In 1787, a group men sat in the home of Benjamin Franklin. They understood that there was a growing concern over the public prisons which existed in the city. Some new structure needed to be built to withstand all attempts to break out and to teach the fowl members of society a lesson. With that Eastern State Penitentiary was born, a prison designed to create genuine regret and penitence in the criminal’s heart. Over the next 30 years, the prison was built until it opened in 1829 where it still stands and operates today.
The concept of the cells was a Quaker inspired design. Inmates were given little interaction with both each other and even the guards. This isolation was thought to promote self-recollection of the crimes that they had performed. It further disallowed knowledge of the building and a chance to escape. Prisoners sat alone, dark; just them and their thoughts.
With time further additions were made to the building, adding cell blocks with reinforced walls including cell block 15, otherwise known as death row. Through time, the jail housed some of America’s most notorious criminals. When gangster Al Capone found himself in front of a judge for the first time in 1929, he was sentenced to one year in the prison. In total, Eastern State housed about 85,000 inmates throughout its 142-year history. More than 1,200 inmates died behind the walls—about half of them from diseases like tuberculosis. More than 50 inmates killed themselves, and over a dozen died violently at the hands of fellow inmates.
With that deep a history, its easy to see why the prison is haunted by not one, but multiple spirits. Even Al Capone himself was haunted in his cell. Screaming at night, Capone would constantly yell “Jimmy…jimmy….leave me alone”. Black shadows can be seen down empty corridors, and visitors are touched on the back of their shoulders. Strange screams can be heard 24 hours a day and cold spots are a “norm”. Eastern State Penitentiary was not just a prison, it was a punishment for convicts, many of whom have never left.
Try to Scare me is NOT intended as a guide to trespassing. We present these sites, locations and stories as local unwritten history and the legends surrounding it that are told to us while traveling. Although we provide locations, and some directions, these articles are intended to be read with the knowledge that some places cannot be visited. We do not encourage trespassing onto private property and do not encourage trespassing to obtain articles, videos, pictures and other evidence to be submitted. Trespassing is illegal and those who disregard this advice will (in most cases) be arrested and charged.