Bedford Virginia Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Word Man does it Again!

My Artwork

Monarch   Original 15″x21″   Acrylic Painting on paper  $652

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Here is a great warm weather painting to brighten up anyone’s day!

 

 

Natural Rhythm  Original  30″x40″ Oil Painting       $2425

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Another Spring Beauty!  I have sold many canvas prints of this work.  The original painting is still available!

 

 

Road To The Blue Ridge    Original Oil Painting has been sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas are Available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Bedford Ghost Story

 

I am still finding great New River Valley ghost stories!  I don’t necessarily believe they are true but they are interesting!  You never know!

The Seven Gates of Hell

This ghost story is about a place in Bedford, Virginia called the Seven Gates of Hell.  A house on a hill has seven black iron gates that lead up to the house.  The story goes back to a legend that began in the 1900’s about an insane family that went on a killing spree of African Americans.

Supposedly in the 1930s more were killed by the Klu Klux Klan.  My source says The Knights on Columbus but I believe that is an error.

Anyway, the grounds are so spooked that people are too afraid to walk up the hill to the house.  The gates are always open on Hall ‘ o Ween.  Spooky stuff!

I found this story on Ghostvillage.com

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

My poet husband is publishing all over the place these days!  The other day he had one poem accepted for publication in Decades Review.  The poem will published a few months from now.  Way to go Word Man!

Clyde has been published in over 200 magazines!  He is in communication with a publisher regarding a book!  I see that day coming!

 

My Guy!

Another Roanoke City Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Murphy is stalking me again!

My Artwork

 

Poppies and Lace   Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting     $2425

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Roanoke City Ghost Story

I keep thinking I am going to move on to other interesting aspects of the New River Valley and The Blue Ridge Parkway and then I find another ghost story to share!  Ghost stories are so much fun and I didn’t know about any of these until this year!

Here is another Roanoke one!

At The Patrick Henry Motel there are a number of ghostly apparitions. The Motel was built in 1925 and there are three ghostly men that supposedly hang around the ball room to keep an eye on things.

On the second floor there is a man with a pipe that sits at one of the tables. Some people say he kicks the tablecloth with his foot.

Many people claim they feel the presence of an elderly woman who died in one of the rooms!

I found this information on the online publication, Haunted Places.

Murphy’s Law

When I was working on my Master’s degree I worked for a professor that had a huge poster of Murphy’s Law.  He said a friend gave it to him.  I read the whole poster and have never forgotten all the things that this mysterious Murphy does to us.

Sometimes I feel like Murphy is stalking me!   My latest example of how, if anything can go wrong, it will, involves my favorite sport.

I have been skating since I was a child and my sister is so accomplished that she teaches ice skating in Sterling, Virginia.

Since there isn’t a skating rink nearby I have been roller blading for many years in Christiansburg.  The rink closed down but a few years later a fantastic one opened near the old one.   The boot on one of my skates finally cracked apart and I had to buy new ones.

I have never liked the new ones so a while ago I ordered a very expensive pair that I knew would be great!

Last Sunday I drove to the rink with my old skates and they were closed.  I figured that they were starting their summer schedule early so I went home and looked online.  I was stunned to see that they were closed permanently!

The next day my new skates showed up!  AAAARGH!

Dominion   Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting     $2425

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

A Beautiful Moment    Original 20″x 16″  Oil Painting     $660

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

Since my husband is on a computer eight hours a day he knows more than I know.  We did not grow up with them so we are baffled at times.  Now I am trying to figure out a Yoast plug in that I downloaded.

So far we aren’t cussing the computer but I think we will be soon!  I wish one of us was a computer whiz!  I hate how we have to call on someone that is our son’s age to help.  Such is life!

Another Radford Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Not just any Idiot…

My Artwork

 

Winding Flower Path    Original Oil Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

The beautiful weather has inspired me to put up this colorful floral that was sold in a gallery in North Carolina

 

Mushroom Clouds   Original 30″x40″  Oil painting        $2425

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

There is nothing like the beautiful light in the mountains!  Not a cloud in the sky is fine, but I prefer skies with clouds!

