Adam Singleton asked:


The Shawshank Redemption is widely considered to be one of the best films of all time. While it was critically and commercially overshadowed in its year of release by Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction, the film has steadily gained popularity over time and in a readers’ poll of Empire magazine last year, it was voted the best film of all time. While the prison used in the film has also acted as a set location for other productions, such as Air Force One and music videos by Godsmack and Lil’ Wayne, its main function now is as a tourist attraction.

The Mansfield Reformatory, also known as the Ohio State Reformatory, was built in the 1880s in Mansfield, Ohio. It is one of the largest castle-like structures in the USA, comprising over 250,000 square feet and combines Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne architectural styles. This might seem unusual for a correctional facility, and with reason – the original architect, Levi T. Scofield, designed the facility to encourage the inmates away from a sinful life and towards repentance.

The prison remained fully operational until 1972 and was completely closed down in 1990. Having gone through considerable deterioration since opening, The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society was formed in 1995 in an effort to restore the facility to its original state, funding restorations through donations and tour fees.

Several tour operators such as Hampton Landmarks offer tours of the Mansfield Reformatory throughout the summer, starting around Memorial Day (the last Monday of May) until the end of September, with tickets being sold on a first-come, first-serve basis from the box office. A general tour of the building is offered during the week, and on weekends visitors have a choice of three tours, where they can either see the prison cemetery and observe the underground tunnel system, see the Catholic chapel above the central guard room and get an insight into the living quarters, or of course, see set locations from The Shawshank Redemption, including the prison warden’s office, the parole board room and Andy Dufresne’s escape tunnel.

Over 200 people died at the Mansfield Reformatory, including a few guards who were killed during escape attempts. The Mansfield Reformatory is therefore supposedly haunted with several paranormal “hotspots” such as the two chapels, the infirmary, the area around the warden’s office and solitary confinement.

At night, adults aged 21 or over can take part in Ghost Walks (starting from 7:30 to 8pm, lasting roughly two hours) and unguided Ghost Hunts (7:30pm to 6am). Guests are allowed to leave at any time, but for security reasons may not re-enter. These generally sell out very quickly, so customers should book tickets well in advance. In October the prison also offers a Halloween-themed Haunted Prison experience from 7pm for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the day of the week, available to people aged 13 and over. Tickets for the Halloween night are available in advance or at the box office.

So if you’re looking to pay homage to one of your favourite films, looking to meet ghosts or simply looking for a holiday experience slightly out of the ordinary, make the trip to the Mansfield Reformatory.



Paranormal Video

Harry Shengh Lee asked:


The world is vast and there are myriad things to do, infinite places to visit, innumerous people to meet and countless experiences to gain. It’s just one life why not make the best of it. But things are easily said than done. It’s not all that easy, isn’t it? There are too many hindrances that don’t permit you take a break from your unvarying to-do-list and compel you drop the idea mid-way. The biggest onus being the unavailability of cheap air fares in USA to your preferred destination. Cheap airfares to your favorite destination are just too hard to retrieve.

With so many options available for finding cheap airfares in USA through online travel websites, the job on one hand has become easier but on the other hand it has become all the more confusing. Who to trust and do a deal with would be an obvious question for any traveler, especially the ones who are traveling for the first time. But don’t worry, a bit of navigation on the website, advice from friends, and little research work would help you crack the best deal.

Log on to the internet today and book your cheap airfares right from the comfort of your computer. Yes, that’s true, from the comfort of your computer and that too just by a few mouse clicks. It’s just a matter of few clicks that you hunt your cheap airfares in USA and end up reducing a significant amount of money on your itinerary. This not only helps you save money during your trip but also allows you to shop relentlessly without being too heavy on your pocket.

There are many firms that have years of experience in the travel domain. If you are expecting a lot of time and money to be saved after contacting them, you are not asking for much. Book your cheap airfares in USA at an unbelievably low price and get the best deals that would not only be cost-effective this time but on all your future endeavors.

This time when you are planning your itinerary let your travel agent take a break. Instead log on to the internet and let the travel firms take care of all your traveling woes. What you need to do is just select the nearest airport to your vicinity and the destination city that you intend to explore. Choose from the list of cheap flights that you are offered and that best suits your travel plan.

A perfect vacation for anyone would comprise of these: Being with your loved ones, visiting exciting places that you have dreamt of, shopping your heart out and relishing the best of cuisines. After all this if you manage to save some money it would just be icing on the cake.

