The Ohio Valley Paranormal Research Team

The Ohio Valley Paranormal Research Team Welcomes You And Are Looking For New Members!

We are a small group of dedicated investigators using scientific means to pursue the truth and seeking answers to all paranormal claims. We take all claims seriously and do everything within our means to help our clients get answers.

We offer private and business investigations at no charge to our clients (we never charge for our services). We are centrally located in and around Marietta Ohio in southeast Ohio and travel to the surrounding areas to help our clients.

If you feel you have a situation we could help with please email us at tovprt@gmail.com with a summary of your situation and someone from our team will get back in touch with you.

If you have an interest in the paranormal and are 18 or older and live in the Marietta Ohio - Parkersburg WV. area and would like to become a team member please fill out the application on the site HERE, we will review it and get back in touch with you.

The Moundsville Penitentiary - Moundsville WV.

HISTORY
In 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War. Consequently, the new state had a shortage of various public institutions, including prisons.The Wagon Gate was the only building at this site, during the Civil War From 1863 to 1866, Governor Arthur I. Boreman lobbied the West Virginia Legislature for a state penitentiary but was repeatedly denied. The Legislature at first tried to direct him to send the prisoners to other institutions out of the state, and then they directed him to use existing county jails, which turned out to be inadequate. After nine inmates escaped in 1865, the local press took up the cause, and the Legislature took action. On 7 February 1866, the state legislature approved the purchase of land in Moundsville for the purpose of constructing a state prison. Ten acres were purchased just outside of the then city limits of Moundsville for $3000. Moundsville proved an attractive site, as it is approximately twelve miles south of Wheeling, West Virginia, which at that time was the state capital.

The state built a temporary wooden prison nearby that summer. This gave prison officials time to assess what prison design should be used. Northern Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet proved to be an attractive design. Its Gothic Revival architecture "exhibit[ed], as much as possible, great strength and convey[ed] to the mind a cheerless blank indicative of the misery which awaits the unhappy being who enters within its walls."

The first building constructed on the site was the North Wagon Gate.[1] It was made with hand-cut sandstone, which was quarried from a local site. The state used prison labor during the construction process, and work continued on this first phase until 1876. When completed, the total cost was of $363,061. In addition to the North Wagon Gate, there was now north and south cellblock areas (both measuring 300 ft. by 52 ft.). South Hall had 224 cells (7 ft. by 4 ft.), and North Hall had a kitchen, dining area, hospital, and chapel. A 4-story tower connecting the two was the administration building (measuring 75 ft. by 75 ft.). It included space for female inmates and personal living quarters for the warden and his family. The facility officially opened in this year, and it had a prison population of 251 male inmates, including some who had helped construct the very prison that now held them. After this phase, work began on prison workshops and other secondary facilities.

EXECUTIONS
From 1899 to 1959, ninety-four men were executed. Hanging was the method of execution until 1949 with eighty-five men meeting that fate. The public could attend hangings until June 19, 1931. On that date, Frank Hyer was executed for murdering his wife. However, when the trap door beneath him was opened and his full weight was put onto the noose, he was instantly decapitated. Following this event, attendance at hangings was by invitation only. The last man to face execution by hanging, Bud Peterson from Logan County, lies in the prison's cemetery, as his family refused to claim his body. Beginning in 1951, electrocution became the means of execution. Ironically, the electric chair, nicknamed "Old Sparky", used by the prison was originally built by an inmate there, Paul Glenn. Nine men died in the chair until the state outlawed execution entirely in 1965. The original chair is on display in the facility and is a part of the official tour.

TOURISM
Tours are available for tourists wishing to see the prison. The Elizabethtown Festival is held every May to celebrate and remember historic Moundsville. A haunted attraction called the "Dungeon of Horrors" is also set up for the Halloween season. Paranormal groups and enthusiast travel guides consider Moundsville Prison to be one of the most haunted prisons in the United States, with ghost stories originating as early as the 1930s. Legends include the prison occupying the site of a Native American burial ground. Reports include former guards seeing phantom inmates and a "shadow man" wandering the premises, as well as unexplained noises, voices, and cold spots.

