WEBVTT - In the Old Days it Was Like a Dungeon Here. Terrible Things Were Done 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:05.040 Welcome to Haunted Road, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:16.640 and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener, discretion is advised. One time, 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.400 I practically begged to take a wooden leg home from 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.400 a haunted location I was investigating. I'm not proud of 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.520 this moment, but truly that leg became one of my 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.800 favorite stories of all time, and I just really wanted 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.760 to take it home, even though I had absolutely no 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.280 business having it. You see, when I arrived at this place, 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:39.960 no one had given much thought to the old wooden 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:42.840 prosthetic hanging on the wall, but I was of course 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.400 instantly drawn to it. When I asked about it, they 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:49.479 said they'd found it in the attic. I live in 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:51.680 a three hundred year old house, and let me just 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:54.560 tell you, if I found a wooden leg in my attic, 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:58.160 it would be like Christmas. Don't judge me. I look 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.560 for ghosts for a living. What did you expect? Also, 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.680 you're listening to this, so welcome to the party. Anyway, 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:06.319 In the room where the leg was, they had some 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.280 mischievous activity going on, including something that scared a bunch 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.959 of kids trying to have a sleepover. I don't know why, 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.280 but I knew that leg was responsible, so I started 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:22.200 doing research. What did I find that one hundred years 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:26.520 before a literal one legged circus performer was a resident 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:29.039 in the home we were investigating, and that he had 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:32.560 a penchant for playing tricks. The timeline of when he 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:34.600 had lived and died in the home lined up with 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.240 the style of wooden leg, and on top of that, 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:40.280 activity went wild when we brought him up in the room. 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:45.600 Imagine my excitement when I realized I had absolutely found 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:50.280 a haunted prosthetic. Needless to say, they didn't let me 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:54.200 take the leg home yet, although it's definitely for the best, 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:59.560 and this location quickly became one of my favorites. We're 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:05.160 talking about the Randolph County Infirmary in Winchester, Indiana. I'm 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:12.840 Amy Bruney, and welcome to Haunted Road. To reach the 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:17.320 Randolph County Infirmary, visitors have to drive to rural Indiana, 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.440 not too far from the Ohio border. After cruising through 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:25.680 empty farmland, guests will arrive in a city called Winchester. 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.520 Outside the city proper, but still within the town's limits. 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.160 They'll come upon a two story brick building with peaked 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.920 metal roofs, A pair of turrets loom on either side 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:41.040 of the front door, dwarfing a concrete stairway between them. 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:47.680 A carved inscription in stone reads Randolph co Infirmary. Inside, 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.359 the hallways are dark and the plastered walls have holes 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:55.200 exposing the brick underneath. Some rooms have been restored to 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.519 their former glory with period appropriate furniture and fresh bright 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:02.920 paint on the walls, but it wouldn't take long to 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.800 walk from a welcoming sitting room to a crumbling chamber. 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:11.040 Because the building was segregated by gender, there are two 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:15.279 of everything. The facility features a pair of chapels, dayrooms, 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.480 and infirmaries, one of which is filled to the brim 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:22.120 with dolls. The county bought the land in eighteen fifty 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.239 one to build a poorhouse. While it had numerous different 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.519 names over time, I will refer to the facility as 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:33.480 the Randolph County Infirmary throughout this episode for clarity. Even 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.920 before the residence halls were built, clients lived in the 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:41.360 agricultural buildings on the grounds. These were low income people 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.160 who earned their keep by working on the on site 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:47.560 farm if they were able. This included growing crops and 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:52.040 tending to cows, chickens, and other animals. The official Randolph 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:57.040 County Asylum Infirmary website notes that the facility also provided 0:03:57.080 --> 0:04:01.080 housing for people who were too ill, elderly, or disabled 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.480 to pick up any chores. By eighteen fifty three, the 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:09.160 main housing building was completed with space to accommodate sixteen people, 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:14.720 but disaster struck almost immediately. The home burned down in 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.599 less than a year. When replacement housing was constructed, the 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:23.159 builders didn't follow proper procedure. According to Scott Schaeffer of 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:27.800 the Winchester News Gazette. Individual bricks were made on site, 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.799 but they weren't baked properly, and rather than forming sturdy walls, 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.400 they began to disintegrate quickly. Within a few decades, officials 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.560 tore the building down out of fears about its stability. 