In "celebration" of Halloween AND the SyFy channel premiere of the State Pen episode of Ghost Hunters (Wednesday at 8pm!!)...I am reposting about my adventure in ghost hunting at the prison this fall...
This weekend was the 175th Anniversary Celebration for the Missouri State Penetentiary. They had activities set up for the entire weekend. We headed down to the prison on Saturday morning for all the family friendly stuff they had going on. Aidan was super pumped. Elin had no clue what we were doing of course, but she happily participated. On our way in:
When they closed the prison in 2004, they tore down the administrative buildings and entrance to rebuild the street that runs along the side of it. Apparently this is how it actually used to look when it first opened in 1836 so that was pretty interesting. It's a creepy old building. Usually the front has a big board covering the entrance that they open when you go on one of their guided tours. Today though it was open and you could walk right in. 
Standing at the front entrance:
When you walk in the entrance you are in the old "check-in" area. It was crazy that there were still signs and postings from when it was a fully-operational facility. Being the history dork that I am, it was fascinating. Chad was being a trooper by happily attending with us (so not his cup of tea)!
When they closed the prison in 2004, they tore down the administrative buildings and entrance to rebuild the street that runs along the side of it. Apparently this is how it actually used to look when it first opened in 1836 so that was pretty interesting. It's a creepy old building. Usually the front has a big board covering the entrance that they open when you go on one of their guided tours. Today though it was open and you could walk right in. Standing at the front entrance:When you walk in the entrance you are in the old "check-in" area. It was crazy that there were still signs and postings from when it was a fully-operational facility. Being the history dork that I am, it was fascinating. Chad was being a trooper by happily attending with us (so not his cup of tea)!Entrance
This is one of the main halls that we walked by to get to the main yard. We learned later that this is one of the very haunted halls there...
Our in the main yard there were lots of activities all set up. There was food and music. You could go in a few buildings, but just right inside. They had a lot of the historical information available. We learned that when it closed, the prison was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi River. It was built at the same time of the Alamo, and when Alcatraz was built this prison was already 100 years old. Beware, this post is both going to be possibly extremely boring if this kind of stuff doesn't interest you, or totally creepy by the end. 
We were able to walk in the main entrance of the housing unit in the picture above. They had a movie playing about the history there.
We took Aidan down to check it out real quick. We didn't stay to watch the video as it wasn't "mommy screened" and who knows what Aidan might have learned ;)
He thought it was so cool. He was looking around everywhere.
I was completely creeped out when later that evening, I learned that we were in the death row housing building and the room where the movie was showing had some crazy ghostly history with fires and murders. LOVELY.
From the main entrance you walked out of the door in that red brick building and entered the main yard:
We took Aidan to the kids stuff. He made a license plate (they actually did that at the prison back in the day), a "wanted" poster, and played some games.
This is one of the main halls that we walked by to get to the main yard. We learned later that this is one of the very haunted halls there...Our in the main yard there were lots of activities all set up. There was food and music. You could go in a few buildings, but just right inside. They had a lot of the historical information available. We learned that when it closed, the prison was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi River. It was built at the same time of the Alamo, and when Alcatraz was built this prison was already 100 years old. Beware, this post is both going to be possibly extremely boring if this kind of stuff doesn't interest you, or totally creepy by the end. We were able to walk in the main entrance of the housing unit in the picture above. They had a movie playing about the history there.
We took Aidan down to check it out real quick. We didn't stay to watch the video as it wasn't "mommy screened" and who knows what Aidan might have learned ;) He thought it was so cool. He was looking around everywhere.I was completely creeped out when later that evening, I learned that we were in the death row housing building and the room where the movie was showing had some crazy ghostly history with fires and murders. LOVELY.
From the main entrance you walked out of the door in that red brick building and entered the main yard:
We took Aidan to the kids stuff. He made a license plate (they actually did that at the prison back in the day), a "wanted" poster, and played some games.Making his poster:
His license plate:
Flinging frogs at the castle moat. He loved this game. Guessing because it involved the equivalent of a GIANT slingshot:
His license plate: Flinging frogs at the castle moat. He loved this game. Guessing because it involved the equivalent of a GIANT slingshot:After playing the games, we kept walking to check out the open buildings. The architecture was amazing. This building is the oldest housing unit on the property:
It was built in 1868. It was only open to paid tour guests so we just looked from the outside. Very creepy looking.
