The Old Blackford County Jail

The Old Blackford County Jail is a popular paranormal hotspot in Hartford City, Indiana. Many investigative teams have stayed the night, including several TV crews, and none, it seems, have left disappointed. The evidence page on their website is teeming with unsettling EVPs (each credited to the team that found it), some of which are startlingly clear. If you’re looking to spook yourself, put on a pair of good headphones and listen to the EVPS here. Seance Sisters and the Friday Night Paranormal crew will be investigating soon and we hope to find our own evidence.

History of the jail has been a little tricky to unearth. So much of it is presented within the context of his hauntings that it has been hard to find a completely objective report. The location does historical tours for locals during certain times of year and the proceeds go to continue with it’s preservation.  The Old Blackford County Jail website basically only gives the following information:

• it was established in 1879 and was an active jail until 1995.
• John Dillinger was held here at some point.
• It’s incredibly haunted

I also found a page by the Ghost Research Society  which claimed that no one ever escaped from this jail due to it’s granite ceilings, floors and walls, each of which was 8ft thick.  You can see their findings here.

I’m curious if the granite used to secure the jail could be contributing to it’s hauntings via the Stone Tape Theory.  While not exactly scientific, this is a popular ‘theory’ in the paranormal community that supposes that certain rocks such as quartz and limestone, can have the ability to ‘record’ traumatic events or heightened emotions. This would account for residual hauntings (hauntings that occur at regular intervals, with the same occurrence: seemingly non-intelligent and habitual). The stones are simply replaying events that somehow had their energies recorded in them. While very interesting, there is little verifiable science in involved.

We’re curious to find out ourselves! It seems that we are very likely to have some kind of experience here. Wish us luck and keep a look out for our post-investigation follow-up!

xoxo

Jordan