SUSAN SHEPPARD
1955-2021
BIO
Susan Sheppard was a life-long paranormal investigator, researcher and psychic experiencer. Her West Virginia childhood was marked by a wide range of unusual experiences such as growing up near one of the first Mothman sightings, encounters with the Men in Black, sensing ghost and spirits as well as other manifestations of the mysterious and the unknown at an early age. Her grandmother was a psychic medium and her favorite aunt a practicing spiritualist who taught her the art of the seance and other spiritual traditions.
Susan was a well-known psychic medium, a self-taught astrologer, a talented artist-poet and masterful storyteller. Her areas of expertise included ghosts and hauntings, non-human spirits, fairies and fairy lore, astrology charts and forecasts, psychic dimensions, cryptozoology, Indrid Cold, Men in Black, Mothman, past lives and reincarnation, tarot and cartomancy, Appalachian folklore, remote viewing, divine magick, astral travel, Wicca & Witchcraft, ancient origins, creative writing in various genres, DNA studies, Native Americans, tribal wisdom and spiritual growth.
Susan was involved with the paranormal all of her life. Her first encounters with spirits were when she was only four years old. She remained true to her interests in practicing and studying the unknown. She appeared on national television shows, movies and radio broadcasts. Those who were lucky enough to witness her lead the ghost tours found her to be a masterful story-teller with a deep knowledge of the supernatural and the unseen worlds.
Throughout the almost fifty years she lived and worked in Parkersburg, she became an icon and beacon of light for the different, the artistic, the unconventional and misunderstood individuals of the Mid Ohio Valley who needed spaces to create and to belong. Her legacy is a deeply felt, magical one.
Despite her immense resumé of accomplishments, Susan struggled with health issues her entire life, most of which went undiagnosed and untreated. She was often profoundly fatigued and suffered from chronic pain from her teen years on. She was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer of unknown cause in the fall 2020. Susan passed away at home, surrounded by loved ones, o April 19th 2021 after a courageous battle. She was memorialized with a Day of The Dead inspired march along the Haunted Parkersburg Tour route. Over 150 people attended, played music, read poetry and honored Susan's profound contributions to Parkersburg, to West Virginia and to the thousands of lives she touched. What little energy Susan had, she devoted entirely to others and to the arts.
Susan Sheppard created the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours, founded the Sacred Way Astrologers and Spirituality organization and the Sacred Way Poetry Group. She is also a founding member of West Virginia Writers, Inc.
Susan was also deeply proud of her Delaware-Shawnee Native American ancestry as well as her Irish, French and Swedish lineage.
(Bio from Haunted Parkersburg)
