Community members have one more week left to vote for the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park as the Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
As of Friday, the Territorial Prison ranked No. 2, behind Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, in the USA Today 10Best contest.
Community members have one more week left to vote for the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park as the Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
As of Friday, the Territorial Prison ranked No. 2, behind Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, in the USA Today 10Best contest.
Fans of the Territorial Prison may vote once a day until 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18. The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, which oversees the park, invites supporters to vote multiple times a day from different devices to secure the top spot again.
To vote, go to www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-haunted-destination-2023/. The winning haunted destinations will be announced on Friday, Sept. 29.
The historic prison has previously held the No. 1 and 2 spots in the contest.
The nominees include 20 purportedly haunted locations across the United States, each with its own ghost stories and paranormal occurrences.
According to the 10Best editors, Yuma Territorial Prison has been a hub of paranormal activity. Reports include spirits of inmates on death row, a woman wandering the banks of the nearby Colorado River looking for her drowned daughter and a small child in a red dress who pinches passersby.
From 1876 to 1909, the prison housed 3,069 men and women convicted of crimes in the Arizona Territory. Once the prison closed down, it became the temporary home of Yuma High School, the reason behind the “Criminal” mascot.
Throughout its history, the prison has had many “firsts” in Yuma: first library, first hospital, first to have electricity and first to have air conditioning.
The prison hosted about a half a dozen film crews over the last few years, including the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures,” a Buzzfeed team that spent the night, Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” “Ghost Brothers: Lights Out” on Discovery Plus and a few moviemakers.
Visitors to the Yuma Territorial Prison may experience the life of a prisoner in the 1880s, enter the “dark cell,” walk the cell block, learn about hospital and prison medicine and view interactive exhibits. The park is currently open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission through Nov. 2 is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 62 and older, $5 for children ages 7 to 13, and free for children 6 and younger.
For more information, visit www.yumaprison.org or call 928-783-4771.
