Eastern State Penitentiary
By Grave Reviews Staff
Appearance
Recently, I visited the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At first glance, the entire facility is immaculate but is deceivingly smaller when you walk inside the building. The interior of the penitentiary consists of eight different alleyways. Each alleyway is designed into narrow corridors and is either one to two stories high. In addition, the corridors were categorized by the kind of inmates that reside there. For example, one corridor was called “death row” where inmates waited to be executed.
History
Eastern State first opened in 1829 in response to the need for change with inmate behavior. The penitentiary began as a “confinement in solitude with labor” which we refer to today as solitary confinement. Throughout time the Penitentiary grew larger and larger. It held 250 inmates in 1821 to about 1,700 inmates in 1926. Eastern State later closed in 1971 and became a historic area for people to visit. Many famous mobsters including Alphonse “Scarface” Capone (cell block 8, cell number 1), Victor “Babe” Andreoli (1937-1943), Morris “The Rabbi” Bolbler (1942-1954), and bank robber Willie Sutton (served 11 years) were kept in this penitentiary. Moreover, multiple movies were also filmed in this building including Transformers (2008), Return to Paradise (1998), and Twelve Monkeys (1995).
Eastern State Penitentiary Haunted House – Terror Behind the Walls
Furthermore, Eastern State has a Halloween attraction called, “Terror Behind the Walls.” They break up the cellblocks into six different scary attractions. As you enter into the Attraction, there is a station with nurses; they allow you to have the option to get a bloody “X” marked on your face and place a glow stick around your neck. This means that the people inside the attractions are allowed to touch and grab you. Further, they can also throw you into an empty cellblock or make you go into a special passageway so you are separated from your group. Overall, it was a lot of fun.
Upcoming Event and Price
Terror Behind the Walls will be starting September 21, 2018, and ending on November 10, 2018
All-year General admissions for the Prison walkthrough only is $14
Terror Behind the Walls general admission is about $29 depending on the day you attend.
Lastly, I have experienced the Prison tour and the Haunted House, and both were enjoyable. Appropriate for all ages, everyone will get something out of it from the morbid history behind the prison to the eerie feeling that a spirit is lurking near you. I’m interested to see what Halloween Attractions they have to offer for this year.
For further information on tours, dates and prices visit:
General Prison Tour Information
Terror Behind the Walls Schedule
In addition, Check out our other haunted house reviews HERE!!!
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