Haunting at Eastern State Penitentiary
- Brandi F.
- Jul 22, 2021
- 4 min read
I thought I would share a personal travel experience with a ghostly twist. Nestled in the tightly packed suburbs of northern Philadelphia, lies Eastern State Penitentiary. Almost 200 years ago, Eastern State opened it's doors, and in 1829, the prison was the most famous & ground-breaking exercise of discipline, with the use of solitary confinement. The facility had heat & running water even before the White House did at the time.
Solitary confinement was actually "experimented" prior to the penitentiary being built. In 1790, the Walnut Street Jail of Philadelphia was actually the first prison in America with a staff & the design of individual cells. The jail housed 16 cells that practiced both day & night solitary confinement for the inmates. With this new form of discipline, plans for a larger facility, with 250 cells, to house inmates is approved and construction begins in 1822. The idea behind a penitentiary was so that the inmates could have the opportunity to reflect and rehabilitate from their crimes without any distractions or outside influences through interactions with guards or other inmates.
What you really need to understand is the unique & first-of-its-kind prison layout. The structure started at the center of the 11-acre property with a surveillance hub, and 7 wings extending outwards from all sides. The architect, John Haviland, designed the structures with 30 foot high arched ceilings & individual skylights throughout. At the time, Eastern State was like no other; running water, toilets that flushed and heating. The first 3 cellblocks were completed by 1831 and were all only single floor buildings with attached exercise yards. By 1835, with the increasing number of inmates, cellblocks 4, 5 & 6 were constructed as 2 stories, with a final cost of $780,000 to build the entire facility.
Along with the updated amenities for that time, inmates at Eastern State Penitentiary also received very different treatment. Although isolated from not only the outside world, but also other inmates, they received a Bible in their own individual cell, along with several meals a day and "activities" to fill their spare time with. In the early years of the penitentiary, inmates were issued hoods that were required to be worn when traveling through public areas so as to not interact with guards or other inmates. At the peak season of Eastern State, the strict discipline of the inmates gave them 23 hours of isolation in their cells for upwards of 30 years depending on the severity of their crimes.
But as early as the 1840s, there was much debate about if the strict discipline of solitary confinement was at all effective & being used as it was first intended. Many thought the punishments were cruel & inhumane. By 1913, the system of solitude was removed from the prison and new procedures were made to reflect these changes. For instance, inmates were now issued hoods with holes for their eyes and were able to exercise in groups. The kitchen then started housing large tables for group dining periods, and cells were rearranged for 2-3 inmates per cell.
With the run-down cement block structures covered in over-grown brush, crumbling arched ceilings & cracked skylights, it's no wonder why this place portrays a creepy vibe. And as you weave through the dark & dusty corridors with only the sound of the wind squealing through the crumbling cracks & the echoing thump of your own footsteps, you can't help but feel haunted. Haunted by past inmates who were once held captive, inmates who cried out for hours every day for years without even a distant reply from another person, who where haunted themselves by the punishment of their own mind in solitude.
Many accounts about the treatment of inmates range from "the water bath" to "the iron gag". Inmates would be immersed in a water bath and placed outside in the winter until a layer of frost had formed over their skin, as well as the hands of inmates being tied to their tongue in the an "iron gag", so as with any movement of the arms would result in tearing of their own tongue. So it should come as no surprise that Eastern State is no stranger to suicides, disease, torture and madness.
Eastern State Penitentiary has been documented on networks' largest and most known paranormal series, such as Ghost Adventures & Most Haunted Live, featured on the Travel Channel, and has now been considered one of the most haunted places in America. It has been noted that shadows have been seen drifting through Cellblock 4 and echoing voices can be heard through-out Cellblock 12. But aside from the annual Halloween event held at the penitentiary, the Terror Behind the Walls, many involved with the mission of Eastern State Penitentiary believe the property isn't actually haunted and distracts from what visitors should be focusing on when touring the facility; "the legacy of American criminal justice reform." With this in mind, I guess you'll just have to visit it for yourself....
REFERENCES
Comments