About Me

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Behind Every Cloud is a Kindred Spirit (BECKS)I lost my grandfather when I was 17. I had a VERY difficult time getting over it. How could I still communicate with him? I loved him so much I didn't think I could live without him. I read everything I could get my hands on to do with the "afterlife" and that started it all...the love of Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal. I have been researching the paranormal for over 37 years!! It is my way of staying in touch with my grandfather. Being a Ghost Hunter is not always as exciting as it seems on TV. Many nights I have sat in the dark and not a thing happened. BUT it is those times you DO get that one voice, that one explainable picture or have an experience that sends chills down your back that makes it sooo worth it all!!! My purpose of this blog is not to make people believe in ghosts but maybe to open their minds just a little bit... I LOVE this crazy thing called Ghost Hunting. It is as much a part of me as breathing. I am just a girl that refuses to accept we can't still contact our loved ones after they die. My grandfather won't let me.

7/21/2022

Everyone has abilities. What side of Spirituality do you fall on? Are you a Receiver or an Inviter?

Painting by RenSarasvati.com



Have you ever felt like you could see dead people?  Maybe, had a feeling about someone you've just met and not know why?  Well, guess what?  You have abilities.  Yep.  It's not just your imagine.  We all have some kind of spiritual ability, and let's talk about yours.

Some people want NO PART OF IT!  Let's be real.  Seeing dead people is not everyone's cup of tea.  But let me say this to you, if you are starting to "notice" you are seeing things and that others aren't, you are here by no accident.  Something or someone brought you to this page.  You need a message yourself and maybe some clarity.

Let's talk about two different kinds of abilities. You are either a RECEIVER or an INVITER.  What the hell is a RECEIVER AND AN INVITER you ask? Well, I am about to tell you.  And hopefully, I can clear up some of your confusing thoughts when it comes to "messages" or "images" you may be receiving and experiencing and not know why.

What is a RECEIVER?  A Receiver is a someone that does NOT ASK for a "message" from the other side.  It just happens.  With or without your permission or intent.  A Receiver does not get a choice on WHEN or WHERE they receive a message or visit from the other side.  You may have no say in the matter whatsoever.  Sometimes, this can be a gift and sometimes a curse.  It's all about how you perceive it.  The spirits will come to you. Usually, not in the obvious ways of trying to communicate with the other side such as Ouija boards, séance's or other direct methods we think of when trying to communicate with the dead.  

What is an INVITER?  An Inviter are more than likely, a medium.  A medium is someone who ASK to speak to a particular spirit that is not living.  This type of channeling sometimes includes, using Ouija boards, séance tables and sometimes allowing the spirits to inhibit the mediums body and use their voice to relay a message.  You are inviting the spirits to communicate with you, and a Receiver is not.

Think of it this way.  You are a beacon of light in a dark room.  When you are a Receiver, everyone in that dark room will gravitate towards you and you will not be able to pick and  choose who you want to talk to.  But, when you are an Inviter, you are the beacon of light, with your very own spotlight that you can shine on one particular spirit to communicate with.

Sometimes, I think being an Inviter is a little better than being a Receiver because then you have a choice of when and where you communicate with spirits.  Not, just all the sudden a dead person shows up next to you at the movies!

Here is an example of a Receiver's abilities.  This is a true story about me.  I was at a conference this summer and we were on a ghost hunt in an old abandon hotel.  I was with a bunch of ladies I did not know.  We were trying to communicate with the spirit of a little girl that had supposedly drown down in the pool area.   All of the sudden I started seeing this man.  WTH?  Why was I seeing him?  It was obvious to me that know one else was noticing him.  Do I say something?  I am looking around and totally confused.  Wait!  We were asking to talk with the spirit of a little girl, not a grown man.  

All of the sudden, I see him walk over behind a lady I had never met before and stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.  He was tall, blonde hair, button-down shirt,  and jeans.  He was smiling and told me to tell her to "follow your heart".  So, that's what I did.  I looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, but did you lose someone in your family that would be tall and have blonde hair"?  She said, "yes".  And then I heard him say, almost in a regretful way, "I killed myself".  I DID NOT want to say that out loud, because the lady I was speaking to was almost "dismissive" of what I was saying to her anyway.  And the one thing I DID NOT WANT TO DO is continue with what I am perceiving is a message from one loved one to another, by overstepping my boundaries if the living person was not ready to receive the message.  Then she starts to say, "Yes.  My brother.  He overdosed".  And then continues to tell us that she had not spoken of him in a long, long time, until today when she, and I believe she said, her sister were talking about him in the car on the way up.

