If you’re looking for the spookiest — and possibly most haunted — places to visit, here’s our pick of 10 of the scariest places to visit, even during the daytime!! Take a tour of the spooky MidAtlantic states — or if you dare to go see the ghosts and ghouls and more yourself, check out […]
Philadelphia
12 Urban Oases To Escape To!
When the urban jungle becomes too much for us, we naturally seek an oasis of peace and calm amidst the asphalt and pandemonium. I’ve found twelve surprising urban oases offering us the promise of lovely vistas, green relief, or a pleasant walk. These are all near or in major cities in the mid-Atlantic region: Pittsburgh, […]
Chanticleer Gardens Offers a Profusion of Delight
Chanticleer Garden is a 48-acre botanical garden built on the grounds of the Rosengarten estate, which was built in 1912 as a “summer cottage” for Christine Penrose and Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., owner of a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company specializing in producing quinine. The garden isn’t as old as the estate — it’s only 30 years old, […]
Ghost Hunting at Eastern State Penitentiary
Photo Courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary; photographerTom Bernard By day, Eastern State Penitentiary is a museum dedicated to educating the public about the history of both the penitentiary itself and incarceration in America. By night, it is a ghost hunter’s dream: shadowy figures, mysterious laughter, and footsteps have all been reported. EVPs are not uncommon. (EVP […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Update
I first visited Eastern State Penitentiary about 10 years ago, and wrote about it in MidAtanticDayTrips in 2014, several years after the actual visit. It haunted me then, and still does. Even as the cell blocks high arched ceilings evoke a cathedral-like reverence, the cells still hold their secrets, and they’re not giving them up. […]
Museum of the American Revolution
How much do you really know about the Revolutionary War? While touring the Museum of the American Revolution, I learned some things I hadn’t known (or had forgotten since my high school US history class) and untangled some deeply held misconceptions from actual history. Perhaps I should have paid better attention… And that’s why this […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Photo Safari
Refining the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail, Eastern State Penitentiary emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment and was operational from 1829 to 1971. Eastern State finally closed its doors in 1971, after 142 years in use, and has since been named a National Historic Landmark. The former […]
Gotta Catch Them All: 11 Best Places to Play Pokemon Go
With multiple Pokéstops and Pokégyms, 1. Columbia’s four lakes in Howard County, MD, offer Pokémon Go players great game play in a pleasant, shaded setting that belies its urban location. Proximity to water also ensures you’ll catch plenty of magikarp as you collect what you need to evolve a gyarados. 2. Downtown Pittsburgh has hundreds […]
Disturbingly Informative, Not for the Faint of Heart
I finally got to visit the Mutter Museum, in Philadelphia. I’ve wanted to visit it for a couple of years, but something always intervened with my plans to do so. Finally, the stars aligned a few weeks ago; I wrote this post the same day I’d visited, so the reactions are very real, but raw. […]
My Top 7 Haunted Places
Periodically I’ll post my top picks. Links to the original posts will be embedded in the text. Let me know what you think of this new blog feature!My Top 7 Haunted Places the Blog Has Accidentally Visited*7. Fort FrederickHistorical reenactors in the fort have frequently reported a presence or hostile feelings coming from the front right […]