Growing up I have always been into ghost stories. Most people either believe in ghosts or they don't. There is a show called Ghost Adventures on the Travel channel and ever since they stated that show I fell in love with the paranormal. So last year I was looking around for ghost hunts... I came across this company called Ghost Hunts USA. This group has worked with the Ghost Adventure's team as well as others. I came across an article that they were coming to the Eastern State Penitentiary and were only excepting 10 people. so of course I called them right away. My friend and I got the last two spots.
When the time came, we were locked in the State Penitentiary from 10pm-4am... And it was the most insane thing I have done with ghosts by far. We used spirit boxes, inferred camera, voice recorders, and this thing that shot out hundreds of small lights and if something past it you'll see the lights go away. so I was super stoked to do this. We split up into groups of two and did our own thing... I will never forget the voices that came through the spirit box. They were fascinating because they almost answered exact questions we were asking. But the most insane thing that happened that night was my friend had three long scratch marks on his right calf and we heard a very loud scream inside cell Block 4. when I got home I was looking all over the internet for cell Block four and found some very interesting things... "Cellblock 4 for visions of ghostly faces. Many people have reported seeing a silhouette of a guard in one of the towers. Footsteps. Wails. Whispers. The same stories, over and over again." is-eastern-state-penitentiary-really-haunted. If you are into ghost hunts or want to give it a shot, I highly recommend doing something like this, the Ghost Hunts USA goes all over the country, I don't know if I would go with them again, but for you're first time its worth every penny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ej0m5ZTQpI
I found your post very interesting and would actually love to do what you did. When I was younger, I was the first to visit supposedly haunted mansions and cemeteries. As I got older, even the average Halloween haunted house or hay ride started to really frighten me. But I have always had a fear of Eastern State. My children, now adults, continue to bug me every year until today to go and I can't work up the courage. I have read information on the penitentiary and horrible things happened there. Any spirit that remains, I'm sure, is not a pleasant one!
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying that I consider myself a fairly sane and rational woman, if you don't speak to my husband. I am an educated professional woman. But the minute you tell someone that you believe in ghosts, they start to look at you like you are crazy. I believe in the spirit world. Now, if you were raised Roman Catholic, you were actually taught that if you see the spirit of a loved one who has passed do not make contact. The spirit is an evil spirit in disguise. Even to type this sounds crazy. The Catholics believe that once you die, you enter into a sleep state until the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. So, if Jesus has not yet returned, the spirit or soul of your loved one is asleep. Therefore any sighting you may have is that of an evil spirit. I no longer practice any organized religion but I have a strong belief in God.
I have had several encounters with the paranormal over my 58 years, starting in my youth. I wish I had time to tell you of my mother and sister! I believe that almost all things you see on TV are fake but not all of it is. We are all entitled to our own beliefs and not everything requires proof. Eastern State Penitentiary, I'm afraid, is out of the question for me. Real or not, it scares the heck out of me. I would love to hear more of your story of your night spent there.
Hi Ian,
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading about your experience at the Eastern State Penitentiary, I applaud you for your bravery. There is no way I could have ever done something like that! I think it's interesting to see how others have also found there to be some sort of noise being made in Cell Block 4 as you described. Not sure how to properly explain your experience in the context of dispelling paranormal phenomenons but it definitely seems like others have had similar experiences to you. It would be interesting to see more scientific observations being done of things like the Eastern State Penitentiary to see if there is some truly valid paranormal activity going on.
Ian,
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post! I am actually one of those people who don’t believe in ghosts, but it’s more like an “I need to see it to believe it” kind of case for me. My mom is a big fan of Ghost Adventures and a lot of those similar shows but I can’t stand them for long with the way they tend to take barely audible mumbles or sounds and claim the ghost or spirit actually said this or that—it’s way too far-fetched for me. Especially considering how much editing television shows go through… it sometimes makes it hard for me to believe these ghost sightings actually happened and weren’t just someone in the background making noise, you know? But I think if I had experienced what you had in person, not just from the couch, I would definitely be a believer! I would love to participate one day, even if just to see if I’m right or wrong in my belief, haha.