The Ghost Writer

The story of Wizard Clip is one of the best-documented hauntings in the United States that almost no one knows about today. The story began on Adam Livingston’s farm in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s, when a series of misfortunes beset the Livingston farm, including cattle dying off and the barn burning to the ground. As the story goes, these events prompted Livingston to find greener pastures, literally and figuratively. Livingston decided to move his family to an area near what is now Middleway, West Virginia, but at the time, it was still part of Virginia.

Despite the move, poltergeist-like activity continued to plague the Livingston household. Some versions of the story claim that a traveler stopped at the Livingston house, asking for a room for the night. The traveler fell ill, asking Livingston to fetch a Catholic priest to perform Last Rites. As a Lutheran, not knowing any Catholic priests in the area, Livingston failed to send for a priest, and the traveler died without Last Rites. According to this story, the stranger’s death precipitated all the events to follow.

However, there are two problems with the story of the dying traveler. First, it fails to account for the activity the Livingstons experienced before moving to their new farm. Second, the earliest documented investigations of the haunting fail to mention a traveler dying. Instead, the earliest documented investigation states that an Irish-Catholic peddler did stop at the Livingston farm and spent the night. Experiencing the same poltergeist-like activity as the Livingstons, the peddler suggested finding a Catholic priest to bless the house and property.

Adam Livingston reluctantly agreed with the idea that his property needed a blessing to drive away the apparently evil spirits. However, as a Lutheran, the last thing Adam wanted was to bring a Catholic priest to his property. Instead, he started with his local Lutheran minister, who told Adam that he lacked the ability to drive away evil spirits. Over time, Adam approached various other ministers. But whether Methodist, Episcopalian, or self-styled conjurers, none of their interventions did anything to stop the activity.

Meanwhile, the Livingstons endured several years of apparently paranormal activity. This included sounds of phantom horses galloping through the house, unexplained loud bangs, dishes and pots flying off the shelf of their own accord, and even supposedly the heads of ducks and geese falling off as if cut by an invisible knife. The strangest phenomenon was the apparent phantom clipping of crescent moon shapes into a host of materials, including paper, cloth, and leather. The Livingstons reported often hearing a pair of phantom clippers. One visitor supposedly put her new bonnet into a box to protect it when she paid a visit, only to find it cut to shreds when she opened the box. The ghostly phenomenon took on such a life among locals that the Middleway area became known as “Wizard Clip” or “Cliptown.”

On the verge of giving up hope, Adam Livingston has a dream about a man in a long black cloak who could help him. Catholic friends of the Livingstons suggested that the description of the man in the dream resembled a Catholic priest, who wore long, black cassocks at the time. Reluctantly, Adam agreed to approach the Catholic priest suggested by his friends, Reverend Dennis Cahill.

When Livingston saw Fr. Cahill, he immediately recognized the priest as the man in his dream. However, upon first being told the story, Fr. Cahill laughed it off, telling Adam that his friends were playing a prank on him. The steadfastness of Adam and the reputation of his friends finally convinced Fr. Cahill to visit the Livingston farm. There, he experienced firsthand the activity Adam had reported. According to the story, after Fr. Cahill prayed a blessing and sprinkled holy water, a sum of money that had been missing from the Livingston home suddenly appeared at the priest’s feet, and the haunting activity ceased for at least a few days.

Not long after, around 1797, another priest, Reverend Dimitri Gallitzin, visited the Livingston farm. While the full official report of Fr. Gallitzin was lost to time, a letter of 1839, in which he described his experiences, still exists. In that letter. Fr. Gallitzin says that he investigated for three months and became convinced about the authenticity of the activity. Fr. Gallitzin reported that together with Fr. Cahill, they performed an exorcism, during which the house shook violently. Finally, after Fr. Cahill said Mass, the activity ceased.

Yet, the story doesn’t end here. Instead, the Livingstons began hearing a disembodied voice that instructed them in the Catholic faith. The Voice, as the Livingstons called it, seemed to indicate that it had been a Catholic priest in life. The Voice often led the family in prayer, sometimes for up to three hours at a time, although the family claimed it seemed at the time that only minutes had passed. The Voice also called out family members who failed to make sincere confessions, warning them that an honest confession was necessary for entrance into heaven. Eventually, Adam and several of his children converted to the Catholic faith.

To recognize what he believed he had received through the intervention of the Catholic Church, Adam Livingston deeded about 35 acres of his property in perpetuity to the Catholic Church. He moved back to Pennsylvania, where he died in 1820. The deed stipulated that the land must always be used by the Catholic Church for the betterment of priests. Today, the site is home to the Priest Field Pastoral Center, affiliated with the Catholic Church. The land continues to serve the purpose intended by Adam Livingston.

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