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:43.800 A third structure, the one that still stands today, was 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.560 erected just before the turn of the century. Unlike the 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:51.240 previous buildings, this one was solid and well built. It 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:55.320 cost fifty thousand dollars to fabricate, the equivalent of one 0:04:55.360 --> 0:05:00.040 point eight million of today's dollars adjusted for inflation. It 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.080 had a bell system that rang through the facility to 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.839 help residents stick to strict schedule. They ate and worked 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:10.520 on the farm at specific times, and according to the 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:15.680 official Randolph County Asylum Infirmary website, it also boasted laundry 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.839 and kitchen facilities and a pair of dining rooms that 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:22.640 were segregated by gender. Other news structures on the grounds 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:28.239 included chicken coops, barns, machine sheds, and more. In nineteen eleven, 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:32.560 the Monday Evening Press declared the Randolph County Infirmary one 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:35.920 of the best in the state, and its history is 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:40.840 marked with several uplifting stories. For example, a thirty two 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.960 year old former lumberjack named Jimmy Cantrell checked into the 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:49.440 Randolph County Infirmary in nineteen nineteen as spinal cancer left 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:53.880 him immobilized. He couldn't work a traditional job, but the 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:59.880 hospital's superintendent's daughter taught him tatting or lace making. Initially, 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.719 Jimmy was resistant to the new hobby. He later told 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.760 a reporter with the Muncy Sunday Star that he saw 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:10.640 tatting as women's work, something embarrassing for a man like 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.400 him to do, But after he gave it a try, 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.159 he discovered that he was incredibly talented at the craft. 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:22.200 He eventually opened a highly successful lace business and told 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.560 the same reporter, every once in a while, I think 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.680 about learning to do something more along a man's life, 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.880 But then I remember that I'm making something useful, for 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:37.839 without beautiful things, life wouldn't be much worth living. This 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:42.839 story highlights how important organizations like the Randolph County Infirmary 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:46.000 could be. There's a real power in giving meaning and 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.479 purpose to people who might otherwise fall through the cracks. 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:54.760 But as time went on, the conditions at the facility deteriorated. 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:59.320 Sometime along the way, someone installed a barred jail cell 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:03.600 on the second Supposedly this was a place where inebriated 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:07.919 residents could sleep off their alcohol binges, but reports suggest 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.480 some cruel staffers would also throw patients in the cell 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:17.040 as a punishment, even for minor infractions. There were roughly 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:22.160 two hundred documented deaths on site, maybe more. One early 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:25.200 one happened in March nineteen oh six, not long after 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.680 the newest version of the building was constructed, and five 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.720 years before the newspaper sang its praises as the best 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.840 in the state muncies. The press described how a residence 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:39.160 suffered an epileptic seizure while standing near the top of 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:43.000 the staircase on the third story. He fell nearly all 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.280 the way to the ground floor and ultimately succumbed to 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:51.239 his injuries from the fall. Decades later, another long term 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.840 resident became confused while attempting to cross the street and 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.360 stepped in front of an oncoming car. He was hit 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:03.160 and died the next day. There are numerous other accounts 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:07.600 of falls and car accidents, including one possible murder. In 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.360 nineteen forty three, a man named John Oliver Champ tumbled 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.800 out a second floor window and passed away afterward. There 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.440 are allegations that this fall was no accident. It's said 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:22.280 two other patients pushed him to his death, but these 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:27.760 claims are unverified. However, I want to focus on one 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:34.480 more notable passing, that of Ida Gunkle. She suffered from