Pennhurst State (November 2009)

I just watched the Pennhurst State episode and wow. That place is creepy just based on the history of the facility.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennhurst_State_School

"Pennhurst State School and Hospital, which sits on the border between Chester County and Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, was an institution for both the mentally and physically disabled. Pennhurst opened in 1908 with high hopes of helping disabled youths throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. However, Pennhurst's seemingly good intentions came under question starting in the 1970s when rumors of physical and sexual abuse arose."

There weren't enough staff members to take care of the number of patients. One room had 80 cribs filled with children who weren't being taught to walk simply because the attendants didn't have time to go to the closet and pull out mattresses to put down on the floor to protect the children who might fall.

Hundreds of the more mentally disabled and disturbed children were biters and a couple of attempts were made to teach them to stop. When those initial efforts failed, the children were strapped into a dentist's chair one by one, and every tooth in their mouths was pulled since that was the only sure way to protect the other children from the biters.

Pennhurst State School was closed in 1986 following several allegations of abuse.

So this is where Zak, Nick and Aaron found themselves this time and before they even made it into the building they heard a very loud bang and they were off and running trying to find the source of the sound. Very soon after entering the building they came across a large metal desk that appeared to have been toppled over against the wall of a hallway. Zak noticed that there were fresh trails in the dirt on the floor corresponding with where the legs of the desk would have skidded through that dirt in order to land where it did.

There were many unexplained voices and sounds, including eerie screams. A rock was thrown at the team and Zak ws hit by a heavy coat rack. Upon reviewing the footage and looking at where the coat rack started, and where Zack was when it hit him, I can't think of any possible way it could have done it on its own. I think this was the most exciting part of the entire episode because it seems completely inexplicable. I have no idea how it could have happened the way it did.

You really should check this episode for yourself. It's very interesting and well worth your time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIfOYGy2RTY

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Assylum (Halloween 2009)

When I checked the mail the other day, I found an interesting package inside. It was a plain brown cardboard envelope from Travel Channel Media and my interest was immediately peaked.



I ripped the envelope open and was surprised to find a file folder. As a matter of fact, it looked just like a medical chart. And so it was - from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. The file folder contained patient admittance forms for Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, our fearless (um, not so much) Ghost Adventurers. Apparently, even The Travel Channel thinks the boys have lost their minds on this case and have decided to have them committed.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is located in Weston, West Virginia. It was constructed between 1858 and 1881, and is the second largest hand-cut stone masonry building in the entire world, with an astounding 2 1/2 miles of corridors! The original hospital, designed to house 250 souls, was opened to patients in 1864 and reached it's peak in the 1950s with 2400 patients in terribly overcrowded and poor conditions. And if that wasn't bad enough, patient-on-patient violence was commonplace, with the worst offenders being shackled in seclusion cells, and inmates were routinely subjected to brutal & primitive medical procedures, including "ice-pick" lobotomies.

Let's face it, a live, 7-hour investigation in this old, abandoned Lunatic Asylum doesn't really sound very smart. It does, however, sound like a heck of a good time, especially when it features Zak, Nick and Aaron.

This long episode was loads of fun to watch with lots of thrills and chills but what I'm really excited about is this week's show - the big reveal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tPN93kXJMY

Slewfoot

Marty yawned, stretched and smiled, reliving the last moments of a naughty dream. Contentment lasted until he opened his eyes and saw where he was, remembering with sudden clarity how he came to be there. He couldn’t believe his family had committed him to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Yes, he drank too much and the hospital had a good substance abuse program but did he really need to be locked up?

“Good-bye, good mood. It was nice knowing you.”

The first of the day’s business took place in the communal bathroom. Marty was standing at the urinal when he heard the distinctive drag-slap sound of Slewfoot entering the room.

“Oh great” thought Marty, but he greeted the other man politely. Slewfoot smiled and came to stand at the neighboring urinal. Marty quickly realized that Slewfoot was eyeing him and hurried to finish.

Just as Marty was about to tuck himself back into his shorts, Slewfoot said, “Nice equipment you got there. Want to put it to good use?”

Marty realized Slewfoot had some unknown mental problem so he simply muttered, “No, thank you” and hurried to the sink to wash his hands.

Slewfoot shrugged and left.

Marty was unnerved at having been propositioned by a man. That the man was insane added another layer of unreality. Marty gave himself a mental shake, brushed his teeth and was washing his face when he heard drag-slap footsteps rushing across the cool tile of the bathroom floor.

