Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) located in Philadelphia, PA is one of the coveted places of a paranormal investigator. First of all, I should state I’m a skeptic who relies on analytical and empirical data to validate and prove fact. Additionally, I’m not a professional or experienced ghost hunter but rather an adventurous individual willing to try most things once.

I was fortunate to have the rare opportunity to explore the site from 9 pm to 1 am with my partner Val and a group of other investigators. The event was led by professional investigators, Amy Bruni, Adam Berry and Britt Griffith; team members from the Syfy original series Ghost Hunters, along with WWF contender / professional wrestler the Blue Meanie, Brian Heffron. Most participants were serious investigators who came loaded with equipment including a K2 meter, MEL meter, digital camera, IR camera, digital recorder, laser grid and spirit box. (Since this isn’t a tech piece, I’ll leave looking up these items for you to bing / google search).

ESP was originally constructed from 1822 to 1836 and used the Philadelphia Prison Society system which expounded the concept of repentance through solitary confinement. The structure was a unique design with a central hub and seven spokes comprising the cell blocks. Originally designed to hold 300 prisoners, the US population explosion over the next century pushed the boundaries of the ESP to over 2,000 inmates by the 1920s, even with the addition of 8 more cell blocks. The overcrowding ended the solitary confinement approach to incarceration. The prison was finally closed in 1971 after holding some 75,000 inmates including bank robber “Slick Willie” Sutton and Chicago mobster “Scarface” Al Capone. Today, the structure sits in ruins with lead paint flaking off the walls and plaster failing from the ceilings a silent witness to days gone by. Or is it so silent?

Armed with an assortment of gauges and gadgets, we set out to explore the prison ruins. Starting on the top level of cell block 6, we tried to communicate with the departed via EVP sessions while monitoring meters and snapping digital photos as we explored for the next four hours cell blocks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 15 (death row) and “the hole”. So what happened next? The photos and recordings were studied and listened to while the personal experiences were discussed. After hours of review, this is what we came away with.

There were several occasions in which K2 meter spikes were noted. These occurrences didn’t appear to be interactive or in a response to a particular question nor could a duplication be obtained. The potential EVP incidents were discounted and subsequently dismissed as inconclusive after taking into consideration the number of other investigators moving around and communicating with each other. Finally, the digital photos proved of much interest especially the exterior ones. The appearance of objects that could be spirit orbs is quite interesting. The interior photo could be questioned after considering the objects may in fact be dust but that is indeterminable. The exterior photos on the other hand are not as easily explained away however the nature of the objects is not absolute.

That which goes bump in the night? I can’t definitively or concretely say based on my visit alone after taking into account various possible natural explanations for the occurrences. However, I can point to the volume of evidence gathered at Eastern State Penitentiary by numerous professional investigators to shed additional insight into the location.

None the less, it was a great experience that I would do again! Now on to the Stanley Hotel!

*Note: Historical information from Smithsonian, EasternState.org and Wikipedia.

Tags: Carol Zirkle, ghosthunting, narrative, paranormal