Eastern State Penitentiary HAUNTED

The Eastern State Penitentiary is a prison built in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia which was open from 1829 to 1971. All prisoners were able to have a toilet, bunked beds, and apparently a bible. And if, and when, they were able to leave their cells, they were not allowed to see any other prisoners so they had a hood placed over their heads as they were lead down the halls. They were not allowed to communicate or interact with anybody during this time.

Prisoners would attempt to communicate with others through pipes and vents, however, if they were caught, the penalty or punishment was brutal. And they only got to see one tiny glimpse of the sun through a small crack through the ceiling every day for a short period of time. As you can see already, life in this prison, was cruel and harsh.

Punishments:

The Water Bath: Prisoners were dunked in a bath of ice cold water and then to continue the punishment, they were hung up for the night until morning. During the Winter time, after being dunked in this water, it would form into a solid and become ice on the prisoner's skin by morning. 

The Mad Chair: This is was also a very cruel punishment. The prisoner would be strapped to the chair, extremely tight where it was almost impossible to make any kind of movement at all. They would remain in this chair for several days, without food, up to the point of starvation and until the circulation in their body has almost stopped because of how tight the straps are. 

Iron Gag: This punishment was one of the most deadly. This one was developed for those who chose to disobey their 'no communication' rule. An iron collar was strapped to their tongue, and chained to their wrists behind their back. If they were to make any sudden movements, bleeding and/or tearing of the tongue may occur.

The Hole: This is just as it sounds. A hole or pit in the ground in which the inmate would be locked up in there for weeks with very little air and no light to that comes in. If and when they get food and drinks, they would possibly get a slice of bread and some water if the termites doesn't get to them first.


Inside the prison, there have been many reports of hearing crackling, wailing, seeing shadowing figures, ghost faces, hearing echoing, etc. 

Gary Johnson, in the 1990s, had opened cell block #4. All of a sudden, he says that something or someone grabbed or gripped him so tightly that he wasn't able to make any movements. He describes it as a negative experience and at the time he says he had experienced an out-of-body state, much like astral projection. And he explains that he saw a particular face appear on the walls of the cell. 


As for today, the prison is still open to the public. Here are some sources that I used and read if you would like to read more.

That is horrible. They should have published all of that in newspapers and they would have had zero crime.

That is true but things were way different back then. Full of harsh punishments and cruelty. I still found it interesting either way.

Yeah, that made me wonder when they started the thing about "no cruel or unusual punishment". Now the law is supposed to be that people can't be given punishment that is cruel or unusual. But I have seen cases where a judge makes up his own punishment. (This is not real, but just an example)~
Like if a teenager was convicted of shoplifting, instead of giving them jail time, he would make them wear a sign outside Walmart that said "Banned from store. I stole 3 Reece's Peanut Butter Cups".

I have just looked up when the 8th Amendment was created and it was back in 1700s. So, they probably thought that the law didn't apply to them, which may have been a reason for the Prison shutting down. But, who knows? The place is basically abandoned now, I think, and it has some haunting stories with it now.

Wow, that's scary that they had the law and they ignored it. That was basically torture and it was probably worse than what some of the criminals did.
I don't doubt that the place is haunted. It sounds like hell. I would have said "Just hang me."

I think I read that some committed suicide there but I am not sure. I may have read it wrong. I do know that many have died there, mainly because of the torturing and being almost starved to death. So, that would be a reason for any place to be haunted if you die on the premise and many of them did.

That explains it then. You've heard the term "tortured souls". I really can't imagine what that was like. Just the part about just being able to see a little daylight sometimes was bad enough. I've told you that I was once " locked away" (for no reason, I might add for any other readers) and just being confined is punishment.