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Guest Blogger: Dawn Lewis

 

Our first guest blog post is from Dawn Lewis:
I first visited OSR in August 2015. It was a spur of the moment trip on a Friday. I had read a little about OSR but did not know much of the history on my first visit. Since it was a Friday a lot of the admin areas & warden’s area were not open. I was unaware at the time how much I missed. I spent a few hours wondering around the cell blocks and solitary. I was mesmerized by this place….I came home and was checking out the website and saw the top things to see and a few of them I had not saw on my trip. I should also mention that my camera died about 15 minutes after I arrived & was fully charged before I got there! I thought to myself, I’ll go back next year and see it all on a Sunday. That didn’t work out so well! After reading up on OSR and reading The Haunted History of OSR I knew I couldn’t wait to get back. Two weeks later on the last day of the season I was back at OSR bright and early. I was surprised at all the cars in the parking lot with license plates that were out of state. I took the Behind the Scenes tour and the West Tower tour. The Behind the Scenes was so interesting and informative. We got a lot of info that would never be found in any book, our guide’s knowledge was astonishing. It was neat to see the basement and attic as well. We also had a volunteer talk with us that was a former inmate. His story made me tear up but I am glad it worked out for him in the end. Behind the Scenes was a glimpse into the innerworkings of the OSR. I immediately went into the other tour which was great as well. After that I walked around the cell blocks a bit more and hung out in solitary for a bit. I thought I had saw most of the place at this point. I went up near the gift shop and saw people at the top of some stairs. I decided to follow them up to where ever it was they were going. I ended up in the warden’s quarters. There was a guide up there talking with everyone as they passed by. She had some really interesting stories. I followed the signs and ended up in the top floor of the cell block. I had been wanting to go up there so bad but all the stairs were blocked off. The tour route up there and around some of the levels really gives more of a picture of what it was like living there back then. I think this adds a lot to the tour to be able to go up on the other levels. I followed the rest of the tour route and took a million pictures. There is so much to see and learn there it’s amazing. The building itself is just beautiful from the outside and it’s hard to imagine the horrific things that went on inside in the later days when it was a maximum security prison. I came home that day with so much more knowledge as well as wonder about OSR. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe. I can only hope that one day I will have the opportunity to volunteer at OSR!!

 

 

Haunted Prison Experience

This week marked the first Haunted Prison Experience: The Witching Hour. We were so excited to see everyone come out and have such a good time. If you missed this weekend, don’t worry. They are every weekend through November 1.

Be our Guest(writer)!

If you are interested in writing a guest blog post for us, please message us on Facebook with your entry, and you may find yourself here. 

Give us your Feedback!

The updates to all of our social media is well underway! Don’t forget to keep in touch with us throughout this process. We love and value all feedback!

Thank you!

This past weekend was full of excitement and fun for everybody. We thank all who came out to visit us. Please stop by again soon.

Exciting Events

Exciting events have been happening at OSR. Many people participated in the ghost hunts and walks this past weekend. These events will be continued to be offered throughout August. You can learn more about these wonderful and fun events here: /calendar

Blast from the Past!

Why not take a blast from the past? Remember this entry by our very own Tom. He tells us what really happens on a Ghost Hunt. 

    During my first year volunteering at OSR I was amazed to find out that the Ghost Hunts usually sell out quickly.  I was told last year that if you didn’t get a Ghost Hunt date reserved by the beginning of March you probably wouldn’t get one the rest of the summer and fall.  This year is no different.  As of the beginning of June, according to the www.mrps.org website, there is only one Ghost Hunt that is NOT sold out so it’s only a matter of time until they’re all sold out this year as well.

    Remember that Ghost Hunts are a lot different than the Ghost Walks, which is offered at OSR.  During  Ghost Walks there is a volunteer staff member that guides a group of people through different parts of the Reformatory and gives you some background on the building and the paranormal.  You don’t get full realm of the facility during a Ghost Walk so it only lasts from 8pm to around 10:30pm.  Its all guided and what happens at the ending is the most exciting in my opinion.  I don’t want to spoil what happens but to me that’s the coolest part. 

