On my first visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary for the Terror Behind the Walls event, which was 2 days ago, I was too busy to scream out and run away from scary people. However, that is not all; including my friends, we became more curious about this place. Maybe this is the beauty of this historical attraction event, which makes visitors come again to explore the museum. So, this museum tour was my second visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary. There were still dark atmospheres inside the building, but it was different. During the daytime tour, I became a little bit more aware of why the Penitentiary still exists until now as well as how important it is. As a result, it changed what I have in mind about the Haunted House Halloween event.
Based on the Quakers’ ideas, Eastern State Penitentiary was and is famous for the first penitentiary that took the original system of separate confinement, individualized trainings, and rehabilitation programs in a small cell room instead of harsh punishments. But, the most interesting thing was that since 1930s prisoners could organize groups for baseball leagues, musical activities, and they were even appeared in the local news paper with other reasons than wanted lists. It seems that another kind of community was formed behind the prison walls, and even partly connected to the neighboring community.
To tell the truth, the stories about this penitentiary and the Pennhurst State School / Hospital, which were mentioned at the Haunted History discussion, are all mixed up in my head. However, one thing is for sure that these historical spaces did have a great effect around the nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment