The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held inside its unique wagon wheel design. When the building was erected it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide.

The prison is currently a U.S. National Historic Landmark, which is open to the public as a museum for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year 10 am to 5 pm.

Since its closure visitors, employees and those researching paranormal activity have reportedly heard unexplained eerie sounds throughout the prison.
The Locksmith
One major paranormal episode reported occurred to a locksmith doing restoration work in Cell Block #4. According to the tale, he was working to remove a 140-year-old lock from the cell door when a massive force overcame him so powerfully he was unable to move.
Some believe when he removed the key it opened a gateway to the horrific past and offered the spirits caught behind its bars a pathway out. The man spoke of experiencing an out-of-body state as he was drawn toward the negative energy which burst through the cell.

Anguished faces appeared on the cell wall, hundreds of distorted forms swirled around the cellblock and one dominating form seemed to beckon the locksmith to him. The man's experience was so vivid, years after he would shudder in fear when he talked about it.

Tourists and employees have reported hearing weeping, giggling and whispering coming from inside the prison walls.