If you believe in ghosts, prisons are pretty likely places to find them.

The mental torture of incarceration alone might be enough to cause lingering spectral energies. The mental state of the inmates, the violence of their crimes and the atrocities committed -- by inmates and their keepers alike -- all ramp up the possibility of something sticking around after death ... and being, by all accounts, angry about it.

Haunted Prisons, by David Weatherly and Ross Allison, takes a close look at 21 prisons and penitentiaries in the United States, from Eastern States near Philadelphia to Alcatraz, outside of San Francisco. They provide a history of each prison, naming some of the more notorious inmates at each and describing in detail some of murders, riots and tortures that occurred there.

Then, they provide accounts of reported hauntings on the premises, of which there are many.

The book doesn't waste time, giving brief but thorough summaries of the supposed encounters people have had within those prison walls. Nor do the authors go out of their way to provide a dramatic spooky atmosphere, but they don't have to; the stories stand on their own and will certainly creep out any readers who enjoy a good haunting.

Prisons are a perfect setting for ghost stories, and fans of the genre should be happy with this book. Anyone who enjoys true-crime accounts will find plenty to enjoy here, too. Haunted Prisons is a nice addition to any library of supernatural lore.