Eastern State Penitentiary

Art and Culture in Philadelphia

"You can’t miss Eastern State Penitentiary. The massive, black stone fortress sticks out from the rest of Fairmount like an evil villain’s lair. The prison started out as a Quaker reform designed to keep prisoners in solitary confinement to reflect on their sins. Of course, 19th-century Quakers didn’t account for the damaging psychological effects, and the prison earned a ghastly reputation. Eastern State Penitentiary appears in multiple ghost hunting series, and, walking down its decrepit halls, it’s easy to see why. Make sure to check out Al Capone’s luxury cell. If you visit in October, the prison is transformed into Terror Behind the Walls, a genuinely terrifying haunted house-style experience, except in an (allegedly) haunted prison. Tickets to the prison cost $14, but tickets to Terror Behind the Walls cost considerably more and sell out around Halloween time." - MATADOR_NETWORK