This summer when your children insist for an outing to any of the cities in US or even overseas, don’t just say no thinking the budget would be a major constraint. A little planning and research is what’s needed to experience one of the most enjoyable as well as economical vacations of all times.

phoenixcinder asked:


You’ve been working hard all year for your two weeks of vacation. In Europe, they often say, “You North Americans live to work, whereas we work to live!” We can get so embroiled in our work, we lose sight of what really matters in life. Sometimes we feel guilty organizing vacations, knowing that our coworkers will be slaving away without our guidance. However, we need to take care of our minds and bodies by removing ourselves from the workplace from time to time, allowing nature and new experiences to refresh our minds and recharge out batteries. We should never lose sight that what really matters is: health, happiness, precious moments spent with family or friends, and helping our fellow man.

World Resort Vacation Edmonton travel agency feels that you should set time aside for yourself every year. To ensure that you do this, you can join a vacation club to take all the stress from planning. By going through Edmonton travel agents, you will have access to the lowest airfare, hotel, rental car and tour package prices. (Imagine flying your family of three to Cairo for just $5,812!) At World Resort Vacation, you will be able to choose from over 20,000 itineraries for all-inclusive cruises and travel packages or you can just get the bare bones flight/hotel deal.

Your Edmonton travel agents are like a friend who has all the connections and knows all the best tried-and-true deals. Your annual membership fee allows you $99/week five-star hotel deals almost anywhere in the world (any time of year)! Unlike a timeshare style vacation club, the World Resort Vacation Edmonton travel agency allows you the freedom to travel whenever you want, wherever you want. You don’t have to worry about exchanging anything or limiting your travel to non-peak times. Essentially, you just tell your dreams to one of the Edmonton travel agents and they make it happen – whether it’s $99/week five-star accommodations around the world, cruise deals, discount airfare, hassle-free rental car reservations, reduced price tour packages or an all-inclusive!

Additionally, your Edmonton travel agency offers many members-only ways to earn free or reduced-price vacations as well. You can refer a friend for $500 cash, or you can become a “travel ambassador” and rate your stay to get free lodging. Stop putting off your vacation and contact the World Resort Vacation Edmonton travel agents this month to save money and attain peace of mind!

BradAlexzander asked:


Unless you are planning a short domestic trip, the cost of airfare is usually a deciding factor in an overseas trip. Most people with moderate incomes simply can’t afford to fly regularly, as much as they would like to. There are, however, some people out there who are flying all the time on regular incomes. The secret to achieving this is a willingness to be flexible and shop around with airfares, as well as employing some tried and true discount travel techniques.

The key to getting a cheap flight is to shop around, and the internet makes this easy for almost anyone to do. There are a plethora of websites that will conduct searches around the world for cheap airfares. Although the internet is a valuable tool in discovering cheap airfares, it’s important that you don’t rely on it entirely. Many sites claim they are searching “all flights” for the cheapest possible fare, but you really don’t have any way of knowing what they do and don’t have access to. Oftentimes the cheapest flights can come from the airlines themselves, and you’d be well advised to check their sites as well in your search.

No matter how much research you do online, you should always visit some travel agents. Keep in mind that these people make their livings selling airfares, and will often have access to deals that aren’t available to you online. Think of it this way: if you really could always get the cheapest flight online, travel agents would be out of business. The fact that they are not suggests that good deals are to found the old fashioned way: by visiting the office of a travel agent.

When looking for discount travel, you should also explore non-traditional methods of finding flights. Websites like priceline.com offer reverse auction systems, that is: you place a bid of what you’re willing to pay on a given route on a given date, and if it turns out that an airline is willing to release a seat for that price, your credit card is billed an a ticket is issued.

Another good avenue to explore is “bucket shops” – companies who buy bulk tickets from airlines at a heavy discount. They don’t have the choice that travel agent has, of course, but if you’re flexible you can often get a good deal. A typical bucket shop system will work as follows: you give them a week-long window during which you’d like to fly and some destination choices, and then if something comes up at the last minute you can have it at a heavy discount.

Another rarely explored discount travel technique is to look into bucket shops and travel agents located in ethnic neighborhoods. Often, foreign airlines sell discounted tickets to these shops, which in turn serve an ethnic community regularly traveling to their home country. These shops have access to tickets from airlines that often aren’t available at your regular travel agent, and can offer a significant savings.

The important thing to remember in terms of discount travel is to explore as many avenues as you can. The more flexible you are willing to be, the cheaper your fare is likely to be – but even if you’re stuck with rigid dates, a compressive search will often result in airfares that are significantly lower than those commonly advertised.