    During a Ghost Hunt, when you get to the Reformatory, the gate opens up around 7pm and you check-in in the East Administration Building on the first floor.  After Scott, the Ghost Hunt Manager, goes over the ground rules for the evening you can either take a tour of the building to get familiar with your surroundings or start the hunt and go off with your group.  The lights go off around 9pm or so and then the fun begins.  Technically you have access to around 95% of the building but there will be places that you cannot go to and you can see that it indicated by either yellow caution tape, white chains or a locked door.   

    If you do take a tour from one of the volunteers like Keith, Erick, Becky, or myself, we start out taking you to different parts of OSR and give you some of the historical background but also some of the paranormal that’s gone on there too.  The paranormal aspect may be from something that occurred recently or something that occurred to us personally.  Each tour is different.  The lights are on during the tour then after the last tour is finished, and you know what the place looks like in the light, Scott turns the lights off and you’re hunting with your flashlight the rest of the night.  Don’t worry, there’s maps of the building you can get at the desk when you check-in so you don’t get lost and become overnight tenants.

    Some of the people that do a Ghost Hunt bring really fancy equipment they purchased online like a ghost box, digital recorder, K2, ghost meter or a thermal camera.  While a lot of that stuff is nice, it’s also expensive for one night.  A lot will have a digital recorder and for some that’s the most sophisticated equipment they have, which is fine.  You can get a lot from a digital recorder to save and rem-inis about your experience.  However, if you really want to have a great experience you don’t have to go broke.  The three best things to rely on for your ghost hunt at OSR is the following:  what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. 

    Many times you will see the other volunteers during the ghost hunts go in groups to various parts of the prison and what we’ll do is just sit along the wall or on a chair and just look for shadow figures coming in and out of cells, feel any cold areas (as long as the hunt is not in January), and listen for anything that stands out as unusual.  Every volunteer has their favorite area to go to. 

    If you get hungry don’t worry, there’s pizza delivered around 11pm and if you get tired and need a drink there’s water, soda, tea and coffee to keep you energized during the night.  The main hub during the Ghost Hunt is the “Mini-Bullpen”.  Here you have access to the rest rooms and tables and chairs to rest during the night and socialize with OSR volunteers or other ghost hunters.  Some people stay until 5am when the Ghost Hunt adjourns but some go home early too.  Each ghost hunter is different and each week is different as well.

    If you’re a glutton for punishment in the winter there is an “Extreme Ghost Hunt” that is offered one night in November, December, January and February.  The extreme part happens with the weather.  If you’ve ever experienced an Ohio winter it can be 20 degrees above zero or 20 degrees below zero and inside OSR it gets bone chilling cold.  Almost to the point that last year I overheard two ghost hunters say at a hunt in January, “lets go outside and warm-up”.  A puzzling statement but it was true.  In addition to the weather you  may not have 95% access to the prison.  For example, you may have to be carful of black ice inside OSR so there may be some places you cannot go to.  Last year it was the south end of the East Cell Block and the new windows were just getting put back in place and rain came into the building.  It was roped off for safety reasons but the north end was open.  Before that particular Ghost Hunt started Scott announced that it was the coldest Ghost Hunt in the History of Ghost Hunts at OSR.  The high temperature inside that night was four degrees and the low temperature was one degree, and that was without the windchill.  Guess who was there that night?  THIS GUY!  I think I had every article of winter clothing on possible to stay warm. 

    The size of your group can also make a difference regarding what you see as well.  Small groups are preferred since if you were an inmate you could approach two or three in a group but more than four people may not be a good idea when the prison was open.  That could mean the difference between life and death in the cell blocks or in the yard.  Now there’s no guarantee that you will be greeted by a full-body apparition in the Quartermaster Room or have a conversation with deceased prisoners in the attic so keep in mind that you might have a lot of activity or hardly any.  So if you’re not afraid of the dark or what goes bump in the night, consider a Ghost Hunt at OSR and see what you’ve heard about.  And if you want more of a description of Ghost Hunts, check out our Ohio State Reformatory youtube.com page. 

    Happy Hunting!

    Hello, everybody!

    Hello, everybody! 

      It is an exciting time to be here at OSR. In the coming months, we are proud to be launching a new social media campaign. This includes sweepstakes, giveaways, and ways for the public to interact with us. We look forward to keeping the communication alive and well between you and us. 