Then I said, "he said to make SURE I tell you, to follow your heart".  Then I asked, "does this have any meaning to you at all"? and she said, "No".  I asked again, "Are you sure?" And again, she responses, "No".   So, I am saying back to him, (telepathically) "she doesn't know what you are talking about"!  Then he says, "No.  Ask her about her job"!  And this time he said it with conviction!  Like I am not leaving here until she gets my message.    "She will know what I mean if you ask her about her job".  So, as badly as I hated to, I turned around again, and said, "I'm sorry, are you considering a job change"?  This time she looked at me a little confused and said, "Yes".  And I said, "That is the message.  Follow your heart and not the money".  I asked again, "Do you understand this message"? And this time she said, "Yes".  I just said "Good" and tried to just leave it at that.  I didn't want to pressure her anymore.  And "he" was so cute, and just waved and said, "Bye ladies, I'm out"!  And just like that he was gone.

Now, did I ask for him to come give his sister a message? No.  Did I ask her if I could try and communicate with her brother? No.  It just happened.  This is what it is like being a Receiver.  You never know when or where a spirit will reach out to you.

So, either way.  Whether you invest and grow your gift or you choose to disconnect from it, just know that you are either going to be the person in that dark room that is the beacon of light for others, or the person in that dark room holding the spotlight.  It may not be easy to decide what to do next, but I hope this helped you understand just a little more about how the spirits see you as on the other side.  

And, by the way, the lady that had received a message from her brother, texted me a few days later and thanked me for the message.  She said she had never really believed in "that sort of thing" but she knew exactly what the message was about, as she was not only making a career choice, but considering making some life choices as well.  This lady will make the right decision.  Don't ask me how I know, but I do.  And good for her.  Nothing makes me feel better than to give a message to someone, that sometimes, doesn't even know they need it.   

 

2/04/2022

CAN YOU SEE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS IN THE DAYLIGHT?

Can you see ghosts and spirits in the daylight?
One of the most famous apparitions' photos taken was at Bachelor's Grove in Chicago, Ill. during the day. (Photo by GRS)

Many times, people just think about seeing ghosts at night.  They only come out when it is dark, quiet and spooky.  Right?  Wrong.  Ghosts don't hide until you go to bed at night and then say "Ok.  They turned out the lights, that's our queue to go haunt them".  lol

Nighttime does provide more contrast to see an apparition or spirit.  The IR camera uses an entirely different light wavelength that makes it easier to capture things in the dark that we just can't see in the daytime.  There is no doubt that during the daytime, outlines of apparitions, spirits or orbs are faint and harder to see, but that doesn't mean they can't be seen at all.

Think about it.  At night, when you are ghost hunting, you are very aware of your surroundings.  You notice every little sound.  You notice every shadow that crosses a light.  You are "expecting" to see and hear things.  During the daytime, you just aren't.  Your busy with the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.   Here's an example of what I mean by being aware of "your surroundings."  In a room full people, talking and moving around, you may not notice a ball on the floor.  But if the room was empty, quiet and calm, you may see the ball on the floor right away.  That's kinda what it's like between the difference of seeing an apparition in the daytime or at night.

I want to share a quick story with you to prove when you are least expecting it and in broad daylight, that's when it can happen the most. 

I work very close to a cemetery.  Which I may add, my office is VERY HAUNTED to!  Wonder why???  Ok.  Back to my story.  One day, I decided to grab some lunch and take it down to the cemetery.  It was a beautiful, bright sunny day and had just enough of a breeze to make it perfect.  The Swisher Cemetery in Lake Dallas, Tx. is a small cemetery that has some beautiful big trees that make wonderful shade.   The cemetery is very well maintained with beautiful tombstones and lots of green grass.  The perfect place to have a nice quiet lunch.

I pulled up to the very back of the cemetery, parked my car under a huge shade tree, rolled down my window and turned off the radio.  Ok.  Full discloser...I turned my phone on that had a ghost app on it, so I was just letting it run while I ate my lunch.  What can I say?  It's in my blood.  Nevertheless, I was alone and enjoying myself very much.

Even though my car was at the back of the cemetery, it was facing the street where I could see the cars going by.  

