.png)
.png)
By: Melody Perry
The old Montana State Prison holds a dark history, but does it have a dark secret linked to the paranormal? The Paw Print visited the now musuem to find out.
The MT State Prison website report “eerie sounds, a sudden coldness, fleeting shadows, strange mists, darting figures, unpleasant smells, and feelings of dread.” Multiple paranormal investigators have visited the location, including Ghost Lab from the Discovery Channel, and Haunted Collector by the SyFy Channel. The following history could be the cause.
Built in 1871, the prison served as the Montana Territorial Prison up until 1889, when it was switched to serve as the primary prison for the newly founded state of Montana up until 1979. The building itself has gone through many phases. The towering wall surrounding it was built using convict labor in 1893 and was finished a year later. In 1960 a gymnasium and classroom were built on a large concrete slab that still rests there today sans building. One half was used for classrooms where inmates could learn skills such as typing, and later a high school curriculum. The other half, a gym, was used for recreational activities, though according to one of the tour’s plaques the uneven concrete floor, “made for interesting basketball games.”
The women’s prison, was added after the second female convict arrived. Later, it was turned into a maximum security prison that is still explorable today.
The main building, where the 1959 riot occured, ended up housing a bakery, a kitchen, an entertainment room, showers, and most of the cells.
One of most infamous events was a riot in 1959. Led by Jerry Myles and accompanied by Lee Smart and George Alton, the riot began on April 16th, some time in the afternoon. After spilling gasoline on a guard and threatening him with a lit mop, Myles and his crew took the guard’s keys and rifle and locked him up. Other inmates in Cell Block 2 ganged up on the remaining prison guards and took them away to the basement as well. Soon, the inmates had control of nearly the entire building. This lasted for 36 tense hours of hostages, 3 deaths, and a few wounded. Eventually the National Guard was called in and launched a Bazooka into a tower in Cell Block 1. The inmates were soon captured while Myles and Clark ended their lives with a murder-suicide.
So is it haunted? From my own experiences, floors creak in the tunnel outside the entertainment room, sounding just like footsteps. Each building has a chill that settles into your skin and sticks with you hours after you’ve left. I can attest to the eeriness unexplained sounds, and a chill, but the rest is up to you to find out. You’ll just have to experience it yourself to answer that question.
The Museum is open all year except for a winter break, 9am to 6pm. Entry is about $30 for a normal tour, and $50 for a Ghost Tour.
Kommentare