Source: Wikipedia

11-26/27-2011 This was our first trip to the Moundsville Penitentiary and was a very rewarding trip at that.

We investigated all parts except for the "Sugar Shack" as a couple of groups had laser grids set up and other equipment so we did the honorable thing and didn't interrupt them. I'm disappointed that we didn't go ahead and go in and do some of our own investigating next time we will investigate in there.

Our first thing we experienced in the prison this night was shadows and footsteps in New Wall. We met a fellow investigator named Bob who traveled from Champaign Illinois on a regular basis to the prison to investigate the Moundsville Penitentiary, a helluva nice guy too. He used a personal hearing amplifier which really amplified all the sounds in there a nice piece of equipment I think i might look into getting.

Bob suggested that we stand on opposite ends of the cell block and get our eyes accustomed to the dark and that we'd see shadows move in and out of the cells. We tried this on both sections of cells and when we tried it on the southernmost cells I saw what briefly appeared like a shadow pass across a window and we heard footsteps coming up from behind us and David was touched on his shoulder so noticeable that he thought it was maybe another investigator looking to go past us he said "excuse me" and moved out of the way only to see there was no one there.

I want to point out we traveled with voice recorders constantly recording not once did we move throughout the prison without recording.

We heard unexplainable noises in the infirmary and psych wards. We captured in photos many orbs but I attribute these to dust. I wore a headlamp while in there and i can see in the light beams dust particle freely moving through the air in those vacant buildings.

David and I sat in the "The Hole" area where R.D. Walls lived. We were down there for about 15 minutes and most of that time was in total darkness and we tried an evp session we didn't hear anything audibly but when we checked the voice recorders the next day we caught a great evp. You can listen to it at the following link.

Moundsville State Penitentiary - "Get Out!" by TOVPRT

I had a strange thing occur in the photos that I took in the kitchen and cafeteria area, on two separate times i was taking pictures in there and had two photos come out totally black and the flash worked every time I took a photo. I can't explain it, it never happened anywhere else in the prison and this was on two different occasions in this area.

I managed to get something in 4 photos in the bottom left corner. These were taken one right after the other and after the 4th image it never reoccurred. I first thought that maybe it could have been the camera strap but everything can be explained away. The camera was always in my right hand and in my left hand I always had the voice recorder at my side. The camera strap was always around my right wrist and it is attached to the right side of the camera. The lens of the camera is situated on the left side. I took all the photos with one hand (right hand) so to the best of my knowledge there is no explanation for this. I'm posting the pics for you to see maybe there is a logical explanation that I've failed to realize.

We plan on coming back in the spring in 2012 to investigate more and share our findings.

Back From Moundsville Penitentiary... What A Trip!

We are back from our first investigation of the Moundsville Penitentiary and came back with some personal experiences and some captured on camera and evps. (we are still examining the audio collected)

We plan on coming back in the spring in 2012 to investigate more and share our findings.

Upcoming Moundsville Penitentiary Investigation

A few of us will be investigating the Moundsville Penitentiary Saturday night 11/26. This place is a well known hotspot and has been investigated by groups like TAPS, Paranormal State and the gang from Ghost Adventures. This will be our first time at this location and we hope to come away with some great evidence of paranormal activity.

The Riverview Cemetery is located behind the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of 13th and Ann Streets.

The Riverview Cemetery may be the oldest community cemetery in Parkersburg. The cemetery grounds were originally part of a 2,400 acre parcel of land owned by Captain Alexander Parker for whom the city of Parkersburg is named. A man named, Joseph Cook from Massachusetts purchased 200 acres of the Parker's land in 1802. The cemetery was first used by the Cook family and was thus known as the Cook Cemetery for many years.

In 1843, one acre of the property was set aside to be used as a community cemetery. At this time, the cemetery became known as the Riverview Cemetery.

In 1925, the cemetery was 2.5 acres in size. It has not grown since that time and few new burials have happened here in recent years.

Ghosts and the Paranormal at the Riverview Cemetery in Parkersburg, West Virginia:

A statue known to locals as the “Weeping Woman” has reportedly been blamed for pulling people's hair, unbuttoning clothes, unzipping pants, and, occasionally, tripping people. Orbs and other anomalies have been captured in photographs taken at the Riverview Cemetery. Disembodied voices have been reported as well as the apparition of a man in a black coat, croaching over a grave.

