It was decided that the prison would be extended in 1929; however, the construction was not completed until 1959. In these 20 years the prison was grossly overcrowded with some cells having three inmates each.

West Virginia State Penitentiary has been the scene of many executions over the years it was operated as prison, either by hanging or electric chair. Yet, executions were not the only deaths in the prison: illness, overcrowding and riots killed many inmates.

The Haunting

Over the years visitors and paranormal investigators have reported being touched or feeling ‘something’ close to them, many have also felt that someone is watching them. Not only does this prison give most people the spooks because of the Gothic construction, but also sightings of three different ghosts are frequently reported.

The Maintenance Man

This is the most popular of the three haunting to come up. The time West Virginia State Penitentiary was a jail a prisoner working as maintenance man used to spy on the inmates and reported the other inmate’s bad behavior to the guards. One day when he was in the bathroom ‘the maintenance man’ was attacked by several inmates and killed. He is said to be lurking in the bathroom where he was savagely murdered, but he makes no contact with the living.

Robert the Inmate

Robert was an inmate who was violently murdered by the prison guards who were known to be physically abusive towards the worse inmates. They would beat them to ‘near’ death, but this time ‘near’ was too far and they killed Robert. His remains are said to be buried behind one of the walls in the prison. Robert’s spirit walks the prison to this day terrifying anyone he comes into contact.

Avril Adkins

Last, but certainly not least, is the story behind Avril Adkins. He was sentenced to hang by the neck until death. He was taken to the gallows for hanging but something went wrong during the execution process and Avril fell through trap door and landed on his head having serious head injuries. The guards picked him up, took him back up the stairs and hung him again. This time he died. Many visitors to the prison say they have seen him walking around the gallows where he died.

West Virginia State Penitentiary is now closed as prison, but operated as tourist attraction.

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Alcatraz was originally a high security military prison, which opened in 1859. In 1933 it was then made a high security federal Prison for the most hardened and dangerous criminals. The conditions of the prison were terrible with a very strict management. If any inmate was to behave badly in anyway it would mean solitry confinement or even the a stretch in the dreader steel box. Due to the building literally crumbling away the prision was closed in 1963 but was made a national park.

Alcatraz Hauntings

The hauntings that have been reported by National Park staff have vary from voices to load noises behind a door.



Al Capone’s ghost
Al Capone is one of the well known prisoners of Alcatraz. While he spent the last years of his life in the High Security Prison, he joined a band where he played the banjo. While he was at Alcatraz he feared that he would be killed by other inmates if he was to spend his recreation time in the yard – Al Capone was then allowed to spend time practising his Banjo within the showers.

To this day National Park staff and members of the public taking the Alcatraz Tour have heard a noise which has been stated to be a Banjo, coming from the showers. This noise has never been explained and people are still reporting it.

Cell 14D – The Hole
Cell 14D is one the Hole cells where inmates were sent for bad behaviour. When the prison was open there was an incident where an inmate was sent to cell 14D. The inmate screamed though the night telling the guards of monster with glowing eyes was going to kill him. The next morning the cell was opened and the inmate had been strangled.

That same morning when doing a head count, the guards counted one extra prisoner. The guards that counted claimed to have seen the prisoner that had been killed through the night.

The Lighthouse
The lighthouse which was original built and then removed in 1909 is a paranormal hotspot to this day. many witnesses have reported that on foggy nights the lighthouse will appear with a light on and then disappear just as fast as it appeared.

The Utility Corridor
This is now known has the most haunted place in the prison. There was a night watchmen that heard noises from the corridor so opened the door to investigate, the noises instantly stopped so he flashed his light down the corridor and saw nothing that would cause the noise he then closed that door and the noises started again! He opened the door and again saw nothing.

The door to the utility door was once welded closed for an unknown reason, but it is believed that it was done for some paranormal reason.

Alcatraz has many haunted stories that can be found across the internet but the ones I have told you about are just the ones that I thought were interesting.

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