The Shawshank Trail

It has been a very long day and I won't say too much tonight about the many stories I've collected on my trip this week, but I do want to share a little of how much I've enjoyed my day.  I began my exploration of Mansfield, Ohio today with a day of touring The Shawshank Trail.   The Shawshank Trail is a tour of all the places that were used in the filming of the movie, The Shawshank Redemption.  The Shawshank Redemption, based on the novel by Stephen King, is the story of one man's overwhelming strength of spirit in the face of almost insurmountable odds.  The main character, Andy, is falsely imprisoned, tortured and raped in prison, and yet still finds a way to carry on and escape.   The movie is shot mostly in the breathtaking Ohio Reformatory.    The Reformatory is hauntingly beautiful and just haunted.   After touring the reformatory today,  I was left wanting more.  They do offer all night ghost hunting trips and ghost tours of this amazing facility and I think that it would be worth an extra trip later to participate in one of these activities.  There were many corners of the reformatory that our little group missed and several ghost stories I didn't catch in the rush to see more.   Yet, just being in the reformatory carried a sense of history and mystery so deep it pulled me in and left me longing for more study.  
After the reformatory, The Shawshank Trail took us to many other locations.  We went to Pugh cabin where Andy dreamt of killing his wife.  We saw the tree where Red found his salvation and enough money to carry him away from his life.   We had a lovely meal at an old Carriage house on Malabar Farm, a location famous for its history and ghosts.  We even went to the haunted and beautiful Renaissance Theater where the premier for Shawshank Redemption was.  

Although I haven't completed my tour of Mansfield or The Shawshank Trail, I have to say that Mansfield is a lovely, little town for those who love ghost stories and Stephen King.  It is also a great vacation for people looking for haunting locations that are just off the beaten path.   There is a quiet in the autumn leaves here that calls for further exploration and helps you understand why this small town has been visited by so many ghost hunters and used for so many movies.   Mansfield has many hauntings in its quiet corners and holds a beauty that the larger, more touristy cities lack.  Of course, I always forget something when I travel, and this trip I forgot my camera cord so I can't post any photographs of my trip until tomorrow, but I think when I do the pictures will say a thousand words.  

Reviewing Ursula Bielski's Haunted Chicago Tours

Anyone who reads Haunt Jaunts on a regular basis probably knows that I am not great at making haunted tours work.  I wrote a blog for her on all the things not to do while traveling and planning a ghost tour.  This trip to Chicago, however,  I made it work.  I went on Haunted Chicago's Ghost Tour.  I was a bit disappointed I didn't get to ride on the wonderful black ghost tour bus, but I was excited none the less to see the dark side of Chicago.

Chicago does have a deep, dark side.  The best part of this tour was the history.  Chicago's history of gangsters and fire leaves a mark of sorrow in the city that lends itself to hauntings.  Our tour guide, Tommy was very knowledgeable about the history of the city and told the stories and history very well.   I was a bit surprised by the two tour guides, because other tours I've been on in the past have had a touch of theatricality about them.  In New Orleans,  our guide looked like something out of interview with a vampire.  Tommy, our guide, was just a guy.    I did have several issues with poor Tommy.   I hate to say bad things about people, but Tommy spent quite a bit of time talking about his theories behind hauntings.   He encouraged picture taking and told travelers that every orb in ever picture was proof positive of hauntings.  He said this tour must bring out the ghosts because everyone was getting so many orbs in their pictures.  Never mind that it's fall and pollen season and that most people believe orbs are actually a product of dust and other particulate in digital photography.   He didn't mention any of these things.  He just said we were all very good ghost photographers.  

Other theories Tommy supports are that haunted cities are "always" by water.   I have heard many haunting theories and surely this one intuitively makes sense, but since I love to follow desert haunted explorers Above the Norm and Autumn Forest I know that there are ample hauntings in the desert and being by a large body of water is not prerequisite. Since I've also travelled quite a bit and looked at haunted locations all over the country and some in other countries,  I know there are many amazing haunted cities that are not on water.  Also,  I enjoy the presentation of theory, but Tommy discussed all of his theories as if they were fact.  He didn't say I believe or according to legend.  He didn't mention there were other theories he merely states, "All haunted cities are located on water."  Tommy had many theories like this he discussed during the tour.  He discussed negative vortexes and other things as if every "ghost hunter"  believed and knew these things as fact.  I did try to talk to Tommy after the tour to try to clarify some of the statements he made or get a feel for why he was so vehement about his beliefs, but he literally ran away from me when I tried to talk to him.  He jumped on the bus and closed the door.  Maybe it was my third eye or I had something on my nose, who knows.

Despite my issues with Tommy,  the tour was nice.  It had some wonderful stops and I got some amazing pictures of Hull House.  I really enjoyed the depth of history on the tour and the choice of stops.  I will be writing about many of these stops this week.  All in all, it was a fun tour,  I just wish I'd gotten a different guide.

My favorite stops that I will go over more this week include:

1.  The City Cemetery:  The remains of a relocated cemetery that still may house unmoved bodies is now a park.  During the great fire many people burned to death in open graves while trying to escape the flames.

2.  Hull House:  Always fun, this haunted location mixes legend with fact to create a wonderful stop.

3.  Excalibur Nightclub:   Beautiful old building with a fascinating history

4.  John Hancock Center:  This was the inspiration for the building in Ghostbusters and you can get drinks there.

5.  Site of Eastland Disaster:  Tragic disaster resulting in 844 deaths left  many ghosts behind.

The picture below is  from Hull House.  Lots of ghostly activity on the stairs I think, but I open to other interpretations.