Eastern State Penitentiary

How is an innovative correctional facility, responsible for introducing new concepts for social change, now known as the most haunted prison in America?

While it is no longer used to house inmates, Eastern State Penitentiary remains one of the most talked about historic sites in the State of Pennsylvania, but it’s not because of positive reform or improving the lives of prisoners.

While the prison may have started out with good intentions, the many years of riots, inhumane torture, and murder on the premises have cast a dark shadow over this 19th-century prison that remains there today.

Are you curious about the haunted history behind Eastern State Penitentiary? Would you like to find out more about the Most Haunted places in America? U.S. Ghost Adventures is here to help. We offer exciting and informative ghost tours in all the major cities throughout the country. Find out which one is closest to you and learn more about the spooky legends in your area by booking a ghost tour with us here at U.S. Ghost Adventures today!

Why is Eastern State Penitentiary Haunted?

Curious visitors travel from miles away to visit this historic location known for being a hub of otherworldly activity. There is no doubt that Eastern State Penitentiary was once filled with great sadness, loneliness, and despair, being home to more than 85,000 prisoners while it was operational. And those dark, despairing emotions can cause dark entities to cling to places where they don’t belong.

As we take a deeper dive into the disturbing history behind America’s first penitentiary, the reason why Eastern State is home to so many ghosts and spirits becomes clear: these troubled energies feel right at home within the walls of this torturous prison.

The History of Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829 as a prison intended to create social change and reform. The building was designed and constructed by British architect John Haviland, and it was the most expensive structure built in the country at that time. Thanks to its elaborate floor plan and cellblock design, it was considered an architectural wonder and visited by notable individuals such as Alexis de Tocqueville and Charles Dickens.

Following his visit to the prison in 1842, Charles Dickens wrote about the horrifying system, saying, “The system [there] is rigid, strict, and hopeless solitary confinement… tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body.”

The Pennsylvania System

During the 18th century in Pennsylvania, there was a lot of debate over how the prisons handled punishment for their inmates. In 1790, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, or PPS, was founded in response to the violent and brutal system of corporal punishment used throughout the country. The members of PPS recommended new measures for social reform, such as prisoner anonymity and solitary confinement.

Eastern State was designed to keep prisoners separated from one another as part of this new system. The prisoners faced strict rules and regulations, forced to reflect on their mistakes by spending their days and nights in silence.

Benjamin Rush, who was a member of the PPS, based the new prison reform policies on the ideas of John Howard, an English Philanthropist. Howard advocated for policies such as solitary confinement and productive labor as forms of criminal punishment.

He believed that all prisoners should be in separate cells, in a place of solitude and silence, allowing them to reflect on their crimes in the hope of leading to repentance. He instructed that the separate rooms should have their own small courtyard that would help eliminate the ability for prisoners to come together and discuss plans to escape.

This new practice was criticized by many in the United States for its reliance on extreme isolation; however, it was also adopted by more than 300 prisons throughout the world. This new system of incarceration was commonly referred to as ‘The Pennsylvania System.” 

Unfortunately, the practice did not remain in accordance with its original progressive and humane values. Later, the prison incorporated punishment that was more in line with the system the PPS had tried so hard to move away from. 

The Haunting of Eastern State Penitentiary

There are many reasons why so many dark entities are drawn to this historic prison. Spirits are more likely to cling to places where tragic death and torture once occurred. And at Eastern State Penitentiary, there was no shortage of torture while the prison was operational. The harsh realities faced by so many of the prisoners would be enough to cause any spirit to seek vengeance in the afterlife.

Facing as many as 23 hours a day in isolation was believed to have driven the prisoners mad, putting them in a worse mental state than they were in before they arrived. They were even deprived of talking to the guards, causing many to end up deliriously talking to themselves and facing harsh punishments as a result. The painful misery created by the isolation and torture can still be felt within the prison walls.

But why is this prison considered to be one of the most haunted places in America? The answer could lie in the different forms of torture guards used to punish the prisoners.

The Water Bath

One brutal form of punishment carried out at Eastern State was known as the ice bath or water bath. Guards would throw ice-cold water on prisoners as they sat in a chair before chaining them to an exterior wall of the prison during winter. They would remain there until all the moisture on their skin turned to ice. 

The Mad Chair

For this torture device, the prisoners would be tightly strapped to a restraining chair for hours or even days, resulting in painful swelling in their limbs that had turned blue or black from the lack of circulation.

In a similar form of torture, it was also very common at Eastern State for prisoners to be placed in a straitjacket until they started losing circulation throughout their bodies. 

The Hole

Also known as Klondike, this area deep below Cellblock 14 had a six-foot ceiling and four small, isolated cells. These cell blocks were made from reinforced concrete instead of stone. They were very square, windowless, and without any light or plumbing. 

This form of isolation was not intended to encourage redemption but strictly to serve as punishment. The most vicious criminals at the prison were placed in The Hole for days or even months at a time for bad behavior.

