Hauntings at The Eastern State Penitentiary
The great Charles Dickens once visited the Eastern State Penitentiary during its heyday. No stranger to human suffering and imprisonment, the novelist witnessed the horrors of inhumane punishments that even he considered some of the worst crimes against mankind.
Today, the prison remains along with the remnants of its disturbing past. While its reputation for cruel and unusual punishments is intact, the Eastern State Penitentiary has since added another macabre accolade to its infamy.
Why is the Eastern State Penitentiary Haunted?
What Charles Dickens may not have known during his visit is the atrocities he witnessed would lead to the gruesome deaths of many prisoners and turn the penitentiary into one of the most haunted sites in Pennsylvania. Keep reading to learn more about the harsh punishments and conditions the prisoners were subjected to, the various ways they met their brutal ends, and the hauntings that keep paranormal investigators coming back for more.
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Innovation in Incarceration
Eastern State Penitentiary is now a dilapidated, crumbling ruin. But at its peak, it was a bustling, state-of-the-art facility. Built in 1823 by American architect John Haviland, Eastern State was the largest construction project of its time and exemplified the then-new Pennsylvania System of imprisonment.
This system, rooted in Quaker beliefs, was America’s first attempt at rehabilitative incarceration and emphasized redemption through solitary confinement, reflective silence, and forced labor. The thought was that quiet time alone would allow the inmates to reflect upon their crimes, and that hard labor would teach the prisoners useful trade skills.
In practice, however, it opened the inmates up to horrific abuse and gave prison administrators and guards unchecked power.
Life As An Inmate
Today, visitors are greeted by friendly tour staff, but a hundred years ago, the welcome would have been far less cheery at Eastern State Penitentiary. Upon their first day, inmates would be given a number that would become their identity during their stay.
Once processed, they lost the right to speak, sing, or even hum. A hood would be placed on their heads as they went to and from their cells, where they would spend the entire day, kept away from the sun and fed tiny morsels through almost-as-tiny slits in the door.
Horrifically, the cells were the most comfortable rooms in the prison. Those unlucky enough to face the wrath of the guards, priests, and wardens trying to correct their sinful ways would be exposed to other rooms in the facility. There was the bathroom, where prisoners were dunked in cold water and hung on the wall during the winter until ice began to form on their bodies.
Even more dreadful was “The Hole,” a dark, underground cell where prisoners were deprived of light, human contact, exercise, and even toilets. Additionally, they had restricted access to food and fresh air, even more so than the regular prisoners. However, even well-behaved prisoners barely saw the sun. If they kept their silence and worked hard, inmates were only allowed to exercise for 30 minutes outside, a blessing compared to what happened to those who didn’t keep their silence.
The chatty prisoners would be fitted with a metal tongue clamp. Those who proved incurably talkative would be given the iron gag – a device that tied your arms to your mouth. Any slight movement from the inmate would tear a hole in their tongue. And if that wasn’t enough, they could be strapped to the “Mad Chair,” which restrained inmates so much that it was known to cause amputations.
To Be Al Capone
Though the system was seemingly indiscriminate, one inmate had it easier than the rest at Eastern State Penitentiary. In fact, his stay was downright luxurious. His cell contained beautiful antique furniture, priceless works of art, and even Oriental rugs. The prisoner was even allowed visits from his family and his criminal friends on the outside.
It was none other than Al Capone. Also known as Scarface, Capone was history’s most notorious gangster and the mastermind behind the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Despite jailhouse opulence, the infamous mobster was constantly on edge, and his nights were sleepless. As he explained to the guards, Capone believed he was being haunted by the ghost of one of his old victims, James Clark. Clark was one of the men killed during the St. Valentine’s Massacre and showed up after death to torture Capone during his stay in the prison.
It would be one of many hauntings that would plague the penitentiary and turn it into a spectral hotspot.
Hauntings at the Eastern State Penitentiary
James Clark is hardly the only spirit to haunt these halls. Because the prison was the site of countless tales of violence, torture, suicide, and murder, it’s believed that the cursed souls of the prison’s horrific past are permanently imprisoned within these decrepit confines.
One of the scariest tales comes not from an inmate but from a worker. Prison locksmith Gary Johnson was fixing an old lock when he claimed an invisible hand grabbed him. Despite his struggles, this force rendered him unable to move or scream out. While restrained, he was assaulted by visions of tortured faces on the cell walls and an intense feeling of dread that shook through his entire body. This went on for what seemed like an eternity before he was finally released. After he was let go, the last thing he saw was a shadowy figure duck out into the cell.
Several ghost hunters have seen that same shadowy individual over the years. Some say they’ve seen him in the halls, and others claim to see a figure standing alone in abandoned guard towers. But just who could he be?
One likely culprit is Joseph Taylor. Taylor was a murderer who earned even more time at Eastern State when he bludgeoned an overseer to death in 1884. Many claim that Taylor’s ghost still wanders the halls, his horrific crime binding him to this evil place.
Several volunteers, workers, and visitors have reported hearing voices from Cellblock 12. Sometimes, it’s pained screaming, and other times it’s creepy laughing. Occasionally, it’s disembodied footsteps. Of course, when the area is investigated, there is no one to be found. Could these terrifying sounds be the sinister work of Joseph Taylor? Or could this be yet another poltergeist bound inside these stone walls?
Paranormal Investigations at The Penitentiary
Being such a haunted place, Eastern State Penitentiary has obviously been host to quite a few paranormal investigations. Some of which made it to the airwaves. The famous paranormal reality show “Fear” from MTV hosted their 7th episode there. It involved strapping the contestants in some of the isolation cells and restraint chairs, with these challenges and dares growing increasingly more intense. The dares were a scripted part of the show but the paranormal investigation equipment failure that happened in the episode was definitely not.
To add to the creepiness, the show “Ghost Hunters” also filmed an episode here. The investigators of that show were certainly spooked after they saw the shadowy figure. In fact, they even managed to capture it on video!
Haunted Philadelphia
While Eastern State Penitentiary is the most haunted location in Philadelphia, it’s definitely not the only one in the City of Brotherly Love. Check out our blog to discover more of Philadelphia’s most haunted locations and, to see them in person, book a Philadelphia ghost tour with Philly Ghosts! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2013/10/24/232234570/is-eastern-state-penitentiary-really-haunted
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/is-eastern-state-penitentiary-haunted
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/prison-of-horrors
https://paranormalmilwaukee.com/locations/eastern-state-penitentiary/
https://hauntedus.com/pennsylvania/eastern-state-penitentiary/
MTV’s “Fear”, Season 1, Episode 7
Ghost Hunters Season 1 Episode 5