SPECIAL REPORTS: Yuma Territorial Prison Haunts

Reporter Madeline Murray spoke with some of the staff who share the paranormal history of the prison.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - Spooky season is here and why not celebrate the season with one the most haunted destinations in the nation, which is right here in our own backyard.

The Yuma Territorial Prison (YTP) has a dark history of housing some of the west's most ruthless criminals, but it also has a haunted past, so what kind of paranormal things have people seen in this prison?

"Over the years, I've been so many stories and always say that there's fiction fact and myth and sometimes they all converge and it's the stories that we've heard that maybe I gained a little bit of mythology to them things like that and some things that seem to be sincere and we're really brutal," Ace Crye, YTP manager.

The prison was opened July 1, 1876 and was in operation for 33 years, housing 3,069 prisoners, and while the prison is known for its encapsulating history exhibits of the wild west, it's also recognized for its paranormal activity, some believe is tied to the restless spirits who lived and died behind these very walls.

"If you're into paranormal those leave reminisce…I mean when you have that much death here….I think people leave something maybe," Crye expressed.

A lot of the prisoners died from illness, or snake bites, but others died in more violent ways.

The prison holds stories of brutal murders such as a female prisoner, who stabbed a man in the heart, a sister who took a shotgun and killed her own brother, and even prisons breaks that turned deadly.

As punishment, some prisoners were sent to the dark cell, otherwise known as the hellhole which was a cage inside of a cave said to drive men insane.

Prisoners would be stripped to their underwear chained to the floor, fed once a day, no bathroom, with a hole in the ceiling where guards would drop scorpions and snakes into the dark cell.

All these stories lead to the ghosts tales that haunt the prison and the staff.

Crye said he's heard whispers and witnessed chairs moved right after he put them away.

"And then you think I know I did that and you're like well. Did somebody else come in? Is somebody playing a trick on me? And then you realize that I'm the only one here," Crye remarked.

The staff at the prison said during the day everything seems normal, but when the lights go off thats when the ghosts come out to play.

The paranormal activity has such an effect on that staff that one volunteer in particular goes out of her way to greet the spirits that live in the cells before she starts her shift.

Katherine Cargos, YTP volunteer, said, "I always go through and greet them because I know that they're still here and they are part of this prison."

One of her favorite stories is a time where she was giving a tour to a group of people, as she was waiting in a cell to scare them something was trying to push her outside.

"All I felt was icy fog not let me know any further. It just kind of held me there and so the group went by. I did my boo I stepped out and that was it I was I'm done it kind of flew out of that cell and I was done for the rest of the night and drink. It was very draining," said Cargos.

Other workers like Junior Valle, a YTP guest services representative, said it feels as if someone was right behind them.

"Turn off all the lights...When I'm heading out, I feel like someone's blowing into the side of my ear and I'm not really like superstitious or anything like that, but that was probably like one thing...I was like okay that's just a bit odd," Valle explained.

But despite all the ghost takes staff say, if your a historian or a paranormalist, your going to love the prison, which is admired by the community and one of the most visited places in Yuma County.

"I believe it's a uniqueness here and I believe it could be very scary but I choose to believe if there's something here and if they're alive here then they just want you to know they're here. They're not looking to hurt you but they're looking to let you know, they still live here and by the way, that’s my cell," Crye said.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing is certain YTP has creepy stories passed down throughout the years, and for those who dare to step inside after dark, you may just leave with a haunting story of your own.