Eastern State Penitentiary

If this name, Eastern State Penitentiary sounds familiar it ought to. Known currently for its many appearances on 'paranormal television shows,' Eastern State has a much deeper history than this.

Eastern State opened its doors in Philadelphia back in 1829. Andrew Jackson was president. Times were changing when it came to how people were being incarcerated. Though no mention of the Quaker's is named in this article, I do believe it was their idea as for the concept of this 'new prison system.'

This prison was revolutionary as being new in its approach to 'reforming' those who ended up behind its castle looking appearance and massive walls. I've seen a similar prison in Joliet, Illinois, Statesville Penitentiary. It's now been left largely unused, though I think it still does function so some lesser degree. Those wall! As kid I will never forget seeing those massive walls! And the solid 'rock material' used in the creation of those walls. It was like a fortress, and had to have been one scary place to anyone walking through those gates.

Up until Eastern State was conceptualized, most prisons were known to be places of over-crowding, violence, and many (even while waiting sentencing, no 'county jails apparently') awaiting 'sentencing' never made it through that period of time. So a new system was created, one which was focused on 'redemption,' hence the name 'penitentiary' or place of 'penance.'

Though this system was designed to make people 'think' about what 'sins' (some believed crimes were sins), were committed, and how persons incarcerated could spend their time in a more productive manner. At least this was the theory. In fact, many prisoner's went 'insane!'

While many were going insane, this quote from the article shows the type of lifestyle these inmates lived under, versus other prison where crime was rampant, and basic necessities were scarce.

Compared to other facilities, Eastern State was a technological marvel and, at a cost of $800,000, one of the most expensive building projects of its day. At a time when President Andrew Jackson was still using a chamber pot, prisoners in Eastern State had their own private toilets. Inmates were served three hearty meals a day (usually boneless beef, pork, or soup and unlimited potatoes) and had their own private exercise areas. The cells each had skylights so that the divine wisdom of God might shine down upon those inside. In essence, Eastern State was a paradise compared to other prisons of the time. But despite all its material comforts, this “paradise” drove men mad.

As this quote shows, prisoners had their own 'private toilets,' while the president, Andrew Jackson was using a 'chamber pot!' Also, it was not long after the building of Eastern State when there was the 'great potato famine' in Ireland which caused many Irish to flee to America for if nothing more, 'food.' Yet despite all these amenities for prisoners held in Eastern State, many still went insane.

British writer (one of my favorites) Charles Dickens visited the prison in 1842, and he wrote,

 “The system here is rigid, strict, and hopeless solitary confinement. I believe it, in its effects, to be cruel and wrong. I hold this slow, and daily, tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body.”

So apparently is was the 'solitude' that drove men crazy. There may have been women, and even children there too. The article doesn't say. But things were much different back in those times, so it wouldn't surprise me. And for Charles Dickens to have made such a comment, this place must have been really bad. Anyone familiar with Dickens' writings knows he wrote a lot about the plight of the poor in England during his time. Also writing about 'child labor laws,' the lack thereof which I believe helped to actually bring change. Dickens was definitely a 'reformer,' and a man ahead of his time.

While Eastern State shut down in the early 1970's, its legacy continues, as does the 'spirits' of those once confined behind those iconic fortified walls that as many other prisons of the period gave the prison an appearance of more of a fortress than a prison. Today, after having been closed down and almost demolished, Eastern State has been preserved. However, the idea of 'solitude' is now reserved for those in prisons today who 'break the rules,' and end up in 'the hole.' The movie Alcatraz and many others have brought quite a lot of attention to the concept of serving time in 'solitude.' And I can see how it could cause a person to go insane. So yes I would agree with Charles Dickens' overall assessment of his visit to Eastern State.

As it stands today, most people will know this place a being the 'creepy haunted place' you've seen on any number of paranormal ghost hunting shows. This facility is considered one of the 'scariest places' in the world of the paranormal. And I'm sure there is good reason for this. The walls themselves would be good conduits for 'holding energy' which has built up over all these years. While some may be skeptical of 'ghosts,' I always recall the saying, 'there are no atheists in a haunted place.'