Paranormal activity - Haunted West Virginia

Paranormal activity
October 2010
BY ASHTON BIAS
The Parthenon

Moundsville State Penitentiary opens its Dungeon of Horrors tour for the Halloween season starting this Friday.

The penitentiary hires 50 actors to scare the visitors while they explore the haunted prison.

Halloween isn't the only time the prison gives visitors chills. It is open April - November to the public for historical tours as well as ghost hunting and night tours.

More than 998 documented deaths took place in the West Virginia prison, and the penitentiary was closed in 1995 after being in operation for 129 years, said Tom Stiles, internal coordinator of Moundsville Penitentiary.

"I definitely believe there is paranormal activity here," Stiles said. "There are things that happen here that just can't be explained."

Stiles said some of the stories of the prison might be fabricated, but there are too many consequences and weird happenings for some of the stories not to be true. Stiles has worked in the Moundsville State Penitentiary for 10 years.

"I've had two paranormal experiences since I've been here," Stiles said.

The prison is open Tuesday through Sunday for tours, Stiles said. The Dungeon of Horrors tour is the last event of the year for the penitentiary. The prison closes in November because there is no heating.

"Even if you're not into the paranormal aspect of the prison, the history of it is amazing," Stiles said.

Danielle Pierce, a junior advertising major from Lewisburg, W.Va., visited the penitentiary on Aug. 13.

"It was spooky, that's for sure," Pierce said.

She and her friends took the nighttime tour and spent all night inside the prison.

"The only source of light we had was our flashlights," Pierce said. "That's it."

She said exploring the building and learning the history of the prison was her favorite part of the experience.

"It's amazing to know all that history actually happened right here in West Virginia," Pierce said.

She said hearing first-hand experiences from people who work at the prison gave her chills.

"I was skeptical going in," Pierce said. "I've never had a ghostly experience before, but being inside that prison definitely changes your mind."

The prison stretches more than three blocks and covers 12 acres of land. Pierce said after the tour was finished, she and her group had the rest of the night to walk around the prison on their own.

"The fact that you're in a 144-year-old prison is scary enough, but knowing people have died in the same place you are made it really creepy," Pierce said.

The dungeon of horrors tour begins this weekend. Tickets are available at www.wvpentours.com. Stiles said no one under the age of 12 should attend.