Mansfield July 2009

The Ohio State Reformatory (OSR), more lovingly known as Mansfield, is located in Mansfield, Ohio. It is a Romanesque style building which is often mistakenly referred to as a Germanic castle style of architecture. The OSR was built by Schnitzer from 1886-1910. The federal government ordered OSR to close its doors in 1990. However, the building is still used for a number of films including Shawshank Redemption, Tango and Cash, Air Force One, tv shows including Scariest Places on Earth, 101 Things to Do Before You Die, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and even music videos including Lil Wayne, Godsmack, and Marilyn Mansion. 

While most of the support buildings and outer walls have been demolished since its closure, an unmarked cemetery still sits behind the building. The building itself stills boasts the largest free standing steel cell blocks in the world at six tiers high. 

There have been over 200 reported deaths within the prison. Perhaps, this accounts for the vast number of haunted areas? The administrative wing is said to be haunted by a warden and his wife. Rumor has it that the chapel was once an execution room as it is inundated with tortured souls. The infirmary where many have died, has people scratching their heads when feeling gushes of unexplained air pass by them. The basement is said to be haunted by a 14 year old boy who was beaten to death. George, a former employee at the prison, is also said to haunt the basement. In the library, visitors have seen an apparition of a woman though to be a nurse who was killed by one of the inmates. The cellblocks are haunted by the spirits of prisoners who have died there. 

Finally, there is the hole, again in the basement, was a place where prisoners who broke the rules were kept in one of the 20 cells. The prisoners would be kept in the dark, dank, roach infested cells with one or more inmates with little to eat and not a comfortable place to lay their heads. Many prisoners died in the hole and now visitors sometimes are overwhelmed with feelings of nausea, chills, bad smells, feelings of being watched, and sometimes when touched or whispered to.