Before Marty could dry his eyes he felt a searing pain in his shoulder. He jerked up, turned and felt a jab of pain in his neck. He saw a flash of sharp metal at the same time that a gout of blood gushed out, splashing his attacker. Slewfoot stood there, drenched in Marty’s steaming blood.

Marty ran for the door, sliding in the red pool, making his way toward the nurses’ station. Too much blood! Every beat of his heart was sending sprays of it out onto the pale blue tile.

This was ridiculous. He giggled but it came out as a gurgle. He was choking on his own blood. Lightheaded and delirious, his pierced throat wouldn’t allow him to call for help and there was no one in view. He felt weaker by the second and fell to his knees. Arms buckling, he could no longer pull himself along. He collapsed. As he was breathing his last painful breaths, his vision dimmed. The last sound he heard was drag-slap.

Moon River Brewing Company

This episode finds our stalwart adventurers trekking to the deep south to investigate the Moon River Brewing Company in beautiful old historic Savannah, Georgia.


Here's the episode info from friend Ben, at the Travel Channel.

This week the GA crew is locking down at the Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah, arguably one of the most haunted cities in the country. Below are episode details and a preview video I wanted to share with you.

The Moon River Brewery Company occupies the building where the first hotel in Savannah, Georgia, once stood. The City Hotel was an upscale establishment, however the affluent clientele occasionally resorted to violence defending their Southern honor. Since the Moon River Brewery opening, the staff and customers have encountered many unexplained, and sometimes violent, occurrences. Accounts include bottles being thrown by unseen forces and people being touched, pushed, and slapped by invisible spirits. One prominent ghostly figure is "Toby," who lurks in the bar's billiard room where he has been known to push patrons and staff.

Also, a glowing white apparition has reportedly been seen on the restaurant's upper floors and is believed to be the spirit of a hotel worker who died there in the late 1800s.

Video Preview Here is the video preview of the Moon River Brewing investigation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT7K3k28LPs

More to come after I see the episode...

Wow. Ok, so I just watched the episode and it was so good that I watched it again when the Travel Channel reran it an hour later. There are some things that I just can't figure out.

The word-database thingy (yes, I'm sure that was the technical name for it, lol) was a really cool piece of technology that they brought into this investigation and it had some really interesting hits. The guys were asking questions and seemingly, the device was giving them clear answers that actually made good contextual sense. In one instance, Zak leaned a ladder up against the wall and announced that he was going to begin some renovations.The device then said the words "remove" and "step." The guys asked what would happen if they didn't remove the step, and the device said "yell." Just a bit later there was, indeed, the sound of an angry yell. Could this have all been coincidence? Yes. Could it have been a true anomaly. Yes.

There were so many disembodies sounds in this episode that I won't really try to focus on them. Instead, I'll get to the incidents that I found pretty darn creepy.

At one point, Aaron was filming Nick and Zak when he caught what appeared to be a small light that collided with Nick's head and immediately disappeared. To be truthful, it really looked like it pierced Nick's skull. Right around that time, both Zak and Nick complained of extreme pressure and even pain on their heads. Right after all this happened, Nick, again being filmed by Aaron, began to sway a bit on his feet. It was a very slight movement and nothing was said about it at that moment. I believe it's probably safe to say that it was so slight a movement that Aaron never saw it until the evidence review. Just after all this Nick became downright creepy. His whole countenance and demeanor changed. When Nick raised his head and looked at Zak, the look on Nick's face was pure menace, so much so that Zak actually freaked and jumped away from him.

There was so much interesting evidence that to make sense of all of it, the guys took the footage to another independent ghost hunting team to get their impressions. It was during this session that Nick revealed the chilling thoughts that had been running through his head while he was glaring a hole through Zak. It was completely unnerving and if you want to know what it was you'll have to watch the episode.

Eastern State Pennitentiary

This week's episode of Ghost Adventures has Zak, Nick and Aaron heading out to Philly which, when put that way, just doesn't sound very promising. But, considering that their ultimate destination is Eastern State Pen, my anticipation meter spikes.

If, like me, you are a seeker of answers about the paranormal then you've probably seen other television shows devoted to the investigation of this spectacularly creepy prison. If not then here's a bit of background info, provided by good ol' Ben at The Travel Channel, to get you prepped and ready for your Friday night spook-fest.

The Eastern State Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is considered to be one of the most haunted locations in the world. The prison first opened its doors in 1829 and was designed to hold 253 prisoners, each occupying a solitary confinement cell for their entire sentence. Although executions were not carried out at Eastern State, the prison was home to its fair share of murders.

At least two guards were murdered over the years as were many inmates. Hundreds of others died from disease and old age. The inmates are long gone but there is strong evidence that their angry spirits continue to roam the cell blocks and corridors.

