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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kate's Mountain in Caldwell is West Virginia's oldest documented site

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, Kate's Mountain in Caldwell is West Virginia's oldest documented haunted site in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 77 West Virginia sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The mountain, the highest point in Greenbrier State Forest at 3,280 feet, takes its name from Catherine 'Kate' Carpenter, who fled to its peak with her child during a 1756 frontier raid near Fort Dinwiddie that killed her husband, Nicholas Carpenter. The 8.7-mile Kate's Mountain Loop trail is the primary hiking route to the summit within the forest's 5,133 acres.

Visitors describe lights hovering and moving along the ridgeline before accelerating out of view, and one account describes a sustained sound resembling an army marching that lasted about ten minutes before fading. Others report a fog-like shape, sometimes described as a large animal and sometimes as an upright figure, glimpsed at the treeline at dusk.

Statewide, Hill Top House Hotel in Harpers Ferry (original building demolished in 2022) ranks #1, and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #9.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Kate's Mountain, 1541 Harts Run Rd., Caldwell, is a free trail in Greenbrier State Forest, open daily from sunrise to sunset.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/west-virginia/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/west-virginia/Venue contact: wvstateparks.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Kate's Mountain in Caldwell is West Virginia's oldest documented site

Kate's Mountain in Caldwell is West Virginia's oldest documented haunted site in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. The mountain takes its name from Catherine 'Kate' Carpenter, who fled to its peak with her child during an attack that killed her husband, Nicholas Carpenter, in 1756. Visitors describe lights along the ridgeline and a sound resembling an army marching, along with a fog-like shape at the treeline. The 8.7-mile Kate's Mountain Loop trail in Greenbrier State Forest is free and open daily.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/west-virginia/