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Viewing Place: "Eastern State Penitentiary "
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| Name: |
Eastern State Penitentiary |
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| Directions: |
No directions supplied |
| City, State: |
Philadelphia, PA |
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| Type: |
Other / Misc (Haunted)
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| Submitted By: |
a_damned_soul |
| Submitted At: |
01/09/10, 7:36 PM (Eastern)
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Description:
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The penitentiary opened on October 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through `confinement in solitude with labor.` Many leaders believed that crime is the result of environment, and that solitude will make the criminal regretful and penitent(hence the word, Penitentiary). Inmates were forced to wear masks covering their entire head to keep them from communicating during rare trips outside their cells. Cells are equipped with feed doors and individual exercise yards to prevent contact between inmates, and minimize contact between inmates and guards.
Some of America's most notorious criminals were held in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, Eastern State Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands, a lost world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers.
A Few of the Harsh Punishments at Eastern State
~The Water Bath
The inmates who broke the rules risked being dunked in a bath of ice-cold water then hung from a wall for the night. During the winter months, when this punishment was most popular, the water on the inmates's skin would form into a layer of ice before morning.
~The Mad Chair
The Mad Chair was named such because it was not uncommon for an inmate to go mad before his punishment ended. Inmates would be strapped into the chair with leather strips, so tightly that it was impossible for them to make the smallest of movements. They would sit for days, without food, until the circulation in their body almost stopped from the tightness of the straps and the lack of movement.
~Iron Gag
The most deadly punishment was known as the Iron Gag and specifically designed for those inmates who refused to obey the no communication policies. An iron collar was clamped onto the tongue of the inmate, and then chained to his wrists which were strapped high behind their back. Any movement resulted in a tearing of the tongue and severe bleeding. Many inmates who suffered this torture died from loss of blood before their torment ended.
~The Hole
Dug under Block #14, the hole was nothing but a pit in the ground where incorrigible inmates would stay locked, sometimes for weeks. There was no light, little air, and those thrown into its tortuous grip would receive water and a slice of bread, if they got to it before the rats and roaches.
In reality, the way the prisoners were dealt with did the opposite of what it was meant to in most cases. It drove many men(and for about 100 years, women) completely mad, resulting in many assaults, riots, suicides, and murders. As a result, many spirits are said to still be trapped in their cells, doomed to suffer the anguish forced upon them in life, for the rest of eternity at Eastern State Penitentiary.
Location:
2124 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19130
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