Mansfield Reformatory Ghost
Hunt
September 7th, 2001
One of the most extraordinary events that we have ever
attended has to be the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) Ghost Hunt, located in
Mansfield, Ohio. The ghost hunt is sponsored by the Mansfield Reformatory
Preservation Society (MRPS). The
MRPS
Ghost Hunt is an informal attempt to document paranormal activity at the former
prison. The Ghost hunt provides an unusual first hand experience to delve into
the possibility of other realms, as well as the opportunity to explore a unique
historic structure. Many men have died at the prison since its inception in
1886; perhaps their spirits still haunt the massive and ominous castle-like
building. According to MRPS there have been reports of shadowy figures, strange
lights (often called orbs), voices, strange smells, and footsteps in an
otherwise deserted building. In order to find out for yourself you must be over
21 years of age and pay a fee of $50.00. This fee entitles you to explore the
prison unattended from 8pm until dawn the next day, and it gets you a late night
dinner of pizza and soda. The prison is not lighted or heated and sections are
seriously deteriorating so wandering about this place at night is an adventure
in and of itself, never mind the possibility that ghosts are lurking in the
shadows. This unique event is the first of its kind in the country.
We arrived late to the prison on the night of our
hunt, and unfortunately we missed the briefing on the grounds. Luckily we had
researched the prison on the internet and were somewhat familiar with the
supposed active areas of the building. One area being the Warden’s Quarters. It
is here that the Warden’s wife was accidentally killed when she pulled a hatbox
from the top shelf of her closet. Unbeknownst to her there was a loaded gun
behind the box which fell and discharged killing her. Her name was Helen and it
is said that her spirit still occupies the quarters. Encounters with Helen range
from hearing voices to the most interesting manifestation of smelling her
perfume. The warden himself also died at the prison and many claim to have felt
his presence as well. Several people say that they smell the aroma of cigars
when his spirit is near; others have heard him and his wife arguing. The prime
time for all of this activity seems to be after midnight, specifically after
3am. We decided we would explore the cell block first and then return to this
area later in the evening. We headed towards the dark cell block armed with
headlamps, cameras, and a video camera. Our hearts were pounding as we entered
the desolate looking row of prison cells. We had read that the best way to
document spirit activity was to take pictures and video the area. Apparently,
orbs or streaks of light often manifest on film but are rarely seen by the naked
eye. So we walked around filming in night vision and snapping photos with our
35mm camera. We never felt anything strange but one of our photos did come back
with unexplained streaks of light surrounding me while I stood in a cell. Now, I
have been a photographer for many years and I know how it is possible to fake
such things, but I honestly cannot explain how those lights could have gotten in
the picture. The area was pitch black and both Pick and I turned off our
headlamps when taking the photo. No one else was in the area either that could
have shined a flashlight our way, it is truly eerie. It was now close to
midnight so we headed back towards the front of the building for some soda and
pizza and to check out the gift shop. An event that was to change our lives was
only hours away at this point.
Shortly after midnight we finished our pizza and
decided to head up to the Warden’s Quarters. Pick lead the way up the massive
staircase and I followed closely behind. Near the top of the second set of
stairs Pick stopped abruptly and with a shaky voice said “Do you smell that?” I
answered that I did not notice anything and then it hit me. Hanging in the air
was the strong scent of perfume. The odor was not anything I can describe in
modern terms. It can only be described as an old-fashioned rose water or
lavender perfume. We continued on up to the top of the stairs and found a room
off to the left of the hallway where it seemed the smell was coming from. We
walked into the room and discovered that it was an old bathroom. Already
investigating the scent were a pair of twins, they inquired if we noticed the
aroma as well. We acknowledged that we did indeed and then all at once it
disappeared. The four of us walked around the room for several minutes and we
began to notice that the smell would reappear in certain areas then vanish.
Sometimes the rose smell was so over-powering that it was somewhat sickening.
Being a bit skeptical I wondered if someone could have sprayed something, but it
became quite obvious that it was unlikely. If someone had sprayed something how
could it just disappear and then reappear in a different area of the room? I
became convinced that we were truly experiencing something paranormal, was it
the ghost of Helen? The twins, Carol and Cheryl, were avid ghost hunters and
they informed us that it was quite likely that it was indeed Helen’s spirit as
this was her bathroom. The fragrance lingered around for about fifteen minutes
and then finally disappeared for the last time. This event genuinely freaked
Pick out. She was reluctant to go on the ghost hunt in the first place, and this
event confirmed her fears. I personally was thrilled to have experienced
something so extraordinary; it was just what I was hoping for.
We stayed late into the night hoping for, but at the
same time dreading, another experience. Pick became more and more apprehensive
as the night went on especially as we neared the “witching hour” of 3am. Her
apprehension even started to unnerve me. It was then that we met a group of
students who relayed their experiences from previous hunts. They told us that it
was quite common to have electrical disturbances during the later hours. They
said that when an energy is present your camera, video camera, and flashlights
are likely to just go completely dead. Well, this was enough for Pick. She
decided she had had enough of ghost hunting. We left the prison around three in
the morning and headed home. We will never forget the experience that we had
that night and someday I hope to talk Pick into going back, but until then I can
say that I truly believe we encountered something paranormal that night. I leave
it to all of you to decide for yourselves.
