hauntedprisons

Administration Wing
Visitors and employees have reported experiencing strong paranormal events in the administration wing where Warden Glattke and his wife Helen resided.

The story is Helen, while reaching for a box in the closet, knocked a gun off the shelf to the floor, causing a bullet to discharge into her chest. She was rushed to the Mansfield General Hospital where she died as a result of her injuries.
Rumors ran rampant that Warden Glattke was responsible for Helen's death, but there was never any proof to substantiate such rumors. Ten years later Glattke suffered a heart attack and died at the same hospital where Helen died.

Some believe that Helen and Warden Glattke haunt the administration rooms to this day. The strong smell of Helen's rose perfume reportedly floats in and out of her pink bathroom. Visitors report felling a gush of cold air pass through them as the wander through this wing. It is not uncommon to hear of a jammed camera shutter, which unexplainably worked again once the visitor left the area.

The Chapel
The Chapel is suspected of many paranormal events and some believe it is nucleus for much of the prison's haunting tales. Rumors that the Chapel was first an execution room, where inmates were tortured and died slow deaths while hanging from the rafters, may account for the many reported orbs photographed and the strange recordings some say they have captured in this area of the prison. Visitors have reported seeing spirits lingering near doorways, only to vanish once their presence is detected.

The Infirmary
The infirmary where many prisoners died miserable deaths is known in paranormal circles to set off EMF detectors and claims of clusters of orbs have been captured in photographs. There have also been several reports from visitors that they have felt unexplained gushes of air pass by them.

The Basement
The spirit of a 14-year-old who was beaten to death in the basement is said to linger in the dark crumbling hallways, which twist around the dark decaying basement. Also, the spirit of a former Reformatory employee named George is said to haunt the basement halls

The Library
The Reformatory's library and a small inmate's graveyard are believed by some to be haunted. Visitors have reported seeing objects move in the graveyard and equipment failure is not uncommon in the library. Psychics visiting the library have reported seeing the spirit of a young woman, possibly Helen or a nurse who was killed by one of the prisoners.

The Cellblocks
Prisoners told of feeling someone tucking them in at night and it was rumored that the ghost of Helen or the nurse would moved in and out of the cells, bringing a touch of comfort to the inmates with a simple tuck of a blanket.

The Hole
The hole, located in the basement of the prison, was a place where prisoners who broke the rules were kept in one of the 20 cells. Inmates would be kept in the dark, dank, roach-infested cells, with one or more inmates, with little to eat and no place of comfort to sleep. Bread and water was the common meal with a lunch provided every three days. The stronger inmates would take the food from the weaker, leaving many to suffer hunger as well as other unconceivable hardships.
Many prisoners died in the hole and some believe that their tortured spirits remain, prompting reports of negative paranormal engery in this area. Visitors to this area sometimes leave after being overwhelmed with nausea. Others feel chills run through thier bodies. The feeling of being watched permeates in the rooms and some have even reported seeing glowing eyes peering at them from dark corners.

This facility located in Moundsville, West Virginia (and even sometimes called Moundsville Penitentiary) closed its doors to inmates in 1995, but has since become recognized as one of the most haunted places in the United States. After West Virginia seceded from Virginia at the height of the Civil War and became a separate state in 1863, it was immediately apparent that the state had to set up new institutions.

Moundsville was chosen and a plot of land was purchased in 1866 and work began, using prison labor, until the first phase was completed in 1876. The design was modeled after the Joliet Prison in Illinois and built from stone in the classic Gothic architectural style, complete with turrets and battlements. Though it initially housed only 251 male inmates, it would grow and expand to house around 2,000 men and women at its peak in the 1960s, but that number would dwindle to 600-700 towards the end as new facilities were built throughout the state. In 1986, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the prison's 5x7-foot cells (which sometimes housed up to three inmates) were cruel and inhuman punishment, facilitating the prison's closure in 1995.
The Ghosts
Even before its closure in 1995, West Virginia Penitentiary had grown the reputation of being extremely haunted. In fact, legend even says that the facility was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, but there has been no evidence collected to back this up. However, the city name of Moundsville was derived from the many Indian mounds that once occupied the area. The largest conical Indian burial mound in the United States, Grave Creek Mound, sits directly across the street from the prison. Regardless, there was more than enough death in the prison to account for the reported paranormal activity. So it should no surprise then that there are a variety of accounts of odd occurrences being caught by photos, recordings, and video inside its walls. Reports vary from residual hauntings, where something that happened in the past is replayed over and over again, to a "Shadow Man" that has been seen in the cafeteria, the psychiatric ward, and the basement. The sounds of phantom footsteps, voices, or screams and slamming doors when no one else is around is another common occurrence.
Other Areas
Back in the administration building is a room known as "The Wheel House," which consists of a revolving door made completely out of iron bars and is how prisoners entered the prison. It has been known to rotate by an unseen force. The North Hall is also reportedly quite active. It used to house the most dangerous inmates and was dubbed "The Alamo." The Hole is also quite notorious, with visitors feeling overwhelmed with anxiety or fear by a "presence." It was used for solitary confinement for unruly inmates. Tales of spectral encounters or mysterious sounds seem to emanate from all areas of West Virginia Penitentiary, earning it the reputation of being one of the more haunted places in the United States.

