HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A Beaux-Arts Charleston library that is the starting point of the Charlie West ghost tour
123 Capitol Street, Charleston, WV 25301
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public library; the ghost tour that begins here is separately ticketed
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved downtown sidewalk; library has steps at the Capitol Street entrance
Equipment
Photos OK
Charleston Civic Architecture · Beaux-Arts Library Building · Ghost Tour Starting Point
The Kanawha County Public Library serves Charleston and surrounding Kanawha County from its main building at 123 Capitol Street, in the heart of downtown. The building is a Beaux-Arts structure, a style marked by symmetrical classical facades and prominent stonework, and it anchors a stretch of Capitol Street that the city's ghost tour uses as a starting point.
The library's downtown setting places it among Charleston's older civic buildings and a short walk from sites tied to the city's history, including landmarks connected to the West Virginia mine wars of the early 1920s. The Charlie West ghost tour, launched by US Ghost Adventures and billed as the first tour of its kind in West Virginia, opens here before walking roughly a mile through the downtown district.
As a working public library, the building is open to the public during regular hours; the paranormal framing comes specifically from the ghost tour rather than from any documented event at the library itself. Coverage in the Charleston Gazette-Mail and the tour operator's own materials both identify the library as the tour's first stop, where it is introduced as a Beaux-Arts building said to hold restless spirits.
Sources
The library's paranormal reputation is tied almost entirely to the Charlie West ghost tour, which begins at its Capitol Street entrance. The tour presents the building as a grand Beaux-Arts structure said to hold restless spirits, setting the tone before guides lead visitors out into the downtown district.
Among the stories the broader tour tells are accounts connected to the West Virginia mine wars of the early 1920s, including reports of figures resembling coal miners in 1920s clothing seen around downtown, and a separate Civil War-era account of a drummer boy said to appear near the Kanawha River. These narratives belong to the route as a whole rather than to the library specifically.
No documented haunting predating the tour was found for the library building itself. The 'restless spirits' framing is the tour operator's, and reporting in the Charleston Gazette-Mail confirms the library's role as the tour's starting stop without attributing a specific historical tragedy to the building. Visitors should treat the library's lore as part of a guided entertainment experience rather than as a separately documented case.
The Kanawha County Public Library at 123 Capitol Street is the meeting point and first stop for the Charlie West ghost tour, a roughly one-hour, one-mile walking tour of downtown Charleston run by US Ghost Adventures. The tour describes the library as a grand Beaux-Arts building said to hold restless spirits before moving on to other downtown landmarks.
The library is a working public library open to all during regular hours; visitors can see the historic downtown building independent of the ghost tour.
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