Cruising down Interstate 73 in North Carolina takes you to Mount Pleasant where you turn on Dutch rd.

To your right is an ominous mix of buildings that house more than the spirits you buy on a shelf.

You are looking at Southern Grace Distilleries, a place also known as the haunted “Whiskey Prison”!

Cabarrus Correctional Facility was built in 1929, in response to the state of North Carolina passing a law that forbid much of the inhumane living conditions and treatment of Inmates, such as chain gangs.

Cabarrus Correctional Facility was designed to hold 250 Inmates, though the count would sometimes be as high as 400. As no custody classifications existed during this time, Inmates all of types were housed within the prison.

One of the most notorious areas of Cabarrus Correctional Facility was a hotbox that was built to hold two Inmates at a time. As a form of punishment, a fire burned inside the hotbox at all times to induce profuse sweating. Inmates could be housed up to 60 days.

The torturous hotbox would sometimes result in Inmates looking to escape.  One inmate overpowered a guard, grabbed his gun, and shot him through the abdomen in a futile attempt to find relief. The bullet passed through the guard’s body and left in a dent in the hotbox door that can still be seen today.

While Cabarrus Correctional Facility was eventually classified as a minimum-security prison, violent assaults were known to take place over the years. Murders and suicides occurred, with one Inmate hanging himself in an isolation cell and an Inmate being murdered in a housing unit bathroom.

Due to being obsolete, Cabarrus Correctional Facility closed in 2011. The property was bought by Southern Grace Distilleries, who moved in and began their whiskey making process in 2016. In being the first distillery company to work from within an old prison, Southern Grace Distilleries has come to be known as the “Whiskey Prison”.

In joining us for a Ghost Hunt of the haunted Southern Grace Distilleries, you’ll be walking on ground that is steeped in torture, violence, and death. The lives many Inmates endured, and the way some of these lives ended, creates an atmosphere that may bring you face to face with those who never left.

As you browse the gift shop, perhaps you’ll see the children spirits who linger, and they may tell you what ties them to an old prison. You may strike a conversation with the male spirits who reside there or encounter the mysterious spirit of a woman who many have heard speaking to them.

Should you dare enter the isolation area, a sad spirit in Cell #4 could look to tell the story that led to his tragic suicide. As you leave this area, you may hear voices beckoning you to come back. In the bathroom of the largest housing unit, a male entity might seek you as a listener for the tale of his murder.

Southern Grace Distilleries holds the imprints of energy from tragic events that will forever remain. Many of the spirits are looking for the freedom they never had in life. Some just want to tell their stories. This former prison is no more predictable with the dead than it was with the living.

We’ll be walking into the frightening “Whiskey Prison” and seeking more than the type of spirits you can buy on a shelf.  When the night ends, a few shots may be needed to calm your nerves. Our investigations at this intensely active location will be something you must come join…If you dare!