A spectral prison for upset spirits still stuck in their guilt, suffering,

shame & humiliation of the worst kind, and brutal deaths.

DESCRIPTION

Old Idaho State Penitentiary Museum: Tom and I really enjoyed walking around this interesting prison and learned a lot about life here. We came here twice on different trips, for pictures and to expand our story on hauntedhouses.com.

The prison buildings are exactly like they were when the prison was emptied of inmates in 1973. Buildings that burned down like the chapel are still in ruins. There are calendars on the cell walls, etc.

Sitting on 510 acres, Old Idaho State Penitentiary Museum buildings that were constructed before 1950 used locally quarried, rusticated cheap sandstone; to create some handsome, Romanesque style buildings that made up this place of incarceration.

Between 1887 and 1968, the Idaho State Penitentiary housed two hundred and fourteen women incarcerated for Idaho crimes. Women had their separate prison, surrounded with a wall outside the main yard. This prison building was grouped with the Warden’s House, Guard House, and two large stone barns. The 1906 women’s prison was constructed of wood. In 1920, a new but crude concrete Cell House for Women became the new women’s prison.

The Administration Building was built in 1894. It is described as “rusticated two-story Romanesque with a squared three story tower in the manner of English Gothic churches; complete with four corner finials.”

The giant, round-arched entrance leads into a tunnel which delivers the visitor to the interior gates of the prison.

A lovely grassy area and Rose Garden is still there. On the self-directed tour, the visitor will notice that a portable scaffold was set up as a display in the prison’s Rose Garden area. This reflects the historical fact that the death penalty was very occasionally carried out in this area before Cell House 5 was built.

Old Idaho Penitentiary was a small city with basic everyday services, as well as having Cell House Blocks. Services over the years included: a Dining Hall, Commissary, Hospital, Barber Shop, Laundry, Shoe Shop, Gymnasium, Library and Chapel, to name a few. They also had a Heating, Lighting and Pumping Plant; providing their own heat, electricity and water.

The Multipurpose Building was built in 1923, and over the years was home to a Shirt Factory, Laundry, License Plate Shop, Bakery, Shoe Shop, Hobby Room, as well as housing the Communal Shower.

The building that was used as the chapel in later days, was the original 1870 prison that is 70′ 5″ x 40′ 4″. It is described in the NRHP papers as being “a simple, rectangular building with “segmental arch windows and door.”

Cell House Block One and Cell House Block Two used to be one large Cell Block, but was made into two Cell Blocks when the central block was taken out. Each cell block had three stories of steel cells that have tall, narrow barred openings.

Where did men go who couldn’t behave? The state’s Corrections Office decided that these hard-to-handle, trouble-making or anti-social inmates needed a different, harsher place to be housed; away from the other inmates.

On the tour, the visitor can see a 1920s’ subterranean stone-walled dungeon with rings in the wall, a 1923 solitary confinement set up that put more than one inmate in a cell, and a 1926 severe solitary confinement block, called ‘Siberia’ that was made up of solid concrete walls, floors and ceilings, without light; with no water, plumbing or furniture. It was their version of “The Hole.” At least one man died in one of these cells.

The last two cell house blocks have only two stories;1951 Cell House Block Four and the Maximum Security 1954 Cell House Block Five. Both are ugly, with sterile concrete and steel construction. Both are described as being “a very severe utilitarian structure, devoid of grace and style.” They have flat roofs; not the best in hot weather but at least they were not made of sandstone that has great disadvantages.

The 1954 Cell House 5 was home to the worst of the worst inmates who lived in refined solitary confinement cells on the first floor that had a bed, toilet and sink. They were locked up for 23 hours, and let out for an hour to either take a shower or go into the exercise yard. The second floor had the “Death Row” cells on the same floor as the 1950s’ Execution Chamber room; complete with a trap door.

Old Idaho Penitentiary has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, after it was decided that they would move the inmates to a newer facility in 1973.

