The haunted prison of Moundsville, West Virginia was established in 1866 and imprisoned 119 years worth of inmates. Around the 1930s, the hauntings of the prison started to arise. Moundsville prison has been listed as one of the most violent, haunted prisons according to the US Department of Justice.
The prison was usually the last stop for murders, rapists, and thieves since it was the worst of the worst since prisoners were left there to die or be murdered by their fellow inmates. About 1,000 men died in the Moundsville prison. During its tenure, about 36 homicides took place and 85 men were hung from the gallows at the prison.
In 1951 one prisoner's hanging went wrong and he was decapitated. The state ruled the hangings to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Prisoner R.D. Wall who was a snitch suffered punishment from fellow inmates. Wall was jumped by three inmates, cut and stabbed and basically butchered into pieces. In 1951, inmate Paul Glenn built "Old Sparky", an electric chair to carry out future executions at the prison before it was outlawed by the state in 1965. The prison also saw it's fair share of violent riots and suicides.
With the violent past and unrestful souls at the Moundsville Prison, it has served as a paranormal hotspot for ghost-seeking adventurers. There are also tours offered throughout the weekdays.
One of the most famous haunting's is the tale of the sugar shack . R.D. actually met his fate in the reception area, or "sugar shack". The room was dubbed the sugar shack since many fights, rapes, and murders occurred in this room. The ghost of R.D. Wall haunts this area and can be found lurking in the dark corners.
Many have also seen a dark shadow in this area, and some have even captured the shadow on camera. Could this be the shadow of R.D. Wall or someone else?
Other hotspots of paranormal activity throughout the old prison include the chapel, the front wagon gate where people have seen or heard the gate opening and closing on its own. 
Along with dark figures looming in the shadows and unexplained noises throughout the haunted prison, the prison also used their fair share of punishment besides the electrical chair in the 1950s-1960s. One instrument built and invented at the prison called the kicking jenny was one of the main forms of punishments.
Inmates would be stripped of their clothing and bent over the machine with their feet fastened to the floor with ropes and hands stretched over the upper end of the machine. The superintendent or whoever in charge would then take a whip and beat the prisoner(s) till they are almost dead.
Moundsville prison offers daily tours Tuesday through Sunday, investigations and even overnight investigations to get intel or any evidence of the paranormal activity that takes place beyond the cells and walls of the prison.
With the violent, dark history of Moundsville prison, this particular ghost haunting isn't for the easily scared or light-hearted, so enter at your own risk.
