Several different groups of Washington College students celebrated this year's Halloween season with separate trips to Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary for its "Terror Behind the Walls."
HauntWorld Magazine ranks the popular annual event the "ninth best haunted house in the United States," with the first being the "Headless Horseman" at Ulster Park in New York.
"Terror Behind The Walls" offers walks through a part of the prison complete with costumed actors in makeup jumping out from every corner.
Eastern State Penitentiary, now 175 years old, was once the most expensive American Building to operate, and is, as the website claims, "the most famous prison in the world." The first "penitentiary," designed to inspire true penitence through isolation and labor, had running water before the White house. While in operation, the institution housed famous criminals like Al Capone and Willie Sutton and inspired the building of over 250 similar penitentiaries worldwide.
HauntWorld Editor in Chief Larry Kirchner declared, "There is something to be said for the existing atmosphere of an old prison where convicted murders have lived and died." And this reputation was of interest on campus as many students put themselves to the test. WC Junior Liz Benham "escaped the real horrors of Chestertown for one night of fun with my friends in a haunted prison."
Did "Terror Behind the Walls" stand up to the reputation of its historic haunted house, and was it worth the two-hour drive, gas money, parking problems, $15 admission, and waiting in line? Senior Lynn Pistone said, "I wanted my money back, it was not scary at all!" and then added "It was cool to see all of my sorority sisters scared." So, was it scary or not?
The wait for actually entering the first section of the haunted walk averaged around one hour on a busy night and consisted of touring in groups of six through the constructed maze of fright. "The first part of it was really scary," said senior Laura Parr."It would've been much better if they stuck to a prison theme the whole time, but I went through the sections, it got more and more absurd," said freshman Reilly Joret, adding that "The scariest parts were the eerily-silent prison portions."
The third section, entitled "The Experiment: In 3D," required participants to wear 3D glasses as they stumbled through the dark room decorated with glow-in the dark 3D paint. "The whole 1970s psychedelic section was ridiculously out of place," said Reilly. The end had bored Reilly as "Their formula became predictable too quickly and it resulted in it becoming more funny than scary."
Some sentiment was shared in the eeriness of the actual prison Pistone said, "You could feel something or someone was inside." Senior Sara Wuillermin said "I think what made it so interesting was the history behind the place, and I would probably prefer to go when it's not done up for Halloween." Wuillermin continued "The coolest part was at the end where they have little exhibits set up with different artifacts from the prison."
Perhaps the $15 price tag on the experience was what ruined the "thirty minutes to go through all four haunted [sections]." The tickets were sold in groups of half-hour time blocks to stagger the crowd, declaring, "all revenue from Halloween tours benefit the preservation efforts at this National Historic Landmark." The tickets include precisely where the money is spent - to "repair the roof on Cellblock 7." The consumer also receives a certificate for free admission into the separate museum exhibit on another day.
Despite the website's promise for "ample free on-street parking surrounding the Penitentiary" and "a reasonably priced parking [lot] right next door," none was to be found the night that several students attended. Some had to illegally park on the median strip four blocks down from the prison.
"Terror Behind the Walls was worth the trip to go once and be frightened out of your mind, yet I wouldn't make the trip to Philly every year," concluded WC junior Abby Benson. Reilly said that the "Eastern State Penitentiary was a good time, but not worth $15."
If you are interested in the history of the penitentiary then plan a visit before it closes for the year on November 28th. The landmark is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and more information can be found at http://www.easternstate.org.
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