Tom and I would love to visit again, and see their new exhibit that “Chronicles the lives and crimes of Idaho women who found themselves at odds with the law. Discover scandalous stories and escape attempts, and learn about daily life for female inmates.”

Also of interest, is the new crafts display of inmate’s hobby work that helped to give them a new way to make a living, called “Crafty Cons.”

HISTORY

Idaho State Penitentiary was open from 1872-1973, and was the home of 13,000 inmates. Surprisingly, only one hundred and ten inmates died here. Seven were executed. No guards were killed here.

When the Idaho Territory was less than ten years old, the need for a prison became evident as crime was rising, and the bad ones needed to be kept away from civilized society.

So in 1870, using prisoner labor, the first structures were built using hand-cut sandstone. The buildings were designed by an inmate, George Hamilton. Apparently, when he wasn’t busy robbing people on the highway, George was a skilled draftsman; before he was incarcerated.

Other sandstone buildings are found in the center yard and include Cell House Blocks One, Two, & Three, the Commissary, the Barber Shop, the Hospital, the Chapel and a Dining Hall/Kitchen, which are all part of the self-directed tour.

While the buildings were pleasing to the eye, conditions inside were intolerable.
Unfortunately, sandstone walls retained heat in the summer, creating a “stifling oven effect”.
In the winter, the sandstone walls held the bitter cold, constantly chilling the inmates.
Proper plumbing throughout the prison wasn’t installed until the 1920s. The ventilation system was poor as well. Thus, a lot of inmates got sick with disease.

Around 1923, new additional buildings were built using stucco. A Multipurpose Building, originally used as a Shirt Factory, is quite a large rectangular structure, which was used for many things over Idaho State Pen’s long history. The Laundry and Communal Shower was also located here.

In 1923, a Solitary confinement building was needed for unruly inmates, so it was built; located in the left hand corner of the walled prison. Small, dark cells with a bed(s) and a toilet were provided. Sometimes as many of four men were in one cell.

In 1926, a more severe solitary confinement structure was built, called “Siberia” by the inmates. They were small, dark cells with no light, no furniture and water. Conditions were brutal, and some may have died from the elements, or from having a weakened condition.

Inmates could be locked up there from days to weeks; 30 days on the average. They were fed once a day, and could shower once a week. The only light they had came from a small opening at the top of the cell. Some inmates yelled constantly.

The years from 1870–1934 were free of prisoner riots. This peace ended in 1935, with a “melee” in the dining hall, with dishes and table going everywhere.

1952 – Major damage costing thousands of dollars to the Multipurpose Building resulted when two hundred and fifty guests of the state took over the building in protest when the warden broke his promise and sent four “ringleaders” to solitary after an unrelated incident.

In 1952 and 1954,The Multipurpose Building was repaired, and concrete and steel was used to construct two modern Cell Houses: Block Four and Block Five. Maximum Security Cell House Block 5, had the Death Chamber room on the west side of the second floor near the end of the building.

However, only one inmate was hung there in this Death Chamber in 1957: inmate Raymond Snowden who was convicted of murdering a woman, Cora Dean with a pocket knife. Before he faced execution, he confessed to killing two other women.

There were some kinks that needed to be worked out unfortunately with the device and the length of the rope used. The trap door opened so violently that the glass in the observation booth shattered all over Cora’s family. Then, the fall through the trap door didn’t break his neck, so he slowly strangled to death, which took fifteen minutes.

1966 – There was a peaceful strike by three hundred inmates over better living conditions and for the reopening of the Commissary. Things hadn’t changed with the times, the structures were old, and many felt the conditions were substandard.

1971 – A very hostile, three hour riot which resulted in the looting of the Prison Hospital and Commissary, and the destruction of the Social Services Building by fire; amounting to around $25,000 in damage. Two inmates were shivved with hand-made knives and another was violated and killed brutally in the shower area.

