I suppose Alcatraz, since it is missing from this grouping, is a country club by comparison. BTW I've visited Eastern State PA penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue in Phillie. The notorious Al Capone was there for a bit and his cell with all its luxuries is on display. And luxurious they are compared to other cells.
I am from India. During British Raj, we had a prison called Cellular jail on Andaman island. It was called Kala Pani (black waters) because it was impossible to escape due of it's remote location. I don't have exact figure, but thousands died here. Many of India's freedom fighters were shot, hanged, taken their own lives, tortured to death, succumbed to diseases or died in hunger strike.
Tuol Sleng should be mentioned in this list. A school turned into an execution site for political prisoners ran by a former teacher. Every prisoner was photographed upon arrival and forced at gun point to write a false, self-incriminating "confession" that would appease the Khmer Rouge. Entering the prison was essentially a death sentence and tens of thousands of innocent people met their ends in unspeakable ways before being buried in mass graves right next to penal camps and failing crops. It is now a genocide museum.
That makes sense of what jail is today. People often confuse jail for prisons in America. Jail is only utilized for those awaiting trial or sentences to a year or less in confinement . Prisons in America are utilized strictly used to house inmates sentenced to a year or more in custody. Inmates who are placed in a re trial or other court dates are transferred from prison to a local jail untill the court dates are finalized but it's usually very short term then they return back to their prisons .
@@stephenhancock1578 ... I to went to jail over my own stupidity of driving on a suspended driver's license. However I was only in for less than a overnight stay if not out the same night in both situations. Therefore I can't say regarding prisons but you are correct, I have heard the same thing regarding the quality of life.
Incredible that Australia was skipped from this list. The intention was to create a convict colony, which essentially happened for the first few years after “settlement”. There are many famous prisons that have a terrible past. It’s surprising that none of this was mentioned.
I grew up near Holmesburg. There is a huge forest park across from the prison front (Pennypack). I used to ride my bike into that park wondering if the prisoners could see me and wish they were going for a bike ride too.
Not sure if the equivalent of a tropical gulag is a prison, more a slave camp As for abu grahbi. The mia khalifa is very grubby as they have to carry their own poop to trucks
I feel like Andersonville could've been on this list. I know it was a wartime prison, but since you had the prison ship from the Revolutionary War, it could be included
*Fun fact:* The Mamertine prison makes an appearance in the infamous 1979 film "Caligula." When the mad Emperor, who was walking down the street as a simple citizen in great depression over the death of his sister/lover Drusilla, is arrested for causing a riot in the street, he ends up in the notorious prison, where he befriends a mute giant through magic tricks
Additional information about Holmsburg prison for those not from Philadelphia, believe it or not some parts of that prison are still open to this day. For overcrowding in the Philadelphia county or CFCF, cots are set up for those unfortunate attendees that have less offensive crimes such as child support or probation violations. Was told by a few that they have permanent problems bc of this situation ranging from respiratory from mold to skin issues like ciriocis. And highly recommend seeing Eastern State Pennitentary on a tour, extremely creepy, haunted and amazing historical structures. Charles Dickens was horrified by the prison as well!
Bro, I live a few blocks from Holmesburg, that jawn is still intimidating to look at. Eastern State's Halloween thing is, supposedly, crazy. Never been thru it. But, my daughter said it was scary as hell. Edit: FUCK CFCF!
I live in Carlisle, we are a small northern city right on the border to Scotland and nobody seems to even know where it is if they aren't from the area so it was a pleasant shock to see a team of writers for this had delved into our history a bit! Albeit not the best circumstances, but oh well 😂
You'd be shocked to know, we have worse prisons here today. Any state or federal " Super-Max" can be just as bad as nearly any of these. Isolation for years on end...handcuffed showers...the list goes on and on. The US holds more people on incarceration than the rest of the world combined. 😨
Starvation, disease, not enough room to extend your arms out, legal beatings/torture for people that have done the simplest /non-existant crime vs. Scum having to do 23 lockdowns? WTF is wrong with you? How many years did you do and how far away from children must you remain..... Nope, I'm done. Don't care. Almost deleted this. May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your armpits
That was al Capones cell you showed during the eastern state penitentiary pics. And only some cells had a small outside area, very few actually. Most cells had a hole in the ceiling and that's all of the outside they saw. It was called the eye of God.
