If you like to be frightened, you’ll love Halloween in Philadelphia and visiting spooky places Eastern State Penitentiary.
This year’s Halloween Night takes place from September 20th to November 9th and is designed to scare the hell out of you while raising money for a good cause!
This was what I expected when I visited a few years ago. (I’m that girl who couldn’t even watch the first Jurassic Park movie without sliding out of her seat and sitting on the theater floor…)
But this is the largest annual fundraiser hosted by the former prison and I’m always looking for a good story, so we had to go!
The taxi dropped us off in front of the 30-foot-high walls of this former prison, which was built in 1829 and housed prisoners until 1971. It’s so spooky here that it doesn’t need Halloween to make it spooky. But tonight the floodlights and the scary sounds echoing behind the walls made me laugh nervously.
As a “prison,” prisoners will be held in solitary confinement for the duration of their sentences. Interestingly, the prison had indoor restrooms before the White House!
Prisoners would be escorted outside to exercise with a blanket over their heads so they would never see another soul. I’m not sure if they were remorseful, but it remained a fully operational prison until the 1970s when it was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
On Halloween, the sun was setting as we walked to the ticket office in front of the ominous stone wall with ghouls glaring from the two-story door.
We arrived a little early so took the fat security guard’s advice and fended off the would-be ghosts while letting the ghosts within get into their roles, crossed the street for a beer (to calm me down) and walked in the old I had a bite of Jacks in the store. fire station. (Highly recommend having dinner at the bar here!)
Then it’s time.
The first thing we did was check our bags and sign a waiver not to sue the organizers if we were really scared to death.
They told me that during the month this event was held, five people were left in ambulances. I forced another smile and grabbed an extra copy of the waiver so I could tell you what I just signed.
Then we choose whether to wear a glow stick neck strap. My husband encouraged me to get it. Lighting it and hanging it around your neck means we can be touched, maybe separated from each other, pushed through random doors, dragged to the operating table, with sound effects of a chainsaw or a dental drill and them hiding Other props in dark corners, throughout the terrifying maze set up in this dark prison maze.
I figured if I felt like I was going to die, I could take it off.
And a knock-on phrase: “Monsters behave” You can use it anytime. The two girls in front of us were holding hands, no light up neckbands, and kept screaming “monster be good”.
The zombie police silently herded us into the first room without saying a word. There are five separate areas, each telling a story and forcing you to unravel it as you walk through it.
It was dark, strobe lights flickering, pistons hissing, metal doors clanking in the distance. Dry ice drifted in front of us as our eyes adjusted. More than 120 actors have all auditioned for a role and are expected to know CPR, jumping out of corners or walking by with crazy eyes.
They reached up to touch our heads or grab our ankles as we shuffled by. Some made noises, others just stared. If you’re wearing a light-up neckband, you could be kidnapped at any time.
I hunched my shoulders and held my husband’s arm so tightly with one hand that I could almost feel his pulse. I crouched down, holding the back of his jacket with my other hand, and walked down the dark hallway.
There were screams in the distance, and cries of terror from paying guests shuffling behind us.
I can deal with those silent ghouls. I was impressed with their makeup, but when I turned my head, boom! A bloodcurdling scream leaped from the shadows, and a sound in my throat unlike anything I’d ever heard rose from my throat.
We completed the first of five buildings, took deep breaths as we walked out, and laughed breathlessly along with the rest of our group.
Somehow hubby and I were in the front, which meant the monster caught us off guard. I realize now that this was because we were walking too slowly and couldn’t keep up with the group.
For nervous people, the best position is second or third so that the person in front of you is already triggering the terror. But to do that, you have to keep up. We have been lagging behind and therefore in front of the next wave.
We caught up with the group. A girl in front of me was snatched from her partner and pushed through a trap door. She screamed and I cringed even lower. We haven’t seen her in a while.
Another man was dragged to the dentist’s chair and when he broke free, tools were pulled out.
In the darkness, air rushed into my mind. His hands brushed my ankles. Screams echoed through the halls.
We were squeezed between two long inflatable tubes in near darkness, not knowing what was waiting for us in the end. My hands were so sweaty that I could barely keep them against his down jacket.
Finally it ended and we stumbled off into the night, where staff were waiting to sell us photos and ghouls were happy to pose for photos.
Once we gathered ourselves together, we walked down the cell corridor to see what this prison museum had to offer on a normal day – and bought cocktails at the bar in front of Al Capone’s cell.
The notorious gangster was imprisoned here in 1929 and was allowed to decorate his cell with carpets, writing desks, lamps and pictures on the walls. Today, it’s recreated his way.
When our heart rates returned to normal, we chatted with the bartender and discovered that this night of terror was nearly 30 years old and had raised so much money that the prison could stay afloat for another year.
halloween night at eastern state penitentiary
Beginning in 2021, Penn State Eastern State University will launch a new immersive experience that transforms 10 acres of winding corridors and courtyards into a sprawling festival with five horror-themed sections ranging from the extremely scary and eerie to the hilarious Even educational.
But the good news is, you can come with a group, and timid cats can avoid the scary attractions marked with red Xs and enjoy the bars instead.
It continues to be one of the year’s major fundraisers, with all proceeds supporting the preservation and operation of the Eastern State Penitentiary historic site.
Afterward, chat with interesting characters while sipping cocktails. Immerse yourself in the eerie atmosphere. Let the spirit move you as you choose your own adventure. For more information, please visit www.HalloweenNights.org.
This year’s event will be from September 20 to November 9, 2024.
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