Source: Hauntings Social Network

The Silver Run Tunnel - Cairo WV.

The Silver Run Tunnel (tunnel 19), located in Cairo, WV. used to be part of the B&O Railroad tracks dating back to the Civil War. However, today, it is gravel path which is part of North Bend Rail trails. The tunnel is approximately 1,376 feet in length and is mostly brick. It is also reportedly haunted by a black-haired woman dressed in a white gown with pale white skin.

Many different stories surrounds this tunnel and the ghost of Silver Run. One story states that many conductors had spotted a woman standing on the tracks. As the train approached with its horn blowing to warn the woman, the woman just stood there motionless, starring right at the train coming straight for her. At the moment of impact, she would fly up in the air and disappear. Who or what was this woman? No one knows.

Who could the black-haired woman be? One explanation is that that woman was riding a train to Parkersburg to be married but never arrived. An extensive search for her was made, but the woman was never found. No one knew what happened to her. Stories say she fell off the platform to her death as the train approached. Another story is that she was beheaded, and continues to frequent the tracks... searching for her head. Some claim, perhaps, she was pushed to her death. Perhaps, this bride to be is the woman haunting the tunnel. However, there is also another explanation as to the woman's identity.

Another story states that there was an old abandoned house in Silver Run that was torn down long ago. Workers discovered a skeleton of a woman dressed in a bridal gown walled up inside the chimney. The remains were never identified or claimed. However, the remains of this woman were given a proper burial in a cemetery near the Silver Run Tunnel.

Oddly enough, it has been stated that during the tunnel updates several years ago, as part of the Rails to Trails Project, a body was exhumed near the tunnel site. Is this true? It is still uncertain whether this story is factual or not, but it does add to the mystery of the Ghost of Silver Run Tunnel.

Our Investigations:

10-29-2011 This was a daytime excursion mainly to check out the location. There were four of us on this trip.

One of our lead investigators, David while walking through the tunnel turned around and saw a shadow of someone behind him walking toward him. He explained afterwards that he thought it was one of us as if one of us was hiding in one of the many alcoves in the tunnel trying to scare him. He kept walking and as he rounded the curve in the tunnel and could see out he saw the three of us at the tunnel exit.

This same trip David and Jim saw what looked like a white mist form in the tunnel that would vanish shortly after forming.

This all happened during the day at the tunnel.

11-12-2011 This time we arrived at approx. 11:30 pm this time out there was four of us again Josh, Brittany, David and myself. We set up a camera at the entrance and started in placed a voice recorder about 1/4 of te way in in one of the alcoves.

We made it about 1/2 the way in and I heard what sounded like a womans voice. We stopped walking and listened and I was the only one who heard it. It sounded very faint like a voice in a far off room, you could make out that it was female but couldn't pick up any words or what was being said.

We went through to the other end and set up another camera and the went back into the tunnel in groups of two. Josh and I went half way in and sat in one of the alcoves and did an evp session Brittany and David went a 1/4 of the way in and sat in one of the alcoves.

Brittany and David experienced a cold spot in front of them but nothing else beyond that. On other hand Josh and I heard a loud sound (like someone jumping from a high area onto the ground) come from their area of the tunnel. I radioed them and asked if they had made that noise and they said they didn't make any noise and indicated that they didn't hear anything.

Shortly after that no longer than 10 minutes I saw a flash of light at the entrance of the tunnel and began to hear voices, several voices. I then realized we had a group of thrill seekers (one of them let out a shrill scream in the tunnel before they even saw us) coming to the tunnel to see what they could find so I radioed the other team to head our way and we gathered up our gear. Our Silver Run Tunnel investigation was very short lived that evening.

We reviewed the brief footage we had captured and voice recordings and got mostly nothing except for one sound which sounds like something hitting the ground in the tunnel among the many sounds of water dripping throughout the tunnel. (Listen below)

Unexplainable noise

We are planning another night investigation in the near future hopefully before it gets too cold.