We visited Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin Ireland while I was there. Man that was quite the fascinating tour. What an awesome city. WH, another great one. Cheers from 🇨🇦.
Prisons aren't supposed to be a Holiday Inn, like they are today. Though I don't believe in the torture and abuse they did, it should be subject to hard labor; 10 hours A-day 6 days a week. This is a deterrent to come back, too many people live their lives going back-and-forth out of prison.
I happen to have had to do weekends in Holmesburg (in trailers on the property) and I've been to the Halloween event at Eastern State Penitentiary. Now everyone knows
I remember my mother had a boyfriend in Holmesburg & we went to visit him when I was about 9 or 10. The chairs had HMBG or HMBRG on the back of the seats. Edit: that was in 1990 or 1991 or so.
You forgot to mention a youth prison camp where they force kids to dig 6 foot holes in the middle of a desert. I heard the staff is inhumane, they hardly get water, and some kids would rather risk dying out in the desert on the run than to stay at the camp and dig holes(no matter how good the songs they sing are).
As will single unit apartments in NYC in the Village. At least you don't have to shell out $3k a month to stay at Ryker's, and you get free a continental breakfast
You forgot to mention the colonial Catholic prisons where they kept “unruly” nuns (in Antigua Guatemala). They were kept in tiny cells where they could probably not turn for the lack of space.. and had a perpetual drip of water over their head. That was supposedly to make them go crazy and die 😅
All of these prisons are horribl but you forgot to mention the worst prisons ever in modern history, Sydnaya Prison and Tadmor Palmyra prison. Unimaginable stories from those who miraculously survived
Not a good time for a joke at all so I apologize but I'm still going to point it out.. that photo of the grasping hands with the lock in the hole in the box.. if the volume was down, and I wasn't paying attention, that looks horrible in a completely different way.. a wHole other way 😂
Funny and interesting that two of the worst prisons were in Pennsylvania. The small town of Llanview, Pennsylvania from the 1990s soap _One Life to Live_ wrongfully imprisoned dozens of innocent people, including Dorian Cramer Lord.
That Mongolian coffin jail is utterly terrifying
Especially when you're claustrophobic or have the specific fear of being buried alive, I got chills just but looking at it
Yea I thought that the worst as well!!!!!!!! And what could you possibly do to get this punishment??????
Waste or spill water, it was considered holy
Came here to say this. All of these prisons sound horrific, but the Mongolian coffins sound like literal hell.
Yea Mongolian coffin jail is the worst, right after that I'd say hms jersey
I was at the wall of tears on Galapagos in november. That stone wall is crawling with lava lizards these days. :)
The Pitesti Experiment...now that's some surreal torture from the depths of hell.
I suppose Alcatraz, since it is missing from this grouping, is a country club by comparison. BTW I've visited Eastern State PA penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue in Phillie. The notorious Al Capone was there for a bit and his cell with all its luxuries is on display. And luxurious they are compared to other cells.
The great escape.. good movie. Watch it and “Bullitt”
I’ve been to eastern state penitentiary. It’s terrifying. Even during the summer it’s somehow extremely cold inside.
Somewhere in Russia
From what I've heard, it's said that the place is haunted. There've been a few TV shows about ghost hunters visiting the place.
You need to see the prison in Jim Thorpe, Pa. It was designed in 1868 by the same architect. The handprint on the wall is still there.
We went this past Summer. Interesting, but I didn't feel scared. Definitely had a dampness. Worth the visit if you're ever in Philly.
Been there, it really was a cool tour.
You can tour Eastern State Pennitentary in Philadelphia. Really interesting and informative. I highly recommend it.
I work as a librarian in a prison
The job has its prose and cons. 🤷♀️🙈
It never ceases to shock me how humans can come up with more and more cruel ways to torture each other.😢 😢😢
It makes me really sad
Indeed. So sad. Yet the most cruel never will or did step a foot in prison . Which is even more sad
@@theblackmoth1111yes true they get away with it
It's pretty muddy waters and a bad situation all around: how horribly do you punish someone for doing horrible things?
This is the shit why I believe humanity is fundamentally evil regardless of what wishful thinking some like to believe.
I am from India. During British Raj, we had a prison called Cellular jail on Andaman island. It was called Kala Pani (black waters) because it was impossible to escape due of it's remote location. I don't have exact figure, but thousands died here. Many of India's freedom fighters were shot, hanged, taken their own lives, tortured to death, succumbed to diseases or died in hunger strike.
