being swallowed. The house was already dark, but this shadow seemed to glide across the bed, independent of the rest of the room. It was as if a piece of the darkness had broken off and started moving. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Later, while standing in the dining room near that same bedroom, I experienced something even stranger. At first, I thought I heard whispering, but what truly unsettled me was the overwhelming sense of danger that suddenly overcame me. It felt like my fight-or-flight response had been cranked into overdrive. My heart raced, my body trembled, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was there.

I pulled out a noise-level app on my phone, and the readings began spiking far above normal—loud enough to suggest shouting—yet I heard nothing. The longer I stood there, the stronger the sense of dread became, until finally I had to leave. The moment I stepped outside, the fear evaporated almost instantly.

After calming down, I decided to test myself and reentered the dining room. This time, nothing happened. However, I later spoke with a member of the Hidden Marietta team who told me she had just seen a shadow figure in that very room shortly before I walked back inside.

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Final Thoughts

I often attend these investigations alone and rarely feel afraid of the dark. But Blennerhassett Island was different. Between the strange moving darkness I witnessed in the bedroom and the overwhelming dread in the dining room, I left with more questions than answers.

One thing is certain—there’s something on that island.

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Sources

https://wvstateparks.com/park/blennerhassett-island-historical-state-park/

https://www.hiddenmarietta.com/

https://www.greaterparkersburg.com/blennerhassett-island/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blennerhassett_Island

https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/510

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