By Michelle Joline

Arts & Life Editor

We all know what it’s like to live in close proximity to a prison in Lewisburg. After all, the sparkling lights and shiny barbed wire fences of the Lewisburg Penitentiary are a staple in the view from the Academic quad. Most of us can say that this sighting is as close as we have ever dreamt of coming to a prison, though some recreational scaring appears to be cause enough to change that. 

Now that Halloween is right around the corner, with hayrides, apple cider and pumpkins on our minds, we are looking to get into the real spirit of Halloween. Who doesn’t love a good scare this time of year? Luckily, we live in Pennsylvania, not too far from Philadelphia, where the Eastern State Penitentiary holds a haunted house that could literally scare you to death, judging by the waiver they make you sign as you walk in. “The Terror Behind the Walls” portion of the penitentiary offers an experience that is “The Blair Witch Project” meets “The Shining,” but a lot more realistic than just sitting with popcorn in hand at a horror film.

The Eastern State Penitentiary is now a historic landmark, but it is famous for jailing Alphonse “Scarface” Capone, the Chicago mob boss, and Freda Frost, a female inmate who poisoned her husband. The fame of these inmates and many others has attracted guests to the site for many years and is a perfect place to hold a frightening Halloween haunting, if you aren’t too scared to attend.

If you are looking for something slightly more thrilling than a hayride at Ard’s and apple cider at Seventh Street, then hop in your car with a group of friends and be prepared to experience some of the best haunting on the East coast.