A Haunted House in Moundsville

1899 Map of Moundsville

When it comes to ghosts, Moundsville, West Virginia may be best known for the super haunted former West Virginia State Penitentiary. But, way back in 1867, the little town was known for another haunted location. This story comes from the August 16, 1867 edition of the Wheeling Daily Register, who got the story from The Moundsville National, dated August 15, 1867:

A Ghost Near Moundsville

The Moundsville National of yesterday has the following sensation item:

It is a fact not known to many of the citizens of Moundsville and surroundings, that there is, in the immediate vicinity of this place, a haunted house. The house is a new one, and, until recently, has not been occupied. The upper floor of the building has never been finished, and to this day remains unoccupied. For a considerable time past the denizens of this building have been in the habit of hearing strange, unusual and unnatural noises issuing from the aforesaid upper story, and a rumor had gone abroad that the place was haunted. Little, however, has been said about the matter, the majority of those living in the building being under the impression that the strange noises were occasioned by rats scampering about the premises. The noises, however, have continued, and seemed to increase in intensity, and becoming louder and louder as the midnight hour approaches, and then entirely ceased as day begins to break.

One of the inmates, more valorous than the others, determined to fathom the mystery, and a couple of days ago, when the sun was shining brightly, he ascended to the upper story. The stair was encumbered by pieces of timber, which he removed after considerable trouble, and on getting to the top of the stair he forced open the door and entered. His astonishment may be well imagined when by the glimmering light which penetrated the closed up apartment, he saw lying extended on the floor a full sized skeleton. He started back for an instant, being unprepared for such a surprise, but quickly rallying, he knelt down and examined the skeleton minutely. How it came to be in the place where it was found is a mystery and may never be cleared up, and whether murder or suicide had been committed may never be known. The skeleton, however, still lies in the upper story, and whether the poor, perturbed spirit of the deceased seeks the glimpses of the moon is left for the believers of ghost stories to determine. It is still reported that the unusual sounds are to be heard each night, but perhaps the removal of the skeleton and a decent interment might put a stop to the wanderings of the ghost. 

We can’t swallow that without more bait. Was “the skeleton” a hoop-skirt institution, or a “dorg” farce? Please particularize, Mr. National.  

Wheeling Daily Register 16 August 1867