Traveling West Virginia: Princeton, WV

Loved the old art deco theater! The diner next door is being
restored to its original period look, I heard.

I was down south yesterday, although you'd never know it from the photos.

Snow! Only a light dusting but a sure reminder that winter is hard on our heels.

We were in Princeton, West Virginia, which is in Mercer county, bordering on the southwest Virginia line. Storytelling was the reason for this trip--I'd been contacted by Rachel, the owner of the Sly Fox Shoppe, to present ghost stories for their first-ever Stories on the Square. The square is a small outside performance area in the heart of the old-town business district. I'd performed there several years ago in the summer and was delighted to return to this friendly and quaint town. The weather didn't cooperate with having an outside event--no one wants to sit outside in the wet snow/rain mix in temperatures below freezing, even if the stories are smoking hot!

So we moved indoors to the intriguing Nonna's Bakery, which is really more than a bakery--their menu includes some delicious Italian dinners. But before the show, I had time to snap a few shots of the downtown area. Princeton is home to a number or artists and their work is evident:

I loved this "buck in disguise" in The Sly Fox Shoppe:

 I did not get any photos of the storytelling, but afterwards took a minute to snap a few of the downtown. So pretty.

As part of the storytelling show, I was joined by members of the Appalachee Paranormal group, who have investigated a variety of paranormal sites in their part of West Virginia as well as other places both in and out of state. I was intrigued by the adventures they described, and I realized the difference in how we approach ghost stories: they search for whatever might be left of the phenomena in the place it occurred, while I search the history behind the phenomena to figure out why it happens. Two different approaches, but both produce interesting stories.

Today were were unpacking (of course we stopped at a few places to find new things for our antique mall booths) and then re-packing for tomorrow's trip north to Ritchie County, West Virginia and the Ritchie County Middle School. I'm off to bed now so I can be ready for a bright-and-early start on what promises to be yet another cold frosty morning in the mountains.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.