Terror Behind the Walls

Terror Behind the Walls is a Halloween event held annually at The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is run by Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Inc., ESPHS, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Proceeds are used to fulfill the mission of ESPHS, which is to make accessible, preserve and interpret The Eastern State Penitentiary.

The event, which is billed as “A Massive Haunted House in a Real Prison,” is actually made up of five separate haunted attractions inside the eleven acre complex.

History

The first Halloween fundraiser at The Eastern State Penitentiary took place in 1991.Citation
last = Turner
first = Bob
author-link = Bob Turner
title = Copyright: Fright Insite
journal = Tourist Attractions & Parks Magazine
volume = 36 (No.1)
pages = 108-115
date = January 2006
year = 2006 ] The first year, the event was held just on Halloween weekend, and tickets were only available as part of a dinner package through neighborhood restaurants. The event consisted of actors telling ghost stories in the abandoned prison. A few hundred people attended that first year, and attendance increased each subsequent year. However, the event struggled to find an identity, and took various forms, including short theatrical performances and true tales of prison murder and violence.

In 1995, the event was rebranded as Terror Behind the Walls, and became a high startle, low gore walkthrough haunted attraction, which it continues as today. [cite episode
title = America's Scariest Halloween Attractions
episodelink = America's Scariest Halloween Attractions
series = Travel Channel, USA
serieslink = Travel Channel
airdate = 2007-10-27
season = 1
number = 1 ]

The event was a single, long walkthrough. In 2000, it was broken up into three separate, smaller haunted attractions. One of the attractions introduced that year was a 3-D haunted house. At the time, it was the only 3-D haunted house in Southeastern Pennsylvania and one of the first in the United States.

By 2003, the event had grown to a point where it was no longer feasible to build up and tear down the entire attraction each year. That year, four semi-permanent haunted attractions were constructed inside the penitentiary complex.

Today, Terror Behind the Walls has grown to become one of the nation’s largest and most well known haunted attractions. Citation
last = Kirchner
first = Larry
author-link = Larry Kirchner
title = Copyright: Top 13 Haunts in the Country
journal = HauntWorld Magazine
volume = Issue 9
pages = 9
date = Fall 2004
year = 2004 ] It had been consistently ranked as one of the top haunted attractions in the nation, including such recognitions as: "5th Best Haunted House in the United States" by AOL City Guide; "9th Best Haunted House in the United States" by Hauntworld Magazine "One of Bloody Mary's Favorite Haunted Houses" in The Tales of Bloody Mary comic book; "Best Haunted Attraction" by The Scare Factor!; and "Best Professional Haunted House" by Hauntfreaks.com.

The Attractions

There are five separate prison themed haunted attractions in the eleven acre prison complex, which guests go through in a linear fashion. All are included in admission price.

Intake - An indoor/outdoor haunted attraction with theming based on the prisoner processing experience.

Lock Down - Introduced in 2007, this is the newest of the haunted houses. Lock Down, which is located in the three-story Cellblock 12 built in 1911, and is themed as an electrified prison cellblock.

13 Rooms - The theming revolves around various work in a prison, such as the mess hall, laundry room, and morgue.

The Experiment (in 3-D!) - A 3-D haunted house, based on the idea of a “prison doctor's,” experiment gone wrong. Although The Experiment dates to 2003, Terror Behind the Walls has featured a 3-D haunted attraction every year since 2000, making it the first 3-D haunted house in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Night Watch - Introduced in 2006, a haunted house where the only lighting is provided by flashlights carried by guests, and is currently one of only two indoor haunted houses in the United States to feature this unique form of lighting. (The most frightening section of the attraction.)

Impact of the Historic Site

The Eastern State Penitentiary is both a National Historic Landmark and a stabilized ruin. Because of this, Terror Behind the Walls faces many challenges that most haunted houses do not face.

Hard Hats - Because of the poor condition of the building, the City of Philadelphia required all visitors to wear a hard hat while on the property. Terror Behind the Walls was perhaps the only haunted house in the nation to have such a requirement. In 2000, stabilization efforts, completed with funds raised from Terror Behind the Walls, eliminated the need for hardhats for people visiting the Halloween event (although they were still necessary for day time tours until 2003).

Historic Tours - Until 2000, the daytime historic tour route and the haunted houses occupied many of the same physical spaces in the prison. Because of this, the majority of the haunted houses had to be constructed and torn down each year. In 2003, semi-permanent haunted houses were built in spaces not used for the daytime historic tours.

Preservation - The preservation of the building is one of the primary focuses of the mission of ESPHS. Therefore, no aspects of the construction may damage or permanently alter the physical fabric of the building. The attractions are built in such a way that if they were removed, the area would look exactly as it appeared before construction began.

Addressing Prison Issues - Because part of the mission of ESPHS is to interpret the building’s history and address current issues in corrections, it would be irresponsible and inappropriate to make light of such issues. Therefore, Terror Behind the Walls is probably the only prison themed haunted attraction to not feature an electric chair or other forms of capital punishment. In addition, the haunted house makes no attempt to address the history of The Eastern State Penitentiary. Terror Behind the Walls is not, nor is it intended to be, a historically accurate representation of the prison; it is simply a prison themed haunted house.

Not For Profit - Terror Behind the Walls is a fundraiser for a charity organization. It is run by ESPHS, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Visitors can write off one half of the ticket cost as a tax deductible donation. Terror Behind the Walls is, arguably, the largest not for profit haunted house in the entire world (in both money raised and attendance).

100% of the proceeds benefit preservation efforts at The Eastern State Penitentiary, a National Historic Landmark. Terror Behind the Walls is the single largest source of revenue for the historic site.

Real Hauntings - The question of whether or not Eastern State Penitentiary is actually haunted is hotly debated, but many people believe it to be true. Records show that, in the early 1940s, inmates and officers began reporting supernatural phenomena. Since Eastern State was abandoned in 1971, the number of ghost sightings has increased. [cite episode
title = Most Haunted Live!
episodelink = Most Haunted Live!
series = Travel Channel, USA
serieslink = Travel Channel
airdate = 2007-06-01
season = 1
number = 1 ]

The site is frequently visited by paranormal investigation groups, and findings are mixed. Although many groups do report experiencing some sort of ghostly happening, some groups leave with nothing.

The Atlantic Paranormal Society, known for their TV show, Ghost Hunters, released footage of what they claim to be a ghost. However, this has not been truly determined. [cite episode
title = Ghost Hunters
episodelink = Ghost Hunters
series = SciFi Channel
serieslink = Sci Fi Channel (United States)
airdate = 2004-11-03
season = 1
number = 105 ]

ee also

*

External links

* [http://www.easternstate.org/halloween The Terror Behind the Walls Homepage]

References