neurosyphilis, 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.400 which was untreatable at the time she checked in in 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:42.880 nineteen thirty eight. Without medication. Syphilis is degenerative and causes 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:47.480 cognitive decline. In Ida's case, she was prone to running 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:51.320 through the halls and she had horrible hygiene. Before long, 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:55.480 her caretakers determined that a traditional room wasn't adequate for her, 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.880 so they transferred her into the basement into a dungeon 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:04.800 like cell with barred windows. One evening, she hung herself 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:07.960 from the ceiling, and her final moments were anything but 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.880 quick and painless. The drop didn't break her neck, so 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.240 she spent her last minutes choking and gasping for air. 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:20.320 She was found dead the next morning. In nineteen ninety four, 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:24.240 the Randolph County facility passed from public to private owners, 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.600 and the new administration tried to change the way they 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:31.079 ran the operation. Instead of ringing bells to keep all 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.040 the residents on the same schedule, they instead tried to 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:38.160 add more flexibility to the calendar. This didn't go over 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.200 well with the residents. By now only about twelve people 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.760 lived on site, a sharp decline from previous eras when 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:49.280 the Randolph County Residents housed around ninety people. But those 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.440 dozen or so clients were adamant about sticking to the 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.439 way they'd always done things, and eventually the new owners 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.840 caved to their demands. A few years later, in nineteen 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:03.440 ninety seven, reporter with the Indianapolis News interviewed an eighty 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:07.240 two year old resident named Doris Addington, who'd lived on 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:11.760 site since nineteen forty five. She described her time at 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:15.480 the Randolph County Infirmary to the journalists, saying, in the 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.760 old days it was like a dungeon here, terrible things 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:22.680 were done. When the journalist asked her to elaborate, she 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:26.480 burst into tears and couldn't answer. Later in that interview, 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.600 she alluded to something involving getting in a car with boys, 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.760 but this account was short on details. While the reporter 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:38.400 didn't get a clear explanation. Then it's not too late 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.360 to learn from Doris. Even though she passed away in 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.880 two thousand and six, her spirit is sometimes spotted in 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:48.080 the kitchen where she used to work. Many claims she 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:51.560 moves items around, situating things just the way she once 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:55.080 liked them. She's also thought to be a presence in 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:58.760 the infirmary where she spent her final days. Mitch goth 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.520 Of haunted us for that. Doris loved porcelain dolls in 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.800 her life, and now the infirmary is filled with her 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.920 old figurines and other dolls that were left in her honor. 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.000 Visitors claim these toys sometimes move on their own, as 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:17.320 though Doris is still arranging or playing with them. The 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.960 woman who killed herself, Ida Guncle, is also said to 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.920 haunt the basement cell where she took her own life. 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.640 Many visitors who set foot in the chamber feel an 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:31.920 overwhelming sense of panic, and people have recorded a voice 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.880 urging them to get out. Ida seemingly saves the worst 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:38.640 of her ire for people who get facts about her 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:43.280 life wrong. According to the reality TV show Destination Fear, 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:46.600 Ida has been known to become violent against those who 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:50.080 mock her or make untrue statements about her. She's even 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:54.680 scratched people deeply enough to drop blood. However, some visitors 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:57.240 have tried to placate her by bringing small gifts and 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:01.320 leaving them in her former room. Likewise, many guests bring 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:04.719 toys as a gift for a boy who's been dubbed Noah. 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:08.480 One psychic claimed the child's ghost made contact with her 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.040 and asked for toys, and if you bring him an 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.600 offering he likes, he may try to play with you 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:18.520 in his former first bedroom. Guests have also reported interactions 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.599 with the spirit of an unidentified judge who's said to 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:25.920 be particularly active in the attic. Mitch Goth claimed he 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.600 was notorious for his harsh verdicts in the courtroom. Apparently, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.800 after he was admitted to the facility, he continued to 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:37.240 wield his perceived authority, subjecting other residents to foe trials. 