Another Radford City Ghost Story

I having a lot of fun looking up New River Valley Ghost stories.  I am a very skeptical person but they are great stories whether or not they are are true!

La Rivierie which is located in Radford by The New River is said to be haunted by a Lady that appears in a mirror.  The 10 room mansion was constructed by Mary Draper Ingles grandson but was destroyed in a fire before the couple moved in.  The mansion was rebuilt according to the same specifications.

Some say the woman that haunts the mansion is Mary Draper Ingles.  There is a woman’s image that seems to be burned into the mirror that can be seen from a certain angle.  Another theory is a that the image is of Anne Mclanahan who was a frequent visitor to the mansion.  She was looking for her cat during a thunderstorm.  Supposedly she was standing in front of the mirror when a lightening bolt blast seared her image in the mirror.  The mirror was new and residents noticed the change after her visit.

People say she haunts the mansion and is referred to as The Lady in the Mirror.

I got this story from Strange USA.com

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

My husband and I have had a lot of trouble with vacuum cleaners.  I always look for objects that will break them, but, either I don’t find them all, or the vacuum cleaners just aren’t any good.  This time I am determined to take good care of the one we recently bought and I have the box with everything in it so we can return it for a full refund.   I don’t like to insure household objects, but this time I am making an exception.

I used to have one that required bags but our new one has to be emptied.  I am trying not to do anything stupid so I asked Clyde to empty it and then show me how.  He showed me where the lever was and I then remarked that, of course, any idiot could put it back together.

He said, with eyes wide open, not just any idiot, this idiot!

No problem.  Maybe we can hang on to one this time.

La Riviere”, or Ingles Castle as it is known locally–sits alongside the New River in the City of Radford. The 10 room mansion was constructed by the grandson of Mary Ingles Draper in 1893. Prior, the extravagant mansion had been constructed but had burned down the night before the couple moved in. Blueprints were given to a contractor with the request that he re-build it on the same grounds to the same specifications.

 

Roanoke Theater Ghost Store near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Clyde Kessler’s Latest Poetry Publications in Red Rose

 

My Artwork

 

Blue Ridge Autumn  Original Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

Lake Sunset  Original 5″x7″ Oil Painting   $75.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

 

Pink Light   Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting    $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Roanoke Theater Ghost Story

The Grandin Theater in Roanoke was built in 1932 and is one of the first theaters with sound.  It was closed for a while in the ’50s and a homeless family lived there. Two of the children died there and some say that late at night you can hear a baby crying in the stairwell.

Former projectionists have stories about strange occurrences late at night.  One time a small boy was sighted at the top of a staircase and the projectionist followed him because he thought the child hadn’t left the theater after the movie. He saw the child walk straight through the doors of the nearest screening room.

 

I found this story on the online version of Collegiate Times.  The article is called  Ghostly Stories, Haunted Sites, and Sinister Sisters Who Scare.

 

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

 

Yesterday I printed one of the two poems that Clyde just published in the online magazine, Red Rose.  He is publishing his work all the time now and is included in an anthology.  Here is the other poem that was published.

I hope you like it!  I think his work is great!  It is not easy reading so take your time and think about each word!

Elegy for a Time Freak
Clyde Kessler

I burn sundials on the moon.
Other time freaks are crating the ashes,
naming them all for all their frozen days.

At night, I know my true wish list
is a crater full of rum, a dark
breed of whiskey flowering like stars.

At work, you can trust my lighters
and rolling flints. The noon shadow
on my next bonfire is favoring silver
like a thunder-cloud to brood the Dead Sea.
There are no ratty scrolls here, nor heaven.

---

Clyde Kessler has been published in Silver Blade, Now and Then, Clapboard House, Rose Red Review, and Cortland Review. He lives in Radford, VA with his wife Kendall and their son Alan.

Radford City Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Clyde Kessler Ghost Poem published in Rose Red!

My Artwork

 

Pink Wave   Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting            $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

I thought it would be a good idea to put up a Spring painting.  Pink Wave was inspired by the beautiful Cherry blossom trees at the Radford Public Library.