Now, this is where I would say, "all of the sudden" but every ghost story starts that way, so I want to be different and say, "Suddenly" (lol) I looked up and could see a very tall, old man walking along the side of the road.  He was extremely skinny and was looking down kicking the dirt up as he walked with his old, worn leather cowboy boots.  Here's something else.  HE WAS NOT TRANSPARENT!  I could see him in full color.  I could see dried, caked on dirt on the side of his boots.  I could see his jeans were dirty and worn and he had a dirty off-white long sleeve shirt on. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. His face was very dark brown as if he had been in the sun a long time.  It was wrinkly, and leather looking.  He looked like he had been working in a field or something.  I noticed him in detail because there was nothing else going on as I was just sitting there eating my lunch in my car.  NOT FOR A SINGLE SECOND did I think he was anything but a living, breathing old man walking down the road.  As I watched him walk along the side of the road, I thought to myself, "He must be someone that watches out for the cemetery and is wondering what I am doing down here.  I better go tell him I am just eating my lunch here."  

Now, I want you to know that I watched this man for probably, about 30 secs before I decided I better go tell him what I was doing in the cemetery.  I put down my hamburger (yes, it was a burger, don't judge. lol) and sat my drink in the holder in the center of my car.  I started to drive up the gravel road to the main street.  As I looked up, I couldn't see him anymore.  I thought, "well, he must have just walked over the hill and I just can't see him anymore".  I didn't think anything about it and continued to drive up the road.  But when I got to the top of the hill, he was GONE!!!  Like vanished!  He wasn't anywhere to be found. Where did he go???  It didn't take me but a minute to get to the street and for sure he would have not had time to walk anywhere without me seeing him.  I literally, stopped and looked around for probably five minutes before I started to realize what I had seen, might have been an apparition!  This guy did not seem like someone "of today's times" for sure.  Had I seen an apparition in the middle of the day?  And why?

On the other side of the cemetery and street, is an open field.  Huummmm.  Maybe what I saw was an apparition of an old farmer walking back across his field.  He was walking very slow, and the ground was so dry, that the dust was kicking up around his old boots as he walked.  Maybe he had been plowing or something like that.  Whatever he was doing, I saw him!    

The moral to my story?  Is that you CAN see ghosts and spirits in the daytime.  But why?  How is that possible?  Again, at night, it is much quieter, and things are settled down.  There are also, not so many distractions.  You are more relaxed and focused and that makes it much easier for you to have an experience or to realize that something may not be a normal occurrence and could be paranormal.

The same rules apply for ghost hunting during the daytime as they do at night.  Always take more than one picture.  Taking two or three pictures back-to-back can help prove your evidence.  Protect yourself.  Whether that is praying to a higher power or something else that you believe can protect you by surrounding you with love and light, then please don't forget to do that.

Below are just a few of my favorite daytime photos of mist and two apparitions in a window. Enjoy. 

So, pay attention to your day.  If you think you saw a ghost in the corner, you just may have. 


The Battleship Texas

The Eason Cemetery

Eason Cemetery

McPike Mansion



 

8/09/2021

LET'S TALK ABOUT TAKING THINGS FROM A HAUNTED LOCATION. IS IT OK OR ARE WE JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE?

Spanish Fort, Texas

We've all heard that you are never supposed to take something from a haunted location, right?  Well, what if curiosity gets the better of you and you just can't stand it, you have to take SOMETHING?  Just a small rock, just a small bottle of dirt, or maybe just this little, bitty piece of glass.  That won't hurt anything and nothing bad will happen. Right? Wrong.

Everything that is anything has an energy and sometimes that energy can be attached to an object and sometimes it can be attached to a location.  Stories and stories have been told about someone just picking up the smallest of objects from a haunted location only to find that they soon start experiencing paranormal activity or bad things start to happen or they suddenly start "seeing things" that they have never seen before...hence...ghosts.

Think of it like this.  You are sitting in your living room just minding your own business when someone steps inside your house and takes your coffee cup you left sitting on the coffee table and then they just walk out.  I'm pretty sure you would be like WHAT THE HELL and go after that person to give it back to you.  Right?  That coffee cup belongs to you in your house.  That's what happens when you are in a haunted location and you take something from it.  It is not yours, and it should stay where you found it. 

So, before I tell you my story just let me say...I KNOW BETTER!  But here we go...

