Scary old jail launches new career as spook house

Dec 12: iPhone App 1.5 Bonus: Canada! And…No Subscriptions
Nov 28: Aquarena Springs DVD – Ralph the Diving Pig
Oct 28: Needs Two Roofs, Will Sell One Finger
Sep 25: New Home, Old Fans For Assassination Bullet And Human Hairball
Sep 15: Vampire, Mermaid, Monkey’s Paw Are New Pals For Museum Ghosts
Sep 14: Welcome Back, Tacoma’s Unwelcome Goddess

Scary old jail launches new career as spook house

The 100-year-old Mansfield, OH, Reformatory — which closed in 1990 — is reopening for Halloween tours each Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October. People who visit the prison will find themselves "sentenced" by a ghoulish judge who will order them to the Reformatory's freestanding, six-story cellblock (the only one in the world). Mansfield Reformatory was used as the set for the film The Shawshank Redemption and is only a couple of blocks from the Living Bible Museum — another very scary place.

A group that's working to restore the old prison has announced that proceeds from the tour will benefit their efforts to convert the jail into a museum and office complex. [10/25/1998]

Mansfield Reformatory

Address:: 100 Reformatory Rd, Mansfield, OH
Directions:: North of town. I-71 exit 176 onto US 30 west. After about three miles, exit north onto Hwy 545/Olivesburg Rd. The Reformatory is just over the hill on the left hand side, on a side street named Reformatory Rd.
Hours:: May-Sep. M-F 11 am - 4 pm; Su 1-4 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone:: 419-522-2644

[Show Map]