Ghost Adventures – Ohio Reformatory

It started off as a more middle of the road institution, where inmates could learn a trade and then be released back into society. But as time and overcrowding went on, it took in more violent and troubled inmates. The Ohio Reformatory has a history of violence with inmate riots, death row murders, inmates being driven mad by poor conditions and solitary confinement and even an inmate who set himself on fire. Former guards and prisoners agree violence was a daily occurrence.

But is the place haunted? Many tour guides thing so. They claim to have been touched, had their hair pulled, been pushed, see shadows and hear footsteps. Most of the claims have been by the female guides, but even some men feel they are being intimidated by the inmates.

So what do Zak and crew come up with?

Well, first the audio flakes out repeatedly with batteries draining and then equipment malfunctions. Interesting timing I will certainly admit.

As the investigation gets underway they hear all sorts of noises and cell doors closing. They even claim to hear footsteps. It’s an old building so creaking sounds and metal flexing would be expected. And considering the place is empty, sounds travel from one end to the other with no problem. It’s possible that bumping into something in one place will be heard somewhere else. We clearly see this in action where the young woman they use as bait calls out and they have no problem hearing her.

Once again, the voices they hear come across as nothing but static to me. Does anyone else actually hear what they hear? At best I hear a pulse and what they claim to be breathing could be anything, including one of them too close to the microphone. We know they get pretty worked up so it doesn’t surprise me to hear a sigh or breath on a recorder. Zak is out of breath half the time from yelling "did you hear that?" and waving his arms around wildly.

And the shadow they claim they caught? It didn’t show up for me. I’m just not seeing it.

One thing that I really can’t stand is the box they bring out where the frequency causes words to appear on the screen. It may go by the name Frank’s Box as well as others, but I’m sorry this is just complete junk to me. First off, where is the "guide" that shows the sprits what frequency they should use to create words? Did they publish it online so they spirits could study up before the investigation began? I first saw this thing on Paranormal State and my jaw dropped at the absolute absurdity of it. This is at least the second, perhaps third time the Ghost Adventures team has brought it out and it gets no more credible with use.

I will admit there are times when the words do appear to have a coincidence to the environment, but even with that I can’t put any confidence in this piece of "science". To me it just comes across as another mysterious gizmo that has no true scientific basis. And because of that it can be used to strengthen an argument if they want to. Unless this box can comes up with "Hi, I’m a ghost", its crap.

Putting some of these things aside it was a wildly creepy place that just looks menacing. Tiny cells, poor conditions and prisoners that clearly acted out against each other makes for a nice recipe of dark energy. Some of the evidence was interesting but once again it falls short of being conclusive. I always feel there are other explanations available for what’s going on.

Ohio Reformatory

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Asylum – Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
• Ghost Adventures – Missouri State Prison – S08E04
• Ghost Adventures – Wyoming Frontier Prison – S07E18
• Stranded – West Virginia State Penitentiary – S01E03
• Ghost Adventures – Remington Arms
• Ghost Hunters International – San Lucas Island – S02E12
• Ghost Adventures – Hellhole Prison – S12E07
• Ghost Adventures – Fort Chaffee – S04E10
• Ghost Adventures – Alcatraz – S08E08
• Haunted Highway – Island of Lost Souls – S02E01