Chillingham Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Grey family and their descendants the Earls of Tankerville from the 13th century until the 1980s. The castle was originally a monastery in the late 12th century. In 1298, King Edward I stayed at the castle on his way to Scotland to battle a Scottish army led by William Wallace. A glazed window in a frame was specially installed for the king, a rarity in such buildings at the time.

   In 1617, James I, the first king of both England and Scotland, stayed at the castle on a journey between his two kingdoms. As relations between the two countries became peaceful following the union of the crowns, the need for a military stronghold in the area declined. The castle was gradually transformed; the moat was filled, and battlements were converted into residential wings. A banquet hall and a library were built.

   In the 18th and 19th century the grounds underwent landscaping, including work carried out by Sir Jeffry Wyattville. The once extensive park, now under a separate ownership from the castle. During World War II, the castle was used as an army barracks. During this time, much of the decorative wood is said to have been stripped out and burned by the soldiers billeted there. After the war, the castle began to fall into disrepair. Lead had been removed from the roof, resulting in extensive weather damage to large parts of the building. In the 1980s, the castle was purchased by Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, whose wife Catherine is remotely descended from the Greys of Chillingham. He set about a painstaking restoration of the castle. Sections of the castle are open to the public, and holiday apartments are available for hire.
    Its current owners market the castle as being the most haunted castle in Britain.Some of these ghosts are written about are referred to in a 1925 pamphlet by Leonora, Countess of Tankerville. Others, such as John Sage, are of more recent invention.
    The most famous ghost of the castle is the "blue (or radiant) boy", who according to the owners used to haunt the Pink Room in the castle. Guests supposedly reported seeing blue flashes and a blue "halo" of light above their beds after a loud wail. It is claimed that the hauntings ceased after renovation work revealed a man and a young boy inside a 10-foot-thick wall. Documents dating back to the Spanish Armada were also found within the wall.
   
                                     John Sage
This cruel and sadistic torturer, who died about 1200, has often been seen wandering around the castle. He used to take great pleasure in his grisly work, even devising new and 'improved' methods of inflicting pain on his victims. During the three years he held the job, he is said to have tortured to death over 7,500 people and killed several hundred others in various ways.
    At the end of the war with the Scots, wanting to rid the castle of the prisoners, he rounded up the Scottish adults and older children being held and burnt them to death in the court-yard. He then took an axe, which can still be seen, and hacked to death the smaller children in the Edward room. The chandelier in that room sometimes swings by itself and people report a foul smell and strange atmosphere.
    John Sage's undoing was when he accidentally strangling his girlfriend as they made love on the 'torture rack' in the castle dungeon. Unfortunately for John Sage, his girlfriend's father was a Border Reiver who said that he would gather a great army and attack the castle if Sage was not put to death. John Sage was publicly hanged from a tree in the castle grounds in front of a very large and enthusiastic crowd. And as he slowly died, people cut off pieces of him as 'souvenirs'. So ended the life of a truly detestable man.
                             Radiant Boy or Blue Boy
The most famous of the Chillingham Castle ghosts was the 'Radiant Boy' or 'Blue Boy'. The sound of a young child in absolute terror or fear would be heard at the stroke of midnight in the Pink Bedroom coming from a point where a passage had been cut through the 10 foot thick walls. The sound would suddenly cease and the wraith of a young boy, dressed in blue and surrounded by a bright aura would approach the old four-poster bed.
    In the 1920's, building work was being carried out and the bones of a child were discovered along with scraps of blue bones were discovered. These were interred in the local graveyard and the Radiant Boy ceased making his appearances.
     However, people who sleep in the bed in the Pink Room, report that one wall of the room still lights up with bright flashes of blue light.
                                  Two lady ghosts
A Chillingham Castle ghost who can be seen today haunts the 'Inner pantry'. She is very frail and dressed in white, hence the name by which she is known. A watchman who slept in the room to guard the silver that used to be store there, saw the woman whom he assumed to be a guest. She asked him for water and as he turned to get her some, she disappeared. It has been suggested that the reason the spectre was so thirsty was that she had been poisoned.
Lady Mary Berkeley is another Chillingham Castle ghost. She is not seen but the rustle of her dress is heard by visitors or they feel a sudden cold chill as she endlessly searches for her husband. He scandalised the area when, in the 1600's, he seduced and ran off with his wife's younger sister. Poor Lady Mary was left all alone in the castle with just her small baby girl for company.

 

 

Tooele Hospital

 

 

 

Built in Tooele, Utah. By Samuel F. Lee in 1873 to provide a place to live for his family. By the year of 1913, the Lee family had moved out of the structure and the county turned it into a home for those that were elderly and required special care and supervision. At this time, many locals referred to it as the “County Poor House”. It was not long before the residents of the county recognized the structure as an appropriate location for a hospital.

     

The new hospital that opened in the area in the year of 1953 was a structure that was built for what is referred to as the “Tooele Army Depot”. Minor adjustments were made to the building in order to ensure that medical care could be provided to patients that visited it for care. This hospital was found to be a bit more attractive to the residents as the Old Tooele Hospital had no individual restrooms, but rather community restrooms that were limited to one on each hallway. In addition to this, there was no special location identified as a “morgue” for patients that passed away in the structure, though there was one room designated for the dead. The local mortuary would pick up the bodies as time permitted from this location. When visiting the Old Tooele Hospital , you will notice that the Tooele County Cemetery is seated beside the structure  a new hospital that has been hailed as “State of the Art” was constructed in the county and the Old Tooele Hospital was officialy closed for business in the year of 2000. Today, if you visit the structure, you will find that it is used for two different things – half serves as an area for the care of the elderly and the other half serves as “Asylum 49”.