 

View from Bridge at Wildwood Park   Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting   $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

Wildwood Park is becoming more beautiful each Spring Day!

 

 

Radford City Ghost Story

 

I had no idea there were so many ghost stories in Southwest Virginia!  Here is another one!

A Former employee of Macados on main street in Radford wrote about a ghost story in 2005.  The restaurant is modern and beautifully decorated on the outside but there is an old basement section with two pantries.  In one section there is a window with glass that is not visible from the outside.  The restaurant was once  The Radford Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Supposedly there is a woman dressed in grey in the downstairs section and employees are told not to talk about her.  Articles fly off the shelf at times and one cook says he did actually see her.  They were face to face and then she faded away!

 

I got this ghost story from ghostvillage.com

 

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

My husband is really tearing up the publishing turf these days!  He just published two poems in the online magazine Rose Red!  This is the third issue of this publication that he has had work in!  Yea Word Man!

It is an interesting coincidence that one of the poems he published is about ghosts since I have been having a great time researching local ghost stories!

A Mount Juliet Ghost
Clyde Kessler

An old lady drowned in Nashville.
She was almost ghost of the year, blind.
Somebody heard a twanging in the oaks
and said she’s home by the soul’s voice
dreaming a tree that walks through stars.

None of a moonrise’s gold could fetch
her mind in a séance. A photographer
leased her apartment above a salon,
threw his best camera at a cop car,
it struck and killed a deputy by no luck.

You see vengeance spelled with a flood
is still the soul prying itself from hate.
You can build a new house in Mount Juliet.
You can throw parties that marry you off
imprisoned. The old lady walks you home.

Radford University Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and I think we read too quickly these days

My Artwork

 

 

 

 

Memorial Bridge   Original Oil Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

 

New Memorial Bridge    Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting      $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

These two paintings are before and after Radford City paintings.  The New Memorial Bridge is beautiful but I loved the complicated lattice work of the old one.

 Radford University Ghost Story

I am still finding New River Valley Ghost stories!

There is a rumor that a girl hanged herself in an elevator shaft in Tyler Hall at Radford University when it was an all girl college.  The story is that she was with child by a professor and became so despondent that she ended her life. Student/Professor relationships were strictly forbidden in those days.

 

The writer of the story for The Tartan in 1995 said that one night an RA told her he noticed the door was open to the old shaft and he looked in and saw a rope hanging from the top of it. The rope startled him since he was familiar with the tale but just thought it was another rope.  He shut the door but had to shut it three more times that night.

Students on the third floor have reported sounds of a baby crying that seem to be coming from the attic.

 

I got this story from WHIM, RUs online magazine.

 

Too Much Information

I think we are so bombarded with words on the internet that we are reading way too fast and missing very important information.  Since I am a professional artist and I sell online I communicate with a lot of people all the time.

Sometimes I get messages from men that would like a relationship with me that is more than friendship.  I am flattered but I am happily married and I always send that in the message.  Oftentimes after I send that message I get another message with the same request for a relationship.

We need to slow down a little!

Life with The Bird and Word Man – Clyde Kessler

Before I met Clyde I didn’t know anything about birds beyond a robin, crow, or eagle.  I am still do not know anywhere near what he knows about bird and butterflies but I know a lot more now that when I was single.

Clyde is not much for the beach but I am not happy if I don’t get there once a year.  Many years ago at Rehoboth beach he pointed out an osprey to me flying over the waves.  I had never heard of that eagle before that day.  It is a beautiful bird and here is a painting I made to celebrate the flight of the osprey.

Osprey Evening    Original 8″x10″ Oil Painting     $168.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Riverview Park Beauty near The Blue Ridge Parkway and It is Difficult at Times

Riverview at Dusk   Original 16″x20″ Oil painting  $670.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

Riverview at Dusk is one of many sites that my husband researches for bird and butterflies.  He is oftentimes there very early on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  It is a beautiful Radford City Virginia park on The New River.

Difficult Times

The circumstances of my life are rather difficult at times.  I am not going to be specific because of what a friend once said.  What is the use of complaining?  Someone will always complain louder.

