I Spent the Night on Death Row at Boise’s Old Idaho Penitentiary. Then Something Strange Happened.
I’ve spent the night in a couple of Idaho’s supposedly haunted locations over the years. And while I’m still not convinced ghosts exist, there was one night at Boise’s Old Idaho State Penitentiary that ended with something I still can’t explain.
It wasn’t something that happened in the middle of the night, either. It happened at almost exactly 7:30 the next morning, while we were broadcasting our morning radio show from death row.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Spending the Night at Boise’s Haunted Old Idaho Penitentiary
A year after taking listeners on an overnight ghost hunt at the historic Long Branch Station in Nampa, we decided to take our paranormal adventures to another level.
READ MORE: I Spent the Night in Nampa’s Haunted Longbranch Station
This time, we were spending the night at the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise.
I’ve always loved the Old Pen. The history, the incredible sandstone architecture, the cell blocks, and the stories behind those walls make it one of my favorite historic places in Idaho.
And, of course, there’s its reputation for being haunted.
We brought along a group of listeners, set up camp in the death row area near the old gallows, and prepared to spend the night exploring one of Idaho’s most notorious historic locations.
The plan was to investigate throughout the night and then broadcast our morning show live from the prison beginning at 6 a.m.
What could possibly go wrong?
The Ghost Stories Behind Boise’s Old Idaho Penitentiary
The Old Idaho Penitentiary operated from 1872 until 1973. During those 101 years, thousands of prisoners passed through its gates.
There were riots, escapes, violence, and executions. According to the Idaho State Historical Society, approximately 129 deaths were recorded at the prison during its operation and with that much history comes plenty of ghost stories.
Visitors have reported hearing unexplained voices, feeling something touch them, and experiencing strange sensations throughout the prison.
Two areas frequently mentioned in paranormal accounts are Siberia, the prison’s solitary confinement cells, and the Gallows Room in the Maximum Security building.
The Gallows Room was the site of the 1957 execution of Raymond Snowden, the only prisoner executed in that particular room.
It’s also where we decided to spend the night.
Searching for Ghosts Inside Idaho’s Most Famous Prison
Throughout the night, we explored the prison, took pictures, and listened for anything unusual and naturally, some of those pictures became the subject of plenty of speculation.
People spotted what they believed were ghostly orbs, strange shapes, and mysterious images.
Me? I called them tricks of light. I’m not saying other people didn’t see something they couldn’t explain. I’m just saying that nothing we photographed convinced me we’d captured a ghost.
Still, it was an incredible experience. Walking through those old cell blocks after dark, knowing the history of the place, certainly gives you a different perspective.
I was having a blast, but the strangest part of our adventure was still to come.
READ MORE: Why This Skeleton-Covered Jeep Drives Around Boise At Halloween
The Unexplained 7:30 A.M. Incident at Boise’s Old Pen
At 6 a.m., we fired up the equipment and started broadcasting our morning show live from death row. Everything was working perfectly.
We talked about our overnight adventure, shared stories, and continued broadcasting from one of the most unusual locations we’d ever done a morning show.
Then, at almost exactly 7:30 a.m., everything went wrong. We suddenly went off the air, because our broadcast equipment had stopped working.
Here’s the strange part: We still had electrical power, but we weren’t broadcasting anymore.
Our engineers back at the radio station couldn’t explain what had happened. We tried to get things working again, but eventually we had no choice. We packed everything up as quickly as possible, headed back to the station, and finished the morning show from our regular studios.
And, of course, everyone had a theory.
Had something paranormal interfered with our equipment?
Was there some perfectly reasonable technical explanation that we simply couldn’t identify?
To this day, I don’t know.
Is Boise’s Old Idaho Penitentiary Really Haunted?
I’m still a skeptic. I love a good ghost story, and I’ve certainly had some interesting experiences exploring supposedly haunted places around Idaho, but I’m not ready to say that ghosts caused our equipment to fail that morning.
What I can say is that our broadcast suddenly stopped, we still had power, and nobody could give me a definitive explanation. After spending an entire night looking for something paranormal, having that happen while broadcasting from death row was pretty darn funny.
Maybe the ghosts just didn’t like our morning show!
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, I absolutely recommend visiting the Old Idaho Penitentiary. It’s one of Boise’s most fascinating historic attractions, and the stories behind those walls are worth experiencing.
As for me?
I’ve spent the night on death row at the Old Idaho Penitentiary and while I didn’t see a ghost, something certainly didn’t want us staying on the air that morning.
Or at least that’s the story I’m sticking with!
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