Right down the steps from Housing Unit 4 is Unit 5. This is where the REALLY bad guys were put. It was the solitary confinement cells and their exercise yard. Aidan was fascinated with the exercise "cages." He kept wanting to go in them and shut the doors. I was waiting for the super rusted doors to stick and then we would have to call someone to fetch our son out of the prison because his confinement cage was locked. Luckily, that didn't happen :)
The happy hunting crew (or COMPLETE IDIOTS...whichever you feel is most appropriate. At that moment, I was going with the second option):
Elizabeth's boyfriend, Fun Bobby, joined us. I am pretty sure he was just pumped to see the most dramatic person in the world (me) and my sister in this situation. If we had not already paid, I definitely would have chickened out at this point because it was getting dark and I am a big baby.
Right down the steps from Housing Unit 4 is Unit 5. This is where the REALLY bad guys were put. It was the solitary confinement cells and their exercise yard. Aidan was fascinated with the exercise "cages." He kept wanting to go in them and shut the doors. I was waiting for the super rusted doors to stick and then we would have to call someone to fetch our son out of the prison because his confinement cage was locked. Luckily, that didn't happen :)
We finished up our tour and headed home with some very tired kids. On the way out, Elizabeth and I stopped to check out tour information. I have been dying to go on a historical tour of the grounds since we have been in Jeff City. We were getting some info when one of the guides starting telling us that we needed to come back for the "special" tour they were having that night. Apparently they were having a special GHOST HUNTING tour with a little class before to show you how to use the tools and then they took you around the places that were most haunted and basically scared the crap out of you. I definitely made sure that they weren't doing something stupid like a haunted house and were going to jump out and scare me. Nope, just a ghost hunt. So Elizabeth and I took the bait and signed up to come back that night for some "fun." Riiiight.
Here is where the post gets creepy/spooky/gross/weird/whatever because I took pictures of all the stuff we saw and will tell you about them :) You have been warned!
This is the Warden's House. It was built in 1855 and is right across the street from the prison. It is a gorgeous home that is now a law office:
The happy hunting crew (or COMPLETE IDIOTS...whichever you feel is most appropriate. At that moment, I was going with the second option):Elizabeth's boyfriend, Fun Bobby, joined us. I am pretty sure he was just pumped to see the most dramatic person in the world (me) and my sister in this situation. If we had not already paid, I definitely would have chickened out at this point because it was getting dark and I am a big baby. The first part of this little expedition takes us in the front door and down the hall to a room. We sit and learn about all this ghost hunting stuff (whats totally a hoax, what the different stuff looks for, and blah blah)...it is getting hot and we were antsy!! Off we go then to the first stop, down the hall and up the stairs to the Women's Housing (PS I didn't even know women were housed at the same facility! But apparently they were for quite some time!). This is what we see and also, this is how bright it was:
Um yup. I paid to do this. They gave us "free time" to ROAM AROUND this area. It was four stories (but we were only allowed on the main floor-LIKE I WOULD WANDER THAT FAR FROM SAFETY?!). We had flashlights and you could look in the cells. It was crazy. There were drawings in some of them. It was nuts to think that this place was still being used in 2004.
Looking up from the main level of cells:
The paint is peeling so bad because most of the buildings never had air conditioning so as soon as they stopped caring for the building, it went down quickly.
The Blind Cell:
The Blind Cell was for punishment. It has no windows or light. It was creepy to say the least.
Bobby is nuts, I mean brave, and went in to investigate...
At this time, I had some electro-something monitor and the numbers were going crazy. I had a mini-heart attack and quickly pawned it off on someone else in the group. I have no clue what those numbers meant, but holy hell I did not want to see anything that may mean I am hanging with a ghost over my shoulder.
We headed out of that building and to the main yard (we passed that hallway we saw earlier and were told that this is where many have see the residual haunting of Jack. Some prisoner that roams that hall). Again, I moved quickly into the fresh air of the quad. If you are wondering why in the world I went on this tour when clearly I was petrified, I will explain it as I told my sister. It is like Fear Factor. I know I don't like haunted houses. I LOVE history and am fascinated with prisons and weird stuff like that. I thought if I was going to ever do something like this, now was the time.
So we head on out to go over to Housing Unit 3, the building we couldn't go in during the daytime. It is the oldest housing on site. We walked in and sat down so they could tell us a bit about the unit. There were some violent deaths there (OH great) and also some famous inmates housed there. We were told of some ghost that shows up with bloody eyes or something like that (I started to tune this out ASAP) up on the 3rd floor...everyone looks up, I look in the complete opposite direction. If I saw something, I would have peed my pants. No joke.
