Eastern State Penitentiary
Opened in 1829 as the world's first true penitentiary, Eastern State pioneered solitary confinement, isolating inmates in vaulted cells under a regime so severe that even Charles Dickens condemned it. The prison closed in 1971, and decades of decay made it a magnet for paranormal claims. Guards, staff and visitors report disembodied whispering, weeping and cackling laughter echoing through the crumbling cellblocks, with Cellblock 12 cited most often for shadow figures and footsteps. A locksmith named Gary Johnson described being gripped by a powerful force while opening a cell in the 1990s, a widely retold account. Cellblock 4 has produced reports of faces in the walls, and a shadowy figure is repeatedly seen in a guard tower. TV crews from Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures filmed investigations here. Notoriously, gangster Al Capone, jailed in 1929, was said to scream at night begging a murdered rival to leave him alone.
📍 2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130, Philadelphia, PA · Get directions