Tucked Away in West Virginia’s Panhandle Lies a Formerly Notorious, Now Abandoned Prison Steeped in Ghostly Lore

If the words “abandoned and haunted Gothic prison” don’t tickle your fancy, then it might be time to reassess some life priorities. If you live in the United States, especially somewhere within Appalachia or even the West Virginia panhandle, you’re in luck. You’re only one quick drive and a $15 guided tour fee away from prowling the now-rotted halls of West Virginia Penitentiary, an imposing facility that witnessed riots, fires, and the execution of about 100 inmates. And bonus: You might even leave with a ghostly companion who’ll serve as an eternal memento of your sojourn.

Also referred to as Moundsville Penitentiary after Moundsville, West Virginia where it’s located, West Virginia Penitentiary was opened in 1876 and only closed recently in 1995. It originally held 251 male inmates, many of whom helped build the very walls that stand to this day. In the early 1900s the prison grounds were basically a self-sustaining village with a hospital, smithy, tailor, bakery, carpenter’s shop, and more. But by the late 20th century, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation decided to give up the ghost — so to speak — on their state’s intimidating, fortress-like prison.  

Now, West Virginia Penitentiary has been wisely converted into a money-making tourist attraction for paranormal fans and seekers of the macabre. This includes cheaper guided tours, more expensive free-roaming tours, for-real ghost hunts, and overnight stays for the truly brave. There are unaltered prison cells throughout the facility, but also set pieces designed for maximum scares, including a Halloween haunted house.

If West Virginia Penitentiary wasn’t a proper business and tourist site, it’d be every urban explorer’s dream. It’s decrepit, but not falling in on itself, and looks very much like what it must have looked like 10, 20, 50, or even 100 years ago. Patches of peeling wall paint stretch down long cell blocks full of rusted cell doors and 5 ft.-by-7 ft. cells. In many ways, the most fulfilling part of a trip to West Virginia Penitentiary is walking by these cells and imagining the lives of those inside dwindling away till death — or execution.

For those interested in visiting and soaking up this creepiness in the way that only firsthand visits allow, West Virginia Penitentiary offers a full range of options. The most modest of these options is an in-and-out, 90-minute guided tour for $15. If you want to poke around by yourself, there’s a generous 4-hour tour that allows access to areas not available on the guided tour, like the boiler room, the recreation yards, the kitchen and cafeteria, and most disturbing of all, the psych ward. But, this costs $100. There’s ghost hunt versions of each of these tours — guided vs. un-guided — with the latter lasting six hours and running overnight for groups as large as 20. This costs $1,099 and requires signing a waiver. 

For those wanting a crafted, haunted house experience (around Halloween, no less), there’s the teen-friendly “The Dungeon” Haunted House opening in late September. There’s even an escape room, Escape the Pen: The Execution.