Real Haunted House
The Handprint in Cell 17
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
By Shannon Reinbold-Gee
Carbon County Jail/Old Jail Museum, Jim Thorpe (PA)
In the modern-day town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania there is a small jail cell with an apparently long memory. Cell 17 of the Carbon County Jail bears a testament to one man’s innocence in the form of a single handprint on the wall. On “The Day of the Rope” (June 21, 1877) ten men were hanged because they fought for better treatment and better working conditions for their people. One of them, a bold ringleader named Alexander Campbell placed his hand upon the wall and swore it’d stay there as proof of his innocence.
It has.
Once a rag-tag group of Irish immigrants terrorized the coalmine country of Pennsylvania, and for good reason. Times were hard and the Irish—the newcomers trying to survive the Potato Famine and political hardships—had wrongly believed America would welcome them. Instead, they got sucked into the vicious drudgery of working the coalmines in northeastern Pennsylvania and thousands of men, and the boy children working beside them, died as a result.
The coal regions of Pennsylvania bear the scars of those desperate days, some places continue to seep twisting, smoky ghost-like wisps from the ground as fires still burn in the tunnels and shafts far below the surface. It makes for a haunting scene, and there are more reasons than just physical sparks and flames.
Living in tiny houses and knowing they owed everything they earned to “the company store” grated on the proud Irish. Through legal means they established the Worker’s Benevolent Association and made small progress, the group being shut down by the powerful railroad magnates and coal companies who stood to profit from gouging the public with high fuel costs. Public opinion was easy to turn against the Irish and quickly the very coal miners who were dying of “black lung” as they struggled to pay their bills were getting blamed for the rising cost of coal. The companies took advantage of the situation, reducing workers’ wages by 20%.
Hard workers, but not ones to play the submissive, the Irish organized and took on the name “Molly Maguires” (also supposedly using the “The Ancient Order of the Hibernians” as a front for their activities). They did whatever they could without any political power of their own to make change happen. Desperate times quickly led to desperate (and sometimes illegal) measures and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (under Franklin B. Gowen) sent a Pinkerton Detective to worm his way into the organization, gain their trust and bring them down.
The Pinkerton (James McPharlan, a.k.a. Jamie McKenna) was very successful. He befriended the Mollies and in the course of 3 years he gathered (and in some key cases supposedly fabricated) enough evidence to bring down some of the most important men in the area. One of them was Alexander Campbell. On the day he was hanged, Campbell again claimed his innocence and rested his hand on the wall of Cell 17, swearing his handprint would forever remain as a sign of his innocence. He was forcibly removed and hanged on the gallows built for the occasion.
His handprint still remains. Sheriffs have tried to remove it over the years, but to no avail. They’ve tried cleaning it off, painting it over and even tearing down the wall and rebuilding a new one. Regardless of their method, the handprint returns as if seeping through from another dimension.
Today the jail has been closed and is known as the Old Jail Museum. Tours are run regularly and the story of Alexander Campbell is still told to the amazed tourists. Some visitors still report an eerie sensation lingering in Cell 17. Could it be some small sense of satisfaction still sticks to the wall with the handprint as Campbell’s ghost observes the scene, a true testament to one man’s innocence?
16 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »
16 Comments |
Sara says: |
October 28, 2008, 5:19 pm |
let me know how it goes it seem very interesting
Michele says: |
October 30, 2008, 1:50 pm |
I was there 2 years ago. Very worth seeing. The whole place is creepy and feels haunted. The handprint is weird- you can see where they tried to paint and plaster it over. (fyi-no photos allowed)
JB says: |
October 31, 2008, 11:34 pm |
Grew up in the area. This is a site to see!! Scientists from around the world can not figure out what causes the handprint. They have made several attempts to remove it, and it always comes back.
JB says: |
October 31, 2008, 11:36 pm |
BTW….last time I was there, you could take pics, they just don’t let anyone in the cell any more. I always show my friends the pics I have of the hand print!!
Emma says: |
November 7, 2008, 9:26 am |
well,i went there 2 years ago and i have to tell you it was freaky,i wonder if they think that something will happen if you take a picture thats why they tried to cover it up.theres got to be a reason why it keeps coming back,maybe trieing to get rid of it made something or someone mad.
lizette says: |
February 3, 2009, 2:10 pm |
it sounds like someone is just putting it on their and it might be some one working their
charles christman says: |
March 22, 2009, 9:00 am |
very scary,from the front door and back!anyone who says it isn’t haunted,does not have any sensitivities.I enjoyed it immensely…..looking forward to seeing it again…very soon!!Thanks…..
jeanne says: |
April 18, 2009, 10:14 pm |
My family and I have visited a couple of times. Me, only once. Couldn’t finish. Got nauseous and couldn’t breathe. Choking feeling. The owner said thats because of the hangings. Yikes. I start to hyperventilate just when I pull into parking lot, to drop people off. Have to park up street, so i can breathe. I’m not a drama queen, but this is freaking real! You just FEEL the misery and sadness and hopelessness.
Kevin says: |
June 7, 2009, 2:06 pm |
I used to live near Jim Thorpe and drove by the jail every now and then. I never got the chance to actually see it, but I have heard tons of stories. Now I live in TX and there is a similar story for Galveston. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has a face imprinted onto the wall of the exterior. Its very well-known down here. And it is DEFINITELY a story to look into. They have tried removing the panel of the wall with the face, but it comes back on the panel below. I recommend researching this if you enjoyed the handprint.
Matt M says: |
August 21, 2009, 12:50 pm |
I would love to investigate this place but they want 100$ a hour with a minimum of 2 hours and you cant stay past 11 pm lol Oh yea you also cant go in the cell with the print! 
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August 26, 2009, 11:34 am |
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Nikkie says: |
September 13, 2009, 10:54 am |
heyy!! this place sounds really cool going to bring my freinds to see it.
Love scary places. 
geri says: |
October 25, 2009, 6:26 pm |
We went there 2 years ago and I have to tell you, this place is creepy to the max. Plus I took several photos inside when the lights were very dim and you can see orbs (bright green swirls) all over the place. Very haunted
kevin says: |
December 16, 2009, 3:44 pm |
i belive that
melody says: |
December 25, 2009, 3:58 pm |
yes very scary really scared me when i couldnt run cuz i had to pee
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Chea says:
October 21, 2008, 11:33 am
this is so freaky and seems to be very haunted. Me and my friends are going here to see the cell.