WestVirginiaPenitentiary

West Virginia
Penitentiary

This Gothic prison opened it's doors in 1876, and finally shut
down in 1995, 119 years later. Between 1899 and 1959,
ninety-four men were executed here. Hanging was the method
used up until 1949, with eighty-five men succumbing to that
fate. Then beginning in 1951, the electric chair became the
method of execution. Nine men met their end in the chair until
the death penalty was abolished in West Virginia entirely in
1965. However, a total of 998 known deaths occurred within
the prison during its years of operation.

In November 2002, Tom participated in an overnight ghost hunt
on the grounds. His group and he explored all open areas of
the prison. Some of the purportedly haunted areas include the
Sugar Shack, "the hole", and death row cell block #9. While
there, one guest had an experience of a "hand" brushing
against her back, in the upper right area near her shoulder.
This happened in the basement. It is interesting to note that a
similar event was experienced by a friend who had gone on an
earlier hunt, in that exact location in that same room.

The experience during that investigation was so intriguing, that
Tom suggested making another trip. In November 2004, we
(now CPSI) went back, along with a few guests to round out the
team. This time, we were better prepared with equipment and a
general idea of where we wanted to spend our time.

We spent a good portion of our time in the Sugar Shack, filming
what we thought at the time might be orbs. However, we knew
that dust was the more likely culprit.

Upon reviewing the video, it was confirmed that it was merely
dust that we were observing on the cameras small view
screen. We did not come up with anything on audio or in
photos either. Even with the lack of personal experiences this
time around, we do believe that it is likely that some type of
paranormal activity is going on at this location. The experience
in itself is unforgettable, and we would definitely go back there
again.