We get more free time (YAY, good lord QUIT LEAVING US UNATTENDED!). Elizabeth FINALLY talked me into walking into a cell. It was awful as expected.
Um yup. I paid to do this. They gave us "free time" to ROAM AROUND this area. It was four stories (but we were only allowed on the main floor-LIKE I WOULD WANDER THAT FAR FROM SAFETY?!). We had flashlights and you could look in the cells. It was crazy. There were drawings in some of them. It was nuts to think that this place was still being used in 2004.Looking up from the main level of cells:
The paint is peeling so bad because most of the buildings never had air conditioning so as soon as they stopped caring for the building, it went down quickly.The Blind Cell:
The Blind Cell was for punishment. It has no windows or light. It was creepy to say the least.Bobby is nuts, I mean brave, and went in to investigate...
At this time, I had some electro-something monitor and the numbers were going crazy. I had a mini-heart attack and quickly pawned it off on someone else in the group. I have no clue what those numbers meant, but holy hell I did not want to see anything that may mean I am hanging with a ghost over my shoulder.We headed out of that building and to the main yard (we passed that hallway we saw earlier and were told that this is where many have see the residual haunting of Jack. Some prisoner that roams that hall). Again, I moved quickly into the fresh air of the quad. If you are wondering why in the world I went on this tour when clearly I was petrified, I will explain it as I told my sister. It is like Fear Factor. I know I don't like haunted houses. I LOVE history and am fascinated with prisons and weird stuff like that. I thought if I was going to ever do something like this, now was the time.
So we head on out to go over to Housing Unit 3, the building we couldn't go in during the daytime. It is the oldest housing on site. We walked in and sat down so they could tell us a bit about the unit. There were some violent deaths there (OH great) and also some famous inmates housed there. We were told of some ghost that shows up with bloody eyes or something like that (I started to tune this out ASAP) up on the 3rd floor...everyone looks up, I look in the complete opposite direction. If I saw something, I would have peed my pants. No joke.
We get more free time (YAY, good lord QUIT LEAVING US UNATTENDED!). Elizabeth FINALLY talked me into walking into a cell. It was awful as expected.
The weird fluorescent lighting caused pictures to look green (I am not just trying to be all spooky):
The cells in A-Hall (that is what they called this housing unit)
The cell doors originally looked like this:
They were short so a prisoner couldn't come out and look an officer straight in the eye. It made them bow their head as they came out. I found that interesting. There was only one cell left with that kind of door on it.
This is when the guide dropped the bomb on me. We were about to go to the dungeon cells. They were downstairs. We were going to go down there, shut the door, sit in the cells and turn off the lights. I kid you not that I felt my blood pressure go bananas. I thought I was going to pass out. Holy hell. I told my sister there was no way I was going in there. She made me. Darn her. So down the stairs we go, first thing we see are the showers:
Gross. You turn and there is a tiny door going to the dungeon cells. I finally get myself under control and agree to go in there. Everybody goes down the halls exploring. Yeah, I look at the cell closest to the door and that is enough for me. They all look the same, right? We get the countdown for lights off, I already decided that the safest place to be would be right next to the guides. They are clearly my quickest route to safety. The poor man. He had to deal with me and my drama. At least I told him I was a big baby and would need to stand right next to him before the lights went out. So it went dark.
While we were standing here:
That's one of the cells. There was no lighting down there back inthe day. There were a few small lightbulbs lighting the hallways but they didn't have those way back then. The cells were pitch black. They were reserved for the worst of the prisoners. The story is that the prisoners would be in the cells either by themselves or with 2-3 guys. To not go crazy (which I don't know how that was possibly; to NOT go crazy) they would take the buttons off of their pants and flick them into the dark. They would spend their time searching for the button. That was their daily entertainment. It was such an unimaginable way to spend your life.
Also important to note, I was definitely second guessing my whole "Fear Factor" theory.
I was more than ready to get the heck out of there. We ended our little "experiment" then headed to FRESH AIR. Many lessons learned, 1) I will never need to participate in any sort of "scared straight" program. I don't need a prison of prisoners yelling at me to scare the crap out of me. An empty prison does the job JUST FINE. 2) I LOVE FRESH AIR.
Next stop: Death Row housing. Telling you, it just keeps getting better
We go downstairs into the unit and explore the death row housing. The cells were awful. no windows. Bare minimum. Clearly the worst since it was death row for goodness sake.
