Ohio State Reformatory
For those of you who think you've never been or even seen Ohio State Prison, you may have and didn't even know it. It was used as the setting for the movie Shawshank Redemption. It's even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. 154,000 inmates passed through it's gates during the entire 94 years that it was a working prison. Some never left. There are 215 numbered marked grave sites of prisoners who died from disease, influenza, tuberculosis, and others from violence. The worst occurred in a lonely place, deep in the prison ground known as solitary by some but by everyone else it was called the hole. Near total isolation could crack the toughest cons. One inmate hung himself, another set himself on fire, once two men were left too long in a tomb like cell and only one walked out, leaving his cellmate's body behind stuffed underneath a bunk.
The bloodiest incident that occurred at the prison happened outside it's walls in July 1948. The Reformatory's farm boss, his wife and daughter were kidnapped and shot to death by two parolees that were seeking revenge. A six state manhunt for Robert Daniels and his partner James West which ended in a shootout that left Daniels in custody and West dead. Later, on January 3rd, 1949, Daniels was executed. A year later, the Warden's wife was removing a jewelry box from a shelf and dislodged a pistol from it's hiding place. When it hit the floor, it went off inflicting a fatal wound. The Warden, himself, died of a heart attack while working within the same decade.
Could this be the reason for all the activity in Ohio State Reformatory? Maybe so. As of right now OSR offers tours as well as ghost hunts. Do you dare to find out if the stories of whispers and footsteps are actually true?
More Info and Pics: http://www.mrps.org/index2.html
Originally posted on December 1, 2004
The bloodiest incident that occurred at the prison happened outside it's walls in July 1948. The Reformatory's farm boss, his wife and daughter were kidnapped and shot to death by two parolees that were seeking revenge. A six state manhunt for Robert Daniels and his partner James West which ended in a shootout that left Daniels in custody and West dead. Later, on January 3rd, 1949, Daniels was executed. A year later, the Warden's wife was removing a jewelry box from a shelf and dislodged a pistol from it's hiding place. When it hit the floor, it went off inflicting a fatal wound. The Warden, himself, died of a heart attack while working within the same decade.
Could this be the reason for all the activity in Ohio State Reformatory? Maybe so. As of right now OSR offers tours as well as ghost hunts. Do you dare to find out if the stories of whispers and footsteps are actually true?
More Info and Pics: http://www.mrps.org/index2.html
Originally posted on December 1, 2004
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