| EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY Right in the middle of downtown Philly is an impressive building seemingly untouched by time. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life of a large city lays a tranquil, quiet historic prison with the looks of a medieval castle. It is said to be one of the most haunted locations in Pennsylvania and we set out to see if this was an accurate description. The prison once housed the notorious gangster Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton who actually escaped the prison by digging a 97 foot tunnel under the massive structure to his freedom. The building is beautiful and history rich, but we set out to find something a bit more paranormal..... and so we began. It was a ridged cold night and ice still line the exposed walkways of the prison making it an interesting trek around the huge property for our tour. The crunch of the floor made it obvious that EVP would be difficult unless inside the enclosed buildings. The tour guide was great and very informative in regards to the locations said to have activity. After the tour was complete we set up base in the center (the only place with power by the way) gathered our equipment and were off to see what the night would bring. Our first location was the infamous cell block 12. This area does have a creepy feeling that weighs heavy on you, I am not sure if its just the enclosed darkness or all the stories that have been told of this area. I grabbed my recorder and camera and sat in a cell to get a feel for the place and started my EVP session. Other than a slight noise here and there I really didn't get any feelings but continued with my recording none the less. I left the cell after about 15 minutes of recording and snapped some photos. I quickly learned that with all the dust in the area that any “orbs” caught would have to be thrown out as evidence. Also there was a huge amount of bird droppings along all the railings which to me would explain a lot of the small movement sounds coming from the location. After my adventure with cell block 12 I next wanted to tackle death row. With another investigator we trekked on to the other building where it was located and went totally dark to do our EVP. This is one area of the prison that I got an uneasy feeling, of course it is death row. Startled by the occasional glimpse of one of the pictures of early inmates was the only action I received. We closed our EVP session after 15 minutes and traveled back to home base. I then made my rounds from cell block to cell block with recorder in hand. Snapping pictures of the dilapidated cells most with roots making their way through the walls and small windows. Walking the outside courtyard where the inmates use to spend their leisure time. Sadly, because of the time of year we were not given access to the guard towers. With the other investigators in other areas I made my way to cell block 11 which was closed due to unfavorable conditions. I journeyed as far as I could in and had my first and only experience of the night. What sounded like footsteps above me on the second floor I stopped and listened, as soon as I could get my recorder out of my pocket and turned on the phenomena stopped.... no evidence, chalk it up to an interesting experience. Is the place haunted? We all know the stories that surround the building with numerous TV shows and publications about the location. All I know is I was unable to capture anything that even resembled paranormal activity. I also didn't really get any feelings in the location everything seemed quiet and still, what you would expect from a huge older building of its kind. With not being able to capture anything and the lack of personal experiences not to mention the dust and birds that could explain a lot, I cannot sway one way or another. It is however a very interesting building with tons of history and I would love to investigate it again in hopes of pulling out what ever was dormant on this adventure. |
