The story
The Old Joliet Prison, also known as Joliet Correctional Center, opened in 1858 in Joliet, Illinois, and operated until 2002; its castle-like limestone walls, quarried and built in part by inmate labour, became familiar to a wide audience through films and television, including the opening of The Blues Brothers and the series Prison Break. After closure the deteriorating site was stabilised and is now open for guided history tours and events run by a local preservation group. More than a century of incarceration, severe overcrowding, executions in its early decades and deaths within the walls underpin its haunted reputation, and visitors and ghost-hunting groups report footsteps, disembodied voices, shadow figures, clanging and cold spots in the cell houses and yard. These accounts should be framed as visitor experiences and local legend rather than proven phenomena, and the genuine, often harsh history of the prison handled with care. Current tour schedules, events and admission should be confirmed from the official site before publishing.