In 1884,  a prisoner, Michale “Smitty” Smith, evaporated from Cambria County jail and left a note to the warden that he would not return. He was about to be hanged for a murder that he did. But, how did he escape from the prison? The walls outside are 22 feet high. Ever since, he went missing and probably dead by now. Investigators probably wanted to know how he escaped? His jail cell was made of concrete and iron. Impossible to escape, and the walls are very high too. Walls do work. 

He knew he would be taken to the dungeon underneath the warden’s office, which means the warden could listen to men or women screaming for mercy to come out or confess the crime. It’s like a time-out for prisoners who misbehave and disobey. 

Another one was Jacob Hauser, who had murder his wife and mother-in-law with a machete knife that’s gruesome. So the prison built gallows next to the prison to execute them.  

People bought tickets to see the hanging. Back then, there was no cable TV. 

Hanging by Execution

In the 1980s,  they executed prisoners every week by hanging. 

In 1999, the iron gates of the castle prison were finally closed. However, it left behind many spirits that still linger inside the walls. 

I recently went to this place back with a group of friends in January of 2021; it was cold, but it was like a refrigerator. Cool enough to drink expired milk.  We went because they do tours after sunset and finished the tour around eight in the evening, which is cool to do. 

The place is wonderful, the architectural design was amazing.  It looked like a Hollywood set, but it wasn’t. The building is the real thing.  

One moment, my friends and I thought we were being watched.  But no one was there. It was us and the tour guide. 

Like I said before, underneath the warden office, we could hear screams of horror coming from the dungeon. It was real; nothing was fake. 

One of my friends felt icy cold hands touch her shoulder, and it numbed part of her body. She was unable to move for a while, and then it disappeared. The tour guide told us don’t move and told the spirit to move away from her, and it did.

Then one of my friends saw a figure on the catwalk of the prison. We all saw it. Then it disappeared.  

To take our minds off what we saw and heard at the Cambria County Jail, we went back to our hotel. Watch Disney Plus and watch old comedies till we fall asleep. In the morning, we left energized and ready to go home. 

What’s that behind you?

Source 1.