1973 – Riots again broke out. Prisoners burned the chapel and dining hall to the ground and damaged many other buildings. Soon after this incident, all inmates were moved to a new, modern facility: Idaho State Correctional Institution located south of Boise. This was an updated modern prison with air conditioning that didn’t have the awful faults of Idaho State Penitentiary.

The Old Idaho State Penitentiary was given a new purpose as a historical museum for the public to peruse. It was of interest because of the Romanesque style of the original buildings built with sandstone in such a beautiful way.

Some inmates never made it to the new prison, as they died in the old one, and seem to be serving an after-life sentence here for a variety of reasons.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

One hundred and ten inmates died here from old age, illness, suicide and at the hands of another. It is no wonder while this joint is still jumping with activity from mostly friendly spirits, with only a few hostile bad apples.

Suicide during a time of incarceration has been a problem in prisons because of despair, mental breakdown and not wanting to face punishment any more.

Ohio State Reformatory (Prisoners hung themselves in their cells.)

Alcatraz, CA (Inmates killed themselves here too.)

Cripple Creek Jail Museum CO(A desperate inmate jumped over the railing, either not wanting to do hard time or was mentally ill.)

Idaho State Penitentiary (An inmate on death row, Douglas Van Vlack jumped to his death, not wanting to experience an execution for killing three people. Another inmate in Cell House Block 4 killed himself in his cell; not able to stand it any more. Three inmates killed themselves in Cell House Block Two.)

Prisoners who died at the hands of other prisoners or guards often are stuck where they were killed; because they want justice, deny that they are dead, and are afraid to go to the other side because of what they did in life.

Alcatraz (Inmates were killed by others and vicious beat-downs by guards.)

West Virginia Penitentiary (Inmates were viciously killed by other inmates, others were raped and traumatized, and hard-to-handle inmates suffered near-fatal injuries.)

Ohio State Reformatory (Inmates were lumped together; mildly criminal with the nastiest inmates which led to a lot of murder. Plus, punishment was harsh, and sometimes deadly.)

Idaho State Penitentiary (Men were killed by other inmates by hand-made knives called shivs, and by the riots that happened at the prison.)

Prisoners who were executed sometimes hang around where they were hung for a variety of reasons; especially if it was a cruel execution.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History (A 17 year old Confederate soldier suffered a botched hanging and died a slow death of strangulation.)

Whaley House CA (A bully suffered a bad hanging on this land where the Whaley House was built.)

Wyoming Frontier Prison in Rawlins (Prisoners were forced to kill themselves on the Julien Gallows that caused a painful death.)

Idaho State Penitentiary ID (The first and only hanging in Maximum Security Cell Block was a botched effort, causing the man to slowly strangle to death as described above. Also, there were six inmates that were hung in the Rose Garden.)

When spirits are recognized by the living, they sometimes are drawn back into this world to enjoy the notoriety.

Harper’s Ferry WV (Spirit of John Brown enjoys mingling amongst the tourists who give him positive feedback.)

Liberty Hall KY (Spirit of Mrs. Varick enjoys serving the living here, finding purpose and peace.)

Fairfield Inn ME (Spirit of Captain Fairfield enjoys the fact that his portrait is still hanging in The Fairfield Inn)

Idaho State Penitentiary ID (The posters of two notorious inmates;Cora and Harry, major crime offenders, made it up on a museum display depicting some of the well-known inmates. Their spirits take pride in that, and have decided to stay and be helpful to visitors; especially mediums.)

Death doesn’t give people any new virtues. Mean and nasty personalities don’t change into kind and loving ones.

Irma Hotel (A nasty guest from hell there liked to bully people, even hanging them from his window. He still yearns to do so.)

OK Corral, AZ (Spirit of Billy Clanton still is a bully with the living in the OK Corral.)

Lucky’s Tavern FL (Spirit of a mobster has volunteered to keep an eye on the staff in a rough manner.)

Idaho State Penitentiary, ID (Out of 13,000 inmates, only six were hung in the Rose Garden. Those six must of been really mean and nasty killers. Apparently, they haven’t changed.)

