Haunted Prison

By: Ted

I've worked at a woman's prison for about five years. I'd heard stories from the beginning about the ghost of a little girl around eight or nine years old whose name was Gretchen. To allow you to fully understand this story, I'll give you a brief history of the facility.

The facility started out as a home for wayward girls in the early 1900's and often took in orphaned children. In the 80's, it became a state prison. There were still staff members there that had worked during the days that it had been the girls home, so a lot of stories were passed on.

Now, for the legend of Gretchen. Gretchen was one of the orphaned girls taken in at the facility. Some people claim she had a dog with her. Playing ball was her favorite thing to do. Her job, at the facility, was sweeping. There are two ways that people say Gretchen allegedly died. The first was simply that she grew ill, then passed away when she was about eight or nine years old. The other, more sinister way, was that the staff beat her to death. I've been told that the reason for two stories is because one was official and one was real.

Gretchen lived in the basement of the oldest building and, I must say, the basement is very creepy. Staff do not like to go there alone. This building seems to be the focus of the stories surrounding Gretchen. I've been told that, oftentimes, people hear a ball bouncing in the hallways of Gretchen's building. Water is turned on when no one is around. The lights come on when the building is empty. One staff member went downstairs to turn the lights off and before she went up two or three stairs, the lights came back on. She did this a couple of times. Since then, she has refused to work in that building. Another staff member saw a little girl in a dress playing ball near the unit. He did not investigate though. Security cameras have caught a traveling mist. A dog is heard in the basement where Gretchen is supposed to have lived. One staff member said she actually saw the dog. The stove in the kitchen was observed being on after the staff member had already checked the room and saw that it was off. These things I've mentioned are just a few things I've heard from people that I trust are reliable. There are more outlandish claims, but I don't want us to appear to be crazy people.

Everything that I, myself, have witnessed took place in a time frame of two weeks. I was working in a newer unit that housed new inmates on one level, and troubled inmates on another. During detail time, I had some inmates out mopping. One inmate was taking male hormones before she was incarcerated so she had full facial hair and was very masculine. She was mopping, and for no reason, the fire extinguisher came off the wall and flew about five feet, almost hitting her. This is the closest thing to violence I've ever seen or heard about at the prison. I wondered if the spirit may not have been happy about the hormone thing.

Later that evening, there was another inmate talking to me. There was not anyone behind her. I watched her hair get pushed up almost like someone was curiously touching it from behind. The inmate turned around to confront the person touching her hair, but no one was there.

The rest of the week was mostly normal except for the fact that there was a deformed black cat sitting outside the window by my desk. The cat had a hunch back.

The next week, I was working in the same building, but in another wing. I went outside to take a break. The wind was blowing and it was a little chilly, so I stood by Gretchen's building. The yard was closed so no one was outside except me. As I stood there, I heard someone whisper from behind me either the words "piss me off" or "pissed me off", I was leaning against the building and it almost seemed to come out of the wall. I walked away from the building very quickly.

I went out for my second break and, of course, stayed away from Gretchen's building. This time I heard a cat yowling like mad. I looked up and saw that black cat sitting on the roof to the entryway of the building. I ended my break and went in the other entrance.

Later that week, I was working outside. I had been told by an inmate that the old coal room door in Gretchen's building was opened up and that inside there were a bunch of crutches that varied from little ones to big ones. There was also a hole dug in the dirt floor that was the size and shape of a grave. She also told me they'd found children's shoes burnt in the furnace. Of course I had to check it out. I went down there, and for the first time, I did not get a creepy feeling. I went to the coal room, but did not find the crutches. I did find the hole and it was the shape and size of a grave. Going to one of the furnaces, I found no burnt shoes. I went to the other furnace, and though I didn't find any burnt shoes, I did find a tube of lipstick. It was in a metal tube. After showing it to some of the older women, I was told it was from the 40's or 50's. What I don't understand is how this item, that was shaped like a bullet, was never found even though it was on top of the rubble. This building had been searched hundreds of times and an item such as this would not be overlooked.

After this, I never saw the black cat again. People have said they've seen it, but I haven't.

The last thing I want to mention is the graveyard. I have seen it, but I have not been there yet. I am told the gravestones are unmarked and that there are also unmarked graves. I also found it interesting that the graveyard is not registered with the state and I cannot find any records of it. Could it be because no one wants people to know what is in the cemetery?

That's all I have for the prison haunting. I left out information pertaining to the prison on purpose because it is illegal for people to trespass on the prison grounds. If caught, they are arrested and charged.