Five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a different kind of intrigue, one worth checking out this Halloween.
The Eastern State Penitentiary is the site of Terror Behind the Walls, now into its 18th Halloween season. The 11-acre, 179 year-old compound of decaying cellblocks and abandoned guard towers sets a suitably sinister tone for a Haunted House.
Just earlier this month, Terror Behind the Walls was ranked as the No. 1 Haunted House in America.
"To be chosen by AOL City Guide as the number one haunted attraction in the country is the pinnacle achievement for a haunted attraction," wrote Timothy Gavinski, president of the International Association of Haunted Attractions on the group's Web site. "The AOL list represents the best of the best and this top honor is rightly deserved by Eastern State Penitentiary's Terror Behind the Walls."
According to Sean Kelley, program director at the Penitentiary, visitors to this year's show will enjoy a brand new introduction.
There are five different haunted attractions to the show, and all focus on prison life.
These range from a 3-D segment known as "The Experiment," in which a prison doctor's examination has gone awry, to the "Night Watch" of total darkness, where guests must navigate back hallways of the Penitentiary by flashlight.
New features to the show this year include more animatronic props, high-tech effects and even large props from Transformers 2, which filmed two different scenes there last June. Cars from the movie will also be included in the exhibit.
Of course, a show is incomplete without its cast, and training for the team of 150 actors began in early fall.
They provide spooks from the get-go: "Our best actors are the ones who are out on the sidewalk. They're small people hiding amongst the plants, they're stealthy and sneaky and they disturb the people lining up for tickets," Kelley said.
Inside, actors have built-in hiding places, some overhead and some underground. The show has a new theatrical director, so the old spooks may not be where they once were.
As such, Kelley has this promise: "They'll come at you when you least expect it. Be prepared."
This event runs on select evenings through Sunday, and tickets range from $20 to $30, depending on the day.
