Generation Why Podcast

Today, Eastern State Penitentiary is best known as a museum that strives to educate the public on the criminal justice system, but it was once considered one of the most revolutionary prisons of its time. Built around the ideas of penance, reflection, and reform, the prison was designed to keep inmates in solitary confinement in the hope that they would reflect on their crimes and change their ways. And over the years, it housed infamous criminals, including Chicago gangster Al Capone and notorious bank robber Willie Sutton. But there are also accounts of paranormal activity. In this episode, we will be talking about the prison and its history.

In December 1900, three Scottish lighthouse keepers seemingly vanished without a trace from a remote island called Eilean Mór. When a fourth keeper arrived at the isolated station to relieve one of his colleagues from his post, he was startled to find an entirely empty stone structure devoid of life. What happened at the lighthouse, and where were the keepers?

On Halloween in 2008, residents of the Valley View apartment complex in Redmond, WA, hosted a Halloween party. Guests were free to move between different units, each with their unique themes such as a 60’s lounge, a pirate-themed room, a winter wonderland, and a haunted forest. More than two dozen people attended the party, mingling and moving from one apartment to the next. However, tragedy struck the Valley View apartment complex when a woman was found dead in her apartment in the early morning hours of November 3rd. So, what happened that night and who killed Arpana Jinaga?

January 2nd, 1972. The Pierre Hotel, New York City. In the early morning hours, a black limo pulled up to the entrance of the Pierre Hotel. A man stepped out and told the security guard he was a registered guest. A group of armed robbers then held the security guards, hotel staff, and several guests hostage while they robbed the hotel of millions of dollars worth of jewelry and cash. The Pierre Hotel Heist was later listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history.

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