10/2/2011

The West Virginia Paranormal Team (WVPT) is currently accepting applications for membership.
We invite those who are sincerely interested in ghost research and investigations to apply. There are
limited positions available, certain criteria and guidelines must be met and not all applicants will be accepted.





8/11/2010

Pentagram At WV State Prison: Mystery Solved!

Mr. Buell,
                Having just watched your most recent episode filmed at the Moundsville Prison, I was intrigued by the idea that the pentagram
window found in the Warden's Tower was of "Satanic" origin. I think I have a better theory. The funding for this prison was approved  by the
WV State Legislature in 1866. The first phase of the building was completed in 1876. In that same year, the Order of the Eastern Star, (a masonic
brotherhood of Freemasons founded in 1850) was codified into it's current and still extant form. Their symbol is an inverted pentagram, and even
features prominently on other types of architecture, including their International Temple in Washington, DC. An excerpt from Wikipedia...

"The emblem of the Order is a five-pointed star with the white ray of the star pointing downwards towards the manger. In the Chapter room,
the downward-pointing white ray points to the West. The character-building lessons taught in the Order are stories inspired by Biblical figures."
I have included links to the Order of the Eastern Star and Moundsville Prison Wiki entries which will bear this out.

I am guessing that since the stonework was hand carved sandstone, that there were probably a number of Freemasons involved with the
construction and who also applied their stone cutting skills to the Gothic facade.  If the window was added after construction, it was probably at the
behest of a former warden who was a member of the Order, or was perhaps installed in honor of some charitible work conveyed to the inmates
from one of the Order's charitable wings. In any case, I think this is the only reason the you would find such a symbol in a publicly created,
owned, and operated facility. You will probably never read this message yourself, but it might be worth a mention to your staff. Thanks for the shows.