Most Haunted Places in America: Moundsville State Penitentiary

West Virginia needed a prison due to the split from Virginia in 1863, the small town of Moundsville was selected and the West Virginia Penitentiary (later Moundsville State Penitentiary) was started in 1867. Ironically it was built with prisoner labor and completed 9 years later. During its 119 years in operation, Moundsville was named on The United States Department of Justice’s Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities now it is one of the most haunted places in America.

Moundsville State Penitentiary held the worst of prisoners, lots of them there for life and with nothing to lose, there is no wonder there is such a violent history attached to the prison. Over its history, 94 prisoners were executed, 85 were hung, 9 put to death via electric chair, 2 prison wide riots and an untold number of homicides. Some put the total number of deaths at the prison at almost 1,000. The prisoners were animals in conditions that were possible better fit for animals than humans.

The indoor rec-room used when the weather would not allow outdoor activities is said to be very active with paranormal activity. Nicknamed “the sugar shack”, this room in the basement prisoners would be virtually unsupervised with only occasional checks from the guards. Though there were no deaths officially reported from the sugar shack, one can only imagine the violence that took place in there. Gambling, fighting and rape were normal occurrences to the prisoners within the walls of this room.

Even in death, the prisoners sometimes had to endure excruciating pain. This was especially true during the years of 1899 and 1949, when the 85 men were hung from the gallows. There were numerous unfortunate incidents at the hangman’s hand, such as a prisoner being decapitated or strangulation. The last hanging took place on February 25, 1949 and by 1951 the practice was considered cruel and unusual punishment and banned by the state. Again in an ironic twist, the electric chair was then built by a prisoner to carry out more humane executions.

One of the most talked about of the ghosts that haunt the prison was not a prisoner at all but a maintenance man who lived in the basement. It seems this man was quite a snitch telling the guards whenever he caught the inmates engaging in illegal activity or breaking the rules. He was finally dealt with by the prisoners one day while in the bathroom. He was stabbed repeatedly with dull homemade prison knives and died. His apparition has been claimed to be seen in the bathroom and around the basement.

At Moundsville, the prisoners were not the only people you had to be weary of. The guards were also known to beat what they deemed bad prisoners to within an inch of their lives. One day they seem to go too far and killed an inmate who was then buried behind one of the walls in the prison. This inmate named Robert is now haunting the prison and is claimed to be a angry spirit who likes to scare and touch people.

There is quite a bit more claims of paranormal phenomenon at Moundsville Penitentiary. There have been reports of apparitions, slamming cell doors, screams, and the sound of footsteps. This is one of the unusual instances where there is both residential haunting as well as intelligent haunting in the building. There has been no lack of activity for those who have been able to investigate at the prison and everyone leaves with a good ghost story to tell.

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4. Essex County Penitentiary Hauntings
5. Hauntings at Fort Pulaski