Ohio State Reformatory

Brad and I took a short trip down to Columbus, Ohio this past Saturday and Sunday.  We went down for the Columbus Art Festival, and on our way, took a short detour to Mansfield to tour the Historic Ohio State Reformatory. 

This was actually the second time Brad and I drove the 2 hours, from Toledo to Mansfield, to the Historic Ohio State Reformatory.  We went down this past October for the “Haunted Prison Experience” presented by Haunted X, a haunted house attraction they hold in the prison every year.  Honestly, the haunted house didn’t seem much different from any other haunted house I’ve been in.  With all the Halloween decorations and strobe lights flashing in your face it was difficult to keep in mind that you were in an old dilapidated prison, which I think, is why it’s supposed to be scarier than other haunted houses.  I won’t lie and say I was never scared when walking through the haunted house, but the short time I was scared was due to walking for a large stretch in completed darkness; and yes I’ll admit, even at 27, I’m afraid of the dark.  By the time we had exited the haunted house we were only left wishing we had driven the 2 hours for a tour of the prison instead of the “Haunted Prison Experience.”

Fast forward 8 months: Brad and I finally make it back to Mansfield for a Prison Tour. 

What first got me interested in the Ohio State Reformatory was an episode of Ghost Adventures, a TV show on Travel Channel dedicated to ghost hunting.  The first half of each episode is usually regarding the history of the location and personal stories from workers, visitors, etc.  The second half of the episodes pertain to a 12 hour “lockdown” and the evidence Zak, Nick and Aaron find. You can get more information about this specific episode here.  The Ghost Adventurers Crew isn’t the only paranormal team to investigate the Ohio State Reformatory, in fact, there is so much interest in paranormal activity at the prison that you can sign up for a “Ghost Hunt” which gives visitors access from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am the next morning or a “Ghost Walk” which is a 2 hour guided tour that takes you to all the paranormal “hot spots.” Both the Ghost Hunt and the Ghost Walk sell out quickly, months in advance. 

For those of you more interested in the history (or cinematic history) of Ohio State Reformatory there are four other tours you can take:  Hollywood Tour, West Tower Tour, East Cell Block Tour and Behind the Scenes Tour.  Brad and I opted for the Self-Guided Tour, which can be done with or without an audio wand.  We chose not to get audio wands but I highly suggest that you pay the extra $5 for one.  Throughout the prison there are signs on the walls telling you the name of a location and a number that corresponds with the audio wand.  Without the audio Brad and I found ourselves constantly wondering why marked locations were significant. 

Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself, the tour really starts the second you turn onto Reformatory Road and take in the view of the towering gothic style, castle-like structure.  It’s a mix of sheer architectural beauty and complete impeding doom.  

The grounds are beautifully kept with a pond and small white gazebo on the left hand side.  The home to dozens of geese and fuzzy goslings, it is a serene welcome to what lies beyond the castle walls.

The self guided tour takes you through the Administration Building and up to the Warden’s living quarters.  In many of these rooms you will find still photographs from the movie “Shawshank Redemption.”  (I personally have a high interest in these movie stills because they remind me of the many days I spent on the couch watching Shawshank Redemption with my dad.)  It was interesting to Brad and I how much bigger the rooms appeared in the movie than they are in real life.  For those of you who have seen the movie, I was surprised to find that Brooks apartment was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory and not at another location.

The tour continues from the administration wing up to the chapel.  Before passing through a doorway and ascending the chapel stairs you come to an eerie junction in the hallway.  Sunlight perfectly enters the windows of four rooms located at each corner of a rectangular shaped foyer to make an X on the floor directly in front of the doorway that leads to the chapel stairs.

I overheard a tour guide telling her group that many people have claimed to experience paranormal activity, such as being pushed or punched, while standing on this X.  I took a chance standing upon this eerie X but felt no paranormal activity, however what I did experience was a change in atmosphere from one side of that X to other.  After crossing over the X you ascend the stairway into the chapel, a large empty room with no signs that it had ever been a place to worship God.  Through a small door on the right hand side of the chapel you enter the fourth level of the free standing East Cell Block.  Maybe there is something paranormal about that X on the floor, maybe it’s just a feeling of foreboding knowing that cells which housed thousand of criminals lies just up ahead; either way, I felt it.

 

We walked the metal staircase from the top of the cell block to the bottom.  As you stop at each level, viewing the cell blocks from one end of the building to the other, you can see the paint on the outside walls peeling so badly that it looks as though vines have started to overtake the building.  Once you’ve reached the ground level, you can walk along the cell block and into individual cells.  The tiny area inside the cells made me feel uncomfortable, and I had a hard time picturing two inmates sharing one cell, there is just enough room to stand or sleep with a small toilet and even smaller sink. 

 

We continued our tour around to the West Cell Block, which is made of brick walls with areas cut for cell windows and doors as opposed to the East Cell Block made from walls of iron cell.  I stepped into one of these cells and became very uncomfortable, as Brad snapped a few pictures all I could think about was getting out of the jail cell.  It became apparent that although I was really interest in the history of the Ohio State Reformatory, the longer we stayed the more uneasy I became.  The temperature seemed to continuously drop making me cold even though it was around 75 degrees out.  A feeling of being trapped had washed over me.  I wanted to finish our tour but just as prevalent was this feeling of needing to escape the walls.

Brad and I continued down to solitary confinement, making for the creepiest part of the tour.  The cold and dampness take over in the near dark cells and the need to escape grew stronger.  The image of prisoners locked in solitary, where the days didn’t count toward time served, weighed me down emotionally.  I picked up my pace making my way around the cells secretly hoping I wasn’t walking too fast for Brad to enjoy the tour.  We made our way up, back to the administration building, where a small museum and gift shop sat.  We stopped to look around the museum and even though at this point we were out of the prison area itself, it wasn’t until we walked out the front door that I felt a weight lift off my chest.  I took in a deep breath of fresh air and felt the warm sun on my face feeling relieved to be free.

I’d like to note that this is not the first Historic Penitentiary Brad and I have toured.  Two summers ago we went to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.  The depressing feelings and need to escape was specific to the Ohio State Reformatory not simply “you were inside a prison of course it was creepy.”

Eastern State Penitentiary

Ohio State Reformatory