Trapped Souls and Tortured Spirits: America's Most Haunted Prisons

Haunted Locations

The 5 Most Haunted Prisons in America (That’ll Wreck Your Sleep and Fuel Your Next Story)

I’ve visited many haunted spots. Some forests whisper, attics that breathe, and basements that feel extra cold. But prisons? That is something else. These weren’t just institutions. They were emotional pressure cookers. And when the inmates passed on… some didn’t pass through.

If you’re a supernatural writer craving real-life darkness to build your next story on? You’re in the right cell block.

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🔪 1. Missouri State Penitentiary – Jefferson City, MO

Nicknamed: “The bloodiest 47 acres in America.”

• Operational: 1836 to 2004

• 40 executions by gas chamber.

• Visitors report voices, cold spots, and shadow figures.

• Many spirits still refuse to leave.

Story Idea: A character goes to interview a death row inmate years after the prison closed.

🚬 2. Wyoming Territorial Prison – Laramie, WY

• Built in 1873, it peaked during the Wild West outlaw boom.

• Home to Butch Cassidy from 1894 to 1896.

• Spirit of Julius Greenwald (wife-murderer and cigar maker) still lingers.

• Visitors report cigar smoke in empty rooms.

This is no joke. I left that building, and my jacket still smelled like cigars. Nobody was smoking. Nobody's alive, anyway.

An old Western jail has a ghostly figure in the hallway. A wisp of cigar smoke lingers in the air.

⚡ 3. West Virginia Penitentiary – Moundsville, WV

• Ran for 129 years.

• Contained Old Sparky and The Hole (solitary dungeons).

• Known for suicides, riots, and murders.

• Visitors experience dread, whispers, cold chills, and panic attacks.

Writers take note: There’s a horror novel inside this one. Maybe Two. Don’t stay in The Hole too long.

🌀 4. Pottawattamie County Jail – Council Bluffs, IA

Aka: “The Squirrel Cage Jail.”

• Three rotating tiers of cells powered by a waterwheel.

• No doors — prisoners couldn’t leave (even in death)

• Inmates sometimes died and weren’t found for days.

• Known for shadow sightings and unexplained footsteps.

Creepiest part? The rotation stopped years ago, but sometimes the tiers still move.

🔓 5. Lake County Jail – Crown Point, IN

• Famous for John Dillinger's legendary 1934 escape.

• Closed in the 1970s, it is now a historical site.

• Ghost sightings in cells, self-locking doors, and phantom voices.

• Lights flicker, and footsteps echo in empty halls.

Would your character survive a night here? Because the guy in Chapter Five might not.

🧠 WRITING PROMPT FROM THE DARK SIDE:

1. Find the most haunted building in your hometown.

2. Research it. Who died there? What’s the legend?

3. Then twist it. Inject a ghost. Or a lie. Or a character too curious to leave.

🎯 Bonus Tip: Haunted prisons are a buffet of plot tension. Isolation, regret, justice vs. revenge, and the ticking clock of what’s really in the next cell.

💬 What’s the scariest real-world spot near you?

Have you ever written about it? Planning to? Drop it in the comments — let’s swap creepy locations. I’d love to feature some of your picks in a future post.

Stay haunted, Bill Vault of the Supernatural