A couple weekends ago, my boyfriend, Deak and I decided to take a long drive out to an abandon cemetery I had heard of Red River Station.  Let me say, it was quit the chore to find this cemetery!  We literally had to drive through farm land full of cattle to get to it.  And it was in the middle of NO MAN'S LAND let me tell you!

Before we found the cemetery, we went to a very small community called Spanish Fort.   At its peak, the town had numerous businesses and churches, a Masonic lodge, five physicians, four hotels, and several saloons. Spanish Fort became known as a very rough and tumble cowboy town, and at least 40 murders are said to have occurred during the cattle drive heyday.  Native Americans long used the fertile areas near the Red River for farming and hunting. Taovoyas took over an abandoned French garrison here around 1750 to defend against Spanish incursions in the area. In 1759, in the Battle of the Twin Villages, a Spanish army under Col. Diego Ortiz Parrilla attacked the Taovoyas' fortified position, but were defeated by a force of both the Taovoyas and Comanche tribes. Anglo settlers later misnamed the area Spanish Fort after assuming that the Spanish forces had built a fortification there, rather than the French.

There is nothing left of this town but an old store front and a small wooden house that sits beside it.

Well, of course, we parked, got out to explore the two remaining building.  There is nothing inside them and the windows have been broken out and the ceiling is all falling in.  The perfect place to have a ghost hunt.  Just sayin...:)

As I was walking around the old buildings and I found a piece of glass that I could tell was very old.  Greenish in color and very thick.  Not like you would see today.  So, I picked it up and looked at it pondering as to what it used to be and stuck it in the pocket of my hoodie.  Now, wasn't that a good idea???  NOT!!!!

Literally as we were getting back in the car, I pulled the piece of glass out of my pocket and showed it to my boyfriend, Deak.  He asked me was I going to take it?  And Deak has been with me long enough and been to many haunted locations and knows the "law of the lands" per say.  I could see it in his eyes he thought I should put it back.  I had one foot in the car and the other out, just staring at it, rolling it around in my hand, while my curious mind was saying, "Take it.  It's just a piece of glass but how cool would it be to have something from that long ago".  Then, the Becky Ghost Hunter voice was kicking in, saying "Don't do it!  You know better!"  But after a few minutes of the battle of the minds, I decided that it wouldn't hurt anything and stuck it back in my pocket.

This was on a Monday.  We were off because it was a holiday.  Martin Luther King Day.  We finally found the secluded, abandon cemetery and I will tell you about that, next time.  You won't believe THAT story!!!

So, the whole time I have this piece of glass, this nagging little voice keeps saying, "You shouldn't have taken that." And I keep thinking, "It will be fine".  So, we found the glass on Monday and Tuesday comes along.  I have a miniature schnauzer named...you guessed it Kasper, yes after the ghost but spelled with a "K".  You know how you know your dogs habits and how he or she acts, well I noticed that Kasper would sit on the end of the couch just starring at the staircase.  Like, intense staring.  This is something, I had never seen him do before.  He wasn't barking or growling, just staring.  I would ask him, "What's wrong boy?" and he would just look at me for a minute and go back to staring. hhhhhuummm Clue-number one that something is not right.  When I tell you this went on all day and night, it went on all day and night.  Finally, we go to bed around 10:00 and he sleeps with me at the foot of my bed.  

It was around 10:15pm and I was on the phone with Deak telling him goodnight when all the sudden, Kasper jumps off the bed and starts barking and runs into the living room. (Just for the record, he is not a barker.  Very rarely does he bark other than when I first arrive home)  I can hear a loud man's voice but can not tell what he is saying.  I tell Deak "Just a minute" because I am so confused as to what is happening.  Even Deak hears it on the other end of the phone and asked "What is that"?  Well, I have an Alexa in my living room as well as every other room in my house but ONLY the living room one had turned on.  It was a man's voice not a song, but it was so loud that I just turned it off without really paying attention to what it was saying.  Here's the even stranger part.  I have all my Alexa's connect to one group.  This mean whenever Alexa is on, it plays on all the Alexa's in the house NOT JUST ONE!  So, not only am I puzzled about how it came on by itself, I am confused as to why it is not playing on all the Alexa's.  hhhhuuummm  Clue number two something is not right. 

