Can a well-documented 18th-century ghost story reveal spiritual truths about the Church, the communion of saints, and the power of the Mass? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes noted author, Church historian, and speaker Mike Aquilina to uncover the mysterious history behind his essay, "The Wizard Clip of West Virginia," featured in 26 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends and Mysteries (Howling Hills Publishing).

Aquilina recounts how a personal stay at a West Virginia retreat center led him to investigate "the truest ghost story ever told." He details the late 1790s haunting of Adam Livingston's homestead in present-day West Virginia, where the family endured bizarre phenomena including flying crockery, phantom galloping horses, and clothes shredded into pieces (giving rise to the name "Wizard Clip"). After local Methodist ministers, Anglican priests, and folk conjurers failed to resolve the spiritual disturbance, Livingston sought the aid of a Catholic priest.

To investigate the claims, Bishop John Carroll dispatched Father Demetrius Gallitzin—a former Russian prince educated in Enlightenment skepticism and the first priest to receive all minor and major orders in the United States. Gallitzin's exhaustive historical investigation revealed that the phenomena began after an anonymous, dying traveler was denied a Catholic priest and Christian burial. Realizing the soul was seeking suffrages and prayers, Gallitzin arranged for Holy Mass to be offered on the site, instantly ending the hauntings. Aquilina highlights how this thoroughly archived event led to Livingston's conversion and the donation of land still held by the Church today. Stream now to listen!