STRANGE PRISON STORIES

Shannon News, 3 August 1926, Page 4

STRANGE PRISON STORIES

NEW YORK’S UNDERWORLD. MEN’S GAY LIFE IN GAOL. America’s tidal wave of crime has turned public attention to the grim Bastille of the Underworld known as Sing sing Prison. On one hand one hears tales of the luxury lives of the inmates, and on the other hand of the hair-raising adventures with a ghost that roams inside' the prison at night, terrifying warders and prisoners alike. According vo the stories current the “spook” of Sing Sing is a tall, gaunt figure, with contracted features suggesting the result of execution in the electric chair. The ghost is alleged to walk the corridors of the prison almost nightly, but when the warders run to the spot it vanishes and leaves no trace. There are prosaic folk who say that the whole tiling is cither a delusion of the warders or the outcome of a, clever practical joke, resulting from the laxity in the prison that permits almost unrestricted movement to some of the inmates. But others profess to see something more than an illusion, for without showing what the warders have seen, prisoners, in their, cells, have reported the passing of the stranger (along the corridor and of furtive peeps as lie passed. All agree that he wears lie prison garb, and that it is the garb of ten years ago at least, rather than that of to-day. Men have heard the mystery man sighing outside their cells, and blood-curd-ling noises as he passed. Bell Rings in Death Cell. Many of the prisoners have been removed to. the infirmary, suffering from nerves, caused by the uncanny listurbances during the night. One if the manifestations of the ghostly /isitation is the regular ringing of ilie bell in the cell occupied by those destined for electrocution. Repeatedly this has happened, and warders who have rushed to the spot have found no explanation. Higher authorities treat the matter so seriously that a commission of investigation has been sent to the prison to solve the mystery.

On the first night, when the investigators took up their position at the point agreed on as the moat likely for the “spook's” appearance, it was suddenly reported from another part of the prison, and when th e commissioners hurried to the scene the ghostly prowler turned up in yet another part of the building, and so terrified a warder that ke had to go off duty. According to this man. he was at ihe end of one of the corridors leading- from the condemned cell when he saw the figure appear at the opposite end and move toward him, beckoning as it came. Half-way along the corridor the figure seemed to disappear through the door into one of the cells, but when the cell was visited the inmate was fast

asleep. , But if Sing Sing prisoners have ghosts to terrify them, they have pleasanter diversions night and day. It is possible for those with means to have food supplied from the outside, and, it is asserted, that even under the “dry” regime alcohol of any kind can be brought in with impunity. Some of the inmates have their meals from the finest restaurants of New York Cfty, and it is possible for men to live on the {proceeds of their crimes much better than if they were at liberty. Prisoners Who Dress for Dinner. The theatre has been equipped regardless of- cost, and is admittedly the best of its size in the world. The plays, produced at least once a week, are equal to,'' the best staged in New York. There is a picture theatre always going. Under certain circumstances prisoners may dress for dinner, and be waited on by outside waiters, if they are , wealthy enough to afford it. Baseball and other outdoor games are permitted freely, and those who desire coaching can have it' ■ free. Cards, chess and other indoor games are permitted, and “poker” parties are also well patronised, money seemingly coming from outside to enable the players to cajjry on. In one section of the prison a wireless set has been’ installed, and a few favoured prisoners are allowed private installations in their own cells. There is little restraint on intercourse of the prisoners, and at musical evenings the services of some of the best artists in America are provided. The circulating library is up to date, and the latest books of tl\e best seller type can be had i nthe prisons as quickly as outside.