Exploring The Ohio State Reformatory In Mansfield, Ohio

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

I love that quote.

Do you know where it comes from?

The Shawshank Redemption. I've always been a fan of the movie. It's based off a short story called Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. When I heard they filmed some scenes in the Ohio State Reformatory, I knew I wanted to go. We were in Ohio already visiting family, and it only was an hour away.

"Can we go, Tom?" I asked. "There might be ghosts!"

Yes, it's true. Ghost Adventures has even done a lockdown there.

Tom agreed, not because he likes ghosts, but because he enjoys The Shawshank Redemption.

I knew the reformatory was huge, but as you drive up, you're amazed by how huge it truly is. It spent 94 years as a working prison.

You can go through the arch and follow signs to get tickets. For self-guided tours, it's $12 per adult, students are $10 (ages 7-college), 6 and under are free. Seniors 60+ are $10 and there is a military discount where tickets are $10. (Show an ID card to get the discount at the window.)

Guided tours are just a bit more.

We opted to do a self-guided tour. You can do a guided tour and get more information, which is neat, but I didn't think I'd be able to get as many photos. Plus, if I was curious about something, isn't that was Siri and Google are for?

If you want to do a self-guided tour and want to know more about the rooms you see, you can get an audio wand. Sometimes Siri doesn't understand, after all.

You get to see an electric chair that was used, which was both spooky and intriguing.

I loved the pattern of the floor.

And yes, there will be signs of places where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.

Hello Andy! What's up? If you dug your way out, who put the poster back up?

My kids were enthralled by the phones. "Look at these old things!" Natalie went.

The safe was in the movie! I pretended I was storing diamonds.

Andy is unimpressed with me.

The building is old (built between 1886-1910!) so yes, the paint is peeling, and some rooms are pretty sad looking. But they are restoring a lot of it. You can basically go anywhere you want in the reformatory unless there are signs or rooms blocked off. I didn't see a lot of those though. You pretty much have free reign with a self-guided tour. Not a lot of people were around us either, which was nice, so if you can, I recommend going during the week.

Hi Red!

This was the room where Red is hoping to be paroled. I thought it was neat that they had a script page from the scene. I tried to get my family to act it out, but everyone left me. I'd have made a fine Red.

Check the top part of the photo! Remember these words? (But poor Brooks!) This scene was really filmed in the prison, even though it takes place outside of the prison.

And here's the chair room. It's the only windowless room in the building. It's been said that there's an evil presence in there who doesn't like if you sit in the chair.

What did my kids do?

Sit in the chair. My son was like, "It's just a regular chair. I think this place is making up stories to make it more interesting."

Some people have claimed they've been pushed or scratched in the room if they sat in the chair.

It's so neat to walk down the different blocks. You can go into the cells.

Natalie thought it was funny to act possessed throughout our time. I'd look over and there she'd be.

I love history, so I could imagine the inmates walking around.

As I was imagining, my daughter was trying to freak me out.

Rows and rows and rows of cells.

There are dark spots, and naturally my kids wanted to explore. I was all, "I'll just stay in the light, thanks."

And there Natalie would be. Staring at me.

If you need to rest, there is a break room with vending machines:

There are also props from The Shawshank Redemption. Spoiler alert! Here's the tunnel that Andy climbed out of:

Here's the chapel!

Here's another dark room. Look at those hand prints. I was all, "Pass," and my kids walked into it.

Remember how I mentioned ghosts? Well, some people have said they've been scratched in this man's cell. Or that they've heard noises.

My kids naturally went into the cell, but weren't scratched and heard nothing strange.

Here's cell 13, the cell where an inmate set himself on fire:

The tour took us about 2 hours to finish.

I recommend it, especially if you like history. Not surprisingly, there are ghost tours, but you have to be 18, which my kids were offended over.

"We're not scared! We want to go on a ghost tour!" they protested.

They are braver than I am. I'd probably pee myself.

(Click here to learn more about the ghost tours. I'm told it's incredibly popular during September and October. Naturally.)

My daughter would probably do this throughout the ghost tour:

Don't forget to check out the gift shop! You'll find regular Ohio State Reformatory souvenirs, plus some from The Shawshank Redemption.

Also, don't forget to walk around outside.

There's this photo op near the front:

There's a gorgeous lake area where people were eating lunch. There is a small cafe inside the reformatory, but there isn't much of a selection.

So have you ever gone to the Ohio State Reformatory?

Or would you?

Have you seen The Shawshank Redemption? Are you ready to get busy living?