if someday I find myself in Moundsville, W. Va.....

Calls itself the "National Museum of the Paranormal." Collection of beyond-death artifacts, haunted mirrors, possessed dolls, serial killer yard dirt, paranormal history of WV State Penitentiary, etc. National Museum of the Paranormal Address: 1600 3rd St., Moundsville, WV Directions: Downtown. In the Sanford Center building, room 202. Hours: Tu-Sa 1-6 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 304-231-7134 Admission: $3 RA Rates: Worth a Detour

Walk to the top of a 2,000-year-old Adena burial mound in the heart of downtown Moundsville. Address: 801 Jefferson Ave., Moundsville, WV Directions: I-470 exit 1. Take US 250/Hwy 2 south ten miles into Moundsville. When US 250 and Hwy 2 split, follow Hwy 2 for another six blocks to 8th street. Turn left on 8th for two blocks to Jefferson Avenue, then right on Jefferson. Hours: Tu-Sa 9-5. Access thru Visitor Center. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 304-843-4128

Moundsville, West Virginia: West Virginia State Penitentiary Tour RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report Address: 818 Jefferson Ave., Moundsville, WV Directions: On the south side of Moundsville, at the corner of 8th St. and Jefferson Ave. Jefferson is a couple of blocks east of Hwy 2. Hours: Apr-Nov Daily 10-4. No heat, too cold for winter tours. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 304-845-6200 WV Pen Tours.West Virginia State Penitentiary Tour Learn what it's like to live behind bars -- for an hour or so -- in this decommissioned prison. Has an electric chair and gallows, too, but just for viewing. Roadsideamerica.com Report...

an hour away......New Cumberland, West Virginia: Sea Monster, Scrap Art Creatures A large, undulating Loch Ness monster, plus a scrap metal Mothman and other creatures, populate a private yard. The cast of characters change over time, and have spread into nearby yards. Address: 1110 Ridge Ave., New Cumberland, WV Directions: South side of town, on the east side of Hwy 2/Ridge Ave., just north of the Hancock County Savings Bank sign. Private property; visible from the road. RA Rates: Worth a Detour

1.5 hour from Moundsville: Parkersburg, West Virginia: Grave of the Weeping Woman Melodramatic tombstone serves as a kind of altar for those seeking ghostly interventions. If your motives are unpure, she may seek revenge. Riverview Cemetery Address: 1341 Juliana St., Parkersburg, WV Directions: Riverview Cemetery. From downtown, drive north on Avery St. Turn left at the stoplight onto 13th St. Drive three blocks. Turn right onto Juliana St. You'll see the cemetery pedestrian entrance ahead on the left. Walk through the gate and the Weeping Woman is in the back if you follow the winding path to the right. Watch out for uneven sidewalks and vengeful spirits. Hours: Gate is locked dusk-dawn. Local health policies may affect hours and access.Weeping Woman Tombstone All of the gates to Riverview Cemetery are padlocked with new fencing. You cannot get into the cemetery. You can see the Weeping Woman tombstone from the north side looking into the cemetery. [Wendy George, 05/31/2021] There's a small pedestrian gate just to the left of the main entry gate that should be unlocked daily from 8am to dusk -- if the person with the key shows up. Weeping woman.Weeping Woman Grave The Riverview Cemetery is a beautiful and well-kept resting place for departed Parkersburg-area notables. A large monument called the "Weeping Woman" watches over the Jackson family plot in the back. Legend states that if you are (relatively) pure of heart and bring her a token -- a coin, a flower, something like that -- she can grant wishes. But if your intentions are less than respectful, her spirit is known to trip people and pull their hair. We made it out, so we must be more or less okay.

11 minutes away: Cawley and Peoples Mortuary Museum Field review by the editors. Marietta, Ohio It's not "People's" as in "We the People;" it's "Peoples" as in Bill Peoples, who owns the collection. The museum is housed in the former hearse garage of a working mortuary, which has been in Marietta since 1898. Highlights include several elaborate old hearses, such as an 1895 Sayers & Scovill whose fiberglass horses whinny as you walk past, and a 1927 Henney prominently featured in the 2009 Bill Murray/Robert Duvall film Get Low (The film studio borrowed it from the museum). There's a variety of other funeral memorabilia, caskets, and preservative regalia on display, mostly from the early 1900s, including a variety of corpse clothing and a giant hair dryer that was once used by embalmers on their customers. Most of it is portable, because morticians used to stage funerals in people's homes. Cawley and Peoples Mortuary Museum Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home Address: 408 Front St., Marietta, OH Directions: Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home. I-77 exit 1. Drive east on Hwy 7/Pike St. into town. Follow signs for Hwy 7, which eventually becomes 3rd St. Turn left at the stoplight onto Scammel St. Go through one stoplight, drive a half-block, then turn right. You'll see a large parking lot ahead, and the funeral home will be on the left. The museum is in the garage behind the mortuary. Hours: By appt. only (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 740-373-1111

in Phillipi: Philippi, West Virginia: Mummies of the Insane RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report Barbour County Historical Museum Address: 200 N. Main St., Philippi, WV Directions: Barbour County Historical Museum. Junction of US 119 and 250. At the south end of the wooden bridge across the Tygart Valley River, on the left. Hours: May-Oct. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 304-457-4846 Admission: Adults $1. RA Rates: The Best Save to My Sights Results 1 to 5 of 8... Page 1 of 2 [Next 3 items] Mummies of the Insane.Mummies of the Insane The bathroom in the Barbour County Historical Museum holds a treat -- two mummies preserved by a local Dr. Frankenstein.