Imagine what you believe the characteristics and personality of the oldest prison in America would be like. An enormous building created from massive amounts of stone and concrete; huge walls and dark corridors? How about a penology unit built more than 177 years ago that has half a mile of wall, eleven acres of ruin, and is currently crumbling at every corner.

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If you have ever laid eyes to Eastern State Penitentiary on the corner of Fairmount Avenue and 22nd Street in Philadelphia; you know what I am describing. This creepy structure was built in the early 1800s and has served as a model prison for over 300 other correctional facilities. Al Capone, Elmo Smith and Willie Sutton all spent hard-time there.
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We purchased tickets to Terror Behind the Walls; an attraction setup within the walls of the prison for Halloween. The night we visited was very chilly and extremely busy. Our admission tickets said 11:30PM, so we waited in line. Once in line, it went pretty quick — we also paid an additional fee to skip the line so to speak. Once we began the thrill ride of a scare-house we were caught off guard by the many illusions and individuals within the facility meant to scare us.
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The attraction’s configuration and array of minions were not scary themselves; the condition of the facility and the history behind it was enough for me. We walked through a corridor and you could see down an entire cell block; freaky! We met four girls while we’re there that ended up latching onto us because they were getting so scared. It was hilarious to see the reactions from these girls. Their reactions and screams were half the entertainment for the attraction.

I can’t really describe too much in words as to what we witnessed, let’s just say it was pretty spooky. It was definitely the best haunted house arrangement I had ever been to.

After visiting the prison I began research on as many of the inmates as I could find. You’d be surprise as to what all people were there — and if you have any information on Elmo Smith; I’d love to see it! I know he raped and murdered a seventeen year old girl and all that. But I’ve been trying to find a transcript from the trial or any photographs of this guy. He sounds like a real creep.
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All in all, Terror Behind the Walls was one of my favorite attractions in Philadelphia. For more information, check out their website.