If you're looking for a hair-raising adventure, you'll find it in Rawlins, Wyoming. That's the home of the Wyoming Frontier Prison, the state's first penitentiary. During its years of use, the facility housed some of the most violent criminals in Wyoming, and many of them met their end at the prison. Today, the building has been restored and houses a museum, but employees and visitors routinely report frightening paranormal activity.
The Wyoming Frontier Prison is located at 500 West Walnut in Rawlins.
Though construction was started in 1888, there was a delay in completing the building because of economic problems. Finally in 1901, 13 years after the first stone was laid, the penitentiary was ready to take prisoners.
Originally, the facility only contained 104 cells, but within 3 short years, overcrowding was already an issue.
Over 30 cells were added immediately, but by 1950, an entire additional block, Cell Block B, had to be built onto the structure to house all the criminals from Wyoming's lawless streets.
The crimes committed by inmates of the prison ranged from robbery to murder. George Sabin, pictured below, was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to do time at the penitentiary in 1904.
Females were also house in the prison, such as Annie Bruce who poisoned her father with a pie laced with strychnine.
Over the years, 250 people died at the prison. Some were executed, but others were murdered by guards or fellow inmates, some froze to death because of poor conditions, and a handful even died of natural causes. A few guards were also killed by prisoners.
There is speculation that some prisoners were likely mentally ill, adding to the negative energy of the place. Many feel that, coupled with all the death and violence that took place at the penitentiary, is a recipe for a haunting.
Visitors and tour guides at the prison often report seeing apparitions and movement out of the corner of their eyes.
Some feel threatened by an angry presence in certain areas of the building, such as solitary confinement.
In some of the cells, a presence is felt, as if someone is watching the people who are visiting the prison. Disembodied voices are often heard, too.
The Death House typically brings a feeling of anxiety, and some have reported feeling pressure in their chests when visiting this particular area of the prison. What's more, an apparition of a man wearing a hat has also been seen in the room where hangings took place.
In the early days, executions were carried out by hanging on an indoor gallows. Later, a gas chamber was added to the Death House when Wyoming changed the method of execution from hanging.
Paranormal investigators have probed into the reported experiences throughout the years and all have concluded that the Wyoming Frontier Prison is a hotbed of spooky activity.
Have you ever toured the Wyoming Frontier Prison? What other haunted places have you visited in Wyoming?
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