The 2025 Blood Prison Christmas Incarceration will be open Dec. 5-6 and 12-13 at the historic Ohio State Reformatory.
Blood Prison
Posted inLife and Culture
Blood Prison: The ‘inmates’ are waiting at the historic Ohio State Reformatory
MANSFIELD — The inmates will be waiting for you Friday night inside the historic Ohio State Reformatory. That’s when a prison, once dubbed “Dracula’s Castle,” throws open its frightening doors for the 10th year of Blood Prison, one of the largest Halloween haunts in the Midwest. The fright palace, which closed as a prison at […]
Posted inLife and Culture
You better watch out, you better not cry … Krampus is coming to Blood Prison
MANSFIELD — Santa Claus gets all the positive PR this time of year. Krampus ain’t happy about it, either. The horned anthropomorphic figure accompanied St. Nicholas in nocturnal visits to children, according to European Alpine folklore. Saint Nicholas rewarded well-behaved children with small gifts. Krampus punished badly behaved ones with birch rods, perhaps scaring them […]
Posted inNews
News Man Weekly: Mansfield’s ARPA plans, a new NECIC leader and Blood Prison
MANSFIELD — The 16th episode of the free News Man Weekly Podcast has dropped. In this week’s edition of the News Man Weekly podcast, Richland Source City Editor Carl Hunnell is joined by Vic Amesquita, owner of Blood Prison at the former Ohio State Reformatory. The popular Halloween haunt is open and operating every weekend […]
Posted inHalloween
Here are Ohio’s Top 24 haunted attractions
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally authored by the Ohio.org staff and published at this site. COLUMBUS – This Halloween season, TourismOhio invites thrill-seekers and ghost enthusiasts to explore 24 haunted locations across the state. From eerie state parks to historically haunted hotels, Ohio is brimming with paranormal hotspots waiting to be discovered. In celebration […]
Posted inHalloween
Step inside Blood Prison: Horror gets a high-tech upgrade at former Ohio State Reformatory
MANSFIELD — Vic Amesquita has been involved in the haunt business long enough to know one important thing. If you want to remain relevant in today’s competitive fright world, you must constantly be improving. “Working to stay in the top echelon of haunts …. that’s the challenge …. and that’s what makes it fun because […]
Posted inLife and Culture
Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival to return to Ohio State Reformatory in 2025
MANSFIELD –Another record-setting year with 75,000 fans attending three days of music, tattoos and haunted attractions has triggered the decision to bring back the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival to Mansfield in 2025. The growing event returns to the historic Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield for its seventh year July 18 to 20, 2025. Visit www.Inkcarceration.com to see the Warden’s Widow introduction video for Inkcarceration […]
Posted inLife and Culture
Column: Celebrate ‘Shawshank’ while remembering the horrors of the real OSR
Images that come to mind when you think of the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield likely depend largely on your age. Younger folks likely think of the characters of Red and Andy, Warden Norton and Capt. Hadley and the imaginative prison scenes from “The Shawshank Redemption.” Maybe you think of great music festivals at the […]
Posted inLife and Culture
2024 Inkcarceration to feature Shinedown, Godsmack & Breaking Benjamin
MANSFIELD — One of America’s most unique events — Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival — returns to historic Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield for its sixth year, July 19, 20 and 21 with a music lineup packed with top rock acts, more than 115 tattoo artists and haunted attractions. Following three consecutive years of sellouts, […]
Posted inLife and Culture
Ho, ho, hell! Blood Prison Christmas Incarceration haunt opens Dec. 8 & 9
MANSFIELD — Don’t get mad at Vic Amesquita for injecting a little fear into your holiday season. The owner of Blood Prison at the former Ohio State Reformatory on Mansfield’s north side is simply applying a bit of terrifying history into the mix of yule logs, candy canes and eggnog. And hopefully scaring the reindeer excrement […]