By Kyle Bagenstose | Photos Courtesy of Tom Bernard, Michael Cevoli and Jeff Fusco
Some believe in ghosts. Others need a little more evidence. But no matter on which side of the spiritual fence you might land, the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood should be high on a short list of places to visit for good Halloween fright.
Come each fall, the 184-year-old stone behemoth fills its 10 acres and 15 cell blocks with sets, lights, spooks and scares, inviting visitors to brave their way through an intense “haunted- house” tour that’s consistently named one of the top-10 haunted attractions in the country. But what separates Terror Behind the Walls from the average suburban haunted hayride is the chilling stories behind the creepy ambience and spooky costumes.
“Terror Behind the Walls is one of the largest and most-ambitious haunted attractions in the U.S. It’s consistently named one of the top-10 haunted events in the country.” – Sean Kelle
Just ask Gary the Locksmith. “Back in the 1990s, we pulled some stone away from an old exercise yard and uncovered a padlocked doorway that lead back into a cellblock,” says Sean Kelley, director of public programming for the penitentiary. “Gary was trying to pick the padlock, when he says he sensed an incredible evil from inside the cell. He went back into the cell block itself, and he had this amazing experience, where he believes he was physically attacked by ghosts inside of the prison.”
But ghoulish tales from inside the prison go back much further than a decade or two. Employees at the penitentiary routinely reported hearing cries, whispers and giggles when no other people around. Even Al Capone, Eastern State’s most infamous inmate, insisted he was haunted by the spirit of a victim of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre while incarcerated. According to accounts, he would yell nightly for the ghost to leave him be.
And while not all visitors will have the same kind of vivid, perhaps terrifying experience like Gary or Capone, the penitentiary spares no expense in creating equally terrifying encounters. “We have over 200 actors and Hollywood- quality special effects, including an animatronic dog that’s really startling,” Kelley says. He notes that many of the attractions incorporate aspects of the penitentiary to maximize the scare factor. “We have an attraction called Lockdown that’s in a historic corridor. When you look up, all you see is three stories of cellblocks and inmates staring down at you,” Kelley adds. “And we have a line of mannequins dressed like inmates that you must walk past as the hallway gets smaller and smaller.” But, he warns with a wry smile, some of those mannequins are real. And new for 2011 is the Gauntlet, a high-energy opening with overhead catwalks above an outdoor maze, and Breakout, an outdoor scare zone in the final courtyard before visitors leave the event.
But even without the added atmosphere, the prison alone can be enough to give you the chills. Originally opened in 1827, the jail was built with the Quaker belief that all people are inherently good in mind. In their view, criminals needed to be separated from the corrupt society that influenced them. This meant solitary confinement. “The building itself is one of the things that people really come away remembering. It was designed to be intimidating; it’s meant to be scary,” Kelley says. “Prisoners lived in almost total silence for a typical sentence of up to two years. But over time, there were concerns that prolonged isolation could drive people insane.”
When a bit more modernity came to the prison in 1913, it transitioned to the more-recognizable group-living environment we know today. It was decades later that some of Eastern States’ more notorious prisoners did their hard time, including Slick Willie Sutton and Al Capone, whose cell is a top attraction.
After the penitentiary was formally closed in 1971, the city weighed its options, including tearing the structure down, before allowing local historical societies to take over jurisdiction. The idea of holding a yearly haunted attraction came to fruition in 1991 and has since raised over $3.5 million used for the penitentiary’s annual operating costs.
Besides its Terror Behind the Walls attraction, Eastern State also offers a wide array of tours for those with varied interests. “Visitors can take daytime prison tours anytime during the year to learn its history,” Kelley says. “We also host an after-hours VIP tour, where we give everyone a flashlight. An expert guide takes them through to learn about what actually happened in the building.”
For more information on schedules and ticket information, go online easternstate.org/halloween.