The cells in A-Hall (that is what they called this housing unit)
The cell doors originally looked like this:
They were short so a prisoner couldn't come out and look an officer straight in the eye. It made them bow their head as they came out. I found that interesting. There was only one cell left with that kind of door on it.This is when the guide dropped the bomb on me. We were about to go to the dungeon cells. They were downstairs. We were going to go down there, shut the door, sit in the cells and turn off the lights. I kid you not that I felt my blood pressure go bananas. I thought I was going to pass out. Holy hell. I told my sister there was no way I was going in there. She made me. Darn her. So down the stairs we go, first thing we see are the showers:
Gross. You turn and there is a tiny door going to the dungeon cells. I finally get myself under control and agree to go in there. Everybody goes down the halls exploring. Yeah, I look at the cell closest to the door and that is enough for me. They all look the same, right? We get the countdown for lights off, I already decided that the safest place to be would be right next to the guides. They are clearly my quickest route to safety. The poor man. He had to deal with me and my drama. At least I told him I was a big baby and would need to stand right next to him before the lights went out. So it went dark.While we were standing here:
That's one of the cells. There was no lighting down there back inthe day. There were a few small lightbulbs lighting the hallways but they didn't have those way back then. The cells were pitch black. They were reserved for the worst of the prisoners. The story is that the prisoners would be in the cells either by themselves or with 2-3 guys. To not go crazy (which I don't know how that was possibly; to NOT go crazy) they would take the buttons off of their pants and flick them into the dark. They would spend their time searching for the button. That was their daily entertainment. It was such an unimaginable way to spend your life.Also important to note, I was definitely second guessing my whole "Fear Factor" theory.
I was more than ready to get the heck out of there. We ended our little "experiment" then headed to FRESH AIR. Many lessons learned, 1) I will never need to participate in any sort of "scared straight" program. I don't need a prison of prisoners yelling at me to scare the crap out of me. An empty prison does the job JUST FINE. 2) I LOVE FRESH AIR.
Next stop: Death Row housing. Telling you, it just keeps getting better
We go downstairs into the unit and explore the death row housing. The cells were awful. no windows. Bare minimum. Clearly the worst since it was death row for goodness sake.
Some of the cells:
This was a high risk cell:
The highest bars were covered so no one could "hurt themselves" and they slept on cement slabs so they couldn't use their cots against themselves either. I have no clue how one uses a cot to hurt themself, but clearly it had been done. There were also 2 doors into those cells. They looked intense.
It was so quiet outside. It was also almost 11pm at this time. The quietness made everything a hundred times creepier.
We saw the various factories they had for the prisoners to work at. There was an ice house, bread factory and of course a license plate factory. We went by a housing unit they used for mafia people. It was said to be indestructible. Apparently mafia people had a reputation for blowing up buildings to bail their people out. Interesting. The last stop on the tour: the gas chamber. I had been dreading this stop since the beginning. I was hoping we would start there, since it was less DARK out. No, that would not be dramatic enough.
So we walk up on this tiny building...just sitting there like the others. The only thing noticeable is the white cross on the sidewalk to the door. SPOOKY does not even begin to describe it.
I think they executed around 40 people (yes, men and women; sometime 2 at a time even) there until 1989. It was a gas chamber, but then they also started doing lethal injections. See, I warned you. This is morbid and creepy, yet strangely fascinating.
This was a high risk cell:
The highest bars were covered so no one could "hurt themselves" and they slept on cement slabs so they couldn't use their cots against themselves either. I have no clue how one uses a cot to hurt themself, but clearly it had been done. There were also 2 doors into those cells. They looked intense.We left and headed towards the back of the property, towards the river. I had no idea it was so large. Back in the day, the prison had been named "The Bloodiest 47 Acres in America" by TIME magazine. Lovely. Such a reputation to have!
A guard tower by the river:
It was so quiet outside. It was also almost 11pm at this time. The quietness made everything a hundred times creepier.We saw the various factories they had for the prisoners to work at. There was an ice house, bread factory and of course a license plate factory. We went by a housing unit they used for mafia people. It was said to be indestructible. Apparently mafia people had a reputation for blowing up buildings to bail their people out. Interesting. The last stop on the tour: the gas chamber. I had been dreading this stop since the beginning. I was hoping we would start there, since it was less DARK out. No, that would not be dramatic enough.
So we walk up on this tiny building...just sitting there like the others. The only thing noticeable is the white cross on the sidewalk to the door. SPOOKY does not even begin to describe it.
I think they executed around 40 people (yes, men and women; sometime 2 at a time even) there until 1989. It was a gas chamber, but then they also started doing lethal injections. See, I warned you. This is morbid and creepy, yet strangely fascinating.On the left, the door went to the viewing area for the family. It was so tiny. I imagined it would be larger. It was hot and stuffy. There were spiders. I was in and out QUICKLY.