Still, most of my friends do not have the problem I have to contend with everyday and sometimes I envy them.  I do not have the freedom most people my age have and there are times I would like to scream and I do.

My husband and I do the best we can and that is all I am going to say.  Enough venting.  I have a lot of work to do.

 

Nearing The Shoals   Original 12″x13″ Oil Pastel Painting  $342.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at  KENDALL KESSLER ART

This is where I would like to be right now.  I am very thankful that we will be at the beach in a few weeks.

Life with The Bird and Word Man – Clyde Kessler

I wanted to again mention 40th Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally that is coming up soon!  Clyde is on the Board of Directors for The Blue Ridge Discovery Group and arranged for Nancy Lee Adamson to be this year’s speaker.  Don’t miss out on a great time!

The 2014 Rally will be May 9 & 10.

Friday Night Speaker –  Nancy Lee Adamson PhD, Pollinator Conservation Specialist – East Region, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. An Introduction to Native Bees and Other “Beneficial” Arthropods of the Mid-Atlantic – learn about common native bees we can support by protecting and planting pollinator habitat.

Recent Sale

If you are not in the market for an original or print I hope you will visit my Zazzle store for my work on just about anything!  A great way to have my artwork in your home or a great gift!

Yesterday a pack of Sweet Pea postcards went out to a great North Carolina patron!  Here is the link!    NEW RIVER ART

Sweet Pea Morning at Rock Castle Gorge  Original 16″x20″ Oil Painting     $670.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Another Radford Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and Spring life at Wildwood Park

 

My Artwork

 

Near Pandapas    Original 30″x40″ Oil Painting  $2425.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

Near Pandapas is another beautiful section of the woods near the pond in Gile County.  When I was a kid I spent much of my time in the woods or at creeks and I especially liked to pull on vines like the one you see here.

 

Home in Christiansburg    Original Oil Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at    KENDALL KESSLER ART

This is a home in Christiansburg that caught my eye every time I passed it so I decided to make a painting of it and the field next to it.

 

Radford New River Ghost Story

 

I am amazed at the number of ghost stories in The New River Valley.  I am a very skeptical person and don’t believe in mediums or psychics but I do enjoy reading about these various sitings and what people report to be supernatural events.

Here is another Radford City one.

 

In the Online Ghosts of America a Radford resident reported seeing a man walk out to the middle of the lower section of  the New River Trestle in Radford but before he hit the water, he vanished.  There was no splash and the viewer thought it was a trick of the eye but he has found others that saw the same thing.  He would like to know if there was a suicide off this bridge that is being repeated in spirit form.

 

Life with the Bird and Word Man – Clyde Kessler

 

I have been painting in oils since I was twelve and I couldn’t imagine my world without paint.   Winston Churchill once said something similar about how he couldn’t imagine a world without paint.

Even though I live to paint, I haven’t met the medium that I don’t like and my portfolio has a wide selection of different ones.

A year ago I decided to add photography to my lost list of mediums and my husband has assisted me in photographing wild flowers in the local parks.

Saturday I photographed the first floral signs of Spring at Wildwood Park.  While we were there, a friend showed up and found a ring neck  snake.  I have always been fascinated by snakes so I took some pictures for my blog. Here is the best one.

Radford University Ghost Story near The Blue Ridge Parkway and One of Those Faces…

My Artwork

 

 

Boat House Mountain Lake in Giles County   Original Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

This painting is of a beautiful section of Mountain Lake Resort in Giles County, VA.  This popular resort was the setting for the great movie, Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze!

 

Radford University Ghost Story

 

Beneath the grounds of Radford University there is a network of tunnels that used to be used by students so they wouldn’t have to go out in bad weather.  The school was originally a girl’s college.

There is a ghost story about one student that prowls the tunnels on Hall o’ ween.

The tunnels were closed long ago and entrance to them is forbidden.

The girl’s name was Elizabeth and she shunned the other students. They played tricks on her and sent her a note claiming a suitor wanted to see her at the Hall o’ ween ball dressed as a princess and he would be her prince.  She went to the ball and waited. He never appeared but a student handed her a note that requested she meet him in the tunnels.  It was dark and she tripped and broke her neck and died instantly.

