Haunted House Ratings

Eastern State Penitentiary…Face Your Own Life Sentence

We have seen haunted houses born out of a huge variety of situations. From dilapidated mental hospitals to outbreaks of crazed zombies, haunts burrow into our souls and drag out the most tormenting of fears. In the back of our minds, however, there is the somewhat comforting knowledge that most of these haunts are merely brilliantly-decorated buildings. The sounds were hear, the sights we see, no matter how horrifying, have been constructed for our shockingly pleasure. No such comfort exists at Eastern State Penitentiary. Terror Behind the Walls brings you deep into the intimidating fortress of a once fearsome prison where what you experience may be the performance of the talented actors, but they may also be the lingering echoes of the tortured men who lived and died behind the crumbling walls and rusting bars.

Your first stop is the yard outside infamous Cell 7 where you await your sentence. Watch scenes from paranormal explorations of the prison and mingle with your fellow inmates. Don’t get too comfortable, however. Your cellmates have escaped and are coming to find you. Next you are herded into The Gauntlet, a dizzying maze crawling with creatures that make it even more difficult to find your way out. In Lock Down visit a crumbling 102-year-old cell block that was abandoned more than 40 years ago. Tread lightly. The inmates there are just electrified to meet you. Step even further back in time to a cellblock built in the 1800s for Detritus, a pitch black walk through a tangled, overgrown labyrinth of corridors and yard. A prison hospital is a terrifying place. The Infirmary brings you into the eerie chambers were the sick, injured, and dying were kept. In the psychiatric ward you will come up close and personal with what happens to the human spirit when kept in a cage for decades. Try to imagine what it was like to be a guard at a 1800s prison. Night Watch gives you no more than a flashlight to guide your way through the absolute darkness of the prison.

There is nothing more terrifying than reality. Eastern State Penitentiary forces you to come face to face with the very stark reality of prisons. This prison is long-since abandoned by living residents, but many believe those who made the history of this prison as twisted and bloody as it is still call it home. It earned its place on our list with its expansive attractions, dedicated actors, and the truly tormenting realness of the entire experience.