The History and Hauntings of the Missouri State Penitentiary, Part One | Grave Talks CLASSIC
The Grave Talks | Haunted, Paranormal & Supernatural
Ghost Stores, Haunted, Paranormal & Supernatural Stories
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE!
For nearly two centuries, Missouri State Penitentiary loomed over Jefferson City as one of the most feared prisons in America. Opened in 1836, the massive stone fortress housed generations of violent criminals, witnessed countless deaths, and became infamous for brutal conditions that eventually earned it the nickname “the bloodiest 47 acres in America.”
Riots, murders, executions, and decades of human suffering left a permanent mark on the prison’s history. Even after the penitentiary finally closed in 2004, many believe the darkness inside never truly disappeared.
Today, former guards, tour guides, paranormal investigators, and visitors report unsettling activity throughout the prison’s abandoned corridors. Shadow figures appear near empty cells. Voices echo through buildings long after everyone has left. Many who walk the prison grounds describe an overwhelming feeling that they are being watched by something they cannot see.
Ghost tour guide Jenny Switzer joins us to explore the terrifying history and lingering hauntings of Missouri State Penitentiary.
f you’d like more information about tours and investigations, or if you’d like to read up on some of its notorious prisoners and history, visit missouripentours.com
#MissouriStatePenitentiary #HauntedPrison #JeffersonCity #ParanormalPodcast #GhostStories #HauntedHistory #PrisonHauntings #TheGraveTalks #ShadowFigures #HauntedMissouri
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today on The Grave Talks, a conversation about the history and the hauntings of the Missouri State Penitentiary. |
| 0:12.6 | The Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City has a long and dark history. |
| 0:21.1 | It operated as a prison for 168 years and was the oldest continually running prison west of |
| 0:28.3 | the Mississippi until they closed its doors in 2004. |
| 0:33.5 | Numerous injuries and deaths and a significant inmate riot in 1954 prompted Time magazine to dub the prison as the bloodiest 47 acres in America. |
| 0:47.6 | Today, guides and visitors report lots of paranormal activity. |
| 0:52.3 | Apparitions, strange sounds, and creepy feelings permeate the historic hallways. |
| 0:58.6 | Apparently, many prisoners and even guards never left. |
| 1:06.3 | Today, a conversation about the history and the hauntings of the Missouri State Penitentiary |
| 1:12.0 | with Ghost Tour Guide, Jenny Switzer. |
| 1:18.1 | Jenny, tell me what you do there at the penitentiary. |
| 1:21.4 | I am on the night side of things. |
| 1:25.1 | We do the two-hour guided ghost tours, and then we also do |
| 1:29.1 | ghost hunts and then overnight paranormal investigation. If you see a picture of it, |
| 1:35.2 | you just know that is a haunted building. Yes. It's quite ominous. You know, I moved here when I was three, pretty much lived here my entire life, and I tell people all the time. |
| 1:50.5 | It was just part of our lives, you know, as kids. |
| 1:53.5 | It was there. |
| 1:54.7 | You knew it was there, and you knew it was a maximum security penitentiary, but you really just didn't understand what was going on inside. |
| 2:05.2 | I say if there's anywhere that should be haunted, it is the Missouri State Penitentiary. |
| 2:11.9 | So construction began in 1834. |
| 2:16.3 | I heard the first inmate was there by 1836. |
| 2:21.9 | This penitentiary was in use for a very long time. |
... |
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