Decaying: The notorious Ohio State Reformatory, shut down in 1990, has become a terrifying tourist attraction for thousands ever year
Haunted: Tourists say they hear whispers from its empty, rusting cell blocks which once housed dangerous prisoners from all over the country
Mysterious: More than 200 of the inmates who were housed inside the cells (pictured) of Ohio State Reformatory died inside the prison
Movie set: The same halls featured in the hit 1995 movie The Shawshank Redemption (pictured), which earned seven Oscar nominations
Tourist attraction: Thousands of tourists visit Ohio State Penitentiary in Mansfield to take the 'Hollywood Tour' every year.
Thousands of movie fans embark on the 'Hollywood Tour' at Ohio State Reformatory every year, but behind the glitzy facade lies a very dark history.
It has featured in the Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One, 'Tango and Cash' starring James Caan and most famously, The Shawshank Redemption which earned seven Oscar nominations.
But long before it became a world-famous movie set, it was considered on of America's most brutal prisons. Of the thousands of inmates to pass through its gates between 1886 and 1990, when it was shut down, more than 200 died there.
Its decaying halls and run-down rooms are empty now but tourists claim they hear whispers of ghosts from its barren cells.
Iconic: The building and foreground has been renovated since it featured in The Shawshank Redemption (pictured), a famous film about a man wrongfully imprisoned
Bloody: On July 21, 1948, two inmates broke out and abducted the superintendent John Niebel (centre), his wife (right) and 20-year-old daughter (left) and murdered them
Death: The killers - Robert Daniels and John West - were caught two days later and put to death in Ohio State's electric chair (photo shows a different man sitting in the chair in 1901)
Violence: Prison guards would carry out the worst beatings deep beneath the prison grounds, far away from the prying eyes of the overcrowded cells (pictured)
Memento: Cracked cases of old Diana Ross vinyl CDs, ripped magazines and books have been gathering dust in one of the rooms
No escape: Despite the heavy metal doors (pictured) keeping the prisoners locked inside the jail, there were at least two violent jail breaks in which guards were either injured or killed
Entrance: A sign reading 'circulation' hangs over a long, wooden desk (pictured) - presumably where guards would rotate their shifts
steps inside the barren cells of Ohio State Reformatory
Escape: It may have been used as a movie set for iconic Hollywood films, but its lasting legacy is one of murder and violence
Worship: On the popular tour of the abandoned prison, tourists visit the Catholic Chapel (pictured) above the Central Guard Room
Trapped: Just outside the boundaries of Ohio State Reformatory lie 215 numbered markers - one for each of the prisoners who died inside
Harsh: Even in The Shawshank Redemption movie (pictured), the prison was an oppressive place where the prisoners were worked to the bone by a dictatorial superintendant
Stars: Ohio State Reformatory featured in the Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One as well as the multi-Oscar-nominated Shawshank Redemption (pictured) starring Morgan Freeman (left) and Tim Robbins (right)
Two prison guards have also been murdered at the notorious prison. In November 1926, an inmate who was on parole returned and shot a 72-year-old guard just outside the gates in an unsuccessful ploy to help a friend escape. The shooter Philip Orleck was arrested two months and also died in Ohio State's electric chair.
And during an attempted prison break in October 1932, 48-year-old Frank Hanger was beaten to death with an iron bar. Prisoners Merrill Chandler and Chester Probaski were found guilty of his murder and executed in 1935.
Ohio State drew condemnation for being overcrowded in 1933. A research group of educators and prison experts described its conditions as a 'disgrace'.
In the 1970s, a nine-member team studying recommended shutting the reformatory down and replacing it with many smaller institutions which housed no more than 500 inmates each.
The anger towards Ohio State peaked in 1978 when the Counsel for Human Dignity - a combination of civic and church groups - sued the prison on behalf of the 2,200 inmates still housed there.
They claimed that the prisoner's rights were being violated because they were forced to live in 'brutalising and inhumane conditions'.
The lawsuit was resolved in 1983 and prison officials agreed to improve conditions while preparing to close the cell blocks by December 31, 1986, which was extended by four years.
In Ohio State's last years, its stunning architecture lured Hollywood directors to film portions of two movies. 'Harry and Walter Go to New York' was shot there in 1975 and 'Tango and Cash' in 1989.
Cruel: In the 1970s, a coalition of civic and church groups claimed that prisoner's rights were being violated because they were forced to live in 'brutalising and inhumane conditions' inside Ohio State (pictured)
Chilling: A former inmate has scribbled his prison number, 31925, and a date, September 17, 1935, on the walls of the prison
Unsanitary: Ohio State drew condemnation for being overcrowded in 1933 when research group of educators and prison experts described its conditions as a 'disgrace'
Killings: On July 21, 1948, two inmates broke out and abducted the superintendent John Niebel, his wife and 20-year-old daughter from the farm they lived on just outside the prison grounds and murdered them
Stunning: These images were captured by urban photographer Cindy Vasko who was 'in awe of the impressive, beautiful castle-like architecture'
Decline: The violence inside Ohio State Reformatory (pictured) began when the juvenile detention centre turned into a federal prison which began to house dangerous criminals from all over the country.