Nationwide Arena

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There are reports that the shiny new centerpiece of Columbus's "Arena District," Nationwide Arena, is haunted. The reason is rooted in the history of that particular corner of downtown; until 1998, when it was finally demolished, Spring Street at Front was the location of the Ohio Penitentiary. The Pen was haunted for a thousand reasons--chief among them the the 1930 prison fire that roasted more than 300 inmates alive in their cells--and even after it was wiped out of existence, the sounds of screaming prisoners and clanking chains and cell doors are still occasionally heard along Spring Street--including the hockey stadium, where workers sometimes report hearing things while working on the ice rink at floor level. The main part of the Penitentiary Annex was actually across the street, where the Arena Grand movie theater and a parking garage are now, but part of the prison grounds did occupy the place where the Columbus Bluejackets now play hockey (when they're not on strike).

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