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App.com reported that Eastern State Penitentiary announced layoffs (40% of the staff), salary and operating budget cuts, and no Terror Behind the Walls this year. Uh oh. Is this a sign of things to come for Halloween 2020?
Not that I’ve ever been to Terror Behind the Walls. I’m a bawk bawk chicken butt when it comes to Halloween haunted houses.
Which is maybe why I’m insanely curious about them. Especially Eastern State’s.
Their Halloween haunt is always a popular one for both haunted house enthusiasts and the historic prison. In fact, it’s a huge fundraiser for the historic site every season. According to the App.com article, in 2018 it raised 63 percent of its annual operating budget from the Terror Behind the Walls event.
Wow. So you know they didn’t come to the decision lightly to cancel it for this year.
“This was the absolute last resort,” president and CEO Sally Elk said in a statement Wednesday evening. “After months of financial losses, and with such uncertainty ahead, we are simply out of options. The strength of this organization has always been its dedicated and ambitious staff. We are heartbroken.”
However, they will be doing something in lieu of. Here’s some info on how to enjoy the prison now, when it hopes to reopen to the public, and what to expect for Halloween 2020.
Virtual Programs
Like many other historic sites that have had to close this year due to the novel coronavirus, Eastern State Penitentiary has embraced connecting with visitors through weekly virtual programs.
They utilize social media, primarily Facebook but also Twitter too, to offer their programming.
Find the programs and schedule listings here: https://www.easternstate.org/connect-and-learn.
Wawa Welcome America: Virtual Free Museum Night
Wawa Welcome America is Philly’s all free, all virtual 4th of July experience.
Eastern State will participate with a free 30-minute tour of the prison on June 30 from 5 pm to 5:30 pm on Facebook.
Led by their expert educators, viewers will get to see the abandoned cellblocks with highlights of Al Capone’s cell and the Big Graph.
To learn more about this event, visit: https://www.easternstate.org/visit/events/wawa-welcome-america-virtual-free-museum-night.
Online Tour: Then vs. Now
You can also explore Eastern State via a photo tour.
There’s an overview of the prison with pins highlighting the major areas. Click on a pin to see a photo and read some information about that part of the prison.
The pinned areas include:
- The Facade
- Cellblock 7
- The Surveillance Hub
- The Hospital
- The Hole
- Death Row
- The Kitchen and Bakery
- The Baseball Field
- The Synagogue
- Al Capone’s Cell
However, they also include a link to an online (photo only) tour from 1998. You can rotate the image for a 360-degree view.
Most of the areas are the same, except the 1998 tour takes you to more areas, including:
- The Base of the Guard Tower
- Inside the Operating Room
- Cell Block 4 – Lower Level
- Cell Block 12 – 2nd Floor
- Cell Block 6 Link
- Cell Block 2, 10, 11 Link
- Greenhouse and Perimeter
- Exercise Cell
- Warden’s Office
- Dining Halls
- Behind the Clock
- Inside the Guard
Plus several more areas.
Personally, I think the 1998 tour photos are the most interesting. They somehow seem to capture the prison’s soul best.
To check them out, visit: https://www.easternstate.org/explore/online-tour.
2020 Access and Tours
According to a press release on its site, Eastern State will resume tours, but of course they’ll implement several of the coronavirus era tourist trends, like smaller tour group sizes and overall admission limits.
While they will have night tours, the tours will also shift focus to align more with their educational mission.
They hope to welcome visitors and resume tours sometime in July.
Halloween 2020 at Eastern State
Preparations for Terror Behind the Walls had been underway for months. However, modifying the haunted attraction to comply with anticipated COVID-19 guidelines would have presented significant operational challenges and financial risk. The organization has decided instead to move in another direction for the fall.
“We plan to shift to smaller-scale evening tours more closely aligned with our mission,” said Sean Kelley, Senior Vice President.
So no ghost tours or paranormal investigations either? Their site used to mention that but has since been redesigned. Maybe to move more in line with their educational mission about the prison system, its history and opportunities for reform?
If I learn or hear updates, I’ll be sure to let you know. Or if you hear anything, use the Check-In below to let me know.
For More Info
There’s more to discover. Visit Eastern State Penitentiary’s site: https://www.easternstate.org/.
Check-In
Have you ever been to Eastern State, either during the day or for Terror Behind the Walls?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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