Ghosthunting - The Old Tooele Hospital (part of Stephen King’s “The Stand” was filmed here)

Last night our group went to the old Tooele Hospital for a ghosthunt. Part of the hospital is just pretty much abandoned and they do stuff for Halloween in there to spook people. The other part is a nursing home. We were not allowed to go in to that part.

Some interesting things did happen but the overall vibe I got was fairly negative. I never thought I’d have a problem expressing myself or finding the right words but I equate how I feel to someone where English isn’t their first language. Sometimes there just isn’t a direct translation but they just do their best to describe it. I feel that way about the feelings I get. I can only use words like “negative, sunken, sadness, angst, nervous feeling in my stomach” but they aren’t descriptive enough. I just don’t know exactly how to describe these feelings perfectly. They are new to me so they are harder to define. I come as close as I can in most cases.

At any rate the whole vibe I got was negative last night. Last week at the Rio Grande I was fine. I didn’t have negative feelings and it was kind of peaceful. This place was opposite for me. I didn’t want to run away screaming but I didn’t necessarily feel very comfortable there, but needless to say the hunt was ON!

They gave us a brief tour, went “lights out” and then we started the typical room searches. We roamed with a large group at first and then wanted to break off. We were told there are tons of things that happen there – lots of Orbs, a Vortex, and that we’ll get a ton of EVP’s. I haven’t reviewed most of the evidence. I ended up taking 511 pictures and did search through them all briefly this morning. I got a TON of orbs. They say you may get one or two out of every 200-300 pictures you take and I feel like they were in just about every other picture or so. Some of them are clearer than others and in some pictures I had up to 10-15 Orbs at once. Brandon said he got none, and Brittany has yet to give me her feedback (remember we just went last night – it takes time to sift through it all).

So we conducted a few EVP sessions – but nothing exciting happened audibly. Hopefully something(s) happened on our recorders. In one room Brittany felt like someone was lightly tracing or touching her elbow and the back of her neck, and it made her itchy. I did pick up an Orb in this room though it wasn’t near her.

Probably the most drastic thing that happened was in the last room in the hallway of the patient bedrooms. The three off us were in there. Brittany was off by a chair in the corner. Brandon was leaning up against one of the hospital beds and I was standing at the end of that bed by the wall – not touching the wall. I had just started to say that I got a very negative feeling in this room. As Brittany was trying to get me to describe it – out of nowhere I was shoved against the wall. “What the hell?” is what I said right after and I asked Brittany if she did that and she said she wasn’t even near enough to me to have done that. Brandon said he didn’t do it, and asked me if I was ok. It felt like a clear hand on my hip and a hard shove. It was hard enough to shove me in to the wall and I almost lost my balance as if my feet were coming out from under me. I don’t want to say it was a child though where I was pushed with so much force it had to be a child or someone super short or perhaps someone in a wheelchair (I know that’s a stretch but we were in a hospital). Brittany said “you were in his way.” Later I recounted the situation to another couple and the guy said “Maybe you were in his way!” Interesting…both Brittany and Brandon saw what happened and neither of them could have done it. I reviewed my pictures and didn’t find anything or any evidence. I was a bit spooked by that. I didn’t want to move and Brandon finally took me out of the room. The feeling stayed with me in that entire hallway, like someone was there with me.

Some other encounters from our group – people were smelling floral scents. I smelled nothing but somebody’s gum. Brandon thought he also smelled gum. We also found a room that had a washer and dryer with a very strong floral soapy smell – dryer sheets or detergent. The one room they said they smelled lilacs – that was close to this room. The hall where they said they smelled flowers we were not even close to the laundry room or a bathroom. I have a great sense of smell but smelled nothing but a sweet mint smell. I asked if anybody had gum and one girl did. I got closer to her and that was the smell, but they swear it wasn’t that.