The door on the right side of the building went into the chamber. It looked like some sort of space ship. The vent went out the top. It was hilarious when the 4 boys (they were like 11ish) ran to be the first to check out the chamber. They were in there and 2 of them were sitting down when the guide flips the vent switch (IT STILL WORKS). The motor started running. Those boys jumped 20 feet in the air. It was hilarious. I personally jumped out of the building faster than anyone else, but no one saw me since I was in the back. Hehe.
We had to be gross and morbid like everyone else and sit in the chair since I can say without a doubt that I won't ever see one of those again (well unless I take another tour).
The door on the right side of the building went into the chamber. It looked like some sort of space ship. The vent went out the top. It was hilarious when the 4 boys (they were like 11ish) ran to be the first to check out the chamber. They were in there and 2 of them were sitting down when the guide flips the vent switch (IT STILL WORKS). The motor started running. Those boys jumped 20 feet in the air. It was hilarious. I personally jumped out of the building faster than anyone else, but no one saw me since I was in the back. Hehe.
We had to be gross and morbid like everyone else and sit in the chair since I can say without a doubt that I won't ever see one of those again (well unless I take another tour). Elizabeth opted for the gas chair:
What a lovely nervous smile
What a lovely nervous smileThis is the I-am-petrified-but-am-so-glad-this-is-almost-over smile on the chair that they modified for lethal injection:
Yes, those are morbid. And gross. We know. I am totally creeped out that we were there. But it was amazing history. When I was freaking out, it was so interesting.
After that, we made a quick stop in the upper parking lot where there are apparently some "unaccounted for" bodies of prisoners buried. IS THIS OVER YET??? Yes, thank goodness. They take us back to the front and release us to freedom. As scared as I was, it was awesome. I am definitely going back for the regular history tour. Just info, no drama :)
Yes, those are morbid. And gross. We know. I am totally creeped out that we were there. But it was amazing history. When I was freaking out, it was so interesting.
After that, we made a quick stop in the upper parking lot where there are apparently some "unaccounted for" bodies of prisoners buried. IS THIS OVER YET??? Yes, thank goodness. They take us back to the front and release us to freedom. As scared as I was, it was awesome. I am definitely going back for the regular history tour. Just info, no drama :)Bobby celebrated our freedom by striking a pose in the window:
We hit up Mcdonalds for a cold beverage before heading home. I am shocked I slept that night. If you are anywhere near Jeff City, I highly advise you to check out the prison. You can do the less creepy version of the tours. It was amazing. You can even SPEND THE NIGHT there doing a MAJOR GHOST HUNT. Like from 9pm-5am they lock you in the old housing unit and you play Ghost Adventures. Have fun. I will NOT be there.
It is very cool to learn that today they announced that SyFy Channels Ghost Hunters have been filming at the prison all week. I don't know if it's cool really or if it scares me even more since clearly there is enough haunted crap happening there that THEY FILM A TV SHOW there??!?!?
So there it is! Back to reality today! THANK GOODNESS
We hit up Mcdonalds for a cold beverage before heading home. I am shocked I slept that night. If you are anywhere near Jeff City, I highly advise you to check out the prison. You can do the less creepy version of the tours. It was amazing. You can even SPEND THE NIGHT there doing a MAJOR GHOST HUNT. Like from 9pm-5am they lock you in the old housing unit and you play Ghost Adventures. Have fun. I will NOT be there.It is very cool to learn that today they announced that SyFy Channels Ghost Hunters have been filming at the prison all week. I don't know if it's cool really or if it scares me even more since clearly there is enough haunted crap happening there that THEY FILM A TV SHOW there??!?!?
So there it is! Back to reality today! THANK GOODNESS
It drives me crazy!!
Behind the couch is another 5 feet or so. We need some more furniture and that will come eventually. There is a large chest in a corner where I would like to do a vintage map or clock on the wall. I just didn't include that in the pics because it currently looks like a toy explosion with a small castle and other playtime goodness.Our living room is open to the second level.We have leather couches and the basic coffee table and end table. I figured out what to do with the 20 foot wall on the south side of the room. I wanted to hang some art, but somthing more abstract than not. I couldn't find anything I liked that wasn't $200+. I am trying to do everything on a super budget. SO. I decided to order some fabric (like 1/2 a yard) and I am going to frame squares and hang on the wall. This is what I have ordered: 
