Haunted Places Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia T-Shirt

Standing like a forbidding fortress, the Eastern State Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia and constructed in 1829, pushed the boundaries of solitary confinement to unprecedented extremes. Inmates were subjected to a life of isolation—living, exercising, and dining alone. When they left their cells, a hood shrouded their heads, rendering them unable to see or be seen by others. However, the prison's solitary system met its demise in 1913 due to severe overcrowding, although the punishments remained harsh, including practices as extreme as chaining an inmate's tongue to their wrists. Ultimately, the penitentiary shuttered its doors for good in 1970.