Jefferson County holds two of West Virginia's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Jefferson County places rank among West Virginia's ten most haunted in HauntBound's 2026 index, including Hill Top House Hotel in Harpers Ferry (original building demolished in 2022) at #1. The index ranks 77 West Virginia sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Hill Top House Hotel ranks #1. Thomas S. Lovett, a Storer College graduate, opened the hotel in 1890 overlooking the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers at Harpers Ferry. Eight separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1917. Visitors described Civil War-era soldiers moving through the building around 2 a.m., and others reported banging pots, laughter and voices from the hotel's empty kitchen.

Miller Hall, Shepherd University (exterior viewing only), ranks #4. Built in 1915, it is sometimes said to have served as a Civil War hospital, but it was built decades after the war; the actual wartime hospital was the nearby Entler Hotel. Four separate published accounts describe activity there. Campus legend describes a Victorian-era girl in the clothing of a family said to have owned the land before the college acquired it in 1915.

The index documents 77 haunted places across West Virginia, 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:Hill Top House Hotel, Harpers Ferry (original building demolished in 2022): the fenced site is closed, and the public overlook beside it remains open.Miller Hall, Shepherd University, 202 N. Duke St., Shepherdstown, is an active residence hall; exterior viewing only. Please do not trespass.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/west-virginia/The fact sheet, with Harpers Ferry numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/west-virginia/Photo: Hill Top House Hotel, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: hilltophousehotel.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

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