Hauntings in central Pennsylvania

It's well known that a visit to Gettysburg might be your best chance of bumping into a spirit in Pennsylvania, but not all ghosts haunt the Civil War town. In central Pennsylvania, some are closer than you think!

Several sites in Carlisle have fairly active ghosts. On the Army War College campus sits the Hessian Powder Magazine, the guard house built in 1777 by captured Hessian, who were then imprisoned inside it.

Since 9/11, you must go through inspection at the outside gate to gain access to the campus - sad, because I used to freely ride my bike through there.

But the guards were very nice, and gave me a map to find the building.

I didn't realize it was a museum that you could go inside. This door marked "Open" doesn't look creepy, does it?

Once you're inside, there are displays such as this one.

I was the only person visiting the museum that day, so being inside alone made these statues a little creepy, too!

Farther back sits this creepy, narrow hallway.

And that's when your neck hairs start to tingle. Because down that hallway are the prison cells where Hessians were locked up.

And that's where the sounds come from at night. Moaning, groaning and clanging echo across the War College grounds.

Some claim to have seen a soldier outside.

But one man got an unexpected shock when he went down that hallway to investigate, and looked through the window of the door. Looking back at him were the Hessian prisoners from 1777.

I have to admit, I'd read this story before, and jumped when I looked inside the last cell and saw this.

Don't laugh - you'd have been startled too! lol

On the way out, there was a locked door with an opening high in the door, so I raised my camera and shot inside.

Nothing there but a few stored items, but it gives you an idea of how small those cells are.

I was hoping to capture an orb, too, but no luck.

On the square in Carlisle, the old Cumberland County Courthouse is a pretty sight.

Those who work inside have some scary stories to tell.

One woman says she'll never work late by herself again after hearing slamming doors up and down the hallway.

You can hear other stories about this building on the Nov. 4 episode of SyFy's "Ghost Hunters."

That same "Ghost Hunters" episode will also feature stories about the old Cumberland County Prison.

The grandboys like the place because it resembles a castle. But the prisoners who were locked up there didn't like it much, but apparently some still hang around.

One worker reports seeing a pair of boots walk down the hall, with no body attached.

There are many more such spine-tingling tales in the midstate, so if you're up for a ghost hunt, come and visit!

For now, that wraps up this year's Halloween party. Thanks to all the authors who've shared their spooky tales, tasty treat recipes and their own books! I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Happy Halloween!

PA Halloween Horrors: Eastern State Penitentiary

One of the most haunted places in America is here in Pennsylvania - Eastern State Penitentiary. I'm glad it's closer to Philly than Harrisburg. It. Is. Creepy!

The penitentiary has been abandoned a long time, but not uninhabited. There are supposed to be many, many tortured souls who linger there. Though the Quakers who built it intended it to be a spiritual place where sinners could do penance (hence the title 'penitentiary') rather than simply serve prison time, guards apparently had more sadistic ideas. You can read more about that here.

During their incarcerations, inmates were forced to remain separate from everyone else. Their one scheduled hour a day outdoors, they spent alone.

Maybe that's why they come alive when people visit. Though some inmates were supposedly visited by spirits during their stay - Al Capone, for instance, was said to have been haunted by James Clark - who Capone murdered during the infamous St. Valentine's Day massacre.

During the year, an average of two dozen paranormal investigations happen there. Almost every single one finds evidence of spirits. That's pretty rare.

The penitentiary remains open to the public. Many who go there claim to hear weeping, giggling or whispering. Many have caught evidence on film, and other instruments such as thermometers register rapid drops in temperatures before an activity. Some see shadow people. Some who challenge spirits to move objects, as in the video below, have their challenges accepted.

I'm not brave enough, but if you'd like to take a Halloween tour, you can order tickets. If I ever go, I'll opt for the daytime tour!

Oh, and a little real estate tidbit for you... from my stint working in the press office for the Pennsylvania Department of State, I learned that in Pennsylvania, realtors aren't required to inform buyers if a property has a tainted past. Whether the past owners were haunted, or even murdered. The only information they must pass along pertains to the property's structural soundness or other physical defects relevant to the property's value. You can, however, do your own research. :)

Have you ever visited Eastern State Penitentiary? Or a similar haunted facility?


You might want to watch these ghost hunters interact with former penitentiary residents:

Be my Halloween guest!

Now that the Decadent 1NS celebration is ending today, I'd love to host some Halloween guests. If you're the author of a paranormal, that would work best, but everyone's welcome! Just shoot me an email at cate.masters AT gmail.com.

Visit tomorrow for a special Halloween guest!