Ghost Hunt at the Ohio State Reformatory

Since the coaster season is unfortunately starting to wind down and the “Haunt” season is upon us (yay!), I thought I’d post this TR on beings from “the other side”. About a week ago, I had the chance to attend an actual Ghost Hunt at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. This place has been closed down since December of 1990, but is currently registered as a historic landmark in the state of Ohio.

A Bit of History on the OSR…

Construction of the OSR first started in 1886, with its first inmates being transferred into the prison in September of 1896. The OSR was originally built as a reformatory for juveniles, but later changed to a maximum-security prison in the mid 1900’s. Levi T. Scofield designed the facility to encourage the inmates back to a "rebirth" of their spiritual lives. The architecture itself inspired the inmates away from a sinful lifestyle and towards repentance.

The Reformatory is the largest castle-like structure in Ohio, and in the top 5 largest in the USA. Comprising 250,000+ square feet, and combining three architectural styles: Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne. After viewing the massive building, large granite pillars, and elegant construction, some have considered the Reformatory to be a grand architectural achievement, and is also one of the biggest castle-like structures in the USA.

The OSR has also been used as a visual backdrop for several movies and television shows over the past twenty years. Films such as Tango and Cash, The Shawshank Redemption and Air Force One have been shot there along with music videos and photo shoots from bands such as Godsmack and Marilyn Manson. The Reformatory has been featured on Fox’s “Scariest Places on Earth” and the crew from The Sci-Fi channel’s “Ghost Hunters” has also made an appearance there as well (and proved this place is truly haunted).

Since the prison’s close in December of 1990, the property has been turned over to the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society. The MRPS has been slowly renovating the structure, bringing the building’s architectural styles back to their original glory. All funds from tours of the facility go to the ongoing preservation of the OSR (now know as the Mansfield Reformatory).

The Hunt is on…

Never attending one of these functions, I was unsure on what to expect. I had toured the building before on other occasion (the preservation society offers several tours in the daytime), but never to this extent. The first thing you notice when you pull onto the property is the extreme size of this place. The structure towers over you as you pull through the gates, like it’s watching your every move. I attended the hunt with a couple of my friends (Dawn and Marty). We ended up hooking up with a couple of Marty’s friends that shadow as paranormal investigators in their spare time. Once everyone arrived that evening, there were probably around twenty-five of us that were hunting for the unexplained. A typical hunt starts around 8:00 in the evening and lasts until 6:00 the next morning (or until you decide to leave). Once everyone had been assembled in our group, we were off for the guided portion of the tour.

Stepping into this place through the front Administration Building is like stepping back in time. For you old school gamers out there that have played The Seventh Guest or The 11th Hour, this place is an incredible reminder of the visual aspects of those games. Ornately carved dark woodwork adorns the walls. Tile and hardwood floors cover the various levels of the structure. Multiple rooms within rooms, some of which lead to nowhere. Dark corridors and multiple stairways that often lead to several different levels of the structure. Without a map to guide you, it’s very easy to get lost in this place. After awhile, everything starts to look the same and it’s hard to judge where you’re at or where you’ve been.

I’ve attached a floorplan of the building along with a few photos.

More to follow…

Overall floorplan of the OSR.

The view as you enter the driveway into the OSR.

The central tower and the East Administration Building on the right.

The East Administration Building with the East Cell Block behind it.

The East Administration Building.

The East Administration at dusk. The lower level on this portion of the building has been fully renovated into a museum/gift shop.

Electric chair on display in the museum located in the East Administration Building.

The OSR never had an actual electric chair while it was operational. This chair was donated to the museum in 2003.

Sounds like a great time so far, and I can't wait for further updates. But then again, I can get in on a ghost hunt just going to work every night.

Oh, and is it just me, or does this picture just scream inspiration for new coaster theming?

It's the new seats from Vekoma where you ride until you die! More pics in a bit.

Your gonna die riding any vekoma anyways!

I love going through and looking at old, historic buildings. For the past three years, I have been going on ghost tours through Irvington, a historic part of Indianapolis. I don't necessarily go looking for ghosts (I haven't decided one way or the other if they exist) but I enjoy historic areas nonetheless and enjoy hearing the stories leading up to people believing there are ghosts in the area.

Tricks of the mind, I really don't believe in spirits + things, its something Derek Accora makes up to con you out of money, but it's a damn good laugh watching him on the tv.

Meh, if Derek Acorah is your only reference, then I can certainly understand your feelings on the subject. Personally I think the man singlehandedly makes it entirely too easy to be skeptical, BECAUSE he's a sham. I'm a pretty firm believer that there are things about our world that we just don't have the means to fully understand yet, and ghosts are included in that. So yeah, I believe pretty strongly in the spirit realm.

I hope Sci-Fi HD is up on Directv before the Halloween Live Ghost Hunters Marathon!!! Hopefully this year it doesn't go out halfway through the show!

Somewhat related was the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, on the northern edge of Downtown. The prison was located here from 1834 until 1984. There were some big riots in its time, as well as a fire in 1930 that killed over 300 inmates. It was torn down in 1995, to make way for the Nationwide Arena and surrounding Arena District. There's not only a legend of hauntings in the Pen's later years, but apparently the Nationwide Arena may be haunted too; the escalators would be turned on when the building was/is otherwise empty.