MANSFIELD — The haunted past of The Ohio State Reformatory is about to hit TV screens across the country.
The second season of GHOST BROTHERS: LIGHTS OUT kicks off on Oct. 7 with an episode focused on the Ohio State Reformatory.
The discovery+ series follows best friends and ghost hunters Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey, who bill themselves as candid and unorthodox paranormal investigators.
In each episode, the trio explores iconic haunted hotspots across the nation to find out if the legends are really true.
Dan Smith, associate director at Reformatory, confirmed the Ghost Brothers visited and filmed in February.
The trio arrived to investigate a century-old haunting, but quickly became targets of terrifying paranormal activity with more recent origins, according to an episode preview from discovery+.
Greg Feketik, lead paranormal investigator at the Reformatory, said ghostly history and activity is rampant inside the former penitentiary.
Feketik claims he once heard a scream inside the empty building. Ghost hunters have captured electronic voice phenomenon, believed to be spirit voices, on numerous occasions.
“There’s a lot of history at the museum. There’s a lot of energy there. There’s been lots of deaths — murders and suicides and natural deaths,” he said.
“A lot of the guests that come in have what they believe to be paranormal experiences there. It’s everything from being touched, seeing things, hearing things.”
Most of the spirits believed to haunt the premises are former inmates and staff.
The spirits of Art and Helen Glattke are believed to still reside there. Both lived onsite during Art’s time as superintendent from 1935 to 1959.
The Ohio State Reformatory offers ghost hunting classes and tours for beginning and experienced ghost hunters. For more information, visit the Reformatory’s website.
Helen passed away in the hospital in 1950 after a tragic accident — a gun fell from a closet shelf, discharged and shot her. Art passed away nine years later from a fatal heart attack suffered in his office.
Frank, a guard who was bludgeoned to death during an escape attempt in 1932, is said to still haunt the solitary confinement wing. Another employee, Mr. Anderson, is believed to reside near the east showers.
Feketik said there are varying theories about why a spirit might choose to stay in the earthly realm after death. Not all reasons are malicious or ill-intentioned.
Some may be scared to move on to the afterlife because of the decisions they made while alive. Other theories are that ghosts are stuck, trapped by a mysterious force, or watching over the living like a guardian angel.
Feketik believes some spirits may choose to stay because of fond memories they had in a place — which is why old schoolhouses are often haunted.
It’s unlikely that’s the case for inmates, but it may be why the ghosts of Art and Helen Glattke still appear to roam the Reformatory halls.
While February was the first time the Ghost Brothers have shot an episode at the Ohio State Reformatory, it’s not the first time they’ve been there.
Spratt, Mass and Harvey have attended previous ParaPsyCon conferences at the Reformatory. Feketik stated they’ll be back for a third conference in May.
“They are some of the nicest and funniest guys you would want to meet,” he said. “They really love their fans and they are so nice and down to earth.”
The season premiere of GHOST BROTHERS: LIGHTS OUT begins with a three episode rollout on Oct. 7. The remaining five episodes will be released in the following weeks, with one new paranormal adventure each Friday.
Other featured locations this season include legendary Bobby Mackey’s Music World nightclub and the Perron family farmhouse, which inspired the feature film “The Conjuring.”
“This might be our most active and frightening season. Things get dark!” Mass stated in a network press release.
“I almost wish we could just keep the Lights ON! LOL.”
“This is honestly the first time that I think we’ve taken things a bit too far … and that says a lot coming from me,” Spratt added.
The show is available on discovery+ discoveryplus.com, an online streaming service.
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