Now, it's about 3:15am in the morning and again, Kasper awakens me by jumping off the bed, barking and runs into the living room.  I sit straight up and from my bed I can see down the hallway a bright light and I can hear that the TV is on.  What the hell?  I didn't leave the tv on.  Can I   So, I get up and go to the living room, and sure enough the tv is on.  I turn off it off, and go back to bed with Kasper. Clue-number two something is not right.  I do find it strange, but not strange enough to keep me up so I fall back to sleep, as does Kasper.  Then, 4:00am rolls around and all the sudden my living room Alexa comes on with some man talking!  Can this really be happening in the same night???  I jump up and run to the living room and nothing was happening and the Alexa was off.  What the hell???  Am I losing my mind?

I finally go back to sleep and before I knew it, it was 6:00am and time to get up for work.  As I got ready work, I couldn't help but think of all the things that had happened the night before.  It was just to much!!!  Holy cow!!!  WHY?  Why was I having so much activity in my house?

The thought did cross my mind, could it be the piece of broken glass I picked up and brought home?  Of course not!  It was just a small piece of broken glass lying on the ground. So what?  

I went to the kitchen to make myself my usual glass of chocolate milk.  I got out the milk, mixed the chocolate syrup in, stirred it, and set the glass on the counter to put the milk back in the refrigerator as I do every morning.  But THIS morning, I turned around and knocked the glass of chocolate milk off the counter and it fell to the floor shattering into pieces and milk went everywhere!  Damn!  I had never done that before.  As I started to pick up the pieces of broken glass, I suddenly had some clarity on what was going on.  I am a BIG BELIEVER in signs and how much more of a "sign" do I need than picking up a piece of broken glass?  My sign was obviously the glass I had picked up from Spanish Fort was the cause of all the things happening in my home.  It couldn't have been more clear!!!

So, I went to my bedroom, got the piece of glass out of my nightstand and immediately took it out to the garbage, which how perfect that it was trash day as well.  I dropped it in the garbage bag and said a little prayer then took it out to the street to be picked up by the garbage truck.

Here's what I want people to know.  It doesn't matter how big or how small or how insignificant an object may seem, IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!  You have to think of it like this.  A stranger walks in your house and takes something of yours, and turns around and walks out.  Are you going to just sit there and let them go, or are you going to try and find them and get the object back?  Spirits are no different.  These things belong to them.

So please, don't take anything that isn't yours.  What started happening to me at my house, was very minimal compared to what really could happen.  Much more dangerous things can be attached to an object.  So, be careful and be safe. 





Seems harmless enough.
Just a little broken glass.
In the trash it goes!



Inside the old store.



A piece of tin the tree grew around.




Love this pic for some reason.



















6/01/2021

10 Most Haunted Jails and Prisons in the US

Many of us just immediately think of "haunted houses" when you hear there is paranormal activity going on.  But hauntings came be in so many more places... cemeteries, theaters, out in battle fields and one of my favorite places, jails!

I wanted to share a quick article about The 10 most haunted jails and prisons in the US with you, so when you are "breaking out of the Covid lockdown" you can hit the roads and maybe find one of these amazing jails or prisons to check out!  

And as always, I would love to hear about any experiences you have :)

  

10 most haunted jails and prisons in the US







Creepy incidents at these prisons and jails may indicate some inmates and officers never left.

By C1 Staff

Correctional facilities see a lot of misery and anger, two emotions often attributed to hauntings. Since it’s the spookiest time of the year, we decided to do a little sleuthing and make a list of the most haunted correctional facilities in the U.S.

Here are ten prisons, none of which are still open, that will give you chills were you to set foot inside. Sound off in the comments if we missed one, or to add your own creepy experiences at your own facility.

Eastern State Penitentiary, constructed in the 1820s during the first major wave of penitentiary building in the United States.
Eastern State Penitentiary, constructed in the 1820s during the first major wave of penitentiary building in the United States. (Photo Wikipedia)

MISSOURI STATE PENITENTIARY (JEFFERSON CITY, MO.)

Open from the early 1830s to 2004, this state penitentiary earned the nickname “bloodiest 47 acres in America” due to frequent violence inside its walls. Forty inmates were executed inside its gas chamber during its operation. Just from these two facts, it should come as no surprise that staff and visitors have reported dozens of eerie encounters with lingering spirits.

WYOMING TERRITORIAL PRISON (LARAMIE, WYO.)