       In the year of 2006, a man by the name of Kimm Andersen elected to create “Asylum 49” as an attraction for the youth and other members of the community for Halloween. This attraction is a haunted house theme. Kimm Andersen had a difficult time accepting stories and events that surrounded the paranormal. However, after spending quite a bit of time researching the Old Tooele Hospital, he quickly emerged as a believer that it did appear that the structure had a unique share of paranormal activity. 

     You may find it interesting to note that a spiritual portal is said to exist at the Old Tooele Hospital . It is said that a nurse by the name of “Maria” guards the portal. The spiritual portal contains a very bright light in which the deceased are highly attracted to. The individuals that have died while being cared for in their old age often go towards this light, believing it is their portal to the peaceful afterlife. However, Maria informs them on “the other side” that this is not the area that they should go to. A psychic medium that toured the facility and did her own investigation confirmed this information. 

  It is said that a patient by the name of Wes haunts the structure. He passed away and seems to be a bit confused and scared. He had Alzheimer’s disease at the time of his death and it is believed that the confusion from this condition continues to burden him in death. He is known to stay in the room that he was assigned to in life as well as the hallway just outside of his room. A medium came in to the hospital and attempted to assist him in “crossing over” as he should in the afterlife, but with no success. She discovered that there is an entity that stays very close to him when he is in the hallway – this entity is described as being very “dark”.

There are several other spirits that are said to haunt the Old Tooele Hospital . Their names are Richard, James, Ned, Peter, and even Jessica, who is a young child. These spirits have made themselves known to the visitors, and employees.

There is another story of interest when it comes to the Old Tooele Hospital . This is the story that claims that the popular Samuel F. Lee continues to walk the floors of this structure in the afterlife. It is said that this man contributed in many generous ways to the community, and people in general and he would like others to know. His son, Thomas, who has been estimated to be between six and eight years old often lingers with his father through the Old Tooele Hospital . He is a playful spirit that thoroughly enjoys people and playing little jokes on the guests.  

   It's said that if you see one one the ghost children that either you or someone close to you dies, and that the number 3 is associated with these hauntings. some of the ghost can be seen at 3 am, the elderly patients die in groups of three and when people get scratched they have three scratch marks.

 

Rolling Hills Asylum

Located between Buffalo and Rochester, Rolling Hills Asylum's enormous 53,000+ sq. ft. brick building sits on a knoll in the hamlet of E. Bethany, N.Y. Opened on January 1, 1827 and originally named The Genesee County Poor Farm, it was created by Genesee County to house those eligible for assistance including paupers, habitual drunkards, lunatics, the blind, lame or otherwise handicapped, orphans, widows, vagrants, and even a murderer or two. In the 1950s it became the Old County Home & Infirmary, and then in the 1990s was transformed into a set of shops and later an antiques mall. The history of the building has records of over a thousand people who have died on the property. 
    The mall, opened on the weekends has a number of strange occurrences.  People report having their clothes tugg 
ed on by an invisible force they can't explain.  Many people have seen shadows of people moving through out the building when it is known the building to be locked up and empty.
    Back when the Genesse County Board of Supervisors had established the Poorhouse, the staff had did their best to keep unsafe patients away from the general population, but there were many problems .  As a result, a solitary confinement cell was constructed in the building and those who lived there were often referred to as inmates.  Some of the spirits of these disturbed souls are thought to inhabit the halls of Rolling Hills.  One tragic story involves that of an inmate who once lived at Rolling Hills Asylum, by the name of Roy.   Roy had suffered from gigantism, which is a physical deformity that left with protruding facial features, large hands, and feet, and a height of over 7feet tall.  Roy was the son of a prominent banker, and his physical appearance was an embarrassment to his family.  When Roy was 12, he had been dropped off by his family at the Genesee County home and was left there until his death at the age of 62.  Roy had liked opera music and was generally kind to others.  Today his hulking shadow is said to be witnessed by visitors who report seeing him lurking throughout the building.
Other personalities weren't as harmless as Roy though.  In the infirmary wing, there is a nurse known for her cruelty.  Emmie Altworth, or better known to others then, as Nurse Emmie was hated and feared not only by the inmates, but by the staff too.  Rumors began circulating  that Nurse Emmie was involved in the dark arts and was performing black magic to satanic rituals in Rolling Hills. Many people had reported that outside the cafe area, of apparitions have been seen of an old woman who has been seen going into the women's restroom.  On the second floor of the East Wing, the sound of foot steps and sliding can be heard coming from above, but there is no third floor.   A man with a goat tee mustache as a apparition has been seen walking around too in the facility.  Shadows are seen in the early mornings of three and five AM on the first and second floors of the East wing.
    One particular site of the building is the main kitchen which is in the basement.  When the facility was operating as an orphanage and as a asylum , food animals were slaughtered and butchered on site here.  During the TB epidemic of the 1940's, when the morgue was full, bodies were put in the meat freezers.  It's said that sometimes nearly dead patients were put in the freezer to die.  This is where the negative feelings are encountered in the first freezer unit
    Reports include disembodied voices, doors mysteriously held shut, screams in the night, shadow people and more.    
In light of this buildings history, there are many unsettled souls wandering the property and within its remaining structures.  Many souls will never rest in Rolling Hills here, and will continue to haunt the property.