June 19 1931, Frank Hyer was about to be hanged for killing his wife. Seeing the condemned before his execution surprised officials… he was happy.
Archives: Articles
Ghost Guide Daniel – – William “Red” Snyder was a violent man. Born in 1946. Starting with arson in his 20’s. Then, it escalated. And he served time in many prisons.
Released on parole from West Virginia Penitentiary in 1967. One day later, he killed 2 men, returning him to the storied prison, and… leading to his murder.
Only 10 years open when stories of inhumane punishment and torture was told to the newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer on November 30, 1886. Former West Virginia Penitentiary Assistant Superintendent named Wilkerson had seen enough.
After leaving he exposed accounts of violence done on inmates.
Two notable dark tourism sites stand across the street from each other in Moundsville, West Virginia.
On the west side is North America’s largest native burial mound at 65 feet high. On the east side, the United States most haunted prison, West Virginia Pen.
The resident ghost of Trans Allegheny Asylum is Lily. The cute little girl ghost loved by many visitors. It’s why they try to find her. And if quiet, still leaving a toy behind.
Then a reason to not be a security guard in a haunted place.
A famed American surgeon named Dr. Walter Freeman created a special Lobotomy. This made him famous, then infamous. They called it the “ice pick lobotomy”.
This method did not need drilling. Instead entering the skull by use of a long, sharp pick slid through the eye-socket.
Built between 1858 and 1881 on the “Kirkbride Plan”. A plan based on modern cures. Kindness and morality. Trans Allegheny was setup to allow tons of sunlight and provide comfort.
Didn’t take long to screw this over.
After the ghost hunt we ended the night. Going through recordings over the next few days. It yielded another first for me. The EVP!
In case you don’t know. An EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon. It’s ghost voices over tape. These are recordings said to pick up details the human ear cannot. Means the Merritt House was full of them.
Happened throughout the night at the Merritt House. A male energy from within the house harassed Kate. She and Michele asked for a name, and the thing only mocked them. We didn’t know it’d end in possession.
Said to call it, “Booger”.
A small investigation happened at the Merritt House in 2001. The events from this night changed the way I saw ghosts.
Changed the way they answered the question, “Can we investigate the house?”