The Atlas Obscura Podcast Local Legends Corner with Colin Dickey: Moundsville
Oct 23, 2025
Colin Dickey, a writer and cultural historian known for his exploration of the paranormal, dives into the haunting history of the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. He explains how prison architecture evokes melancholy and shares the eerie Zona Heaster Shoe ghost story, linking it to the convict’s fate. With tales of inmate murals and the ancient Adena burial mound nearby, Dickey illuminates the town's spooky atmosphere. His insights reveal how cultural narratives shape our perceptions of ghosts and the legacies they leave behind.
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Architecture As Punishment
- The West Virginia Penitentiary was intentionally designed to make inmates feel existentially bad as part of punishment.
- Colin Dickey explains architecture was used to induce melancholy and contemplation as a form of penal control.
Ghost Testimony That Led To A Conviction
- Zona Heaster Shoe died in 1897; her mother claimed the daughter's spirit told her she was murdered.
- An exhumation reportedly confirmed strangulation and led to the husband's conviction and life sentence at Moundsville.
A Castle Of Bad Vibes
- Colin Dickey describes Moundsville as a fortress-like castle that radiates bad vibes and feels claustrophobic.
- He notes inmates painted murals that act as lingering traces of the people who lived there.
