Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania: Old Jail Museum

It starts with a video, followed by a guided tour, and ends with an a opportunity to walk around on your own. We saw lots of interesting things: jail cells, spooky basement dungeon, gallows, women's cells, kitchen, wardens quarters, etc. It was a good tour. The town, Jim Thorpe, is a cool little town but is very busy, and it is difficult to find parking.

Crowded little tourist town of Jim Thorpe, but absolutely beautiful.

After touring the Old Jail Museum you'll be glad that today's prisons are better (I hope!). You can't take photos or see the handprint up close anymore -- apparently it's becoming too faded. The tour was fine, but too many people made it a tight fit. I recommend maybe going on the last one of the day...? We had about 20 on their opening hour. Reservations not needed. About 40 minutes and $10 pp. Free parking up behind the jail itself.

Don't miss the kitchen, warden quarters, women cells, and the gift shop. It is amazing to hear the history and that the jail was operating well into the 1980s. There are many photo opps, including the chance for your family to be photographed behind bars! The dungeon is especially fascinating. You can walk into most of the cells and see the furniture and props.

The hanging area is a little rattling for some. My kids ages 8, 11, and 12 found it interesting, and were not scared. Bring a flash camera to capture "orbs."

My wife and I were traveling through eastern PA when we happened to find ourselves in Jim Thorpe, PA. Instantly falling in love with the town, we were lucky to find a vacancy right in a B&B right on the main street. What to do on a Saturday night over the Halloween weekend in a strange town? Why, visit the ghost tour of the Old County Jail, of course!

They conduct a kitschy and low impact tour of the grounds guided by high school kids (most likely from the high school drama department), telling scary stories and lots and lots of waiting for the group before you move on. This waiting gives the more inquisitive visitor time to explore the rooms. They have almost all the lights off, so having a tiny key chain flashlight really helped out. as we peeked in closets and drawers. You can also really annoy the "believers" by making jokes about ghosts and making odd sounds. Hey, when the one guy said he was a "professional skeptic" I just HAD to ask where you get a degree in skepticism!

Overall it's an interesting journey and the amateur tour (which is not too bad) aside, from looking at how men and women where imprisoned here, is really something. The basement dungeon is especially poignant. To see where people were kept alone in tiny cells is touching. Oh, and while the guides are talking be sure to slip into one of the darker ones. Then, when people begin to poke around after the speeches just wait for someone to peek in. Then? bwahahahahahaha!