Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA Marion County cemetery where a defiantly oriented 1909 grave marked Serilda Jane Whetzel gave rise to one of West Virginia's most enduring 'witch's grave' legends.
Highland Cemetery (rural road outside Mannington), Mannington, WV 26582
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free. Highland Cemetery is a rural public-access cemetery outside Mannington; visit respectfully during daylight hours.
Access
Limited Access
Rural hillside cemetery on uneven ground, reached by a country road
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · Subject of a well-documented West Virginia cemetery legend · Marion County historic burial ground
Highland Cemetery is a rural burial ground outside the small community of Mannington in Marion County, in the northern coalfields of West Virginia. The cemetery and its surrounding hillside have served the Mannington area for generations and are documented in Marion County cemetery indexes and on Find a Grave.
The focus of the cemetery's fame is a grave recorded to Serilda Jane Whetzel, with a death date of May 29, 1909. In local tradition her name appears in many variant forms — Zelda, Sarah Jane, Serlinda Jane — and she is most often called simply 'the Witch of Highland.' The marker is described in regional accounts as oriented away from the rest of the cemetery and, in the most embellished versions, as bearing imagery of a staircase descending toward a demonic figure. The factual core that researchers can confirm is the existence of the Whetzel grave and its 1909 date; the witch attribution itself is folklore rather than documented biography, and little is reliably known about Serilda Jane Whetzel as a person.
The legend has been documented by West Virginia folklore writers, including Theresa Racer's long-running 'Haunted History of the Tri-State' project, by the travel outlet OnlyInYourState, and by a geocaching listing for the site. Local accounts note that the marker has been knocked down and repositioned over the years, with attempts to restore it to its original orientation reportedly undone by vandals — a detail that has itself become part of the cemetery's lore.
Sources
The Witch's Grave at Highland Cemetery is among the most frequently retold cemetery legends in northern West Virginia. According to the tradition documented by Theresa Racer, OnlyInYourState, and the site's geocaching listing, the grave recorded to Serilda Jane Whetzel is said to face away from the rest of the burial ground — interpreted in folklore as an act of defiance by a woman the community remembered as a witch. The most elaborate retellings describe carved imagery of a staircase leading down toward a demon's open mouth, though such embellishments are characteristic of how these stories grow over time.
Visitors report glowing lights in the surrounding woods at night, strange noises, and sightings of a woman and a male figure — sometimes called a warlock — near the grave who disappear when approached. These match the original Shadowlands-era submission describing 'a witch and a warlock buried in the church cemetery' with markers 'turned upside down.'
Hauntbound treats the witch identity as folklore rather than as a factual claim about Serilda Jane Whetzel, of whom little is documented beyond the grave itself. The legend is best understood as a piece of living Appalachian community memory. Visitors should remember that Highland Cemetery is an active burial ground and that the graves there belong to real families; the site deserves respect rather than disturbance.
Notable Entities
Visit Highland Cemetery outside Mannington to see the grave at the heart of one of West Virginia's best-known cemetery legends — a marker recorded to Serilda Jane Whetzel (d. 1909) said to face away from the rest of the cemetery. Treat the cemetery and its graves with respect.
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