MANIFESTATIONS

PARANORMAL FINDINGS

The living have been having personal experiences in this very haunted place for many years.

Paranormal Investigators have never been disappointed here.

Medium Jennifer Von Behren and Spokane Paranormal Investigation Group went to this Old Idaho State Penitentiary Museum to investigate. Medium Jennifer reported “that the majority of that prison had some seriously crazy stuff going on!”

Right away as they entered they were greeted by a friendly female spirit, Cora, who showed them the women’s prison, and told the medium that the crying that the medium heard was from a spirit who had killed her baby.

Jennifer then met their unofficial, enthusiastic guide, a spirit called Harry who stayed with her, popping in and out, during their investigation throughout the prison.

In “Siberia”, she talked to a spirit still staying in his cell. She said she did some “work” with him.

In the shower room, she saw the residual energy of a man being raped by several others and then stabbed to death.

In one of the cell blocks, she talked to a man called Jake, who was polite and friendly.

Spokane Paranormal Investigation Group caught a lot of hard evidence making them extremely happy.

One of many successes was getting Jake to interact with him, using the flashlight method. Harry also jumped in and had fun with the flashlights too. Both spirits answered the yes/no questions of the investigators.

In Cell House Block Two, Jennifer was warned to stay outside, so she did. She was given a vision of the big man, and she felt his threatening presence in this vision and was glad she didn’t go inside. SPIG came out of this Cell House extremely excited, having caught a boatload of evidence.

Ghost Adventures: Season two: Ghosts of Seasons Past summary.

They caught a picture of a shadow with a execution hood over its head on a TV screen using ITC technology with a video camera, catching a holographic image of a shadow of a man with an execution hood over his face.

Season 2: Episode 8- Old Idaho State Penitentiary

When they started their walk around, they heard disembodied screaming and laughter.

When Aaron was locked in the shower room, a spirit was filmed taking a water bottle out of his back pocket in fun. Aaron also felt unseen, unfriendly presences watching him as well.

Solitary Confinement: Nick went into a Solitary Confinement cell and recorded an EVP “Hey say what?” Static cameras caught slamming doors. Unexplained words as well.

In Cell House Block 5, Zac stayed in Raymond’s Death Row cell. A dark mist stood behind him and touched his shoulder, giving him the chills.

Rose Garden – Zac was in the garden at 3:00 AM, and felt someone was giving him a headache. A similar event happened with another investigator who felt unseen hands squeezing his head.

STILL HAUNTED?

A Big Yes Indeed!

Boatloads of hard evidence has been caught by paranormal investigators. Through psychic investigations, mediums have talked and seen spirits here as well. Personal experiences with these spirits readily happen, as the spirits like to interact with the living. Two spirits are flattered that they are still remembered and their photos made it to a museum exhibit.

LOCATION

1109 Main Street
Boise, Idaho 83702
(208) 334-2844

Old Idaho State Penitentiary Museum is located off of Warm Springs Avenue in East Boise, at the base of Table Rock. Free parking is available behind the Bishops’ House in the dirt parking lot.

SOURCES INCLUDE

Source: The Ghost Hunters Field Guide, by Rich Newman, Llewellyn Productions, 2016.

Source:Travel Channel website pages

Ghost Adventures, Season 2, Episode 8: Idaho State Penitentiary, 2009 and

Recap of Ghost Adventures Idaho State Penitentiary

Ghost Adventures articles: “Old Idaho state Penitentiary Haunted History”

Source:The dead history website: Old Idaho State Penitentiary
“Ghostly Inmates of the Old Idaho Penitentiary,” by Jenifer Jones, July 13th, 2016

Source:Jennifer Von Behren website
Haunting Investigation at the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho with Jennifer Von Behren and S.P.I.G., August 2016. Spokane Paranormal Investigation Group

Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr

Your Paranormal Road Trip