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:41.079 In the attic, investigators have captured his voice on tape, 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.679 and many feel as though they're being watched when they 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:48.160 reach the top floor. There's one eerie area on the 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.080 second floor where guests often feel as though some invisible 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:57.360 attacker is punching them in the gut or grabbing their throats. Interestingly, 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:00.240 this isn't too far from the site of John Oliver 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:03.480 Champs deadly fall out the window. If it's true that 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:07.040 he was murdered by his fellow patients, these ghostly blows 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.760 might be a spectral echo of his final fatal moments. 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.640 Beyond that, the infirmary has many of the typical tell 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:20.680 tale signs of hauntings. Figures appear in empty spaces. Mitch 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:24.120 Goth describes some as white and misty and others as 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:28.480 more shadowy. Passers through might also feel as though someone 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.600 they don't see is touching them, and a tricycle in 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:36.160 the attic has rolled on its own. For an empty facility, 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.560 it's surprisingly noisy in unoccupied rooms, Guests may hear doors, 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.480 slam bangs on the walls, or voices including children's laughter, 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:48.400 screams and moans frequently echo through the basement and near 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.920 the barred jail cell on the floor. Some of these 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:56.640 disturbances don't have a clear explanation. For example, at least 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.240 one visitor saw a figure in the basement that they 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:04.600 described as resembling a baby octopus. Others have identified something 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:08.720 they call a creeper. The Hauntings around America web page 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.640 on Randolph County Asylum described the creeper as having an 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:18.280 ominous ambiance. It's said to charge it visitors moving impossibly fast. 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.080 It's clear there are many spirits with a variety of 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:27.920 different attitudes and personalities at the Randolph County Infirmary. To 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:30.920 tease out their stories, I'm going to speak with someone 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.760 who spends a tremendous amount of time there, mister Ted Martin. 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.800 Ted heads up their tours and does a lot of 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.800 paranormal investigations on site, and he's got some very interesting 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.840 stories to share with us. That is coming up after 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:55.960 the break. All right, So I am now joined by 0:14:56.240 --> 0:15:00.280 Ted Martin, who is the historian at the infirmary and 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:04.000 has a wealth of information. Also kind of has what 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.200 I consider to be a dreamy job. I'm a little jealous. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:09.080 So welcome to the programs. 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:09.920 Ed, thank you. 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.480 Now, when did you get started with the INFIRMI how 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:14.440 long have you been associated with that building? 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:16.280 A little over three years? 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.040 Now, that's great. And now did you just kind of 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:20.960 fall into it or was it something you had an 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:22.480 interest in initially or. 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:27.480 No, I was actually the county historian and I was 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:31.000 a president of the Historical Society. You yourself have been 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:35.840 to our museum up there, and I had retired from 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:41.200 my full time job, and these guys knew me from 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.800 working with them a little bit here and there, and 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:45.640 they called me and asked me if i'd like to 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.920 have a job by meeting people at the door and 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.080 telling them the history and showing them around the place. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.080 And it sounded like exactly what I wanted to do. 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.240 So how I become involved? 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:00.760 Yeah, well, I mean I would say, you're the perfect 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.840 guy for the job. So now, did you have you 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.120 always believed in the paranormal or did the infirmary kind 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:07.960 of make you a believer? 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:12.480 The infirmary definitely made me a believer. To be quite 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:16.360 honest with you, Ammy, I was fourteen years Army Infantry 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:20.800 and eighteen years firefighter, and I wasn't much that I 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:24.160 was afraid of, to be honest with you, and I 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.680 didn't believe that this stuff was real. I always said 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.080 that somebody goad to walk up and shake my hand 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.560 and introduce themselves to me before I believe it. And 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.120 lo and behold, it basically happened here. 