The Kentucky Paranormal Group

One of the state of Ohio's greatest buildings is still standing just outside Mansfield: the old State Reformatory. Drive past it and you'll be amazed that such a place exists outside of Transylvania, or someplace dark and gothic like that. No wonder it's been used as a set for four movies (Harry and Walter Go To New York, Tango and Cash, Air Force One, The Shawshank Redemption) and music videos (such as "Awake" by Godsmack; Marilyn Manson has done photography here). Naturally, it's also about as haunted as a single place can be.




The long history of OSR began in 1861, when the field where it would be built was used as a training camp for Civil War soldiers. It was named Camp Mordecai Bartley to honor the Mansfield man who served as Ohio governor in the 1840s. In 1867 Mansfield was promoted as a candidate for the placement of the new Intermediate Penitentiary. The Intermediate was intended as just that--a halfway point between the Boys Industrial School in Lancaster and the State Penitentiary in Columbus. It would house mostly young, first-time offenders who might still be reformed.




In 1885 Mansfield was officially selected as the site for the new Intermediate, and construction began with Levi T. Scofield as head architect. His design was intended to represent Cathedral style, in the hope that the inmates might be inspired to be better people, or something like that. No matter what his intention, it ended up looking incredible--Dracula's castle in northern Ohio. Work was delayed in 1888-1890, but on September 15, 1896, the building was opened as the Ohio State Reformatory. The first 150 prisoners were brought by train from Columbus and put immediately to work on the prison sewer system and the 25-foot stone wall that surrounded the 15-acre complex. It wasn't until 1910 that the building was completely finished. Today OSR houses the world's largest free-standing cell block--six tiers high.




There were a few famous prisoners over the years at OSR. Henry Baker went on to achieve notoriety as a member of the Brinks Gang in the 1950s. Gates Brown, who served a year from 1958 to 1959, would later play baseball for the Detroit Tigers. And in 1989 Kevin Mack, star running back for the Cleveland Browns, did a month on drug charges.
As with any prison, OSR accumulated its horror stories over the years. Two corrections officers lost their lives at OSR; one in 1926, shot to death by a former inmate who was trying to spring his buddy; the other in 1932, beaten to death with a three-foot iron rod in the Hole--slang for solitary confinement.





In July of 1948, two inmates released from the Reformatory for "good behavior" displayed some very bad behavior when they went on a killing spree. Robert Daniels and John West, dubbed the "Mad Dog Killers" by the papers, first murdered Columbus tavern owner Earl Ambrose, then stole a car and drove to Mansfield, where they kidnapped OSR farm superintendent John Niebel, his wife, and his twenty-year-old daughter. They murdered all three in a cornfield off Fleming Falls Road. The next day they killed a farmer from Tiffin, whose new bride managed to escape, then shot a truck driver. Two days later the two ex-cons were trapped at a roadblock near Van Wert. West died in a shoot-out with police but Daniels was captured. He bragged about the possibility of dying in the electric chair. The following January he got his wish at the State Pen in Columbus.




On November 6, 1950, the wife of the prison superintendent apparently knocked a loaded gun off a closet shelf and shot herself through the left lung. The next day she died in the Mansfield hospital. It's possible that the superintendent shot her in order to spare himself the messy legal work and political stigma of a divorce. In February 1959 the superintendent himself died from a heart attack in his office.
An inmate hung himself in his cell in 1955. One burned himself to death in his cell with turpentine and paint thinner stolen from the prison furniture shop. Two convicts were once left in a cramped single-occupancy solitary confinement cell overnight; in the morning only one walked out. The other was stuffed under the bunk. In 1957 a riot put 120 men into the 20 solitary cells for 30 day stints.

Harry and Walter go to New York and Tango and Cash filmed at OSR while it was still in operation, in 1975 and 1988 respectively. In December of 1990 the last inmates were moved to the new MANCI prison nearby, leaving OSR to the rats and ghosts. The prison was used again in 1993 for the filming of my personal favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption, and then in 1996 when they shot scenes for Air Force One. Below you can see the part used as the Russian prison in Air Force One.




Several ghosts haunt the prison--too many to properly catalogue. The most common occurrence seems to be voices around the old superintendent's quarters, possibly remnants from the "Mad Dog" murders or the questionable suicide of the superintendent's wife. Chris Woodyard reports a wimpy, whiny ghost and a big, burly one, as well as two ghostly men fighting beside the pond out front and numerous apparitions in the old chapel, but she also says one of the ghosts jumped onto her back and asked her to take him out of there, so take that as you will. Nearby, keep an eye out for the ghost of Reformatory Road, which runs beside the prison pond pictured below.




The current status of the Ohio State Reformatory is a mixed blessing. True, it hasn't been demolished so they can build a hockey stadium, unlike some other prisons I could name. An entire preservation society exists for OSR; visit their website at mrps.org. They now own the deed and are in the process of renovating it. They have Sunday tours during warm weather and charge $50 for overnight "spook hunts" around Halloween. During the hunts, participants report a wide variety of phenomena; from what I've read, the most common seems to be the sensation of being touched by invisible hands. The inside, from what I've seen, looks pretty much like any of the other abandoned buildings I've visited--peeling paint, doors off the hinges, broken glass--but now the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society charges for tours. So although it's disappointing that the place isn't explorable anymore, it's definitely a good thing that they've saved it.