Extended Video Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj5QHRh5kZA
Location Slideshow behind-the-scenes photos

See you right back here for a wrap-up after the episode airs.

Post Show Impressions:
Well, the guys approached this investigation with their usual vigor and enthusiasm and the residents of Eastern State performed as hoped.While there wasn't much in the way of visual evidence, there was an abundance of sounds that kept Zak and company hopping.

I think my favorite Zak moment was hearing him state "You're talking to a master taunter." Honestly, some of the things that come out of his mouth are so silly.

I always seem to find Aaron's solo sessions the most interesting. Maybe Aaron volunteers off-camera for the things he ends up doing, but however it happens, he always seem to have the most intense experiences of the three. Maybe that's just due to his reactions, I don't know, but tonight was no exception. When he went off by himself into that hallway, he heard so many unusual sounds, including what sounded like footsteps approaching from behind. His reactions are priceless.

Now, what I noticed from this episode that didn't seem to get any mention or analysis was something that happened while Aaron was there alone. That was the only time during the entire show that I noticed a visible puff of breath.Not sure what to make of that. What do you think?

Birdcage Theatre

This evening's episode found the boys in Tombstone, Arizona at the Birdcage Theatre.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdcage_Theater.

Opened in 1881 during the silver boom, The Birdcage was a famous combination saloon, gambling hall and historical house of ill repute that is reported to be haunted by a number of entities.

As you may recall from your high school American History class (or a particular episode of Star Trek TOS)


Tombstone was the site of the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral and the old city cemetery, Boot Hill, where so many old gunslingers are buried.

The Birdcage got its name because of the upstairs rooms where prostitutes entertained the “gentlemen” when they weren’t playing poker. These women were referred to as "soiled doves."




During tonight’s interview portion of the show, Zack seemed very excited to hear that one of the ghostly sightings that has been reported is that of a naked lady. While they weren’t lucky enough to get a peek at a lady of the evening in her birthday suit, Zack was very funny at one point during the investigation, when he asked, “Do you think we caught two ghosts havin' sex?”



I must say, I always feel bad for Aaron. The other guys are always making him stay in spooky rooms by himself, and this episode was no exception. Historians say that Tombstone saw at least one death a day for many, many years and there is a room in The Birdcage that houses the original horse-drawn carriage that was used as a hearse back then.


This area, according to another paranormal investigator they spoke with, is a real EVP hotspot, with lots of angry voices yelling expletives. It wasn’t surprising then, that this is where Aaron was sent to investigate. What was surprising was the speed with which he left the room after something he couldn’t see grabbed him. I can’t say I would have stuck around after that either, though.


Many times the sounds the guys hear and the EVPs they play several times don’t really seem to come through very well over the television broadcast. My husband and I keep looking at one another in confusion, wondering what, exactly, it is the guys can hear that we can’t. During this episode, though, we both clearly heard what sounded like someone wearing boots, running down a wooden staircase. That was pretty cool.


All in all, this was a really interesting episode. The guys were funny and the residents of old Tombstone were, by all appearances, cooperative. If you didn’t get to see it this evening, you missed a good time.

Ghost Adventures

Recently, the Travel Channel's hit show Ghost Adventures sent out a call for bloggers who'd like to blog about the show. I answered, and well, here you have it. My first blog about the show. Since this is my first blog on the topic, I thought I'd simply copy and paste the email I received from the fellow at the travel channel. It explains how this came about and gives a bit of info (as well as a two minute clip) about tomorrow night's episode. After I've watched the program tomorrow, I'll come back here and give you my review. Sound good? Here is the email....

Thank you for responding to our Facebook update and sending us an email. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to provide information about the upcoming episode of Ghost Adventures. This week the Ghost Adventures Crew is heading to Tombstone, AZ for an investigation of the Bird Cage Theater, one of the most haunted buildings in the wild west. Tune in for the episode premiere and see what evidence the team discovers this Friday at 9 PM E/P on the Travel Channel.

"The New York Times" once called the former gambling hall, saloon and brothel, "the roughest, bawdiest, and most wicked night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." The walls of the Bird Cage Theater are riddled with over 140 bullet holes and at least 26 people lost their lives here in gun or knife fights. Visitors and employees of the Bird Cage Theater have reported seeing the spirits of former prostitutes and men in cowboy hats. Some claim to have been touched and pushed by unseen forces.

Video Preview
Here is an extended preview from Friday's episode, please feel free to post on your site - it would be great to hear your comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znPs8KGFdZc

Are You Lockdown Worthy?
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Keep it Spooky,
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