Another Look at the Penitentiary

I know that I've already talked about the West Virginia Penitentiary, but that place was so massive that it deserves another look. There is much more that I can say about this dark prison.

The Hole

We went down into the area called The Hole. This is where the boilers were kept. It was here that R.D. Wall was murdered in 1929. Wall was an inmate at the prison, and he spent a lot of time in The Hole tending to the boilers. Several inmates believed that Wall was a snitch, so one day they went down there and murdered him. 
 

The Hole

Our guide told us the story of a group of people that went down there one night. They sat in a circle on metal chairs, trying to contact Wall. A loud crash startled them, and they ran upstairs, knocking all of the chairs over in the process. When they went back down, the chairs were all upright, back in their neat circle. 

Being down there made me nervous. You could feel the room's dark past pressing in around you. In the corner of the room, there was a short, narrow hall that led to a tiny, round area. There was a single metal folding chair here. Others told us that when they went back there, they heard noises around them, even voices. I agreed to go back there, but only if my friend Nicole came with me. 

The Hole

We sat there, squished together on that single chair, with me on the left and her on the right. We were back there for about ten minutes, sitting in the pitch black cubby. We asked questions to the dead air to see if we could get a response. I don't know if I imagined it, but I thought that I heard breathing near my left ear. 

The Gift

We decided to leave around five in the morning. We checked out, they unlocked the door, and we made our out to freedom. We got in the car, and right before we left my sister said, “I have something for you."

She handed me a small, white piece of rubble. She had taken it from inside the prison. My first thought was "Take it back!" I didn't want anything from that place to follow me home, and taking something from there was an easy way to make that happen.

I kept that piece, though. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like any spirits followed me home through that tiny piece of rubble. I now keep it on my dresser, as a reminder of that night. 

The Piece of Rubble

Personal Ghosts

My Own Haunted House
  
So far, I’ve described my experiences at several different haunted locations. It’s one thing to go and visit somewhere that is supposed to be haunted. It’s different when one of those places turns out to be your home.

I enjoy going to haunted places. I like learning about the history of these locations, discovering what happened there and why a spirit might be stuck there. I enjoy the thrill of the whole experience. However, I do not like thinking that my own home is haunted. I don’t mind going out to look for ghosts, but I don’t want them to follow me home. It’s unnerving to think that you’re always being watched, that there’s something lurking over your shoulder.

I believe that my house has been haunted for a long time. My friend likes to tell me this often… she doesn’t like to go in the basement at night. All of the doors down there give off the impression that something is going to come bursting out of them. I can’t blame her… I try to avoid the basement late at night too. 

I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard unexplained noises throughout my house. The strange feelings about the house increased after the death of my brother.

The Visitor

It was about a year after my brother died. I was a senior in high school at the time, so I walked myself home from the bus stop. I came home, and it was the usual routine. Kicked my shoes off on the hard, plastic mat. Dropped my book bag on the floor. Opened the fridge, looking for a snack. Then my mother came into the kitchen, demanding to know where I've been. I was confused... I was at school all day, and had only just arrived home, which is what I told her. 

She gave me a strange look, and said that she heard me come in ten minutes earlier. She heard someone do the same things that I did... open the door, kick off their shoes, and open the fridge. No one else was home at the time, so she assumed that it was me. 

I don’t know if my mother imagined it, or if there was something else in the house with her at the time. Both explanations seem possible. It could be that my brother was there with her, watching over her.

The Spirits of Hotel Conneaut

The Hotel Conneaut (courtesy of clphotelconneaut.com)

Conneaut Lake Park

In the summer of 2010, I went to my family's camp in Pymatuning, Ohio. About half an hour from where we were was Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania. We decided to take a drive out there to see Conneaut Lake Park, which is a small amusement park. 

When we got there, we were disappointed to see that it wasn't technically open and running at the time, but we were still able to walk in. The tiny park seemed like a ghost town... but that's probably because it was. We headed towards the back of the park near the beach, which is where we found the Hotel Conneaut. The hotel was open, and we were able to go inside and explore.

At that time, we weren't allowed to go very far since we were not guests there. As we went in, we saw a flyer at the front desk advertising a ghost tour, which was happening that night. We didn't know much about the history of the hotel, so we thought that it would be interesting to come back for the tour.

Later that night, I returned with a friend and several members of my family. They agreed that it would be cool to come, but they were also a bit wary. My cousin's fiancé Mike told me, "I'd like to see a ghost, but if I do, I'm running." We gathered in the parlor and waited for the chance to walk through the old hotel.

Elizabeth

Our guide told us that the hotel opened in 1903. In 1943, a lightning strike hit the hotel, which started a great fire. The hotel's most famous ghost is Elizabeth, the bride who died in this fire. 

