Horrific Hauntings : The Ohio State Reformatory

  Among the top 5 biggest castle-like structures in the USA, the Ohio State Reformatory has the world's tallest steel construction. But this Prison offers much more than world records and paranormal events are a top pick in the menu it offers.

History

The history of the Ohio State Reformatory started in 1862 and the site in which the reformatory got constructed was used as a training camp for Civil War soldiers. The camp was called Camp Mordecai Bartley in honour of the Mansfield guy who served as Ohio Governor in the 1840s.

 In 1867, Mansfield was decided to be the place for a new intermediate jail. The city raised $10,000 to buy 30 acres of land for the jail, and the state bought 150 acres of adjacent land for $20,000 with the expenditure of the property being $1,326,769. The Ohio State Reformatory was meant to be a midway factor between the Boys Industrial School in Lancaster and the State Penitentiary in Columbus and was supposed to hold young first-time offenders. Construction started out in 1886 and the property was under construction till 1910 due to troubles with funding which caused construction delays.

 The real architect for the layout was Levi T. Scofield from Cleveland, who used three styles which are Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne. Scofield designed the jail with these particular styles to assist inmates to emerge as returned spiritual people. A well-known architect F.F. Schnitzer was entrusted with the construction of the building. In 1891 the name became modified from Intermediate Penitentiary to Ohio State Reformatory.

 On September 15, 1896, the prison opened its doors to its first 150 inmates. These prisoners were put right away to work at the sewer system and the 25-foot stone wall surrounding the construction. Schnitzer got awarded a silver double inkwell by the governor of the state in a lavish ceremony to recognize his services.

 In 1935 Arthur Lewis Glattke became the superintendent and his tenure lasted till 1959. He implemented many reforms which includes radio in cell blocks. Glattke's wife, Helen Bauer Glattke, died of pneumonia three days following an accident in November 1950 where a handgun shot her while she was trying to reach out into a jewellery box. Glattke met his demise due to a heart attack he suffered in his office on February 10, 1959. Later, over 200 died at the OSR, which includes guards who got killed during the escape attempts.

Paranormal Occurrences

 During its operation which was for almost a century, the Ohio State Reformatory had 154,000 inmates go through its doorways, although not everyone got out of it alive. Sickness, suicide, murder and other ways rampaged the prison, taking the lives of the 215 inmates whose corpses are buried in the prison’s cemetery, although the real death count of the building is said to be a lot more. Various spirits are stated to have been present in the reformatory and remained even after its closure. The ones to visit regularly document listening to disembodied voices, footsteps, seeing apparitions or shadow figures or even being touched whether or not just a snatch or brush, at times in a much more violent way.

 One of the regions that have baffled investigators for decades is the 'Chair Room’. This is a small room in the admin building and the only room within the structure to include no windows. Some speculate that it got used for darkish activities, as violent paranormal events are said to be experienced there. Some who sat on the chair have pronounced to be groped or even scratched by an invisible entity. Others have even documented feeling the chair shake under them.

 Another location said to be paranormally active is the West Wing Attic. This is a place where many prisoners with violent backgrounds were housed because of overcrowding. Since the attic wasn’t made with cells, the prisoners were housed in more of a dormitory style leading to a variety of unruly behaviour.

 Many others have additionally mentioned hearing and sighting paranormal things within the East Cellblock and Underground Solitary Confinement Cells, also known as the Hole. This is an area where guards and prisoners got murdered and some even committed suicide.

Current State

 The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society is presently operating to repair and restore the structure to its actual condition. Restorations encompass the elimination of dust and debris, changing roofing, and full restoration of the Warden's quarters, in addition to the full restoration of the central guard room between the East and West Cell blocks. The restorations are being funded via donations and tours. The windows of the south side east cell block were replaced, and all the stained-glass windows of the building are in course of being replaced. During the Halloween season, the facility hosts a haunted house via Blood Prison.

 The Ohio State Reformatory gives ghost tours along with ordinary daytime tours. They provide public ghost hunts for casual ghost hunters, private ghost hunts for experienced ghost hunters, ghost walks for kids who are 13 or more, ghost hunt training for kids who are 13 or more, and special ghost hunt events.