Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia

The castle-like Eastern State Penitentiary took solitary confinement to new levels when it was built in 1829. Prisoners lived alone, exercised alone, and ate alone; when an inmate left his cell, a guard would cover his head with a hood so he couldn’t see or be seen. The prison had to abandon its solitary system due to overcrowding in 1913, although the forms of punishment did not get any less severe (chaining an inmate’s tongue to his wrists is one example) before it closed for good in 1970. The site now welcomes thousands of visitors every year, both for its museum and Halloween celebrations. Reported paranormal happenings have included disembodied laughter, shadowy figures, and pacing footsteps. One of the first stories told of ghostly activity was by famed Chicago gangster Al Capone, who was housed in the prison for eight months in 1929-1930. Though he had the nicest cell in the prison, which included a desk, a lamp, paintings, and a radio, he said he was haunted by the ghost of James Clark, who was one of the victims of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. Allegedly, Capone screamed every night in fright, screaming at “Jimmy” to go away and leave him alone

In Cellblock 6, shadowy figures are often seen sliding along the walls, and the sounds of whispers, screams, and laughter have been heard.

The catwalk is an area where many paranormal events have occurred. Here, a shadow figure was caught on a video, people have felt **** temperature fluctuations, and one visitor captured a male voice saying “I’m lonely” on an EVP.Visitors and staff report disembodied screams, cries of pain, sadistic laughter, and whispers throughout the prison. ghostly faces.