old Carbon County Prison

The Haunting

Jim Thorpe - The old Carbon County Prison was last used in 1995. There have been numerous reports of unexplained phenomena at the prison in recent years. The most famous ghost story associated with the prison is the hand print left in a cell by a man wrongfully accused of being a member of the Molly Maguires. The Molly Maguires were a group of disgruntled miners in the 1870's who used violence as a means to bring about change in the corrupt mining industry. Several men were accused, arrested, and eventually hanged at the prison for being Molly Maguires. On the eve of his execution, a man who proclaimed his innocence ran his hand along the dirty floor of his cell and made an impression of his hand on the wall, claiming the impression would always remain as proof of his innocence. The next day, he was hung and the hand print was washed away. Three days later, the print reappeared. As legend has it, the wall has been repeatedly washed and painted, but the hand print always returns. The wall was supposedly even ripped down and re-plastered, but the hand print returned yet again. The prison is now opened to tourist, but the cell with the hand print is off limits. Visitors can still view the print through the cell door, though.