Yes.
Thats awful. Sounds like Alcatraz but a million times worse
Tuol Sleng should be mentioned in this list. A school turned into an execution site for political prisoners ran by a former teacher. Every prisoner was photographed upon arrival and forced at gun point to write a false, self-incriminating "confession" that would appease the Khmer Rouge. Entering the prison was essentially a death sentence and tens of thousands of innocent people met their ends in unspeakable ways before being buried in mass graves right next to penal camps and failing crops. It is now a genocide museum.
Roman prisons were not planned for long-term confinement. They only held those waiting trials or punishment.
That makes sense of what jail is today. People often confuse jail for prisons in America. Jail is only utilized for those awaiting trial or sentences to a year or less in confinement . Prisons in America are utilized strictly used to house inmates sentenced to a year or more in custody. Inmates who are placed in a re trial or other court dates are transferred from prison to a local jail untill the court dates are finalized but it's usually very short term then they return back to their prisons .
I've been to jail, but I heard prisons are a lot better for quality of life than jail is.
@@stephenhancock1578 ... I to went to jail over my own stupidity of driving on a suspended driver's license. However I was only in for less than a overnight stay if not out the same night in both situations. Therefore I can't say regarding prisons but you are correct, I have heard the same thing regarding the quality of life.
@@RickyL305 I was being a stupid drunk and they put me in for 11 days, charges got dropped though.
As it should be
I've been trying to remember the name of "Papillon" movie for years, my dad showed it to me decades ago. Great film.
Great movie, even better book. Give it a read if you haven’t!
A man with a stutter died in prison...
He never got to finish his sentence. 😭😭😭😭
Incredible that Australia was skipped from this list. The intention was to create a convict colony, which essentially happened for the first few years after “settlement”. There are many famous prisons that have a terrible past. It’s surprising that none of this was mentioned.
They gotta make a part two lol. The entire country was a prison at one point!
@@ElsaMusicVideos only the eastern parts around Sydney were settled in the early penal years.
The State of Georgia in U.S.A.
Apparently it doesn't fall into the SCARIEST prisons list.
I know. It was an entire CONTINENT prison
That prison that kept the prisoners in boxes gave me the chills!!
Not a single prison but something found in old ones: oubliette , scariest shit ever.
What’s the song at 2:55? I already stretched my earlobes against an hour worth of classical music and can’t remember who made it
I grew up near Holmesburg. There is a huge forest park across from the prison front (Pennypack). I used to ride my bike into that park wondering if the prisoners could see me and wish they were going for a bike ride too.
I wonder why you don't mention Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib
Not sure if the equivalent of a tropical gulag is a prison, more a slave camp
As for abu grahbi. The mia khalifa is very grubby as they have to carry their own poop to trucks
You'll never take me alive, Weird History!
..I mean, history never takes *anyone* alive, but..😉
I feel like Andersonville could've been on this list. I know it was a wartime prison, but since you had the prison ship from the Revolutionary War, it could be included
I was going to say same thing.
Yeah I feel the same thing too it was definitely one of the worst prison camps in it's time
My great-grandfather was there and he survived it.
I figured it would be.
Agreed.
Scariest insane asylums could be terrifying
U should do a video on asylums
And people wonder why aliens don't come down here to say "Hello"...
*Fun fact:* The Mamertine prison makes an appearance in the infamous 1979 film "Caligula." When the mad Emperor, who was walking down the street as a simple citizen in great depression over the death of his sister/lover Drusilla, is arrested for causing a riot in the street, he ends up in the notorious prison, where he befriends a mute giant through magic tricks
Then there's a lotta blowjobs and other stuff.
@@joshallen4848 Yep 😉
Scariest insane asylums!!! Please!!!
I particularly enjoyed the picture of beehives, when describing the Mongolia cells... 🤔
Additional information about Holmsburg prison for those not from Philadelphia, believe it or not some parts of that prison are still open to this day. For overcrowding in the Philadelphia county or CFCF, cots are set up for those unfortunate attendees that have less offensive crimes such as child support or probation violations. Was told by a few that they have permanent problems bc of this situation ranging from respiratory from mold to skin issues like ciriocis. And highly recommend seeing Eastern State Pennitentary on a tour, extremely creepy, haunted and amazing historical structures. Charles Dickens was horrified by the prison as well!