We went through the hotel to areas that weren't open to guests. The dark hallway that used to have guest rooms was now used as storage. Boxes filled the space, and we had to maneuver our way through. Halfway down, there was an open door with light shining through. This is the room that they claimed Elizabeth stayed in. Unfortunately, we didn't see a woman in white anywhere in there.

The Stairwell

Afterwards, she led us through a door, which led to a stairwell. There was no light in here either, so we all had to rely on the light of our phones to make our way up. She told us that people have felt a dark presence in that stairwell. It was something that you could sense as you walked in. I felt like something was going to grab me through the open stairs.

An Amusing Turn of Events

We made our way to the part of the hotel that guests were staying in. Our tour took a hilarious turn when an incredibly drunk woman came up to our group, telling us of her ghost encounters there. "I love my Elizabeth!" she exclaimed. "I've been coming here for years. I've seen her, she's real." We could smell the alcohol wafting off of her, and our guide gently tried to brush her away. We continued on with our tour, laughing about what had just happened.

Not long after, we were near another stairway when my friend Nicole said that something was touching her. She told me that she felt a hand on her back, and that she couldn't breathe. Perhaps a ghost was nearby, and it was having a negative effect on her.

Thoughts

I enjoyed my visit to the Hotel Conneaut, but I wish that it would have lasted longer. We were only there for about two hours, which didn't give us much time to explore, especially since we were on a guided tour. One day I'd like to go back, perhaps overnight as a guest. We didn't have much of an opportunity to take pictures, so I'd like to go back and really see what the hotel has to offer.


Related Links:
Hotel Conneaut
Conneaut Lake Park
Pennsylvania Haunts and History- Hotel Conneaut

The Children of Coulterville Road

A short distance from my house sits the small town of Coulter. Less than 400 people reside here. But like any other town, this one has a dark history. Coulter has “13 bends,” just like many other towns claim to have. With 13 bends, there are always tales of strange happenings that go along with them. Coulterville Road is no exception.

The History

 It is said that in the 1800s, an orphanage burned down near this site, with the children still inside. People say that you can still see the children in your rearview mirror and you can hear footsteps around you. There is also an old church and cemetery in this area. These are also said to be haunted.

On a Cold, Dark Night

One dark, chilly night, I went to a haunted hayride with my friend Nicole and my twelve-year old niece McKenzie. We enjoyed our ride on the hayride, but it wasn't very scary. We were looking for something more. My friend suggested that we go to Coulterville Road, which was just up the way from where we were. It was still early, so I agreed to go. I knew about the legend of that road, and I had always wanted to go.

We turned off the main road and went up the small twisty street that was Coulterville Road. It seemed like any other road, but the knowledge of its history made it seem more menacing. We decided that we were going to follow the road to its end, but we didn't know how far that was. Since we turned onto Coulterville Road itself, it was easy because there were no turns to make. 

Eventually, we found the old church and cemetery that were part of the legend. Unfortunately, we didn't stop to see if it was true. I was reluctant to stop the car in the dark at this area that I was not familiar with, especially with my niece in the car. We slowed down, though, and looked around for ghosts. We unfortunately didn't see any ghost children.

We continued on, trying to find where the road ended. Following the road, we ended up going down a small hill that ended up in a dead end. I was forced to pull over, and we tried to figure out where to go from there. Good thing for Google Maps! We sat there for a minute looking at the map, but there really wasn't anywhere to go but back the way we came. Sitting there in the car made me nervous. There were no streetlights around us, so the dark made us wary about our surroundings. I felt like something was going to come running out of the trees at us.

We headed back towards the hill, and we saw a few dark figures going into the trees. We were a bit jumpy at this point, but then we realized that they were just deer. We laughed nervously to each other, and made our way up the hill. We went past the church and cemetery again, but I didn't see any figures lingering on the road in my rearview mirror. 

We continued on, trying to find our way back to the main road. Like I said before, the way onto Coulterville Road was a straight shot. We didn't make any turns other than to turn around on the dead end street. We should have ended back on to the main road. Somehow, the road changed. I don't know where we ended up, or how we got onto a different road, but we did. We were confused, because it wasn't like there were any turns that we had to remember to make. We were lost, we were a bit scared, and we weren’t sure how to get back home. With the help of our phones, we eventually made our way out of Coulter.

Reflections

This was a strange experience, but it wasn’t one that I regret having. One day soon, I’d like to visit Coulterville Road again, this time in the daylight. It’s easy to get lost in the dark, especially somewhere you’ve never been to. I want to explore this place again, to learn more about the surrounding area. I wish that we would have seen something weird, but honestly, if we had, I don’t know what we would have done. Nevertheless, I still wish to venture back there someday to see if I can see something incredible in that tiny, creepy town.

Related Links:
10 Places in Pittsburgh Where You Might Meet a REAL Ghost
CBS Pittsburgh- Best Pittsburgh Haunts
Coulter