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Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park is once again vying for the title of Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
The historic prison has previously held the No. 1 and 2 spots in the USA Today 10Best contest. The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, which oversees the state park, is asking community members to help the prison regain the title.
To vote, go to www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-haunted-destination-2023. The Heritage Area invites supporters to vote multiple times a day from different devices to secure the top spot again.
Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park is once again vying for the title of Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
The historic prison has previously held the No. 1 and 2 spots in the USA Today 10Best contest. The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, which oversees the state park, is asking community members to help the prison regain the title.
To vote, go to www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-haunted-destination-2023. The Heritage Area invites supporters to vote multiple times a day from different devices to secure the top spot again.
Fans of the park may vote once per day until 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18. The winning haunted destinations will be announced on Friday, Sept. 29.
The nominees include 20 purportedly haunted locations across the United States, each with its own ghost stories and paranormal occurrences.
As of Friday afternoon, the leaderboard showed Yuma Territorial Prison in fourth place, with Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas at the top. In second place is The Grove in Jefferson, Texas, is in second place, and Fort Mifflin on the Delaware in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in third place.
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 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.