Bro, I live a few blocks from Holmesburg, that jawn is still intimidating to look at. Eastern State's Halloween thing is, supposedly, crazy. Never been thru it. But, my daughter said it was scary as hell.
Edit: FUCK CFCF!
I live in Carlisle, we are a small northern city right on the border to Scotland and nobody seems to even know where it is if they aren't from the area so it was a pleasant shock to see a team of writers for this had delved into our history a bit! Albeit not the best circumstances, but oh well 😂
You'd be shocked to know, we have worse prisons here today. Any state or federal " Super-Max" can be just as bad as nearly any of these. Isolation for years on end...handcuffed showers...the list goes on and on. The US holds more people on incarceration than the rest of the world combined. 😨
Starvation, disease, not enough room to extend your arms out, legal beatings/torture for people that have done the simplest /non-existant crime vs. Scum having to do 23 lockdowns? WTF is wrong with you? How many years did you do and how far away from children must you remain..... Nope, I'm done. Don't care. Almost deleted this. May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your armpits
Yes, the U.S. does and that’s saying something especially considering even China has way less imprisoned citizens than we do. 😔
I would of likely gone crazy locked in one of these prisons.
You and 90% of others
That was al Capones cell you showed during the eastern state penitentiary pics. And only some cells had a small outside area, very few actually. Most cells had a hole in the ceiling and that's all of the outside they saw. It was called the eye of God.
We visited Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin Ireland while I was there. Man that was quite the fascinating tour. What an awesome city. WH, another great one. Cheers from 🇨🇦.
WH?
I don't get why the Navy Hymn was playing in the background, during the description of a medieval prison that held St. Paul and St. Peter...
I love that Philadelphia has TWO representations on this list! Go Philly!
I served a 25 year sentence in my mothers house.
Security Prison 21, or S-21 (Cambodia) used by the Khmer rouge, should be on this list.
In an old episode of Law & Order DA tells jury: "In 6,000 years of human history prison has never accomplished anything, but it's all we've got."
It would be hard to survive some of those, especially Devil's Island.
A+ video, just fantastic and so interesting.
I didn't know that the Galopolgos had a prison I thought it was just an island chain full of animals
Love this channel!
This is one of the best you’ve done. Thanks. You could easily unpack any of the topics discussed here and present a new documentary.
Did they use a broom handle for anything?
Prisons aren't supposed to be a Holiday Inn, like they are today. Though I don't believe in the torture and abuse they did, it should be subject to hard labor; 10 hours A-day 6 days a week. This is a deterrent to come back, too many people live their lives going back-and-forth out of prison.
I thought Mandela died in prison...hmm...must be some kind of effect?
it's just a county jail, but.....try Castle Greyskull in P-Cola, FL.
they have porcelain toilets....just consider the potential massacre!
I bet they have gold sinks and eat lobster filet mignon for dinner
@@carinarosales6899
that just sounds like Trump failed at the private prison business, too...had to do something with all the leftover steaks!
Eastern state penitentiary now does tours but also Halloween Attractions, my families from Philly & it’s a fun thing to do each year🦅🤙🏽
My one friend worked in every year for a long time!
I don’t think you’ve done a video on leper colonies. At least I can’t find one. I think that would be a great topic.
These places are nothing after living with my ex.
Always interesting and informative.
Thank you
Peace 💕🇺🇲
Love Weird History!
I’m about to read papillion I’m so excited thanks for mentioning it!!
Could you do one on which was the worst kingdom to their staff, which time or whatever but where hell to work for? That would be cool
You missed out S2 prison run by the Khmer Rouge. The ones covered have nothing on S2 in Phnom Penh...
I'd like to know more about 19th century psychiatric wards!
I went to Eastern State years ago. Capone’s cell was nice, but that was about it. Definitely not somewhere you would’ve wanted to get locked up in.
I happen to have had to do weekends in Holmesburg (in trailers on the property) and I've been to the Halloween event at Eastern State Penitentiary. Now everyone knows
I remember my mother had a boyfriend in Holmesburg & we went to visit him when I was about 9 or 10.
The chairs had HMBG or HMBRG on the back of the seats.
Edit: that was in 1990 or 1991 or so.
I would like to visit one day
Did anyone else see the upside down cross in the first prison on the list they were real prisons
Yes
Where the heck is Auschwitz-Birkenau or Bergen Belsen or any of the Nazi Prisons? I think I’d rather be at these places than a Nai Prison.