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:38.480 What was the moment, What was it that made you 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:38.960 a believer? 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.480 Well, the moment that made me believer. You remember me 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.160 telling you back when you guys were here about the 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:46.680 judge up in the attic. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:49.960 Well, why don't you recount it for us, just because 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.040 there's a lot of listeners who aren't familiar. But I 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.640 do remember, okay. 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:58.360 Well, I had told you about the judge had mock 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:02.040 court mock trials up in the attic. He came here 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:06.200 like in nineteen thirty eight, and he didn't have any 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:10.760 family or anything, and he offered to pay the county 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:15.600 commissioner's rent to live here, and of course nobody else 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:18.160 is paying anything, so they took him up on it. 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.919 And so he was asked what he could do to 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.760 help people here and they had decided that he would 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.360 be in charge of security, and so they let him 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:34.320 do mock trials up in the attic so that the 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:38.560 regular residents of the people here where he was a jury. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.920 And of course he had taken the superintendent to win 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:48.520 to Winchester to County jail, and they had purchased a 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:52.160 jail cell and took the jail cell apart and brought 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:53.920 it out here and put it in one of the 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:58.800 rooms on the second floor. So if in his mock trials, 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.840 if he sentenced you to an overnight or a day 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.960 or two in jail, he actually had a place to put. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:05.880 You, oh my goodness. 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.480 And so fortunately he was a good, honest man. He 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:11.840 wasn't like he was a hanging type. 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:17.600 Drugs that could have been bad, yes, And to be 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.160 honest with you, since he was retired, he actually had 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:22.800 no legal authority. 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:28.160 But if the superintendent of this building says he could 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:30.680 do it, and they let him do it, and people 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:33.400 are going along with it, well he can pretty much 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:37.760 do what he wants to do. So I remember one 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:42.359 evening I was up in the attic with some guests 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:44.760 that was up there, and there's two different guys and 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:48.320 both of them had SLS cameras, you know, the stick 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:53.399 figure shoot a stick figure. And they asked me, they 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:56.040 said ted, They said, where is the jed holding him 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:59.680 open his mock trials? And I said, right in front 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.920 of you. It was Christopher and Philip Booth is who 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:03.320 it was. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.000 Oh yeah, yeah, okay, you know who they are? Yeah, yeah, 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:07.760 I am familiar. 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:12.200 And so they asked me, worry, how did he mock trials? 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:14.800 And I said, right in front of you, right out there. 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:17.320 And they said, why do you reckon he's here? And 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.800 I said, yes, I think he's still up there. And 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.280 about that time Philip said, look at my screen on 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:26.919 my camera, on the computer screen, and I looked on 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:30.000 his computer screen and he had it pointing towards an 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:33.080 upright up up there in the attic, and there was 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:37.840 a stick figurehead peeking around the upright and he said 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:41.120 you recognize him and I said, yes, I do recognize him. 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.600 He said, well can you get do you know him? 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:46.679 And I said sure, I know him well enough I 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:49.199 can talk about him. And he said, well, see if 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.760 you can get him to come out. So I went 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.720 down to where that upright was and I said, judge 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.280 listen to me, I said, THEMN cameras, them guy's got 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.199 can't hurt you. They won't hurt They'd like for you 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.720 to come out behind from behind this upright so that 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:06.680 they could see you better. And of course I couldn't see. 0:20:06.840 --> 0:20:10.439 I didn't have no camera, and that's one of the 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:14.199 big reasons why it didn't scare me to death. So 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:17.480 I went over there and he I asked him to 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:20.840 come out, and I turned around and walked back across 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:23.840 the hallway and was leaning against a chimney up there, 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:27.280 and one of the guys, either Phillip or Christopher, one 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:32.439 