HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A Salem site that began as an 1891 boys' reform school — four unnamed boys died here, and their graves remain on the grounds
5465 Turner Rd SE, Salem, OR 97317
Research updated June 2026
Age
18+ (haunted attraction and paranormal events; historic site may vary)
Cost
$$
Ticketed seasonal haunted house and ghost tours through Tormented Illusion; check tormentedillusion.com for current pricing and schedule
Access
Limited Access
Large correctional campus with three-story cellblock; outdoor grounds including cemetery area
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1891 · Oregon State Reform School for Boys, 1891–1929 · Four boys died on premises during reform school era — buried in on-grounds cemetery · Oregon State Penitentiary Farm Annex, 1929–1990 · Mill Creek Correctional Facility, operational through June 2021 · Cemetery with boys' graves remains on grounds
The property in southeast Salem that would eventually become Mill Creek Correctional Facility began its institutional life in 1891 as the Oregon State Reform School for Boys. The reform school era, which lasted until 1929, was defined by the conditions common to juvenile corrections of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: institutional confinement, labor requirements, and mortality rates that would not be accepted in a modern facility.
Four unnamed boys died at the reform school during its 38-year operation. The specific causes of death are recorded in Oregon state history as possibly tuberculosis or as deaths in one of two catastrophic fires that occurred on the property. Their remains are buried in a small cemetery that remains on the grounds today. The boys' names have not been documented in the historical record that is currently publicly available, a gap that the Oregon Encyclopedia and other sources note without resolution.
In 1929, the state converted the property to the Oregon State Penitentiary Farm Annex, a working farm operation that used prison labor. The farm annex operated until 1990, when the property transitioned to Mill Creek Correctional Facility, a medium-security county and state corrections center. Mill Creek operated as a functioning correctional facility until June 2021, when the Oregon Department of Corrections closed it as part of a consolidation of the state's corrections infrastructure.
Since the 2021 closure, the property has been made available for tours and seasonal programming through Tormented Illusion, which operates haunted-house and ghost-tour events at the site. The three-story cellblock is the primary tour structure, and the cemetery where the reform school boys are buried is accessible during tour programming.
Sources
The paranormal accounts associated with the Mill Creek site center on the three-story cellblock and the cemetery where four boys from the reform school era are buried. The documented history — children dying in a state institution in the 1890s and early 1900s — gives investigators a specific and factually grounded basis for the site's dark atmosphere.
Investigators working the cellblock have documented cold spots that occur without apparent HVAC explanation, instances of electrical interference with recording and monitoring equipment, and — in a subset of accounts — reports of physical contact: touches, pressure, or movement perceived by investigators when no one else was near them. These accounts are documented in Tormented Illusion's published investigation reports and in accounts from independent groups that have accessed the site.
The cemetery, where the four unnamed boys are buried, is treated with care by tour operators. The Tormented Illusion site's documentation frames the boys as part of the historical record rather than as entertainment content, acknowledging that the graves are real and the deaths documented. Investigators who visit the cemetery during tours report a subdued, heavy atmosphere in contrast to the more active phenomena reported inside the cellblock.
Guided tours of the historic former correctional facility, covering its origins as the 1891 Oregon State Reform School for Boys, the on-grounds cemetery where four boys who died at the school are buried, and the site's subsequent use as a state penitentiary farm annex and county corrections facility through its 2021 closure.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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The Preston School of Industry in Ione, California was established by the State Legislature as a reform institution for juvenile offenders — emphasizing rehabilitation over imprisonment. The cornerstone was laid in December 1890, and the Romanesque Revival building, designed in the Richardsonian style, opened in June 1894. The school operated until 1960, when new facilities were completed on the same property. Notable alumni include Merle Haggard, Rory Calhoun, and author Eddie Bunker.