The Haunted Old Idaho State Penitentiary in Idaho - 3rd Palm Paranormal Places

Image from the Idaho State Historical Society

For just over a century now the Old Idaho State Penitentiary has witnessed its fair share of prisoners, escapees, various scandals, and the move from a wild west territorial prison into a more modern establishment. Built in 1870, the prison itself now stands as a historical piece of property amongst the Midwest. It hosts numerous events, including historic tours, paranormal hunts, wine tastings, educational programs and the like.

But what makes this location one of the most haunted in America? Could it be the notorious inmates and murderers that once wandered its stone chasms and hollow hallways? Or the grisly executions that would frequently take place on-site at the prison's gallows?

There may be more to the story than you think and we're here to explain what makes this penitentiary more haunted than most in the U.S.

Presently:

Image from KTVB 7

Although the prison witnessed its official closure in 1973 due to riots, this monument still stands as a testament to the mistreatment of inmates during the 1870's and onward, and how the state of Idaho is attempting to rectify it through education and historic retellings. Today this place is managed by the Idaho State Historic Society who've done a wonderful job at creating a friendly and informative space.

During any given day (accounting for weather and staff availability) this prison offers guided tours around the area, including night tours, where guests can experience life surrounded by sandstone. From cell blocks to the gallows, with tours being both for educational and sometimes paranormal purposes, there's a lot to explore. Especially when you consider that this prison once housed 13,000 inmates.

Image captured during one of the prison's tours

With around 155 cells (mostly single-person cells, with solitary confinement rooms and two-person rooms included in that estimation), various cell blocks spanning up to three stacked floors, and other rooms such as the guard's rooms and offices, one could easily get lost walking through this prison. Although, the Idaho Historical Society still allows for self-guided tours across its facilities, with most areas open to the general public.

Aside from the tours, newcomers and locals alike can experience events from wine tastings, exhibits, educational classes and so on. Certain spaces can even be rented out for events such as weddings, celebrations, or even corporate meetings. Spaces that can be rented out on-site also include the historic shirt factory and the women's ward.

Like many haunted locations across the United States, the Old Idaho Penitentiary has moved forward from its dark past into a lighthearted and modernized scene. Yet, it's that dark history that still profounds us paranormal protagonists to this day...

Crooks, Murders, & the Gallows:

Once known as the Territorial Prison two decades before Idaho's statehood, most of what makes up this location was built from the ground up by the same residents/inmates that were incarcerated here, with many of them working the sandstone quarries nearby. It must've been a real slap in the face to have to work the quarries, supplying the same materials that one would later use to construct the very same cell blocks that they'd spend years locked inside. That was the cruel fate for many here, and it only gets worse.

It's been reported that, for the first 55 years of the prison's operations, that inmates relied on bucket toilets (also called "honey pots") since the facility lacked any sort of plumbing. And the prison itself was never "quite" finished, as inmates were constantly put through intense physical labor just to build their own institution. Operating as a prison from 1872 until 1973, this place was known to have housed some of the vilest inmates in American History.

Harry Orchard, infamously known for admitting to the murders of 17 different people and claimed to work as a hired assassin, was one of those people. Although he was never sentenced to hang in the gallows, he eventually turned his life around and was granted a small cottage just outside of the prison walls before dying near the site in 1954.

The prison's most infamous woman, Lyda Southard, was convicted of murdering her fourth husband with small, yet lethal doses of arsenic at the time. Though, as the court drew back her history, they found very suspicious deaths pertaining to her previous three husbands, her brother-in-law, and even her children. She held one of the longest prison sentences for women during her era and had even managed to escape from the prison before returning 15 months later to accept her fate.

In fact, she's a part of 500 different escape attempts through this prison, with only 90 of the 500 overall attempts having been successful over the decades.

From the prosecuting attorney at the time:

“[Lyda is] void of conscience; that she is an unmoral woman, and by that I do not mean immoral, but one void of faculty to discriminate between right and wrong. I do not believe her capable of remorse.”

At first, female and male occupants were held together but were strictly forbidden to engage with one another until a female-only cell block was erected from the former warden's offices. Although there is a gallows on-site, only ten total individuals were ever publicly hung there. However, due to housing extremely violent prisoners, poor living conditions leading to rampant diseases, prisoner suicides, and failed escape attempts, the total death-count at Old Idaho State Penitentiary sits at 129 dead.

By 1973 the prison was forced to close due to outdated heating and cooling systems that left the prison in shambles during harsh weather, overcrowding over the years causing said disease and murders throughout the cell blocks, as well as the unsanitary water used for drinking. As crime rates increased, so did the criminals that entered through the iron bars, and through a combination of turmoil and rage, these events quickly led to riots in which the prison staff could not contend with, ultimately shutting down the prison for good.

The Ghosts of Idaho's Past:

You know the history, now you'll know why its manifested into these hauntings. Once covered by Ghost Adventures and Zac Baggins, we're here to extrapolate the truth.

Solitary confinement cells hold some of the most paranormal energy to them, where chilling sensations creepily caress your body, heavy feelings of dread and fear fill your gut and heart, with numerous apparitions appearing like walking shadows throughout these rooms.

Cell block 4 is also notorious for individuals hearing disembodied voices speaking closely to their ears, more shadowy figures encroaching through the halls, and random cell doors slamming shut while no one is around.

With 129 deaths reported here, this is no coincidence...

Yet, the most haunted area surrounding the large space that makes up the Old Idaho State Penitentiary has to be the gallows. Although only 10 individuals were ever hung to death here, it's still considered one of the worst, cruelest, and most humiliating deaths in our modern era. This is a space where the deceased were strung out and suffocated in front of an audience, some would later be proven to be innocent while the majority had earned their place around the noose. Regardless, it is an atrocious demise...

An unexplainable heaviness carries itself within the air around you as you walk through these gallows. Phantoms breathe in cold melancholy as they follow you around as dark specters, being seen during the nighttime or in the daylight. There is an irresistible unease surrounding the space, as footsteps can be heard around the execution site. These are dark times that haven't moved on from the facility.

All in all, this location has been placed on our own paranormal bucket list for places to visit, explore, and investigate. There's no doubt in our minds that, based on the huge number of testimonies and paranormal evidence at large, that the Old Idaho State Penitentiary is one of the most, if not the most, haunted prisons (let alone locations) present in America.

But as always, we ask you (the reader) what you believe and what you question to be fact over fiction?

The Haunted Old Idaho State Penitentiary in Idaho - 3rd Palm Paranormal Places