MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The Travel Channel ranks two West Virginia landmarks among the most haunted in the United States, but ghost hunters know there are many more. The following five, ranked in 2014, are favorites of Jason Burns and Jonathan Moore, among the state’s best-known purveyors of the paranormal.
No. 1: Trans-Allegheny Asylum
When Virginians decided to rid themselves of their “insane,” they determined that moving them west of the Alleghenies would prove the best solution. And, so, at Weston, in what was soon to become West Virginia, construction of one of the most fantastic buildings in the U.S. began.
According to parapsychologists, the psychologically troubled brought a host of troubling energies. Today, the facility, which was formerly the Weston State Hospital, has been converted into a museum and a destination for seekers of the supernatural, known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
No. 2: West Virginia Penitentiary
Near the epicenter of West Virginia’s “City of the Dead,” the presence of the old penitentiary at 
Hikers take in the view of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, from Maryland Heights. Photo by 
Blennerhassett Hotel, Parkersburg, WV[/caption]
There’s no generally accepted reason for the relatively large number of hauntings experienced at Parkersburg. Perhaps activity here is a result of its situation on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, once known as the River of Evil Spirits.
Native Americans feared its floodwaters, in which whirlpools would quickly appear. Weeping statues, shadowy phantoms, and outright evil revenants inhabit its historic mansions and wander its wharves and avenues.