Old Cambria County Jail

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania

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As you approach the looming, 22-foot high stone walls in Ebensburg, the modern world is locked away behind you.

You aren’t just visiting a historic jail; you are entering a 19th-century Welsh castle designed for one purpose: to break the will of those inside.

When the last inmate was transferred in 1997, the heavy iron keys turned for the final time—but the cells never truly emptied.

In the "Old Stone Jail," the history isn't just recorded in books; it is etched into the dark sandstone by the desperate hands of the condemned. From the overcrowded "Bullpen" to the volatile energy of the Hanging Room, this is a fortress where the walls don't just talk—they scream.

  • Angular stone church with tall steeples, arched windows with bars, and stairs leading up to a door, under a cloudy sky.
  • Old weathered wooden door with small window, set in a cracked, faded yellow wall in a dimly lit room.
  • View through a barred jail cell door into a dimly lit prison corridor with stairs leading up and electrical panels.
  • Multiple metal animal cages stacked on top of each other in a room with a staircase.
  • A narrow prison corridor with metal bars on both sides and a wooden floor, showing signs of rust, dirt, and decay.
  • Interior of an old, abandoned prison cell block with metal walkways and staircases, worn walls, and barred walkways.
  • Interior of a stone tunnel or cellar with small arched openings, pipes along the walls, and a wooden bench in the center, lit by natural light coming through the openings.
  • Black and white photo of a prison corridor with metal bars on the right side and a dark cell door on the left, illuminated by light from a window.
  • Old wooden door with a small window, set in a cracked, beige wall in a dimly lit room.
  • A peeling, weathered wall in an old building with a fingerprint identification chart posted on it. There is a sink and some exposed pipes and electrical wiring.
  • Black metal jail cell door with an
  • Interior of a small prison cell with wooden bars and a stone wall. There is a mat on the floor and a small wooden bench.
  • View through a prison cell window with metal bars, some cobwebs, and debris on the floor inside the cell.
  • Dark stone tunnel with an arched opening revealing a stone wall illuminated by natural light.

Event Start Time: 8:30pm until 3am

Ticket Price: $129 per person

LIMITED GUESTS PER DATE - EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THE DUNGEON

Book Tickets

⛓️ Your “loop” in the Shadows: Are You Brave Enough? ⛓️

Step inside the Old Cambria County Jail, a Gothic architectural marvel that practically vibrates with residual anguish. You won’t see modern rehabilitation here; you’ll find a stone-cold "living monument" to 125 years of suffering, executions, and the final, despairing breaths of the condemned. The massive stone walls are terrible secret keepers, holding decades of chilling tales that refuse to be silenced.

The History: The Welsh Castle of Ebensburg

Approved in the 1870s and built in a severe Gothic Revival style, this jail was meant to be imposing. It was a place of extreme overcrowding, where 16 men would often be packed into a single small cell designed for two.

But the darkness here goes deeper than the cells. This was the site of eleven judicial executions by hanging—grim events so notorious that citizens once purchased tickets to watch the final drop. Perhaps most legendary is the mystery of Michael "Smitty" Smith, the man who vanished from a locked, condemned cell the night before his execution in 1884, leaving nothing but a note. While he escaped the rope, he never truly escaped the stone; his presence is still felt pacing the halls he once vanished from.

The Hauntings: The Condemned Who Stayed

Now ranked as one of the most haunted locations in America, the Old Stone Jail is a place where "lockdown" takes on a literal meaning. The spirits here are as solid as the rock they are trapped in.

  • The Man They Could Not Hang: In the cell where Michael "Smitty" Smith vanished, investigators report dramatic temperature drops and the sound of pencil scratching on paper, as if he is still writing his final farewell note. He is a "peripheral ghost," often seen as a shadow darting toward the exits he once mastered.

  • The Bullpen Shadows: In the tiered 1910 Annex, shadow figures stalk the metal walkways. You’ll hear the unmistakable sound of metal scraping and heavy boots pacing the concrete, as if the inmates are still serving their eternal shift.

  • The Hanging Room: This is the heart of the jail’s volatile energy. Even seasoned investigators report objects being moved, equipment failing, and doors violently slamming shut—the residual rage of 11 men who met their end at the end of a rope.

  • The Basement Voices: Down in the recessed, dark corners of the basement, the air crackles with disembodied yells and muttered obscenities, captured as some of the most aggressive EVPs in the state.

The Past is Still Guarding the Gates. Whether it’s the sound of a phantom cell door closing or a hand reaching through the bars in the dark, the Old Cambria County Jail is a place where the sentence never ends.

The keys are in the lock. Are you brave enough to step inside?

