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Parkersburg native accomplishes another goal in time for Halloween

By Jess Mancini 4 min read

PARKERSBURG - A Parkersburg native has visited 25 of the top haunted places in America, a goal he uses to inspire students he helps find financial help for a college education.

"I know things can happen if you don't give up, work a little harder," Brian Bollinger said.

Bollinger's quest to visit the haunted places follows the completion this year of his journeys to the four farthest north, south, east and west points of the continental United States.

Bollinger, 52, of Oakland, Md., began traveling to the most-haunted places in 2016, but the bulk were between 2022 and 2026, he said.

The inspiration was from years ago while a student at Gihon Elementary School and stories from the teacher, Mrs. Buechner, in Ruth Ann Musick's "The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales."

"I remember sitting mesmerized by the ghost stories and legends woven into our state's history, stories that made the world seem frightening, unique, mysterious and full of possibility," he said.

After the experience in grade school, Bollinger read an article in Readers' Digest in 2024 by Robin Catalano about the 25 haunted places. Bollinger said he sent his information and photos to Catalano and to RecordSetter, which is reviewing whether Bollinger set a world record by being first person to all the haunted places.

He's trying to get a certification that he is the "only native-born West Virginian" to visit all the places from the governor's office.

"I truly believe I'm the only person in West Virginia to have done this," he said.

Among the places he's visited were the Witch House in Salem, Mass., Alcatraz, the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., the Conjuring House in Burrillville, R.I., Lizzie Borden's home in Fall River, Mass., the St. Augustine (Fla.) Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Bell Witch Cave in Adams, Tenn., the Cape Hatteras (N.C.) Lighthouse, Old Tonopah (Nev.) Cemetery, Brennan’s in New Orleans, Forest Park Cemetery in Brunswick, N.Y., Victoria’s Black Swan Inn in San Antonio, Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix, Ariz., Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and sites in West Virginia including the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, the Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in Princeton,the Flat Woods Monster Museum and the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant.

He also went to where two famous dolls that are known for their malevolence are displayed: Annabelle, known from the "Amityville Horror" movie franchise, and Robert, a doll from the Civil War.

Robert is displayed at Fort East Martello in Key West, Fla. During the Civil War, East Martello was the only fort occupied by federal troops in a Confederate state, however it was at great cost, Bollinger said.

Union soldiers in the fort faced numerous plagues, maladies and other calamities that have been linked to Robert, Bollinger said.

He has received a letter of congratulations from the U.S. Rep. April Delaney of Maryland for his travels and is working on a similar recognition from the governor of West Virginia. The creation of the Paranormal Trail in West Virginia under former Gov. Jim Justice also was encouragement to go on the quest, he said.

Bollinger in his job has traveled throughout West Virginia to support students at Potomac State, WVU Tech and WVU in Morgantown. He has spent almost a thousand hours helping students with the financial aspects of going to college.

Many get discouraged, he said.

Then Bollinger brings up the goals he has accomplished to inspire the students to keep working. The goals may not be significant to others, but goals don't have to be big and lofty, according to Bollinger.

What's important is that persistence and determination make things happen, he said.

"What I tell students is that all things are possible," Bollinger said.

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