The legend is that she prowls the tunnels calling for her prince every Hall o’ ween!

 

This story was written by Richie Ellis and printed in The Haunted Commonwealth online publication in 2010.  The story is more complicated if you would like to check it out!

 

The Mushroom Picker    Original  32″x40″   Oil Painting    $2580.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at     KENDALL KESSLER ART

 

This painting is based on a photograph my husband took of someone picking mushrooms at Pandapas Pond.  Oddly enough, the man resembles my husband.

A Memory    Original  26″x36″  Oil Painting    $1892.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Since I am writing about New River Valley ghost stories lately, I thought this haunting painting would be great for this post!  This painting is loosely based on a photograph I saw of a scene that reminded me of my grandmother’s beautiful grounds in her home in Clarksville, Virginia.  When I look at this painting I am reminded of our special visits to her home.

 

One of Those Faces

All of my life people have told me I look just like a relative or friend.  It has never bothered me that I just have one of those faces but now I like to make a joke out of it.

The other night at a Chick Corea concert at Radford University it happened again.  A lady in the seat behind me asked me to forgive her for staring but I look so much like her sister.  We discussed backgrounds and hers was mostly Irish while I am half Italian but I do look more like my mother’s Scottish and Irish side.

When the concert was over I looked over to the lady and said, “You must have a beautiful sister!”   She said she did and we both laughed –  but not too hard, of course!

 

Life with The Word and Bird Man – Clyde Kessler

My husband is at it again publishing poems!  This week he had five poems published in Still: The Journal.  This is the second time he has had work published there and this online magazine won the 2014 E-Appalachia Award!

 

Also, another bird count is coming up in Franklin County on April 26th.  There are teams that have mapped out locations to survey.  People are welcome to join the effort.  If you are interested contact my bird man at ckessler@vt.edu!

Christiansburg Ghost Story Near The Blue Ridge Parkway and I use Signs now…

My Artwork

House on Route 11  Original Oil Painting has been Sold

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at   KENDALL KESSLER ART

Route 11 is the road I take to Christiansburg, VA.  I loved this house and decided to make a painting of it.  It was sold in Roanoke at Studios on The Square.

 

 

Christiansburg Virginia Ghost Story  

This is a Ghost Story that has been around for more than a century. Mary Snead, Caroline Martin, and Virginia Wardlaw were educators that ran the Old Montgomery Female Academy.

The old building is gone. It is now The Old Christiansburg Middle School and currently houses Blacksburg Middle School students.

The women were notorious for killing off relatives for insurance money.  They were never convicted of a crime until they left and moved to New Jersey in 1909. When they went to New Jersey they had a $20,00 insurance policy on Ocie Snead. The three women would pay for the suspicious drowning of Ocie.

Caroline was convicted and died later in a state mental institution.

Mary Snead pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Virginia Wardlaw starved herself to death before a judge could make a ruling. Her body is in an un-marked grave in Christiansburg.

 

Some people say the Snead Sisters, or The Sisters in Black still live in the halls of this local school.

I found this ghost story on the online WDBJ7.com articles collections

The Crossing  Original 25″x 30″    Acrylic painting    $1830.00

Prints on Paper or Canvas Available at        KENDALL KESSLER ART

This is a painting I did from a photograph of a man and his daughter crossing The New River from Bisset Park.  I changed the way they looked to protect their privacy.  I just thought this would make a nice genre painting.

Life with The Word and Bird Man

I have always been careful to the point of being uptight about schedules and my husband is the same way.  We are both usually early to any kind of meeting.  It is much easier to be early than on time.  He has some choice words about people that are late.  He has a descriptive word for someone that is five minutes late, another one for ten, and a very colorful one for someone that is twenty minutes late.

I never thought I would forget an appointment until about a year ago when I thought about the appointment in the morning and then forgot about it in the afternoon!  I was mortified so now I actually post a sign that hangs down from the door frame to my kitchen so I won’t forget.

Age really does change a person.  This morning I had to be reminded by my husband to put the sign up!  Yikes! What next?