said he's following you. And then Christopher said, well, as 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:35.080 a matter of fact, he's leaning against the chimney right 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.680 beside you. Well, if he's right beside me, that makes 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:41.879 him no further away than two feet away from me. 0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:45.240 And I'm wanting to see him. And so I'm looking 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.320 real hard, looking real hard, and the next thing I know, 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:52.840 I break out into a cold sweat, and I feel 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.600 like I'm going to do a nose dive. I feel 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:59.720 like I'm going to pass out right, And I squatted down, 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:05.000 clothes to the floor, and Philip or Christopher popped up 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.399 and said, then Ted, He said, Ted, I think he 0:21:07.640 --> 0:21:10.879 likes you. He laid his hand on your shoulder. Well, 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:16.000 that's what it was. He was zapping my energy, trying 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:20.639 to materialize, I guess, and that was making me sick. 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:21.520 Of course. 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:25.120 I was scooted down next to the floor and I said, Judge, 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:28.000 I said, if this is you, I said, you're going 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.240 to have to please get your hand off of me 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:33.840 because it's making me sick. I can't take it. And 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:37.679 within ten seconds I felt fine, and I asked him 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:41.760 what happened, and Christopher said, well, I believe he dropped 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:44.879 his hand off your shoulder and walked back across the 0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:48.520 opening hallway there and went back behind the upright, and 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:52.280 we can't see him now. So any skepticism of my 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:55.359 head went right out the window. That night, I couldn't 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:59.159 see it. I couldn't feel anything, but something was bothering me. 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:01.879 Something was making really feel tapped. 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:04.000 Right, And I mean the timing worked out to you. 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:06.679 I mean, what an interesting story, like I can't imagine, 0:22:07.080 --> 0:22:09.080 first of all, the way that man lived. You know, 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.320 He's just like I'm gonna rent the attic of the 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:14.680 infirmary and hold mock trials like, this is what I'm 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:17.640 doing with my life. And so obviously he already had 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:20.040 kind of an interesting personality, so it makes sense that 0:22:20.080 --> 0:22:22.240 he would stick around, and it makes sense that he 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:25.720 would have an affinity for other people, especially people dedicated 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:28.280 to the location. So I think that's really interesting if 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:32.120 someone visits the informer, like I've been there, and honestly, 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:35.359 I adore that building. I love the history there, I 0:22:35.400 --> 0:22:38.800 love the activity there. The feeling there can vary greatly, 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:41.440 Like in some places it feels very warm and inviting, 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:43.320 and I've been in other places where it feels a 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:46.199 little bit like we don't want you here, you know, 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:48.760 And it just depends on the day. I would say. 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:52.399 But along those lines, when people visit, what would you 0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:55.240 say is the most common activity that they report or 0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:56.199 that they experience. 0:22:57.000 --> 0:23:00.840 Well, I would say the most common experience most people 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:06.560 have is with either a guncle the lady that hung 0:23:06.600 --> 0:23:10.960 herself down in the basement, or with Doris Addington, the 0:23:11.000 --> 0:23:13.440 whole woman that cooked here for seventy years. 0:23:13.800 --> 0:23:16.000 Right, those were two names that came up a lot 0:23:16.080 --> 0:23:18.760 in my research, and I mean I found both of 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:22.240 their stories fascinating. I love Doris just because she's kind 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:24.359 of a recent figure, and I was able to find 0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:28.640 like photos of her and everything still there. How does 0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:32.280 she manifest? How do people know that they're encountering Doris. 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:37.000 Well, she'll either interact with him to a spirit box 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:40.520 down in the kitchen around the island down there in 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:44.120 a basement, or she'll interact with them in the room. 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:47.520 And she passed away in a sick room up here 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:50.360 on the first floor where all her dolls. 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:52.480 Are at Okay, And so the dolls that are there, 0:23:52.520 --> 0:23:54.840 those actually belong to her, are those dolls that people 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:55.640 bring for her. 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.600 One album on the shelves against the north wall in 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:04.720 her room are really hers. All the others that are 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:07.520 in there is people that's heard the story by listening 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:11.879 to different things like this, and they bring her doll. 0:24:12.080 --> 0:24:14.639 And if they bring her a doll and present it 0:24:14.680 --> 0:24:18.800 to her, it's usually on film or on tape or something. 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:23.359