MOUNDSVILLE – As the leaves change colors and the air turns colder, the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville has kicked off its classic “spooky season”-centered tours, as well as new Halloween-themed activities.

The penitentiary offers two main tours for those seeking frights before and after Halloween. Each weekend during October, the facility is split into its south side haunted house and the north side flashlight tour.

The south side of the prison is home to “The Dungeon” haunted house. The $25-per-person admission provides customers with a 45-minute haunted house experience that incorporates 40 actors spread out across more than 20 unique “scare rooms” located in the basement of the building.

This year’s theme for “The Dungeon” is a corrupt warden leading customers, who play the role of a new batch of inmates, through the penitentiary. Guests will begin the haunt in the main lobby’s gift shop area and then head to the penitentiary cells. The main portion of the haunted house will take place in the facility’s basement.

“The corrupt warden comes and gets the group, and he explains they’re now part of the inmate system, which includes experiments and torture,” West Virginia Penitentiary General Manager Amanda Wolverton said. “We want to keep it fresh for everybody, and this year, the feedback we’ve gotten so far has been very, very good.”

The recommended minimum age to participate in the haunted house is 13. Children younger than 13 can go through the haunted house, but Wolverton stressed that no refunds are provided for any child or adult who cannot make it through the whole haunted house.

Haunted house tours are held on Fridays and Saturdays in October, with an additional night of tours opening on Halloween night, Oct. 31. The last round of tours through the haunted house will be on Nov. 2.

Haunted house groups begin at 7 p.m. and run every 15 minutes until the final tour at 10 p.m.

On the other side of the prison, visitors can immerse themselves in the paranormal history of the penitentiary during the “North Walk” flashlight tour. The “North Walk” forgoes costumes and props as penitentiary tour guides lead visitors through a 45-minute-long tour of the oldest section of the former West Virginia Penitentiary.

The tour stops at penitentiary rooms known to have the most paranormal activity, including the North Hall cell block, the Boiler Room, the Psych Ward and the Infirmary.

North Walk tours begin at 6 p.m. and run every 20 minutes until the final tour at 9 p.m.

“The guided tour is really fun, especially with a group of 20 people with only the tour guide’s flashlight and no other lights on,” Wolverton said.

Visitors can reserve time slots for the Halloween tours at the penitentiary at wvpentours.com. The haunted house and “North Walk” flashlight tours are $25 per person.

Wolverton estimated that on a single night in October, about 550 guests walk through the haunted house, and 300 to 550 guests take part in the “North Walk” tour.

Wolverton noted that the facility sees a lot of activity beyond the night tours. October is also a popular month for daytime tours, particularly amongst local schools.

“We see lots and lots of people in October, and it’s phenomenal,” Wolverton said. “It’s nice that people come out and enjoy all the fun activities and stuff we host here. It makes it all worth it for me.”

The penitentiary will also offer less thrilling and more child-centered activities to celebrate the “season of the witch.”

The annual Kid’s Night Trick-or-Treat at the penitentiary, hosted by the Moundsville Economic Development Council, will be held inside the Moundsville Event Center on Oct. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Admission to the event is free, with the MEDC asking for donations of a new toy or hygienic item that will go towards local charitable organizations.

During the event, the center will house 40 treat stations set up by local businesses, in addition to fire trucks and other first responder vehicles parked at the center for kids to tour.

Guests do not even have to step foot into the penitentiary to participate in one of its new Halloween offerings: the Pumpkin-themed sing-a-long light show. The show is displayed on the front of the penitentiary. Viewers can pull into the Main Tour parking lot, tune their radio to 94.1 FM and enjoy the show.

The light show takes place Sunday through Thursday each week from 7 to 10 p.m., with the whole show sequence lasting 20 minutes.

Wolverton noted the various Halloween activities offered at the penitentiary bring a wide array of visitors from inside and outside the state. The penitentiary may draw even more visitors this year as it has been added as a stop on West Virginia Tourism’s Paranormal Trail.

Residents can register to receive their West Virginia Paranormal Trail Passport on their phones and mark off each location on the trail they visit.

A check-in at three locations earns an official paranormal trail sticker, a check-in at 10 locations receives a paranormal trail beanie and someone who braves all stops along the trail receives a limited-edition Paranormal Trail print featuring famous Mountain State cryptids.

“Being a stop on the tour has been a really positive experience for us so far,” Wolverton said. “I think the passport and the little prizes are really neat. It’s especially fun because West Virginia has so many different paranormal spots, and you don’t realize it until they are all combined into one passport.”