West Virginia State Penitentiary
Moundsville, WV
The penitentiary was built in 1866. In 1995 the prison closed because a judge ruled that the 5'X7' cells were considered cruel and unusual punishment. The first execution was held at the prison in 1899. Between 1899-1949, 94 men total were put to death. Of those 94, 85 were hung, and between 1951-1959, 9 men were electrocuted. During one hanging, a man was decapitated. The report stated that the 200 + pound man's neck was to "soft and spongy" to support his weight. "Old Sparky" the electric chair was built by an inmate at the prison and now sits in a small museum at the prison.
The "Alamo" was the area where death row inmates were kept. There were 4 tiers of 5'X7' cells. Some cells housed 3 men at a time. One on the top bunk, one on the bottom bunk, and a third on the floor under the bottom bunk. Wardens tell of walking the cell block and having guards spit and urinate on them from above. During a riot that broke out at the prison, a convicted child molester was stabbed repeatedly while the guard was forced to watch. The child molester was then drug through the cell block as men spit on him. Another inmate was killed in the basement area of the prison. The inmate lived in the basement where he took care of the boiler system and the pipes. He was stabbed repeatedly while going to the bathroom.
The history of this 129 year old prison is riddled with many more macabre stories. On to the investigation:
Solar X-Rays
M Class Flare
Geomagnetic Field
Active w/increased activity after midnight
Moon Phase
Full Moon
Weather
clear, 80 degrees F
The atmosphere at the prison is oppressive, even when simply walking in the front door. Kelly and I had several experiences outside of photos and EMF readings. During a tour of death row, I felt something wet hit my arm. I shined my flashlight up and found nothing but 3 more tiers of cells. Looking at my arm, there was no sign of water droplets at all, and my arm did not feel wet. Later, while sitting in the visitation area of the prison, I related the experience to Kelly, who also felt moisture. When then made our way back to the same area and had the same thing happen. There were no pipes or opening s that we could see that could explain the moisture. And again, there was no droplets or wetness visible on my arm. While watching a video the next day, guards told stories of how inmates in that area would spit and urinate on guards walking below.
While sitting in the visitation area, Kelly noticed blood on my leg where it appeared that I had cut myself. After cleaning off the area, there was no sign of any cut or scratch. We also were able to obtain several very high readings with the EMF detector. At times, the meter spiked to 8 and 9.
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If you want to learn more about Moundsville, check out their site
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