My group decided our Pennsylvania Ghost Tale adventure would be based on the Werewolves of Pennsylvania. Wolves were once very prevalent in the area and many of the first settlers in Pennsylvania were from European decent, where werewolf tales were already prevalent. Many of the werewolf tales made their way to Pennsylvania due to the high wolf population. The tale we decided to focus on was about a werewolf in Schwaben Valley in Northumberland County in the 1800s. A young girl, May Paul, would spend her days tending to her family’s flock of sheep. A strange man began to hang around May and her sheep, which made many of the locals very uncomfortable. Rumors began to spread that the old man was a werewolf because May’s flock of sheep always remained safe from wolves due to her protection of the old man. Many of the other sheepherders in the area did not have this same luck, so her parents did drive the man away. The wolves began to attack even during the day, causing many of the locals to keep watch at night with their rifles. One night, a man saw an old wolf crossing the road, so he decided to shoot it. The wolf ran off into the woods, and when the man followed the trail of blood, he came across the old man who loved May. The man accounts for the very hairy body of the man and his razor sharp teeth, which led him to believe that the old man was without a doubt a werewolf. The man’s body was buried in an unmarked location, but his grave reads: “die Woolf man’s grob“.
Our journey began at the Hub Parking Deck. We arrived at noon since we were aware our trip would talk approximately 90 minutes to get to. We hopped into Sierra’s red Mini Cooper and set off towards Northumberland County with our printed handouts and provided maps (since using our phones was not allowed/encouraged). We made small talk on the way and got to know each other better, since we don’t normally talk in class. I helped guide Sierra towards our destination as I had already googled the general vicinity of the area and printed out directions when handing in our maps. The ride to the area went very smoothly. We had beautiful weather and we drove through Pennsylvania mountains and small towns.
Once we arrived at the general area we made a few stops. We stopped at one of the many old churches and cemeteries and looked around for the grave of the young girl, May, who the werewolf was very fond of, but we had no luck. We continued driving in the general area as it appeared to be one giant loop. We came across another church (United Lutheran Church) and cemetery that had many people with the last name “Wolf”, but wasn’t able to find anything interesting.
After going in circles for about an hour, we decided to go to the nearby town of Sunbury to see if we could find a small shop who might be able to help us in our ventures. We were able to locate an antique shop, but inside we were not greeted by the old townees, but rather two teenagers running the store. I went up to the counter to ask them if they had heard of the legend and they mentioned a local graveyard in the area that might help.
So after looking around the store and stopping to grab lunch in the small town, we headed back towards the general area we were before except this time we took a few different paths and wound up at a Himmel’s Church, which was believed to be close to the location of the wolfman’s grave. When we arrived, there was a dad and his son’s fishing in a little creek underneath the red bridge. We took our picture and headed out as they were giving us weird looks.
When we got back into the car, the ride was not as flawless as the ride in. We did in fact end up getting lost. We thought we were going the right way, but the further we drove, the less familiar the area looked, so we were worried we had missed a turn. We were considering turning around to see if we were better abel to retrace our steps back to the way we came, when I had noticed an older couple doing yard work in their front lawn. We contemplated asking them for help, and I told Sierra to pull over so I could ask. I got out of the car and approached them with our map, explaining we were Penn State students who were lost. They both were happy to help and directed us to the main road we had followed in. We were able to make our way back to Penn State, returning around 6pm. Overall, it was a fun adventure and I enjoyed getting to know my classmates better this way!