      Talk to you soon, OSR

      Hello, welcome to the Reformatory

      I had such an interesting experience in the gift shop today. I like the fact that as curator, I get to be the first person to talk with patrons as they enter our facility, when I am working behind the desk. I met a former inmate today that was here in 1985. Instead of pulling out his drivers license, he pulled out his old inmate badge, which he advised me he wasn’t supposed to take. It was like stepping back in time. It was in perfect condition and he allowed  me to take a picture of it.  I looked at the eyes of the man in the picture and I looked at the eyes of the man standing before me. His eyes conveyed that he had seen many things take place within the walls of OSR. I instantly started a conversation with him. He was both delighted and informative. I was ecstatic. One of my favorite stories was that on the higher tier of the east cell block, he stated that the windows were broken and in the winter time inmates had to cover themselves with their mattresses- almost like a blanket.

      You want me to do what?

      I remember my first tour like it was yesterday.  I had started volunteering at The Ohio State Reformatory in May of 2011 as a pusher for guided tours on Sunday’s.  I was partial to pushing the Hollywood Tour because I loved the Shawshank Redemption and found the stories by the tour guides fascinating.  After about a month and a half, Kim starting asking me when I was going to give a tour.  My first thought was “Are you nuts???”  I certainly was no public speaker.  In fact, in high school I would take an F before getting in front of the class and speaking.  I told her I would think about it and to check back with me after I get back from vacation in July.

      It was the last Sunday in July.  By this time, my daughter Alexa (she was 11 at the time) was coming with me every Sunday to help push tours.  It was a great bonding tool for us (I may discuss that in another blog).  It started like most Sunday’s at OSR, we arrived, signed up to push our tours and did some cleaning before the gate opened.  After the first Hollywood tour, I noticed there was no one signed up to give the last Hollywood tour of the day, although Alexa and I were signed up to push it.  I remember Kim looking at me, smiled, and said “I think you’re ready to give a tour, you are giving the last Hollywood tour today”.  My heart sunk.  “You want me to do what???”

      Now, typically the last Hollywood tour was also the biggest tour of the day.  It was the last tour to go out and Kim was not going to turn anyone down.  That day was no different.  So, here I am with about 15 minutes to go before I was to start, the tour was already overbooked (typically it would cap at 40) with over 50 people paid for, I have not prepared and my heart is racing.  Yeah, this was going to be an epic fail.

      I nervously made the announcement for the tour to meet on the West porch and made the walk with Alexa to West Admin.  I remember peeking out the window and seeing this huge crowd gathering outside, feeling like I was going to puke or pass out.  Alexa just looked at me and said “You don’t look so good dad”.  I opened the door, managed a smile and invited everyone to come in.  It seemed like an eternity waiting for the guests to file in to the first floor of West Admin, suddenly the door shut and all eyes were on me.  Oh crap!!  I again managed a nervous smile, thanked everyone for coming and introduced myself. 

      My mind completely went blank.  I looked at the crowd and told them it was my first tour and I was extremely nervous.  Suddenly all of these words just flowed out of my mouth.  I was spewing out info on the prison, the movies, the TV shows, making jokes, moving the crowd from place to place and they were actually paying attention.  After about 5 minutes the nerves went away and I was having a blast.  I didn’t even realize how much I knew about the building and the movies that were filmed there.  Suddenly, we were in the mail room at the end of the tour.  I thanked everyone for their patience with me and got a huge ovation.  Four people tipped me (which I happily put in the donation jar) and just about everyone complimented me on a job well done.  The best part was Alexa giving me a hug after everyone left and telling me she was proud of me.

      From that point on I was hooked.  I love giving tours and showing off this beautiful building.  I have been giving tours for over 2 years, including ghost hunt tours and private tours.  I will say this, as much as I love giving tours, I still get butterflies before every tour.  They only last a couple minutes, and then it is game on.  Hope to see ya soon!!

      So………What Happens on a Ghost Hunt at OSR?

       

      During my first year volunteering at OSR I was amazed to find out that the Ghost Hunts usually sell out quickly.  I was told last year that if you didn’t get a Ghost Hunt date reserved by the beginning of March you probably wouldn’t get one the rest of the summer and fall.  This year is no different.  As of the beginning of June, according to the www.mrps.org website, there is only one Ghost Hunt that is NOT sold out so it’s only a matter of time until they’re all sold out this year as well.

