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Back to Music's Most Haunted American Venues

Nationwide Arena

National Hockey League

Besides being home for a slew of musicians to perform at (Journey is headed there in a few weeks!), the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, is also home to something a little bit less pleasing: A demolished prison ground. Yep, the arena now sits on what used to be the Ohio State Penitentiary, which was built in 1834. According to Waymarking.com, at its time housing thousand of inmates, the prison experienced deadly riots and a terrible fire in 1930. During the blaze, 322 inmates were burned to death, unable to get out of their locked cells to safety. When the prison was shut down in 1983 because of deteriorating conditions, and Nationwide Arena opened in 2000, city officials had hoped it would be turning a new page. But reportedly, that's not the case. Arena workers and spectators have heard unexplainable sounds over the years -- people screaming from below, heavy doors opening and closing, and clanking chains. Many paranormal experts believe the noises are coming from the ghosts of inmates who've passed, still trying to escape the fire that took their lives.

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