I have made several trips to OSR, the first back when I was 13 and they were filming Shawshank there. My mom and I drove by at a distance and looked at the trailers and boom cranes but didn't see Morgan Freeman or Tim Robbins anywhere. Then, in October of 2000, my then-girlfriend and I drove up from Mt. Vernon, where she was attending school, to have a look at the place one cold and windy Halloween night. They had just shut down from a Halloween tour--there were actual carnival-style hot dog stands out front--and the last people were leaving when we got out and walked around and snapped a few pictures.




But it wasn't until October of 2002 that I finally made it inside. A subsequent girlfriend and I bought tickets and took the dungeon tour through the main building, cell blocks, and solitary confinement ward. She volunteered to be locked up in the hole by the tour guide, and we took lots of photos and bought stuff at the gift shop. Very mainstream, very low-risk. We didn't see any ghosts, but it was daytime and there were lots of other people present (including a biker gang with members who had been incarcerated there). Below you can see a photo of the visitation room at the prison, which was one of the more interesting sights.




Of course I'd still like to get in there for one of the nighttime ghost hunts. They're far more common right before Halloween, but apparently they conduct them all through the spring and summer as well.

Futty, John. "Tale of Two Cities: The Journey from OSR to ManCI." Mansfield News Journal 9 Dec. 1990.

Administration Wing
Visitors and employees have reported experiencing strong paranormal events in the administration wing where Warden Glattke and his wife Helen resided. The story is Helen, while reaching for a box in the closet, knocked a gun off the shelf to the floor, causing a bullet to discharge into her chest. She was rushed to the Mansfield General Hospital where she died as a result of her injuries.
Rumors ran rampant that Warden Glattke was responsible for Helen's death, but there was never any proof to substantiate such rumors. Ten years later Glattke suffered a heart attack and died at the same hospital where Helen died.

Some believe that Helen and Warden Glattke haunt the administration rooms to this day. The strong smell of Helen's rose perfume reportedly floats in and out of her pink bathroom. Visitors report felling a gush of cold air pass through them as the wander through this wing. It is not uncommon to hear of a jammed camera shutter, which unexplainably worked again once the visitor left the area.

Ted Glattke, the youngest son of Helen and Warden Glattke, has said that most of the information written about his parents haunting Mansfield Reformatory is based on sensationalism and inaccurate stories.

The Chapel
The Chapel is suspected of many paranormal events and some believe it is nucleus for much of the prison's haunting tales. Rumors that the Chapel was first an execution room, where inmates were tortured and died slow deaths while hanging from the rafters, may account for the many reported orbs photographed and the strange recordings some say they have captured in this area of the prison. Visitors have reported seeing spirits lingering near doorways, only to vanish once their presence is detected.

The Infirmary
The infirmary where many prisoners died miserable deaths is known in paranormal circles to set off EMF detectors and claims of clusters of orbs have been captured in photographs. There have also been several reports from visitors that they have felt unexplained gushes of air pass by them.

The Basement
The spirit of a 14-year-old who was beaten to death in the basement is said to linger in the dark crumbling hallways, which twist around the dark decaying basement. Also, the spirit of a former Reformatory employee named George is said to haunt the basement halls.

The Library
The Reformatory's library and a small inmate's graveyard are believed by some to be haunted. Visitors have reported seeing objects move in the graveyard and equipment failure is not uncommon in the library. Psychics visiting the library have reported seeing the spirit of a young woman, possibly Helen or a nurse who was killed by one of the prisoners.

The Cellblocks
Prisoners told of feeling someone tucking them in at night and it was rumored that the ghost of Helen or the nurse would moved in and out of the cells, bringing a touch of comfort to the inmates with a simple tuck of a blanket.

The Hole
The hole, located in the basement of the prison, was a place where prisoners who broke the rules were kept in one of the 20 cells. Inmates would be kept in the dark, dank, roach-infested cells, with one or more inmates, with little to eat and no place of comfort to sleep.
Bread and water was the common meal with a lunch provided every three days. The stronger inmates would take the food from the weaker, leaving many to suffer hunger as well as other unconceivable hardships.

Many prisoners died in the hole and some believe that their tortured spirits remain, prompting reports of negative paranormal engery in this area.

Visitors to this area sometimes leave after being overwhelmed with nausea. Others feel chills run through thier bodies. The feeling of being watched permeates in the rooms and some have even reported seeing glowing eyes peering at them from dark corners.

GOSH, RICH. What is all this crap about "ORBS"? Haha.

I've been twice and I honestly have to say don't waste your money.

I've been twice and I honestly have to say don't waste your money.

I have heard different , but paying 100$ a person is just a rip off .

It's actually only $65 but you share the place with about 150 others. There was nothing going on when we were there. I haven't met anyone that has actually found anything. Thought we did the first time but now I doubt it was anything.

Don't know why the first post posted twice sorry about that.

Debbie it did it again. Anyway I have basically come to the conclusion that besides Octagon, I probably won't pay to go to any funhouses anymore. They seem to be rip offs most of the time. I will leave that to other people.

wonder why its doing that?

cause you hit submit twice !