"devil's tea tables"

 You remember that part of the movie Without A Paddle where Seth Green's character says, “what's with all these satanic names?” Well, here in West Virginia, we have an answer for that. We have a group of rock formations that people refer to as “the devil’s tea table”. You've probably seen these rocks that actually do resemble a table. Most likely, these were formed by erosion. “Tea table” rocks are what geologists call them, the reason for the devil part is people say that the devil himself really does come to these “tables” to have his tea. 

Legend has it that a long time ago two men were returning home from work in a small boat going down the Elk River. One of the guys looked up on the hill and spotted a rock formation he wanted to go check out, the other man thought it was time for a break anyway, so they pulled ashore. The guy who wanted to check it out eagerly hoped out of the boat and went on up the hill while his friend just sat back in the boat assuming his friend would be back in a half hour or so. He noticed an eerie fog up around the rock but paid no mind. Hours later, the guy returned and climbed in the boat without saying a word. He had a glassy look in his eyes. He had apparently interrupted the devil while he was having his tea and with a simple pluck, the devil stole the man’s soul and crumbled it up in his tea like sugar. The man never recovered. 

 

These rocks are in other states too of course, so who knows, maybe the devil likes to have his tea in a bunch of different places? 

Here is a devil's tea table at little creek park in south Charleston. ( cityofsouthcharleston.com)