The coal mining community that protects America’s most famous inbred family
Inbred locals who gruntly communicate, a single lone mansion, and a church are key features of a quiet West Virginia community.
Odd – about 75 miles from Charleston – is a small district in Raleigh County with only 779 people living in the area.
It is an unincorporated community, meaning there are no local government or elected officials in the area.
When they tried to choose a name for the area, the local community wanted something quirky and unique, so they chose Odd, and it stuck.
There are only two non-residential buildings in the entire area: a post office and the Mt. Valley Baptist Church.
It is an unincorporated community, meaning there are no local government or elected officials in the area
Two YouTubers decided to explore the small community and showed several winding single lane roads almost covered in wild overgrown greenery.
They stumbled upon the home of the Whittaker family, called one of the most inbred families in the US – and protected by neighbors with shotguns.
Real Appalachia videos their journey through the dash and came across the caravan, two houses and a small outhouse that is part of the Whittaker family base.
There is also an abandoned Untied Coal mine in the area, off Odd Road, which is closed but where John Whittaker, who had 15 children with his first cousin Gracie, could have worked.
Shane and Melody, who run the YouTube channel, also came across an old primary school on Odd School Road, which has since been turned into a family home.
In the distance, the couple even found a four-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion, valued at $600,000, though most homes are modest.
During their video, they described the area and people as “really beautiful” and the area as “really peaceful.”
They passed Whittaker’s house and saw some relatives, but decided not to go any further.
There are only two non-residential buildings in the entire area: a post office (pictured) and Mt. Valley Baptist Church
In the distance, the couple even found a four-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion, valued at $600,000, though most homes are modest
Several generations of the family live on the property, with the inbred group beginning with two sets of first cousins who marry and have children.
DailyMail.com revealed that a pair of identical twin brothers sparked the family’s history of incest, with Henry and John Whittaker’s children marrying and having their first child in 1937.
Filmmaker Mark Laita put the spotlight on the family in a short documentary, with some of them suffering from mental and physical abnormalities.
One member of the family, Ray, seems to suffer the most and communicates with Laita through sounds instead of words and points out to show him items in their house.
In April last year he again visited the Whittaker family, whom he first met in 2004 and filmed and talked about on the channel in 2020.
Laita says the family’s genetic complications have caused a host of behavioral problems, describing it as “getting out of control.”
The first time he approached them was in the early 2000s when he was initially met by “protective” neighbors with a shotgun.
Shane and Melody, who run the YouTube channel, also came across an old primary school on Odd School Road – which has since been turned into a family home
Freddie and Ray, siblings, pictured with their cousin Timmy living in the family home in Odd, West Virginia
There is also an abandoned Untied Coal mine in the area, off Odd Road, which is closed but where John Whittaker, who had 15 children with his first cousin Gracie, could have worked.
DailyMail.com has tracked down several birth records showing that the Whittaker family’s inbreeding began with twin brothers John and Henry Whittaker in 1887.
John married his own cousin Ada Riggs – the daughter of Mary Perkins, sister of John and Henry’s mother, Eliza.
Ada and John had nine children, including Gracie Irene Whittaker, who was born in 1920.
John’s brother Henry married Sally Burton, and they had seven children, including John Emory Whittaker, born in 1913.
Gracie and John were first cousins, but married in November 1935 and had their first daughter in 1937 before having 14 more children.
Danny Ray Whittaker, better known as Ray, is a major part of the documentary.
Both he and Lorene both seem unable to speak, only growling – but other family members can speak on their behalf.
John Wade Whittaker (left) died in 2022, having been born in 1950, leaving five children, several grandchildren and a great-grandson. Barbra Whittaker (right) was born in September 1940 and did not appear to have married before dying after a short illness in October 2008
Born 1942, Nannie Lou Whittaker is still alive and has remarried after losing her first husband William
Michael ‘Stevie’ Whittaker died in July 2001, aged 40, while Judy died in August 2021 – though it’s unclear how they both died
One of the filmmaker’s latest videos from 2021 showed the family’s squalid conditions, with the group living in a small and overcrowded house with several animals
In the most recent episode, he is eager to show Laita the new things they had on the property, and seemed excited to have returned.
The family was unaware that their genetic problems were a result of inbreeding, according to what they told the filmmaker, adding that they couldn’t remember much about their parents or other relatives.
To help improve the Whittaker’s living conditions and make improvements to the home, Laita set up a GoFundMe earlier in 2022 that has since raised $46,433.
One of the filmmaker’s latest videos from 2021 showed the family’s squalid conditions, with the group living in a small and overcrowded house with several animals.
Laita said he returned to the house on a whim to check on the family.
He then decided to grab his iPhone and take pictures of their ‘level of poverty’ and living conditions.