The Iron Gag

The most common and most harrowing form of punishment at the penitentiary was the Iron Gag. For this torture, the prisoner would have their hands crossed behind their neck. The iron gag device would be placed on their tongue, with chains connecting it to their hands. Any movement the prisoner would make using their hands would pull and tear at their tongue, resulting in excruciating pain.

Notable Inmates at Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary was home to some of the most notorious criminals in U.S. history, including the infamous mob boss from Chicago, Scarface, aka Al Capone.

Al Capone

The most famous mob boss from Chicago, Alphonse “Scarface” Capone, spent eight months at Eastern State Penitentiary between 1929 and 1930. He was arrested for carrying a concealed and deadly weapon. This would be Capone’s first prison sentence and one that continued to haunt him for years after he was released.

His time spent at the penitentiary was seen as luxurious compared to how other prisoners were treated, with a cell on Park Avenue Block that included fine furniture and a cabinet radio. It has been said that Capone experienced some of the prison’s early ghostly activity during his stay. 

Capone was a man who was feared by many, so it had to take something dark and sinister to scare him. And what could be worse than being haunted by the ghost of someone who had been brutally murdered?

The Ghost of Jimmy Clark

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is one of the most well-known crime stories Capone is linked to. When several men employed by gangster George “Bugs” Moran were working at Moran’s bootlegging headquarters, authorities soon arrived on the scene. Moran’s men feared they were about to be arrested, but instead, seven of them were shot and killed. 

It turns out the police were gangsters in disguise. Capone was never convicted of the murders, but most people who are familiar with the story believe he ordered Moran’s men to be killed since they were archrivals.

One of the men killed that day was Jimmy Clark. He was a low-ranking mobster and the brother-in-law of Moran. And during Capone’s stay at Eastern State, it’s believed he was haunted by Jimmy’s ghost.

Jimmy’s Spirit Never Leaves Capone’s Side

Capone was convinced that someone was sharing his one-bed cell with him. He would shout out in the middle of the night, begging Jimmy to leave him alone. Other prisoners mentioned hearing him screaming and even having quiet conversations with someone.

Al hoped that once he was released from Eastern State, he would be free from the haunting of Jimmy Clark. But wherever Capone was, Jimmy would soon follow. Eventually, Al requested help from a psychic to get Jimmy’s spirit to leave for good. 

But it didn’t work. Capone’s fear of the ghost became such an issue that his bodyguards would rush into his room at night, convinced he was under attack, only to find out that Al was all alone in his room, terrified.

Capone was later sent to Alcatraz for tax evasion, and the ghost of Jimmy accompanied him on that sentence as well. At this point in his life, Al had contracted syphilis, and during his time at Alcatraz, the disease spread to his brain, causing him to lose his mind, or so everyone says. His behavior became so bizarre, screaming constantly at the ghost of Jimmy, that he was released from the prison on good behavior.

Al Capone died at his estate in Palm Island in 1947. There are many who say that the spirit of Jimmy Clark was by his side even then, ensuring that vengeance for his murder was carried out to Capone’s last breath.

Slick Willie Sutton

Slick Willie Sutton, also known as “The Actor,” was a notorious bank robber who had a peculiar reputation for a criminal as being a gentleman. People who were present at his robberies have even stated that he was a very polite man. 

But in reality, he was a merciless criminal who only cared about one thing: getting his hands on as much money as possible.

Sutton was apprehended in February of 1934 and sentenced to serve 25 to 50 years at Eastern State for the machine gun robbery held at the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company in Philadelphia. 

On April 3rd, 1945, Sutton and 11 other convicts escaped the penitentiary using a tunnel. He was captured the same day by the Philadelphia police. This was his fifth escape attempt at the prison.

Victor “Babe” Andreoli

Victor “Babe” Andreoli was convicted of killing a Pennsylvania State police officer in 1937. He was arrested and given a life sentence at Eastern State for first-degree murder.

Following several robberies in 1937, Andreoli and his companion Horace Bowers stole a car and drove to the Bear Creek Township in the Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania. State trooper Private John J. Broske was in town investigating a murder and was at the Boulevard Inn talking to a witness when Andreoli and Bowers arrived. 

Bowers was armed with a shotgun, while Andreoli had a nickel-plated pistol. They ordered the people at the bar to raise their arms as they entered the room. As Broske did, he tried to get a better look at the two gunmen who were behind him. Bowers shot the state trooper with his .16-gauge shotgun from a close distance. 

The bullets penetrated his back and kidneys, wounding him. Bowers went on to hold another patron at gunpoint and steal from their wallet while Andreoli robbed the cash register. They fled the scene, and Broske was taken to the nearby emergency room, where he died the following day.

