Spirits Said to Roam the Old County Jail Since 1896

[CROSS & MULBERRY STREETS, APPALACHIA] — Whispers of the paranormal have clung to the old county jail for more than a century. First constructed in 1895, this Queen Anne-style brick landmark became the subject of ghost stories as early as 1896, despite no recorded deaths occurring on the premises at that time.

Most hauntings are tied to tragedy—accidents, murders, suicides—but in the case of this jail, the ghost stories began just a year and a half after it opened. What did early visitors sense in the structure’s walls? What energy was there to provoke such spectral suspicion?

🕯 A Haunted Legacy Without Death?

Strangely, the earliest paranormal reports emerged before any known death occurred within the jail. But in the decades that followed, that changed. Several prisoners attempted suicide, and some succeeded. One of the earliest was Walter E. Swain, jailed for forgery in the late 1890s.

Once a respected journalist and companion to Admiral Robert E. Peary on his Arctic expeditions, Swain spiraled into addiction—blaming morphine dependency from the expedition for his downfall. His suicide attempt in the jail failed, but his story adds a tragic layer to the jail's legacy.

👁️ Modern Hauntings Still Reported

To this day, workers in the building report unexplained phenomena:

• Music playing from nowhere

• Lights flickering on with no one around

• The elevator moving by itself between floors

• Persistent cold spots and footsteps in empty halls

The jail, now repurposed for county office space, continues to raise eyebrows—and goosebumps.

⚖️ Bootleggers, Sheriffs, and Moonshine Secrets

This site wasn’t just a jail. It was a hub during the Prohibition era and the Great Depression, where legendary local sheriffs like C.H. Pettit, J.L. Treftz, Walter White, and Charles Mack cracked down on moonshine operations across the region.

But not every sheriff played it straight. In a twist worthy of Southern Gothic fiction, one Prohibition-era sheriff moonlighted as a bootlegger, storing moonshine in the basement of the jail and selling it from the courthouse—with the full knowledge (and payment) of other local officials.

🧱 Adaptive History: The Haunted Jail Today

When a new jail opened in 1975, the original 1895 structure was nearly demolished. But thanks to local preservation efforts, it was saved, restored, and remains in use today—complete with its haunted reputation intact.

Over a century of crime, corruption, addiction, and local folklore still echoes through the halls of this building. The ghosts may not be seen, but they’re often felt.

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