CLEARFIELD – From the day its doors first opened in 1872, the Old Clearfield County Jail in Clearfield Borough has held a macabre fascination for residents and out-of-town visitors for centuries.
According to various historical newspaper articles, the land where the old jail was built had been donated by William Bigler in 1870 and construction began in 1871.
The jail consisted of six cells on the ground level and six additional cells connected by a suspended catwalk.
The jail also had “the hole,” which consisted of several cells in the basement level that had been used for prisoners who were put in solitary confinement.
By 1983, the jail was closed and the remaining prisoners were moved to a different facility.
During the 111 years the jail was in operation, at least one murder was committed within its walls, there were several escapes, deaths from natural causes, suicides and even hangings.
The jail held men, women and even juveniles. One notable prisoner was Jennie Galley, who was convicted in 1937 of murdering her two daughters with a hammer. Galley was later sent to the Warrant State Mental Hospital, where she committed suicide in 1949.
With such a dark, sordid history, it’s no wonder that the old jail has often been the subject of tales of hauntings and paranormal activity.
On Friday, paranormal researchers from Mo-Valley Paranormal hosted a “lock-down” event at the old jail, where fans of all things dark and spooky had the opportunity to participate in an actual paranormal investigation.
According to their Facebook page, Mo-Valley Paranormal was founded Aug. 1, 2012, and the members use state-of-the-art paranormal investigating equipment to conduct their investigations.
“We are dedicated to taking the fear away from the unknown,” Tyson Lidgett, founder and lead investigator, said. “We conduct our investigations in a scientific way to eliminate any natural causes. Sometimes there’s a logical explanation for what’s going on.”
Lidgett said over the past four years, he and the eight other investigators in the group have conducted investigations in the jail, a funeral home, the Rowland Theatre in Philipsburg and a home in Philipsburg, which had served as a hospital.
To become an investigator with the group, Lidgett said candidates are interviewed by three, senior investigators and then are interviewed by Lidgett. If approved, the candidate then works as an apprentice for a year, learning to operate the equipment and how to conduct investigations in a professional manner.
About 50 people turned out for Friday’s lock-down. Mo-Valley Paranormal tries to hold a lock-down event each year around Halloween. Lidgett said the lock-downs are held from 10 p.m.-4 a.m. The participants are given EMF meters and must sit quietly in the dark to wait for any contact.
“We can never guarantee there will be any activity, but the jail is a place where we’ve had activity before,” Lidgett said. “We’ve had voices, shadow figures, touching.”
When addressing the group, Lidgett warned the participants to be patient and as quiet as possible, as 85 percent of paranormal activity is auditory.
But it wasn’t all tales of terror. Before breaking into two groups, one heading to the upper cell-block and the second conducting their investigation in the basement, the participants played a little Halloween Trivia and those answering questions correctly won prizes.
“We try to be community-oriented, Lidgett said. “We’re a self-funded group and over the past four years, we’ve been able to donate about $20,000 back to the community.”
For more information, visit Mo-Valley Paranormal on Facebook, call 814-441-1898 or e-mail at movalleyparanormal@yahoo.com.