MANSFIELD -- The annual prison cleanup at the Ohio State Reformatory is like a treasure hunt, ghost hunt and cleaning session wrapped into one.
Nearly 85 people from all over Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan gathered at the Mansfield landmark this weekend to participate in the fourth annual event, and Scott Sukel said every moment was adventurous.
"Was there paranormal activity? Where do I even start," laughed the ghost hunt manager.
The Reformatory Road building is known nationally as being the most haunted prison in the country.
"There were several people who saw shadows. A group heard a piano playing at 4 a.m., that I've actually heard before, too," Sukel said. "We heard voices while we were cleaning. There were several paranormal groups that came out, and the founder of the one from Michigan, who has been in the business 10 to 15 years, said he had never seen a full apparition before. He was just as excited as can be because he saw one last night."
Ghosts and goblins aside, Sukel was thrilled with the progress that was made this weekend.
"We were able to do almost the entire building," he said. "We had far more help than we initially thought we would. In the past, we'd only do the east or west cell block, but probably 95 percent of the building had something done to it."
Sukel noted that anything deemed as having a historical significance was kept in the prison archive.
Joe James, 17, was one of the many volunteers who stayed the weekend.
Although several arrived at 1 p.m. Friday, James said his experience didn't begin until 9 a.m. Saturday. He left with the final group at 11 a.m. Sunday.
"First we went up to the third floor on the west wing and swept the whole floor. We had a pile of debris about 2 feet high, just full of paint chips and chunks of concrete that we had to shovel into five-gallon buckets," he said. "It was pretty cold in there. Some of the windows are broken out, and there was snow blowing in so much it was almost like working outside."
That wasn't the only challenge James faced.
"The dust was so thick in the room I had a mask on, and every time I breathed in, it would suction to my face," he said. "Between the mask and all the dust, there were times I was starting to get claustrophobic."
But James, like nearly every other volunteer, has a deep fondness for the prison and said even the uncomfortable conditions didn't scare him off.
"There are many reasons why we do this," said James, who has now participated in the annual cleanup twice. "It's an opportunity to find artifacts throughout the prison. It helps open up new areas for tours. It's good for ghost hunters because you can walk through the building without stepping on paint chips and other junk that can mess up your recordings. Plus, when people come in here and they see the building being cared for, they're more willing to donate."
It may have been cold and snowy, but Sukel said he wasn't too surprised to see so many volunteers come out to help.
"It really is the love of the building," Sukel said. "The architecture and the history is amazing. For some reason, this building just draws people to it."
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