Review: GHOST STALKERS: ‘Holmesburg Prison,’ tonight, November 6, THURSDAYS at 10/9c on Destination America

Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, Terror Dome (1896-1995)

“Ghost Stalkers,” now on Thursdays on Destination America, proves to be classic-worthy with its visit to the infamous Holmesburg Prison. We can speculate from now until sunrise, but what this show does well, it does very well. The chemistry between John E.L. Tenney and Chad Lindberg carries over smoothly with each new mission. The paranormal activity spikes with their visit to the abandoned Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia. They confront spirits and they confront back.

Perhaps Holmesburg Prison is far too scary for it to ever be used by Hollywood to film on location for a movie. At least, we have it featured here on “Ghost Stalkers.” As Chad points out, this is the first time these ghosts have been given the spotlight. He doesn’t say it quite like that. He yells it out during a passionate moment when he’s attempting to call out spirits. As the team does with each case, they both take turns spending the night in that’s episode’s featured haunted venue. No doubt, both Chad and John provide compelling reports. Whatever they experienced, it sure looked like it spooked them.

The star of tonight’s show is Holmesburg Prison which is quite a freak. The whole structure screams out at you. Once you see it, and learn about its lurid history of abuse, murder and mayhem, you’re a goner and want to know more. Holmesburg Prison was built in 1896 and was in continuous use until 1995, and portions of the campus are said to still be used for prisoner overflow and work programs. It looked pretty darn empty when Chad and John came to visit, at least the sites they observed.

The prime focus is the prison’s so-called, “terror dome.” If there is a gateway to hell, that sure looks like the place. I would stay far, far, far away from it. Chad and John have a mission to accomplish and must confront it. As you’ll see, it looks like something out of a classic “Mad Max” movie. The prison is made up of various halls that spread out like legs with the dome at its center. It functioned as a lookout platform and, these days, it functions, so the theory goes, as a portal to hell.

Each show features some sophisticated portal detection equipment. As the theory goes, where there is a lot of paranormal activity, a portal to another dimension is surely not far behind. Since we’re dealing with a prison with such a bloody disgusting past, the idea here is that the portal is going to be pretty blooding disgusting. This episode lets the team’s electrical engineer shine. We have David Rountree thoughtfully explain that he’s monitoring for electrical magnetic forces. What he quickly finds is that the terror dome is a hive for huge EMF activity. The team can take that as a warning but it won’t stop them until maybe they’re forced to stop.

So, remember, GHOST STALKERS moves to a new night: THURSDAYS at 10/9c, starting with tonight’s show, November 6, on Destination America.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’re looking for that special gift, get yourself a copy of “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories.” For starters, there’s some bona fide ghost stories that are sure to please. You can find it at Amazon right here. You can also consider a special discount right here.