Built in 1873 after the expansion of the railroad brought a flood of unsavory characters to Laramie, the facility’s main claim to fame is the incarceration of Butch Cassidy from 1894 to 1896. Since it housed well over 1,000 inmates during its operation, it’s no surprise that ghostly activity has been reported. The most talked about is that of Julius Greenwald, who used to make and sell cigars while serving time for the murder of his wife. Visitors to the site report smelling cigars inside the facility, even though it’s been closed since 1903.

WEST VIRGINIA PENITENTIARY (MOUNDSVILLE, W. VA.)

Most people don’t want to go to jail, but ghost hunters are all but banging down the doors to get inside this facility. Open for 129 years, the Moundsville facility housed thousands of inmates and saw scores of deaths through suicide and violence. This facility housed Old Sparky and The Hole, a brutal solitary confinement area that often drove inmates insane. Visitors claim to have heard ghostly footsteps, voices and noises that have no explanation. They’ve also experienced cold chills and overwhelming feelings of panic, among other things.

POTTAWATAMIE COUNTY JAIL (COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA)

The structure of the Old Pottawatamie County Jail is unique; three tiers with ten cells on each tier were intended to rotate continuously throughout the night by means of a water wheel in the basement, thus allowing all prisoners to be continuously watched from one location. This set-up earned the jail the nickname the “squirrel cage jail,” but much to the lament of officials, the stone was too heavy to turn as intended. Another strike against the design was when an inmate died in his cell, trapping the body for days. Doors were eventually carved into all of the cells. There were a few other deaths in the prison, including that of an officer who accidentally shot himself while protecting the facility from an angry mob.

LAKE COUNTY JAIL (CROWN POINT, IND.)

This facility was believed to be ‘escape-proof’ upon construction, but the builders were proved wrong when John Dillinger broke out on March 3, 1934.The jail remained operational until the 1970s, and has since undergone a restoration as a historical site. Apparitions have been spotted in cells, doors open and close on their own, lights turn on and off, and footsteps and voices have been heard by visitors and volunteers.

MAXWELL STREET POLICE STATION (CHICAGO, ILL.)

This police station, built in 1889, quickly garnered a corrupt reputation due to crime organizations in the area. Many who were arrested never returned from the basement area of the station, which was believed to be used for torture. The station was repurposed in 1997 and used for security for the nearby University of Illinois Chicago campus. Currently it’s being used for filming the TV show ‘Chicago PD,’ and visitors say they’ve heard screams coming from the basement, along with moaning, crying and the sounds of rattling handcuffs.

OHIO PENITENTIARY (COLUMBUS, OHIO)

This jail saw scores of deaths from fire, cholera outbreaks, murder and executions in the state’s electric chair during its run between 1834 and 1979. Three-hundred and twenty two inmates were killed in a single night in 1930 when a fire swept through the west block of the penitentiary. Even when the prison was still in operation, inmates complained of ghostly sightings and eerie happenings. The building has since been torn down, and yet people still say they’ve seen apparitions among the ruins. The prison has since been replaced by a sports arena, which is also rumored to be haunted.

OHIO STATE REFORMATORY (MANSFIELD, OHIO)

Most famous due to the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ the Ohio State Reformatory saw thousands of prisoners during its operation between 1896 and 1986. Originally believed to be a humane prison where offenders could be rehabilitated, it quickly devolved into a place known for torture, abuse and murder. Inmates eventually filed a lawsuit describing its inhabitable conditions. Visitors to the facility have reported apparitions, hearing footsteps, and experienced unsettling encounters inside the cells where inmates once lived.

ALCATRAZ PENITENTIARY (SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.)

Considered America’s ‘ultimate’ prison, the ‘Rock’ was a place where the country’s worst offenders were dumped. It incarcerated the likes of Al Capone, Doc Barker, George “Machine Gun” Kelly and more during its operation. Since it was set in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, most considered it unescapable; there is one successful escape attempt, but it’s unclear if the inmates drowned in the bay or made it to shore. The prison closed one year after that escape and the facility is now regarded as one of America’s most haunted locations. Staff have reported ghosts, screams and eerie music.

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY (PHILADELPHIA, PA.)

This facility was the first to be dubbed a ‘penitentiary,’ which derived from the term ‘penitent.’ The Quakers who built it believed it would be a place where offenders could ponder their crimes. Inmates were confined in windowless rooms and not allowed any human contact. Suicide became common under these conditions. Solitary confinement was ended in the 1870s, and the prison closed a century later. Paranormal encounters have become commonplace within its walls, including apparitions, disembodied footsteps and strange sounds.