      Remember that Ghost Hunts are a lot different than the Ghost Walks, which is offered at OSR.  During  Ghost Walks there is a volunteer staff member that guides a group of people through different parts of the Reformatory and gives you some background on the building and the paranormal.  You don’t get full realm of the facility during a Ghost Walk so it only lasts from 8pm to around 10:30pm.  Its all guided and what happens at the ending is the most exciting in my opinion.  I don’t want to spoil what happens but to me that’s the coolest part. 

      During a Ghost Hunt, when you get to the Reformatory, the gate opens up around 7pm and you check-in in the East Administration Building on the first floor.  After Scott, the Ghost Hunt Manager, goes over the ground rules for the evening you can either take a tour of the building to get familiar with your surroundings or start the hunt and go off with your group.  The lights go off around 9pm or so and then the fun begins.  Technically you have access to around 95% of the building but there will be places that you cannot go to and you can see that it indicated by either yellow caution tape, white chains or a locked door.   

      If you do take a tour from one of the volunteers like Keith, Erick, Becky, or myself, we start out taking you to different parts of OSR and give you some of the historical background but also some of the paranormal that’s gone on there too.  The paranormal aspect may be from something that occurred recently or something that occurred to us personally.  Each tour is different.  The lights are on during the tour then after the last tour is finished, and you know what the place looks like in the light, Scott turns the lights off and you’re hunting with your flashlight the rest of the night.  Don’t worry, there’s maps of the building you can get at the desk when you check-in so you don’t get lost and become overnight tenants.

      Some of the people that do a Ghost Hunt bring really fancy equipment they purchased online like a ghost box, digital recorder, K2, ghost meter or a thermal camera.  While a lot of that stuff is nice, its also expensive for one night.  A lot will have a digital recorder and for some that’’s the most sophisticated equipment they have, which is fine.  You can get a lot from a digital recorder to save and rem-inis about your experience.  However, if you really want to have a great experience you don’t have to go broke.  The three best things to rely on for your ghost hunt at OSR is the following:  what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. 

      Many times you will see the other volunteers during the ghost hunts go in groups to various parts of the prison and what we’ll do is just sit along the wall or on a chair and just look for shadow figures coming in and out of cells, feel any cold areas (as long as the hunt is not in January), and listen for anything that stands out as unusual.  Every volunteer has their favorite area to go to. 

      If you get hungry don’t worry, there’s pizza delivered around 11pm and if you get tired and need a drink there’s water, soda, tea and coffee to keep you energized during the night.  The main hub during the Ghost Hunt is the “Mini-Bullpen”.  Here you have access to the rest rooms and tables and chairs to rest during the night and socialize with OSR volunteers or other ghost hunters.  Some people stay until 5am when the Ghost Hunt adjourns but some go home early too.  Each ghost hunter is different and each week is different as well.

      If you’re a glutton for punishment in the winter there is an “Extreme Ghost Hunt” that is offered one night in November, December, January and February.  The extreme part happens with the weather.  If you’ve ever experienced an Ohio winter it can be 20 degrees above zero or 20 degrees below zero and inside OSR it gets bone chilling cold.  Almost to the point that last year I overheard two ghost hunters say at a hunt in January, “lets go outside and warm-up”.  A puzzling statement but it was true.  In addition to the weather you  may not have 95% access to the prison.  For example, you may have to be carful of black ice inside OSR so there may be some places you cannot go to.  Last year it was the south end of the East Cell Block and the new windows were just getting put back in place and rain came into the building.  It was roped off for safety reasons but the north end was open.  Before that particular Ghost Hunt started Scott announced that it was the coldest Ghost Hunt in the History of Ghost Hunts at OSR.  The high temperature inside that night was four degrees and the low temperature was one degree, and that was without the windchill.  Guess who was there that night?  THIS GUY!  I think I had every article of winter clothing on possible to stay warm. 

      The size of your group can also make a difference regarding what you see as well.  Small groups are preferred since if you were an inmate you could approach two or three in a group but more than four people may not be a good idea when the prison was open.  That could mean the difference between life and death in the cell blocks or in the yard.  Now there’s no guarantee that you will be greeted by a full-body apparition in the Quartermaster Room or have a conversation with deceased prisoners in the attic so keep in mind that you might have a lot of activity or hardly any.  So if you’re not afraid of the dark or what goes bump in the night, consider a Ghost Hunt at OSR and see what you’ve heard about.  And if you want more of a description of Ghost Hunts, check out our Ohio State Reformatory youtube.com page. 

       Happy Hunting!