The screams of young teenagers could be heard at night when entering the grounds of Mansfield State Reformatory.

It may not be the vacant prison that’s scaring them, though. According to some, it could be the ghosts that inhabit the building.

Nestled back in the dark, recessed corners of Mansfield is the Reformatory, a vacant prison built in 1886 that many people say is haunted with the ghosts of its most violent offenders.

But since the prison shut down in 1990, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society has worked to conserve both the prison itself and the spirits trapped inside.

Since then, the prison has been home to movies like “The Shawshank Redemption” and featured on FOX’s “Scariest Places on Earth.”

During the Halloween season, though, a company known as Haunted X sets up haunts in the prison.

Along with an acting crew, Haunted X’s haunt producer Myron St. John looks for guests to shock and terrify.

“In 2001, I got word that the reformatory was looking for someone to produce a haunt,” he says. “I don’t know if (MRPS) chose me to do it; it’s sort of something I came across.”

Along with experience in the horror industry, Myron also said he’s been in the entertainment business for years.

As a magician, hypnotist and rock singer for a ’50s and ’60s Las Vegas show group, Myron has more than enough entertainment experience under his belt.

And although Myron has produced ghost haunts for years, it seems every night brings some kind of new experience.

As children run past him, clinging to their fathers, Myron quietly tells of one of the many experiences he’s had with the Reformatory’s most unseen presence.

“On the third floor of this administration building, there’s a legend about the warden’s wife that was accidentally killed by a gun that fell off of the shelf,” he says. “They say you know she’s there when you smell flowers and can feel her presence.”

As the sounds of chainsaws and more high-pitched screaming escape the building, Myron – who is dressed in all black to complement his dark features – continues with his story.

“I was up on the third floor – it was about one in the morning – and I went back to unplug the lights, and as I bent down and stood up, I felt something brush across my face. As I turned, it was like a hand went out and went like this on my shoulder,” he says, as he gently brushes his hand over his right shoulder.

“I could see the outline of someone in the dark, but when I put my Maglite on it, nothing was there,” he adds.

Though Myron’s experience seems to be somewhat pleasant, other staff members say they’ve nearly been shoved down flights of stairs when no one else was around.

Other times, the prison seems to howl with screams even after the doors have been locked and lights have been turned off.

“It’s what I call an ‘acceptable phenomenon,'” Myron says. “In other words, you just get used to it and it just becomes part of the whole area.”

Now, the Reformatory adds to its haunted features with props of zombies and sound effects set off by motion detectors.

Though the month of October sees the Reformatory enhanced with such props, Myron says there is more to the prison than meets the eye.

“People like to be scared,” he says. “These are things that are like controlled scares. They know it’s fake, but at the same time, it’s a release form. You’re in a real prison, a real structure that’s one of the most haunted places in the world.”

Myron has been practicing these very scare tactics since the prison closed.

And according to him, the inside structure of the prison may have been just as scary for the inmates as it is for visitors today.

“My understanding is that around 1974, the ACLU filed a lawsuit saying it was too inhumane,” Myron says. “Once you go through it, you can see what they’re talking about. They won that suit and the state was required to build a new prison. It took them 16 years to build it and this facility closed in 1990 and has been vacant ever since.”

Through the years the Reformatory held its prisoners to present day, the building stands tall looking more like a castle than a prison.

And as children and adults exit the premises a bit uneasy and scared, the structure proves it has a story to tell through its rich history within the town.

“It doesn’t get much scarier than this,” Myron says. “What we say is come here because it’s where the supernatural meet the special effects. You will be unnerved and rattled.”

This is the third in a series of road trips designed for University students and a single tank of gas. Next month, you can find us in Windsor, Canada.