You forgot to mention a youth prison camp where they force kids to dig 6 foot holes in the middle of a desert. I heard the staff is inhumane, they hardly get water, and some kids would rather risk dying out in the desert on the run than to stay at the camp and dig holes(no matter how good the songs they sing are).
Well I’m glad prisons are better now. Because treating other beings like that even criminals, is just plain wrong 😠
If anyone could be called a subject matter expert on whether or not an island was escapable, it would be Napoleon.
I’m doing 25 to life at my current job. So, what ya in for?
Sex with your former wife since your in custody before bitch smacking her for being with you before I was locked up in a domestic violence case.
@@RickyL305 so elaborate…
@@Dustinwhy8 thank you!
I am torn between the inhumanity of these prisons and the question 'why should we have empathy for criminals?'
What are prison walls made out of?
CONcrete! 😁😁
So Charles Dickens said solitary confinement was basically inhumane but we're still doing it
|0ckd0wns were a gentler version
In a couple of years, Angola Prison in Louisiana and Ryker's Island in NYC will be apart of this list
As will single unit apartments in NYC in the Village. At least you don't have to shell out $3k a month to stay at Ryker's, and you get free a continental breakfast
Ryker's was shut down recently.
@@TheMormonPower nope
Ayy, Romania gets mentioned! Awesome!
Odd edit there… did UA-cam make you cut something?
love the food vids
Fyi: a significant portion of the 1944, Humphrey Bogart film, "Passage to Marseille" takes place on "Devil's Island."
I worked in a county lock up and the old section of it was haunted.
Are any of those worse than Rikers Island?
Holmesburg prison was escape proof until Willie “ The Actor” Sutton was incarcerated therein.
You forgot to mention the colonial Catholic prisons where they kept “unruly” nuns (in Antigua Guatemala). They were kept in tiny cells where they could probably not turn for the lack of space.. and had a perpetual drip of water over their head. That was supposedly to make them go crazy and die 😅
Omg the narrator is back I just noticed
All of these prisons are horribl but you forgot to mention the worst prisons ever in modern history, Sydnaya Prison and Tadmor Palmyra prison. Unimaginable stories from those who miraculously survived
I think anyone would go insane in those conditions.
I toured Eastern State once, just an all around creepy feeling from it
The devil's island and Holmesburg gave me the chills
I'm surprised that Angola, in Louisiana, parchment in Mississippi and black dolphin in Russia did not make the list.
I was thinking of Angola, too.
@@KingofgraceSARA I know right.
Can you do a video on history of mental hospitals?
That would be a great one
Papillon is an awesome read. (If maybe a bit over embellished at points)
Can you do a video on V-Mail from WW2? Or how old fridges had UV lights?
2:51 seems like a glitch in the editing
Squirrel cage jail in Council Bluffs Iowa..it was layer jail rotating door
Forgot “ ALCATRAZ “
Not a good time for a joke at all so I apologize but I'm still going to point it out.. that photo of the grasping hands with the lock in the hole in the box.. if the volume was down, and I wasn't paying attention, that looks horrible in a completely different way.. a wHole other way 😂
Happy Hump Day my friends
Thanks for your podcast. Yeah we have it ALL !!!! Oh boy how horrible. Philadelphia USA 🙏🇺🇸❤️ AMEN
Interesting! But no mention of prisons in Iran (Evin) or the former USSR?
I've lived around the Art Museum area for many years and never once felt the need to go to ESP.
No I could not have survived any of these prisons. Doubtful I would survive a prison of today.
I’ve visited Robben island twice as I am South African, it’s truly a haunting place
I bet!
We can thank the lovely Quakers for Eastern State Pen. in Philadelphia and Jim Thorpe.
I was hopping you would talk about the "Black Hole of Calcutta". 146 British prisoners being kept in a cell 14 x 18.
While interesting, the Irish Great famine didn’t happen until 1845/46. 1796 is 2 years before the 1798 rebellion.
Angola prison, the tombs nyc, Riker island and many many. People forget that the USA is the biggest prison culture in history.
Funny and interesting that two of the worst prisons were in Pennsylvania.
The small town of Llanview, Pennsylvania from the 1990s soap _One Life to Live_ wrongfully imprisoned dozens of innocent people, including Dorian Cramer Lord.