Matewan
Matewan is a town in Matewan, West Virginia. The town where Sid Hatfield shot it out—May 19, 1920. The name the accounts keep returning to is Sid Hatfield. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend, 1 documented fact and 1 named or described presence — documented record and retelling kept side by side. It is a living community — be a respectful visitor.
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Is Matewan haunted?
The record holds 2 claims, 1 legend, 1 named entity — filed as reported, not verified. The heaviest filing is classed documented legend. The archive documents the claim; it takes no position on the ghost.
The record — long form
Matewan is the '20 — the May 19 that's the shootout, the '10 dead' that's the 60 seconds. The Sid is the sheriff — the '27' that's the age, the 'arrest' that's the attempted. The Felts are the brothers — the 'Baldwin-Felts' that's the agency, the 'Ludlow' that's the previous.
The evictions were the spark — the 'women and children' that's the gunpoint, the 'tent camp' that's the Lick Creek. The 'acquitted' is the trial — the '17 strikers' that's the freed, the 'murdered' that's the Sid later. Matewan is the opening — the 'Blair Mountain' that's the largest, the 'mine war' that's the catalyst.
The file keeps Matewan: the 1920 massacre, the Sid Hatfield, the 10 dead, and the Blair Mountain trigger.
Matewan is the archive's West Virginia file — the mine war's start.
Why this file matters
Matewan is the archive's West Virginia file — the labor's shootout.
A street keeps its bullets — the file's suggestion being that Matewan's hold is the catalyst: the '10 dead' that's the minute, the 'Sid' that's the sheriff, and the 'Blair Mountain' that's the result.
The record of claims
Hatfield and the dead are said to be remembered in the town. Witnesses name it Sid Hatfield; the name travels further than the proof. Matewan in Matewan, West Virginia carries the story the way small towns do — as common knowledge no one quite verifies. 'Matewan' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. A ghost with a name outlasts a ghost without one; the reports keep it employed.
Reported figures on the streets where the shooting happened. Matewan, West Virginia is a living community with a dead file — the reports are the town's other history. The reports are anecdotal — consistent enough to record, thin enough to stay unproven. The report is preserved in sources like 'Matewan'. The figure remains the site's most-repeated sighting.
Hatfield and the dead are said to be remembered in the town. The town in Matewan, West Virginia has its documented history and then it has this — the account everyone locally knows. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. The report is preserved in sources like 'Matewan'. Legends accrue where records go silent; this one filled the gap and stayed.
Alleged entities
Hatfield and the dead are said to be remembered in the town. Sid Hatfield is what the reports name it. A West Virginia town's lore is municipal property; Matewan keeps this account in its unofficial archive. The named presence is what turns a haunting into a household. The claim holds its place in the ledger.
Documented history
The May 19, 1920 massacre is documented. The town's past is on record — this entry belongs to the verified layer beneath its folklore. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. Sources including 'Matewan' carry the record. It anchors the timeline the rest of the file hangs from. The lore keeps its witness.
Verified historyWikipedia
Sources on file
- 01MatewanWikipedia · encyclopedia · A4
Field notes & open questions
WV2 batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.