By Taylor Brown
The tale of “Screaming Jenny” is a short but sad West Virginia ghost story.
Harpers Ferry is mostly known for the raids led by John Brown during the Civil War. The small town is also home to a ghost known to the railroad engineers that run the Baltimore & Ohio tracks in the area.
She was simply known as Jenny, a poor West Virginian, but the tale of Jenny is a cautionary tale wrapped up in Appalachian cliche and national paranoia.
Heres the break down of her story: Jenny was huddled up in her small rickety shack in the cold West Virginia winter night. The storage shack had just enough room for her and a wood stove. As Jenny was eating dinner one night an ember flew from the stove striking her skirt. Jenny’s skirt caught fire, when she felt a burn on her leg she jumped up and ran towards the B&O station for help. The flames covered her body as she screamed for help. unknowingly, Jenny ran into the tracks and was struck by a passing train coming around the bend.
To this day it is said that you can hear Jenny screaming on the anniversary of her death still in flames.
Video: Creepy Pasta Jr.
So why is this more of a cautionary tale than a ghost story? Because she is the worst case scenario.
First off, if you’ve ever had a bonfire you know that embers float and crack from the fire all the time. It only makes sense that someone who lived with a fire as their source of heat would have known to keep their eye on such things. ultimately this lack of attention was the demise of Jenny.
No one knows much about Jenny, she was buried in an unmarked grave. So no one can really prove or disprove her existence.
Finally, why a train? Trains are common forms of transportation now, however, in 1833 America they were brand new. The U.S. saw its first Locomotive in 1830… On the Baltimore & Ohio railway…
Technology has a way of making people easily scared. The arguments against trains in the 1800’s are hilarious now, but at the time melting in your seat while riding a train was a real concern.
Nonetheless, people claim to this day that they have seen Jenny. Railroad engineers slow their trains to a crawl as to not hit Jenny as they come through the B&O in Harpers Ferry on a foggy night. This makes her a retold and cultural figure in paranormal West Virginia.
-TB-
Wild and Weird 
I grew up in Northern VA and remember this story faintly from going to Harpers Ferry as a kid. I think you did a good job with pointing out little things about the story that don’t seem as realistic. It definitely was a good read learning about Jenny again and seeing your realistic approach to this urban myth in WV.
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I had no idea the Screaming Jenny urban legend existed until I read this story. The YouTube video you linked to was informative, as I think it added value to your description of the legend. I don’t believe Jenny’s ever actually existed, but it is definitely a great story to tell around a campfire, especially because it’s relevant to WV residents.
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I grew up in WV my entire life, but I feel like I haven’t heard of a lot of these stories. Sometimes reading this stuff freaks me out, and I can never decide if I actually believe in this stuff or not. I can’t decide if I believe people who claim they’ve seen these things — in this instance seeing Jenny. This was interesting to read though!
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My family lives in Martinsburg, WV and we have visited Harpers Ferry plenty of times. I had never actually heard this story until your blog post. I enjoy how you add in photographs and added a YouTube video to this post. I think this is a great start to your Wild and Weird blog!
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This is a good read and I like how you explain the backstory and setting in descriptive detail. The only thing I would’ve included in this was what other people thought about this tale, but I like how you made a claim and backed it up with reasonable evidence as well as some links and media.
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I really enjoyed reading this story. I’m not from WV so I always enjoy learning new things and stories about the state. The story is definitely scary to read about. I love how you added pictures and videos. This helped break up the post and made it a lot more enjoyable for me. Great post!
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I am not from WV, so it’s weird to see something like this. We have similar stories in Ohio; this one isn’t very believable. I mean who catches on fire and then gets hit by a train? It’s a very strange cautionary tale for sure. I like that you gave the full backstory or I wouldn’t have had a clue this was even a thing.
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