12 Prison Ghost Stories

Ghosts walk the halls of The Rock. Built on an island in San Francisco Bay, the prison began as a fort in the 1850s. A military prison operated there until the island became a federal penitentiary in 1934. From that point until its 1963 closure, it held some of the era's most notorious and dangerous federal criminals.

Al Capone, one of those criminals, issaidhe still resides thereDuring his time in prison, Capone learned to play the banjo. He feared death in the yard with other inmates, so he bargained with guards to use the showers for recreation. After Capone died, many heard banjo music from the bathroom.

Another haunting spot isCell 14-DA prisoner screamed all night about a creature trying to kill him. The man was found strangled the next morning. People claim the cell stays freezing cold, even in summer. Red eyes glow from inside.

In 1836,Missouri State PenitentiaryThe prison opened in Jefferson City. It closed in 2004 as the oldest continually operating prison in the country.

In 1967, it received the name "the bloodiest 47 acres in America" byTimemagazine because of its brutal past. Over 100 organized paranormal investigations took place at the prison. One of the most haunted locations is A-Hall, the oldest part of the prison, and The Hole, a solitary confinement cell.most hauntedA-Hall, the prison's oldest part, and The Hole, a solitary confinement chamber, are the prison's most haunted locations.

The most infamous ghost haunts Cell 48. A prison snitch was murdered there during a riot. They bludgeoned him with a sledgehammer used to make a hole in the wall to the cell. A strange figure has beenphotographedstanding at the cell.

TheWest Virginia State PenitentiaryLocated in Moundsville, it opened in 1863. During operation, there were 36 homicides, 86 hangings, and many more electrocutions and suicides. Nine hundred ninety-eight people died on the grounds.

One ghost says to haunt the halls is R.D. Wall. On October 8, 1929, Wall went to the basement where the boilers were when he was murdered because he was a snitch. Three other inmates butchered him with dull shivs.Ghost Adventuresrecorded evidence of this hauntingduring their investigation.

Opened in 1896,Ohio State ReformatoryThe reformatory housed 155,000 inmates before closing in 1990. It aimed to reform those not hardened enough for the Ohio Penitentiary. Over time, overcrowding forced hardened criminals there anyway.

The 20 solitary confinement cells known as The Hole are one haunting spot.haunting activity. In the 1930s, a riot forced 120 inmates to share 12 of these cells, which were no longer solitary. Another spot is the administrative wing whereWarden GlattkeHelen, his wife, lived there. In 1950, Helen knocked a gun off a shelf. It fired. She was hit in the chest and died three days later. The chapel, infirmary, basement, and other areas also saw paranormal activity.

Eastern State Penitentiary.Eastern State Penitentiary sits in Philadelphia and is one of the most haunted locations in America.Eastern State Penitentiary is most haunted.Eastern State Penitentiary is a location in America. It opened in 1829. The prison abandoned corporal punishment for isolation to make inmates feel penitence. It closed in 1971. Now, it operates as a historic site.

Crackling voices have been heard in cell block 12 over the years. Shadowy figures appeared in cell block 6. Gary Johnson witnessed a ghost in the early 1990s.Gary Johnson reported feeling a malevolent force grip him.He also saw tormented faces appear on the cell walls.

This Colorado jail opened in 1901 and ran for 90 years. Only one prisoner died after falling from the second-floor catwalk. People report several things here. Footsteps move up and down the stairs in the main cell block. A young girl's apparition has also been reported.

Shadow masses and heavy breathing occur near where the prisoner fell to his death.

Nicknamed "Old Pen".Old PenThe penitentiary opened in 1872. It held over 13,000 inmates before closing in 1973. The prison became very violent in the 1930s, with many riots. Raymond Snowden was the last person executed in Idaho in 1957; he was the only one hanged.

People believe he and other spirits still haunt death row.

ThisjailThis jail operated from 1802 to 1939. It housed pirates, civil war prisoners, and Charleston's worst criminals. Former guest Lavinia Fischer, who owned the Six Mile House outside Charleston with her husband John, is rumored to haunt the place.She is rumored to have killed several visitors during the night.She was eventually hanged for highway robbery, a capital crime then.

Evidence of Lavinia's haunting was recorded by the Ghost Adventures team.theGhost Adventuresteam.

Wyoming Frontier Prison was in Rawlins, WY. It ran from 1901 to 1981. It housed hardened criminals, and the warden stressed punishment. Conditions were harsh; cell houses lacked electricity or running water. The prison used a gas chamber where five inmates died. Others were hanged. Escape was a constant issue, and guards died trying to help inmates escape.

Unexplained noises and shadowy figures appear at the Wyoming Frontier Prison.Reports range from spirit orbs to full apparitions in the cell blocks, dungeon house, and death house at the Wyoming Frontier Prison.

The prison stood in Laramie, WY. It began construction in 1872. It operated until 1890, when Wyoming became a state. The structure then became the Wyoming State Penitentiary. Inmates moved to the Wyoming Frontier Prison in Rawlins in 1903. Butch Cassidy and Clark “the Kid” Pelton were notorious outlaws held there.

Inmate Julius Greenwald haunted the prison. He died of heart failure in 1901. Greenwald was imprisoned for murdering his wife. He made cigars for his fellow inmates. The smell of tobacco still wafts from Greenwald's old cell.

This jail is located in Pottawattamie County, IA.This jail.It opened in 1885. It ran until 1969. This facility was a three-story "human rotary" or "lazy Susan" jail, also called a squirrel cage jail. Revolving, pie-shaped cells sat inside a cage. One opening needed turning to align with the cell for release. The design caused problems. People lost limbs or had skulls crushed. If the wheel broke, inmates could not get out.

Four people died in the jail. There is a...The jail has a long track record of paranormal activity.The fourth floor apartment shows much activity. Bill Forester, the superintendent in the 1950s, moved his living quarters to the second floor. The spirit of his predecessor, Otto Gudath, has haunted the jail many times.

This prison is in Mount Holly, NJ.This prison became a museum.It first built in 1811. It operated without stopping until 1966. New Jersey law required executing capital crime convicts in their conviction county. Executions happened in the prison yard on gallows built for each event, with two exceptions.

The first two executions occurred at a nearby crossroads. Joel Clough, one executed, was charged with stabbing a woman in Bordentown. He was later buried in the prison yard. People believe he is the main ghost haunting the grounds. His former cell, the Death Cell on the upper floor, focuses the activity.