The Most Haunted Places in West Virginia
West Virginia has 77 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
Top 10 identified after source-level analysis of the 22 strongest West Virginia candidates.
By the numbers
- Total documented
- 77
- Museum / Historical Site
- 18
- Outdoor / Natural Site
- 16
- Cemetery / Burial Ground
- 8
- Family-friendly
- 68
- Bookable
- 12
- Oldest documented site
- Kate's Mountain (1756)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
Ranked
- 1. Hill Top House Hotel Thomas S. Lovett, a Storer College graduate, opened the Hill Top House Hotel in 1890 above Harpers Ferry as one of the country's largest Black-owned hotels; it hosted Presidents Wilson and Clinton, burned twice by 1919, and closed in 2007; the original building was demolished in 2022, and a new hotel is planned on the site. Visitors reported figures in Civil War-era uniforms moving through the building between 2 and 3 a.m., along with banging pots, laughter, and voices from the kitchen. 8 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1917-2017 · retold in 1 later publication
- 2. West Virginia State Penitentiary The West Virginia State Penitentiary opened in 1876 at Moundsville and, over 119 years, saw 94 executions and 36 inmate homicides, including a 1986 riot that killed three inmates; that year courts ruled its cells unconstitutional, and the prison closed in 1995. The Gothic Revival building now hosts historic tours and paranormal investigations. Investigators report being touched or pushed in isolated corridor cells, and a figure called the Shadow Man, reported by both guards and visitors, is seen in a corridor in North Hall. 9 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1930-2012 · retold in 2 later publications
- 3. TNT Area / West Virginia Ordnance Works HauntBound identified five distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across five kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. 5 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1966-2020 · retold in 3 later publications
- 4. Miller Hall, Shepherd University HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this documented site, across three kinds of published source. Reported phenomena include apparitions. 4 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1915-2004
- 5. The Wells Inn The Wells Inn opened January 15, 1895 in Sistersville, built by Ephraim Wells, the founder's grandson, to house prospectors during Tyler County's oil boom; Wells kept an office and apartment on the second floor until his death in 1937. Guests and staff report the scratching sound of a pen on paper in his writing rooms, footsteps and doors opening in the corridors, and a door at Room 324 that resisted three attempts before swinging free. 5 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 2003-2021 · retold in 4 later publications
- 6. Silver Run Tunnel HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across five kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions. 3 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1861-1910 · retold in 3 later publications
- 7. Mothman Museum HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this museum site, across six kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. 3 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1966-2005 · retold in 3 later publications
- 8. Marrtown Thomas Marr, a Scottish immigrant who settled with his wife Mary in 1836, worked as a night watchman on the Parkersburg toll bridge until he died in February 1876, his body found in the river, cause unresolved. Family tradition holds Marr had seen a grey-robed rider on a white horse near the bridge on nights before his death, and the rider appeared at the home that night, told Mary her husband was dead, then vanished. 1 original account · documented across 1 decade, 1876-1878 · retold in 3 later publications
- 9. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, built in 1858 on the Kirkbride plan for 250 patients, opened in 1864 and by the mid-20th century held about 2,600; the hospital ran a lobotomy program in the 1950s before a class-action suit led courts to close it in 1994, reopening as a tour attraction in 2008. Investigators report unexplained voices and cold spots throughout the overcrowded upper-floor wards, along with isolated pressure sensations that some attribute to the building's history. 8 original accounts · retold in 4 later publications
- 10. Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this military site, across four kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and disembodied voices. 3 original accounts · documented in 1920 · retold in 3 later publications
By city
- Morgantown: 10 documented sites
- Parkersburg: 7 documented sites
- Charleston: 6 documented sites
- Wheeling: 6 documented sites
- Harpers Ferry: 5 documented sites
- Point Pleasant: 5 documented sites
- Huntington: 3 documented sites
- Moundsville: 3 documented sites
- Buckhannon: 2 documented sites
- Beckley: 2 documented sites
- 27 more across the rest of West Virginia
Press images
- Hill Top House Hotel Historic photograph circa 1893 hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/hilltop-hotel/hero.jpg
- West Virginia State Penitentiary Round 2 re-vet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Virginia_Penitentiary,_Moundsville,_WV_-_53039900682.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/west-virginia-state-penitentiary/hero.jpg
- Miller Hall, Shepherd University archizackture, CC BY 2.0, via https://www.flickr.com/photos/134900873@N08/48619087001/ hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/miller-hall-shepherd-university/hero.jpg
- The Wells Inn Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/the-wells-inn/hero.jpg
- Mothman Museum Richie Diesterheft, CC BY 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mothman_Museum.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/mothman-museum/hero.jpg
- Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Round 2 re-vet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weston_State_Asylum.JPG hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/trans-allegheny-lunatic-asylum/hero.jpg
- Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park West Virginia State Parks, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Droop_Mountain_Battlefield_State_Park.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/west-virginia/droop-mountain-battlefield-state-park/hero.jpg
Images listed here may be republished with the credit shown; all other HauntBound images are not offered for press use.
Superlatives
- Oldest documented site: Kate's Mountain Documented since 1756.
- Most documented: West Virginia State Penitentiary 9 distinct published accounts.
- Top haunted stay: Hill Top House Hotel Overnight stays bookable.
- Most family-friendly: Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center Family Comfort rating: High.
Methodology
For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.
The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.
Updated September 29, 2026: documented totals now exclude the private homes, operating hospitals and venues with nothing left to visit that were withdrawn on September 25 and 26. The ranked ten are unchanged.
Corrected October 5, 2026: Hill Top House Hotel's original building was demolished in 2022, and a new hotel is planned on the site; its ranking reflects the hotel's documented history, and the public overlook beside the fenced site remains open.
Updated October 23, 2026: more listings were withdrawn after a dignity and sourcing review, so some of the state's town counts are lower. The documented total stays as published until the November update.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.