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History, Paranormal and Ghost Hunting Information

  • Old Cambria County Jail History

    ⛓️ The History of the Old Cambria County Jail: Ebensburg, PA

    The history of the Old Cambria County Jail is a grim, rock-solid narrative, beginning as a symbol of the county's authority and ending as a notorious landmark of suffering and unexplained mystery.

    The establishment of the jail was a definitive act to solidify Ebensburg's status as the Cambria County Seat.

    Approved in the early 1870s, the facility was designed by Edward Haviland, son of the famous prison architect John Haviland, and constructed in a severe Gothic Revival style using dark, locally quarried sandstone.

    The goal was to be imposing—a "Welsh castle," as critics in nearby Johnstown derisively called it—with a massive, 22-foot high stone wall surrounding the complex.

    The original building, completed in 1872, included the front Warden's residence and the first cell block with only 27 cells.

    Almost immediately, the jail faced a severe problem: overcrowding. Designed for a small inmate population, the facility was regularly strained beyond its capacity, with up to 16 people at a time confined to a single small cell.

    This overcrowding, coupled with poor conditions in the early 1900s (such as requiring inmates to bathe only "every ten days or thereabouts"), contributed to the harsh, brutal reputation of the "Old Stone Jail."

    The jail also housed the county's gallows, and eleven men were executed by hanging within its walls, a grim procedure that citizens could, for a time, purchase tickets to watch.

    In 1910-1911, a major brick annex was constructed to alleviate the capacity crisis, adding 52 more cells in a towering, tiered structure often referred to as the "Bullpen."

    Despite this addition, the dark history continued to accrue. The jail is famous for the unexplained 1884 vanishing of convicted murderer Michael "Smitty" Smith, who escaped a locked, condemned cell the night before his scheduled execution, leaving only a farewell note and earning the local legend "The Man They Could Not Hang." He was never recaptured, and his ghost is rumored to still roam the corridors.

    The Old Cambria County Jail remained in continuous operation for 125 years until 1997, when the county abandoned the facility for a modern, new correctional center.

    Following its closure, the building was briefly used as a county records depository.

    Today, the imposing structure is recognized as one of the most haunted locations in America, featured on numerous paranormal television shows, and is currently undergoing a multi-year restoration project to preserve its history and eventually transform it into a multi-use building with historical tours and event space.

  • 👻 Paranormal Activity Within the Old Cambria County Jail

    The sheer weight of despair and anguish embedded in the Old Cambria County Jail's stone structure is palpable, manifesting in persistent and aggressive paranormal activity.

    Many visitors report an unsettling, pervasive sensation of being watched and followed as they navigate the cell blocks, often accompanied by intense emotional energies—overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, anger, and dread localized to the specific areas where the worst suffering occurred.

    The most notorious activity often centers on specific figures and locations. In the dark, claustrophobic Bullpen Annex, phantom footsteps and the unmistakable sound of metal scraping are regularly heard, echoing across the tiered cell rows as if inmates are still pacing their concrete confines.

    Elsewhere, the chilling soundscape includes disembodied yells and muttered obscenities captured on recording equipment, but even more disturbing are the residual echoes of the past: the terrifying sounds of screaming during executions, suggesting the final, agonizing moments of the condemned are eternally trapped within the walls.

    Investigators and guests alike often report glimpses of shadow figures, fleeting dark shapes moving just at the periphery of vision in the long, shadowy corridors of the 1910 Annex. More tangible are the reports of Michael "Smitty" Smith, the famous escapee, whose spectral figure is said to wander the old cells, perhaps still searching for a way out, or eternally puzzled by his own vanishing act.

    This activity is often accompanied by inexplicable cold spots—dramatic and sudden temperature drops felt deep within the condemned cell where Smith disappeared, and the dark, recessed basement areas.

    Finally, one area famous for its activity is the Hanging Room.

    This execution chamber and the adjacent gallows are renowned for their volatile energy.

    Even hardened investigators report baffling poltergeist activity here, with objects being moved, doors violently slamming shut, and equipment failure being common.

    This severe disturbance is often tied to the aggressive, residual energy of the 11 men who met their end there, forever bound to the final, fatal drop.

  • Your intense overnight experience includes exclusive access to the most active areas, hands-on training with ghost hunting equipment.

    Led by experienced investigators in small groups, dedicated free time for private exploration, a deep dive into the site's history, and provided refreshments and comfort breaks.

    Limited Guests Per Date

  • Dates Available: Various Dates (Check website for specific availability)

    Time 8:30 PM – 3:00 AM (Please arrive by 8:15 PM for registration)

    Location

    201 N Center St, Ebensburg, PA 15931, United States

    Tickets: $129 per person (Limited spaces available—book early to avoid disappointment!)

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