MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va.—Stephen Hummel wanted to sell sausage, but the money in this old river town is in ghosts.
Tourists and enthusiasts of the paranormal flock to his hot dog place because of its “Archive of the Afterlife: A Paranormal Museum,” a room full of haunted pictures, creepy dolls and prison weapons.
“They tip me fives, tens and twenties,” says the 30-year-old entrepreneur. “Beats the margins on dogs.”
Moundsville’s ‘Archive of the Afterlife’ includes spooky images. John W. Miller/The Wall Street Journal
Ghost clubs such as this, fed by popular TV shows, are springing up in small towns across the country. “We’re seeing a rebirth of 19th-century spiritualism,” says parapsychologist author Pamela Heath. “It happens in times of stress and anxiety.” A parallel trend is the boom in full-time haunted houses. America Haunts, a trade association, estimates that there are now 1,200 haunted houses in the U.S., with annual revenue of $500 million. Both numbers have doubled in the past 10 years.
Image courtesy of sxc.hu.