Inside Holmesburg Prison where the inmates were used as guinea pigs

IT’S the abandoned prison that has a shocking past . You won’t believe what was done to the inmates who resided here.

IT’S the abandoned prison that has a shocking past.

Homlesburg Prison in Philadelphia was once notorious for its medical testing on inmates, as well as being the scene of brutal riots, rapes and murders.

And while it may have shut its doors two decades ago, the remnants of its evil history still linger in its cells today.

Photographer Matthew Christopher, 37, has been visiting the location for the past five years documenting the slow demise of the prison after its closure in 1995.

He has captured these haunting images that show the eerie remains of this once harsh place.

Telephones, drawings and bed frames still linger in the decaying structure.

PICTURED: Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo: Caters News

Holmesburg first opened in 1896, and for decades was the site of controversy due to its dermatological, pharmaceutical and biochemical research which involved testing on humans.

The man who is credited with creating Retin-A, the basis for acne cream and the treatment of fine wrinkles, dermatologist, Dr Albert Kligman, blatantly used prisoners as testing subjects.

Even in his later years, Dr Kligman, who made millions from his discovery, denied any wrongdoing.

He released a statement which was printed in the Baltimore Sun in 1998 in which he said his use of prisoners as research subjects in the 1950s and 1960s “was in keeping with this nation’s standard protocol for conducting scientific investigations”.

The experiments ended in 1974 following public outcry, and congressional hearings and laws

But Holmesburg was not just known for the inhumane experiments.

During the 1970s, the institution also became known for a series of vicious riots, as well as brutal rapes and horrific murders.

PICTURED: Rows of cells at the abandoned Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo: Cater News

These creepy images appear in a new book titled Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences, put together by Mr Christopher.

“Prisons are an entirely different world most of us never really get to see,” he said.

“They have terrifying histories – as Dostoyevsky said ‘the degree of civilisation in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.’

“They are frightening because of the people who inhabited them and what they say about our culture.”