×

Penitentiary offers new frights for tourists

MOUNDSVILLE — With several updates coming to the former West Virginia Penitentiary’s seasonal entertainment lineup, local thrill-seekers are in for new scares this fall.

The former prison became home to a new form of adventure this spring with the introduction of “Escape the Pen: The Execution,” an escape room concept. Escape rooms are physical adventure games in which participants are looked in a room with others and required to use elements of the room to find clues and solve a series of riddles or puzzles in order to “escape” the room within a certain time frame.

The penitentiary’s first escape room, housed in former administrative offices, centered around an impending execution, requiring participants to sift through various facts and numbers to determine an inmate’s fate.

For the Halloween season, the penitentiary introduced a new “Hillbilly” escape activity Friday evening. The five-minute activity, set in the fictional “Pappy Tom’s Cabin,” will require participants to find the character’s last jug of moonshine within the small timeframe to complete the game successfully.

Tom Stiles, penitentiary general manager, said he hopes to continue the escape theme for several projects in the future.

“You have to investigate the cabin and find the last jug or you’re going to inherit the wrath of Pappy Tom,” he said. “It will continue in conjunction with the Dungeon of Horrors through Halloween.”

Both the Hillbilly Escape Room and Dungeon of Horrors, along with “zombie paintball,” will run until Oct. 31. The North Walk, a trip down some of the most reportedly haunted areas of the prison, will also join the lineup.

The events will be held every Friday and Saturday until the final Halloween events, beginning at 7 p.m. Oct. 31.

Paranormal events, including overnight investigations, will continue in November. During the Halloween season, daily tours of the former prison will end at 3 p.m. for Dungeon of Horrors preparation.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today