Years after "The Rock" was closed as a prison, stories persist that Alcatraz is haunted
here's why.The fact that Alcatraz was built on an island and kept so isolated from public view, tales of inmates being tortured and of their bitter spirits coming back to haunt the halls of Alcatraz began to circulate.
Tales have been told of an event in the 1940s, when a prisoner locked-in 14D screamed throughout the night that a creature with glowing eyes was killing him. The next day guards found the man strangled to death in the cell. No one ever claimed responsibility for the convict's death, however the next day when doing head counts, the guards counted one too many prisoners. Some of the guards claimed seeing the dead convict in line with the other inmates, but only for a second before he vanished.

Al Capone, who spent his last years at Alcatraz with his health in decline from untreated syphilis, took up playing the banjo with a prison band. Fearing he would be killed if he spent his recreational time in the "yard," Capone received permission to spend recreation time practicing his banjo in the shower room. In recent years, a park ranger claimed he heard banjo music coming from the shower room. Not familiar with the history of Alcatraz, the ranger could not find a reason for the sound and documented the strange event. Other visitors and employees have reported hearing the sound of a banjo coming from the prison walls.

Eastern State Penitentiary was the world's first true Penitentiary. In order to encourage penitence - or true regret - in the hearts of criminals, inmates would spend their entire sentence in solitary confinement. On the rare occasion when an inmate left his cell, a hood was placed over his head to ensure his identity would remain anonymous. Ideally, no inmate would ever see the face of another inmate. Inmates lived a life in mundane solitude and would only get a glimpse of sunlight, known as "The Eye of God" which came through a slit in the prison ceiling.

Prior to its reform in 1913, the prison which was designed to house 250 inmates had over 1700 prisoners jammed into tiny makeshift cells where there was little light and even less ventilation. Finding the conditions of the prison unacceptable, the prison was taken over and reformed and the Pennsylvania System was abolished. Finally, in 1971, the sprawling monstrous prison was closed.

The Water Bath
The inmates who broke the rules risked being dunked in a bath of ice-cold water then hung from a wall for the night. During the winter months, when this punishment was most popular, the water on the inmates's skin would form into a layer of ice before morning.

The Mad Chair
The Mad Chair was named such because it was not uncommon for an inmate to go mad before his punishment ended. Inmates would be strapped into the chair with leather strips, so tightly that it was impossible for them to make the smallest of movements. They would sit for days, without food, until the circulation in their body almost stopped from the tightness of the straps and the lack of movement.

The Locksmith
One major paranormal episode reported occurred to a locksmith doing restoration work in Cell Block #4. According to the tale, he was working to remove a 140-year-old lock from the cell door when a massive force overcame him so powerfully he was unable to move.
Some believe when he removed the key it opened a gateway to the horrific past and offered the spirits caught behind its bars a pathway out. The man spoke of experiencing an out-of-body state as he was drawn toward the negative energy which burst through the cell.
Anguished faces appeared on the cell wall, hundreds of distorted forms swirled around the cellblock and one dominating form seemed to beckon the locksmith to him. The man's experience was so vivid, years after he would shudder in fear when he talked about it.

The Columbus Ohio State Penitentiary, not to be confused with the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, opened in 1834. In the early 1900s, it was vociferously condemned by prison reformists and closed in 1979. The building was vacant for years until it was razed to construct a parking garage for the Columbus Bluejackets’ hockey stadium. Prison life was brutal with cruel punishments. There were dunkings in vats of water, sadistic whippings, a sweatbox, balls and chains and, beginning in 1885, executions. Cells were unheated, beds were straw mats, and there were lice and rat infestations and cholera epidemics. Food was meager, sometimes spoiled, and the “menu,” limited. Medical care, at best, was poor.
At least 1281 people died within the prison’s walls: 343 executed, 116 from cholera and 322 in a fire. In addition to these deaths, there were suicides, victims of violence, killing of would be escapees and those who died of natural causes.

Famous Inmates
Author William S. Porter, better known as O. Henry, served three years for embezzlement. It is believed this is why he chose to use a pen name.
John Dillinger’s cohorts, Harry Pierpont and Charles Makely, tried to escape. Makley was killed immediately.
Infamous mobster and Al Capone enemy George “Bugs” Moran was incarcerated for burglary.
Dr. Sam Shepherd, convicted of murdering his wife and acquitted after 13 years in the penitentiary was another inmate.
James Brown killed a shipmate and drank his blood, which gave rise to the tale about a “vampire” being imprisoned in the facility.

Easter Fire

was the worst fire in Ohio and American prison history. The official record stated that inmates started it and two of them committed suicide in ensuing months. Other people disagreed, believing the fire was accidental and the authorities covered it up. They thought guards did nothing to stop the blaze immediately after it was discovered.

Happenings Paranormal

After the prison closed, people debated as to whether reported ghosts were mere memories and tales created in imaginations or were of the realm of the paranormal.
Those brave enough to get close to or inside the empty prison believed vacant cells were haunted by the ghosts of men who died there.
Before the facility was demolished, witnesses had seen shadowy figures. Some reported hearing the sound of flames roaring beyond control and screams of desperate men who couldn’t escape the fiery horror. They felt haunting anguish imprinted in the prison walls.
Although the prison no longer exists, there have been accounts of people hearing piercing phantom cries, sounds of a conflagration and sightings of misty apparitional forms in the Bluejackets’ parking area at night.