It seems so counter-intuitive. If you were an ex-con finally released by the Giant Parole Board in the Sky, would you return to prison?
But dozens of ghost hunters swear they’ve seen, heard, sensed and even smelled cellblock spirits during all-night vigils at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.
The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, which leads fundraising tours of the 1886 building, also conducts the overnight Ghost Hunts. The evening begins at 9:30 "with a crash course in basic ghost hunting," says Frank Horvath, postal worker by day, ghostbuster by night. "We divide up into small groups, to get people acclimated. When we turn the lights off, it’s a whole different world. We tell newcomers to trust their intuition. If they are drawn to a certain cell or room, or feel they are being watched or followed, take pictures."
Armed with high-speed film or camcorders with night vision, hunters are free to roam the massive building, filmed in "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Air Force One."
Some hunters have spotted the silhouette known as the Shadow Man. Some report seeing an old lady in a green dress, and many visiting psychics sense the spirit of a little boy.
The apparitions are decidedly older at Fort Meigs, an important American stockade in the War of 1812. Volunteers at the restored fort, outside Perrysburg, Ohio, share ghost stories around a cluster of campfires each October.
The Garrison Ghostwalks "have a small kernel of truth about people we know who died at the site," says interpreter Tamia Land. "We go through the journals and use real names."
A skeptic, Land has yet to see a garrison ghost, but one of her colleagues says she walked to the parking lot with a soldier in an unfamiliar uniform who suddenly vanished in the night.
One interpreter had an encounter near Blockhouse 3. Now, he tosses ground tobacco into the air as he approaches, an ancient Indian offering to the gods. "He won’t say what happened," says Land, "but he won’t go there without the tobacco."
Overnight Ghost Hunts, to raise restoration funds for the Ohio State Reformatory, are set for Sept. 16 and Nov. 5 and 19. Cost is $50 per person, including pizza and soda. Participants must be 21 or older. Reservations required: 800/642-8282; www.mrps.org .
The hour-long Garrison Ghostwalks will gather at 7 p.m. Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 at Fort Meigs. The program is appropriate for children. Participants should wear sturdy shoes. Adults $7, students $2. Reservations required: 800/283-8916; www.ohiohistory.org/places/FtMeigs