[Haunted West Virginia: Cabin 13 and the Blennerhassett Hotel]-[Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition!]

Morbid · B2 · 2026-03-30

📋 Summary

The Spooky Echoes of West Virginia

In this episode of Morbid, hosts Alayna and Ash dive into the chilling, paranormal underbelly of West Virginia. The discussion oscillates between a gruesome, true-crime-inspired haunting and the spirited, historical occurrences at one of the state's most iconic hotels.

The Dark Legacy of Cabin 13

Alayna explores the haunting of Cabin 13 at Babcock State Park, a location defined by a "confirmed murder" that occurred on April 30, 1996. The victim was Cheryl Flippo, who was brutally beaten with firewood. Her husband, Reverend James Michael Flippo, was later convicted of the crime. The case was riddled with inconsistencies, from James’s suspicious claims of a "home invader" in a "toboggan" (a ski hat) to the discovery of his cell phone hidden in the fireplace and a staged scene featuring a red Camaro that did not belong to them.

Today, Cabin 13 is described as "wildly haunted." Visitors report a "womb of silence" surrounding the area, where all natural sounds cease. Guests frequently wake up to see a "shadow looming" at the foot of their bed, hear disembodied "sobbing or moaning," and experience aggressive "banging on the door" despite the cabin being isolated and vacant. The energy there is described as "threatening" and "unnatural," with many believing it to be a residual haunting of the violence that transpired.

The Spirited History of the Blennerhassett Hotel

Transitioning to a lighter, albeit equally active, paranormal site, Ash discusses the historic Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg. Built in 1889, the hotel was designed to be the "most opulent" in West Virginia. Its history is tied to Irish aristocrats Harmon and Margaret Blennerhassett and the infamous Aaron Burr, who allegedly used the nearby island to plot his "military plans."

Despite its luxury, the hotel is a hotbed of activity. Guests often encounter a "man in a bowler hat," usually appearing in the upstairs bedroom of the suite, who occasionally vanishes into thin air. While some find him harmless, others report feeling "paranormal assault," such as being held down by the neck. The hotel’s builder, Colonel William Chancellor, is also frequently seen, often accompanied by the distinct "smell of cigar smoke" or seen blowing "smoke rings" from his portrait in the lobby.

Spectral Interactions and Mischief

Beyond the primary apparitions, the hotel is home to several other entities:

The Lady in White: Often seen near the elevators, she is known for holding the elevator door for guests, leaving behind the "overwhelming smell of lavender perfume."
The Newsboy: A young apparition who pulls on the clothing of kitchen staff.
The Library Poltergeist: A space where "books [are] being thrown from the shelves" and fabric on ottomans is seen being pulled up by unseen hands.
The Ballroom Madam: Perhaps the most famous incident occurred when a woman’s voice was heard over a microphone, cheekily saying, "Howdy fellas, just said I’m ready for a good time."

Conclusion

While the hosts acknowledge that the "children singing" and the "ghostly children's footprints" on comforters at the hotel are deeply unsettling, the juxtaposition of the tragic, heavy energy of Cabin 13 and the mischievous, spirited atmosphere of the Blennerhassett Hotel provides a comprehensive look at West Virginia’s supernatural landscape. The hosts conclude by encouraging listeners to keep it "weird" and perhaps even attempt their own paranormal investigations, provided they are prepared for the unexpected.

🎯Key Sentences

I wasn't expecting you to say the first part.

I always think of 13 as like a fake spooky number.

Ma will not see 13 people at a table.

I felt like a dingus.

I'm not making any promises, but it's going to be great.

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📝Key Phrases

switch off

bring someone down

go out of one's way

no rhyme or reason

willy-nilly

Expand All

📖 Transcript

Hey weirdos, I'm Alayna, I'm Ash, and this is Morbid.

I wasn't expecting you to say the first part.

I feel like I haven't started in a while.

I know.

We used to switch off every episode, but now it's like impossible to figure out who did the last one.

But I was looking down and I went to say it and then it felt like your voice came out of my mouth.

Oh. you can stay there my friends there's lots of there's people who've done a lot of investigations in this place so i've already i've already uh thought about it we've already we've already uh contacted a couple of friends we've already reached out to some friends to say do you want to go to west virginia isn't that far away do you want to go we can stay grounded and go there we can stay grounded and go there and this cabin in particular i'll mention it again at the end but it's the last one in the series of cabins oh that makes it even spookier it's on the end of a very at the end of the road it's very isolated very secluded it's in particular the staff is like this cabin is the most secluded from all of them freaky So there was a real, very confirmed murder that happened there in 1996 in that cabin.

Mm-hmm. she just stares outside and sometimes she's wearing a nightgown like just looking outside and they see her sometimes walking through the woods and they all report that she just has like a very sad grieving kind of look on her face oh that's awful i hope that it's not cheryl i hope she's not stuck there i really don't want her to be stuck in that cabin yeah Now, in the silence of the middle of the night, people will hear sobbing or moaning coming from the cabin.

And it's, like, how it just, like, is, like, this... womb of silence in there and it feels very unnatural it can feel very threatening and it can that kind of silence because it happens in akigahara a lot it can fuck with you psychologically yeah like we're just not meant to be that i think like you know devoid of any kind of uh sensory yeah you know but people who stay in the cabin report that they wake and this is a report that happens a lot that they wake up to see a shadow looming over them at the foot of the bed oh yeah Well, that gave me such a big chill.

Now interestingly, there is a window in the corner of the library that used to be the door to the first national bank of parkersburg, and years and years and years ago there was a terrible accident where a tractor trailer lost control and crashed into that doorway oh shit and killed a woman, oh wow.

Disembodied children's voices singing jingle bells? fuck a whole bunch of that noise that is honestly the scariest one to me i'd be like can i get an early checkout thanks yeah that would fuck me up now here's the other weird thing with the kids women in particular will just like have this great night's sleep and then they will wake up to the feeling of being kissed on their faces and they say it feels like a child's kiss Don't kiss me.

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