Eastern State Penitentiary

America's 'most haunted building': Tortured souls of inmates believed to roam dank ruins of prison that pioneered solitary confinement and once held Al Capone

• Prisoners at Eastern State Penitentiary were kept in solitary confinement which some say induced mental illness
• The guards are believed to have tortured the inmates and covered their heads with hoods when outside the cells
• Shut down in 1971 and reopened in 1996 as a museum and Halloween attraction but ghostly sightings continue
• Visitors have reported anguished cries coming from the cells and a shadowy figure who watches over the prison

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 09:30 GMT, 19 March 2015 | Updated: 12:08 GMT, 19 March 2015

A prison sentence at Eastern State Penitentiary not only separated you from the outside world - but all human contact.

Built in 1829, it was the first jail to implement solitary confinement for every single inmate which is thought to have brought on mental illness.

Even outside the tiny cells, guards would cover their heads with a hood so they remained in confinement even when they wandered through its stone halls.

The prison, which closed its doors in 1971, is considered by many people as one of the most haunted buildings in America. 

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Haunted halls: Eastern State Penitentiary was the first prison in America to implement solitary confinement and is believed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country

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Chilling: Thousands of hardcore prisoners housed within these tiny cells in the Philadelphia would live alone, eat alone and even exercised alone in tiny individual yards

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Chilling: The guards would even cover the inmates' heads with a hood when they left their cells so they could not see any of the others or map out the prison in their minds

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Cruelty: And they allegedly subjected the prisoners to inhumane torture methods like the 'mad chair', where they would cut off prisoners' circulation - necessitating amputations

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Notorious: The prison even housed feared prohibition-era gangster Al Capone whose luxurious room has been restored for tourists

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King among prisoners: Capone spent most of his one year sentence in relative comfort and was allowed to furnish his cell with antiques, rugs, and oil paintings

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Ghostly sightings: The prison closed down in 1971 and reopened as a museum in 1996, but tourists still report ghostly sightings

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Strange presence: Those who believe in ghost stories say the trouble souls of the mistreated inmates still roam Eastern State's crumbling hallways

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Home: The prison designer's ambitious mechanical innovations placed each prisoner had his or her own private cell, centrally heated, with running water, a flush toilet, and a skylight

Its crumbling stone walls, dark corridors and claustrophobia-inducing cells once housed thousands of hardcore criminals.

The Philadelphia prison's 142-year history is steeped in controversy and cruelty and those who believe in ghost stories say the troubled souls of inmates still roam the abandoned halls.

They were severely mistreated by the prison guards who found a number of sick ways to punish those who misbehaved.

According to NPR, they would use a torture method called the 'water bath' where they would dunk the prisoner in water then hang them to dry in the cold outside until ice formed on the skin. 

They would also tie inmates so tightly in a device called 'the mad chair' that it would cut off circulation and necessitate amputations. 

And the worst offenders would be put in 'the hole', a pitch-black underground cell where they had no light, no human contact and little air. 

The solitary confinement system was eventually discarded when the prison became overcrowded but Eastern State is widely thought to have induced mental illness in many of its inhabitants.

It housed infamous criminals like bank robber Willie Sutton and even Al Capone who headed a criminal syndicate illegally supplying alcohol during the prohibition in the early-1900s.

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Infamous: Housed inside great, stone walls - Eastern State was just as famous for its wagon-wheel design as it was for the cruelty inflicted on prisoners

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Trapped: Prisoners at Eastern State were thought to have gone insane having been housed inside tiny cells with little light and air

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Poltergeist: A man who helps maintain the building says he once walked into Cell Block 4 and felt an unknown force grab him so tight he could not move

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Eerie atmosphere: Eastern State certainly has the appearance of a haunted building with its rusting walls and claustrophobia-inducing cells which once housed thousands of hardcore criminals

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Blinded: To prevent distraction, knowledge of the building, and even mild interaction with guards, inmates were hooded whenever they were outside their cells

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Torture: One of the punishments the guards used was called the 'water bath' where they would dunk inmates in water then hang them in the cold outside until ice formed on their skin

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Punishment: And the worst offenders would be put in 'the hole', a pitch-black underground cell where they had no light, no human contact and little air

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Cruel therapy: People who ran the prison believed that the criminals - living in total silence and left alone with the ugliness of their crimes - would repent 

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Insanity: Critics say the exact opposite occurred and a life of isolation inside these strict, haunting walls drove many of them to madness

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Too late: The solitary confinement system was eventually discarded but Eastern State is widely thought to have induced mental illness in many of its inhabitants

Since 1996 it has been a museum and Halloween attraction but visitors still report eerie sightings and noises from the once-notorious prison.

Tourists claim there have been mysterious footsteps in the yard, the sound of pacing in empty cells and strange noises drifting through the ever-cold hallways.

Cell Block 12 has become infamous for reports of chilling laughter and one guard tower sometimes appears to be occupied by a shadowy figure keeping watch over Eastern State. 

Gary Johnson, who helps maintain the crumbling old locks at the prison told NPR that he felt a force grip him so tight in Cell Block 4 that he was immobilised. 

He described a negative, horrible energy that exploded out of the cell and claims tormented faces appeared on the cell walls and one in particular took hold of him.