Andreoli was placed in solitary confinement for bad behavior. He escaped from the prison in October of 1943 by hiding in a delivery truck. Several weeks later, he was caught in Chester, PA, where he was shot to death in a crowded diner, stating that he would never be taken alive. 

Freda Frost

Between the years of 1831 and 1923, more than 900 women served their time at Eastern State. This was less than three percent of the estimated population of the prison at the time; still, women made a substantial impact on the institution. One of them was Freda Frost.

Frost was convicted of murdering her husband by poisoning him and was serving a 20-year sentence at the prison. According to the story, she killed her husband a week after marrying him to collect his money and life insurance payment. She was 40 years old at the time of her arrest.  

Freda was the last female prisoner at the penitentiary. She was transferred to the Muncy Industrial Home for Women in 1923 when officials began segregating the prison. Her departure from Eastern State was the end of an era.

Ghostly Encounters at Eastern State

Deep within the dark areas of Eastern State, you will find something that isn’t quite human anymore. There is a certain obscurity that awaits those who dare to visit this haunted penitentiary. The souls of those who were tortured there are now stuck there for eternity, seeking revenge on those who made their last days on Earth miserable and unbearable.

There are many haunting tales from those who visit the location today about seeing apparitions or hearing strange voices. It has been commonly reported over the years that you can see a figure standing in one of the old guard towers. Some believe it is the spirit of a former guard who feels it’s still his responsibility to stand watch over the prison walls.

There is one particular spirit who has been seen lurking through the older sections of the prison by many visitors. It is the shadow of a man who seems to be looking for a way out.

The Haunted Cellblocks of Eastern State Penitentiary

What are some of the most haunted places inside Eastern State Penitentiary? Several of the cell blocks where prisoners spent many lonely days and nights are the most unsettling places to enter, even decades after the prison was closed for good.

Cellblock 12

Cellblock 12 is one haunted site on the premises that is often brought up by haunting experts. There have been multiple reports from people hearing echoing voices, strange cackling in the darkness, and seeing the apparition of shadowy figures. 

Others have claimed to hear disembodied voices, creepy whispers, and an overwhelming feeling of dread while there. It is a popular spot for curious investigators to visit while touring the penitentiary. Some videos captured there have shown the apparition of a man walking through the cell block.

Cellblock 4

Those who visit Cellblock 4 have claimed to see chilling visions of ghostly faces that appear to be deeply tormented. Some have said these faces beckon them over to get a closer look. Along with the macabre images, people have also reported hearing strange noises while in this cellblock, as well as feeling a sense of unease and being unwelcome there. 

One of the most frequently shared tales about this haunted cellblock is the encounter experienced by locksmith Gary Johnson.

Johnson was hired to renovate part of the cellblock and replace all of the locks. While removing one of the locks, he suddenly felt overpowered by an unseen force. He could feel the presence of someone watching him; however, when he looked up and down the cell block, there was no one else there. 

He stated that he could feel the negative energy pouring out of the cell as he saw distorted faces in agonizing pain lining up on the walls. It’s also been said that they saw a shadowy figure leap out at him from across the cellblock.

Cellblock 6

It has been said that if you enter cellblock 6 at Eastern State, you will see shadowy figures dart along the walls or slide quickly across them. The spirits appear as haunting black silhouettes; however, they’re not confined to that area and have been seen making their way along the walls throughout the penitentiary.

Throughout all the most haunted cellblocks, visitors have felt a great darkness they can’t explain. People have mentioned hearing strange voices, feeling cold spots in certain areas, and even the feeling of being touched or scratched by a dark entity.

Eastern State Penitentiary Today

Eastern State Penitentiary closed its doors in 1971. Many of the prisoners and the guards who were there at the time were transferred to Graterford Prison, located 30 miles north of Philadelphia. As the last of the employees left the prison, no one was expecting the building to be used again. The property was abandoned for the next twenty years.

As historians, city planners, and real estate developers started looking into what could be done with the property in the 1980s, they revisited the prison only to find it had become overrun with vines growing on both the outside and inside of the penitentiary. There was a colony of feral cats inside, and an eerie feeling that time had come to a standstill within the walls of the former prison.

The property was soon purchased by a non-profit organization that renovated the building and reopened it as a museum and tourist attraction in 1994.

Today, Eastern State Penitentiary has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. The building is open to the public for daytime tours every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

America’s Most Haunted Places

The haunted history of America has left a dark cloud over many locations where cruelty, tragedy, and violence once reigned. Whether you are visiting an old, abandoned prison where criminals received more than their fair share of punishment or a hotel that is centuries old where unsolved murders took place, you will feel a chilling sense of darkness and uncertainty as soon as you enter that space.

At U.S. Ghost Adventures, we love to share the true haunting facts and frightening urban legends about some of the most famous people and places in our country. Check out one of our many exciting ghost tours hosted throughout the U.S. Or, if you want to learn more about a specific location, be sure to read our blog for all the latest updates on the Most Haunted Places in the U.S.

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