Ghost tours benefit St. Joseph Regional Academy
For the second year in a row, the Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe hosted Ghost Tours where they invited the Parents of St. Joseph Regional Academy (SJRA) to volunteer to be Ghost Guides in the Jail.
The Ghost Guides told stories of people's ghostly experiences at the Jail, a fortress-like structure standing guard over the town of Jim Thorpe dating from 1871.The ghost tours were held the last three Saturdays in October with the proceeds from the event being donated by Tom and Betty Lou McBride to the school.Last year the McBrides donated approximately $4,700, which was surpassed this year with the tours raising a total of $6,200 for the school.In addition, they allowed the parents to host a bake sale in the kitchen area of the Jail to raise additional funds.During the tours, the parents and visitors experienced first-hand some ghostly encounters.While not claiming to be a haunted house, according to Museum guides, the tours produced some intriguing experiences.Among them, some people claim to have seen a sad women with blonde hair in a white dress numerous times, while on one tour, a teenage girl said that the woman in white was playing with her hair, that her name is Mauryn, and that she was the wife of a prisoner.On another tour, another young girl swore that a very tall man was standing in the corner of the dungeon and telling her to leave.In a digital photo taken last year, it is claimed that you could very clearly see the figure of a person leaning against one of the cell doors.What's so special about that is that while all of the guides dress in black, the figure was completely white like you would see on a photo negative.The Old Jail Museum is a non-profit corporation and the proceeds of the Ghost Tours will assist St. Joseph Regional Academy and its students.The students from the Academy also presented a "Certificate of Appreciation" to Betty Lou McBride thanking her and her husband Tom for their donation to their school.Anyone desiring more information on the Old Jail Museum can visit their website at