Ohio State Reformatory

Mansfield, OH

Located in Mansfield Ohio,  is Ohio State Reformatory which was also known as the Mansfield Reformatory.It was built between 1886 and 1910. In 1861 the grounds on which the prison was built was originally used for a training camp for civil war soldiers. The prison opened on September 15, 1896. The first 150 prisoners were put straight to work on the facility’s sewer system along with the 25 foot stone wall that surrounded the prison. The prison was ordered by the state to close in 1986 by an order known as the Boyd Consent Decree. The Boyd Consent Decree was a class action suit that cited inhuman conditions and overcrowding. The prison did not officially close until 1990. 

  East Cell Block remains the largest free standing steel cell block in the world. Over 200 people have died at OSR, including 2 prison guards that were killed during escape attempts. Many movies and television shows were filmed at OSR, including The Shawshank Redemption.

May 29, 2011
Investigators: Beth Rosen, Matt Rosen, Travis Spitzer & Lisa Shirkey with guests Nick Wendling, Karen Memmolo, Jon Michael & Aaron Wadia.

Location Photos: Click to enlarge

  • With the first brick laid in 1886, Ohio State Reformatory went on to house over 150,000 offenders until it was ordered closed roughly a century later. It was home to notorious riots and murders. And in the early 1990s, the building witnessed yet another famous shooting – when the cast and crew of The Shawshank Redemption arrived to capture OSR’s walls forever on screen.
  • In this famous movie, Morgan Freeman said, ‘Get busy living or get busy dying…’ (The ‘dying’ aspect of OSR is what we were here for.)
  • Look familiar? This is where many of the interiors were shot for Shawshank’s Brewer Hotel scenes. We asked if we could carve ‘GCP was here’ up there too – but let’s just say our request wasn’t well received. 🙂 Just kidding
  • These are actual shanks and weapons confiscated at OSR, located in the building’s museum area.
  • Talk about time on your hands! This is a wallet and belt made out of cigarette packs. Just think of all the ‘Camel miles’ this inmate folded away.
  • Dead man walkin’ – so, any last requests?
  • This is the east cell block, one of the tallest free-standing steel cell blocks in the world. It’s also where we caught three of our four pieces of evidence. (See Audio Section for details.)
  • OSR’s west cell block.
  • The Warden’s living area, where Helen Glattke, the warden’s wife, died under suspicious circumstances when a loaded gun hit the floor and discharged. A week later – the warden himself, Arthur Glattke, died from a heart attack in this same area.
  • LOOK! It’s the inmate yearbook! Ahhh, how sweet – Butch asked Spike if he wanted to go steady.

Findings:

Chapel Area: While our investigator recounts a past paranormal occurrence he unknowingly captures one of his own when this chilling EVP beckons from beyond.

East Cell Block: After a flashlight flickers on its own, we ask if the unknown entity can repeat its performance. After uncovering this startling EVP – guess not, huh?

July 10, 2016
Investigators: Beth Rosen Travis Spitzer & Heather Olsen with guests Trevor Spitzer, Eric Singleton, Jen Kozlof & Laura Cain.

Location Photos: (click to enlarge)

  • Our commemorative brick from our previous visit.
  • You may notice this room as the warden’s office from The Shawshank Redemption.
  • Typical cell.
  • When all else fails, lock em up!
  • Chapel

Findings: nothing to report.

August 30, 2020
Investigators: Beth Rosen as a guest of Ghost Guild of North Carolina.

Location Photos:

Findings:

This was caught in solitary 2nd floor during our investigation on August 30, 2020. While the three female investigators were just making small talk you will hear what could be possible voice overlapping one of the females. There were no other groups near by at the time.

Grave Concerns Paranormal does not view findings presented on this page as evidence of ghosts or the paranormal. These are merely experiences that we can not explain at this time.