Grafton’s most famous — and least-confirmed — resident is back in the spotlight. The city’s annual Grafton Monster festival drew attention again this week, centering on the hulking, pale cryptid that local legend says stalked the banks of the Tygart Valley River back in 1964.
The creature doesn’t have much of a paper trail. A single newspaper account from that year described something large and white, with no visible head, lurking near the river. That’s about all the documentation anyone’s got — but it was enough. Grafton claimed the beast, and the festival keeps the story alive year after year.
Taylor County isn’t alone in this. West Virginia has built a small but devoted folklore circuit around creatures like the Mothman in Point Pleasant and the White Thing reported in various corners of the state. The Grafton Monster sits in that company, drawing visitors who are equal parts skeptic and true believer.
WBOY.com reported on this year’s event Friday, June 13, though the station didn’t specify attendance numbers, admission costs, or which organizations put the festival together. No city officials or event organizers were quoted in the available report.
What isn’t in dispute: Grafton — a city of a few thousand people in north-central West Virginia — doesn’t have many occasions that pull outside interest. The monster, dubious as it’s, does that job. Whether next year’s festival expands on this one, or who’s footing the bill to run it, hasn’t been announced.
Reported by WBOY.com. Read the original report.