Our instructor, Tom, also had an EMF machine. This is a machine that can sense energy and has a range of lights starting with a green and going up to a red – the more that lights up the stronger the energy is. I watched as Tom asked a series of questions to men by the name of Ned and Thomas. Thomas was said to have lit himself on fire and died when he was a patient there. I didn’t know any of that and I’m not sure how they knew that. At any rate they seemed to answer the majority of Tom’s questions by lighting the machine up. There are plenty of people that don’t believe in the power of these machines but there is something to be said about coincidence and a clear pattern. I was leaning towards a clear pattern. Tom asks a question, the machine lights up according to his question. It was kind of convincing to me.

In another hallway many of us heard moaning. It was very clear to me. However Brittany thought it sounded like a car, dismissed it and went on her path to other rooms. Brandon thought it was air coming through the door because it was windy. All very valid points and the only thing I picked up so far was an orb or two in that hallway. Hopefully we’ll hear more on the recordings. (To note this is the same hallway they thought they smelled the floral scents and I smelled the gum.)

I’m still fascinated. I’m still convinced but sometimes I think people see what they want to see. I did look at one of my pictures and thought I saw a face in a reflection of a window but I’m going to have Brandon and Brittany look at them to tell me what they see. The next picture doesn’t have the reflection in it.

Next week we are investigating Taylorsville HS which is where the class is held. It is our last class and from there we can take more classes OR we can just do our own thing. The 3 of us are in talks of investigating cemeteries when it gets warmer.

I’ll post pics when I get them transferred on to the computer. After reviewing the obvious one with Brandon he is also convinced he sees a clear face of someone in a mirror. I have a ton of ORBS and am about a third of the way through on my recordings. I have some interesting finds but nothing concrete yet. More to come!

Thanks for reading!

Rio Grande

Ghosthunging - Rio Grande

I apologize for bad grammar and spell check errors. I do not see spell check on this!

So most of you probably know that I've enrolled in a night-time course with Brandon and my friend, Brittany. We are looking for paranormal activity - ghosthunting. I believe in this and this note is also for the skeptics. However, I am not willing to "debate" with you on this subject so please keep critisism, negativity and debunking to yourself! Thank you. Moving on!

Last Thursday was our first ghosthunting experience. We went to the Rio Grand, downtown. It's the old train station! They warned us that we wouldn't really have experiences like you see on all the ghost shows - like Most Haunted, but after we review our materials (tape recorded session, photographs, etc...) we would most likely find at least one EVP. An EVP is an electronic voice phenomenon. Entities use engergy that is produced and affect sound waves to try to communicate with the living. This is why sometimes it sounds very robotic or electronic.

It started out with excitement very high. We first had dinner at the Rio Grande cafe and asked our waiter to share experiences with us in regards to hauntings. He said he didn't know of much and had been there since 1984 but he closes the Cafe and sometimes in the morning when they would open all the pictures will be tilted to the sides. So he has his suspicions.

So the first place we went to was the basement. Not much was happening in the hallway and we had a lot of people there. We all tried to be quiet and respectful but Brittany and Brandon and I decided to go in to the bathroom in the basement. We conducted an EVP session in there. While standing by the lockers I felt like someone was standing right behind me and felt my left arm was really cool. The rest of my body temp was fine it was just my arm. We snapped pictures like crazy and though it looks like I can see a mist of some sort on the lockers I cannot say for sure if that is it. I'll have to compare my pictures with Brandon and Brittany. I'll try to post that one later.

After this we meandered upstairs on the main floor for a bit. I didn't really get much of anything but possibly a few ORB pictures. Orbs are considered light phenomena's and possible entities or spirts. These can usually be debunked pretty quickly and so I need to do that. However Brittany and I both got Orbs in the basement. See the first picture. This courtesy of Brittany's camera. I have yet to go through all of mine. They say the way you can generally distinguish Orbs from dust is that it's a really bright light and if it's circular it has a nucleus in it. You can clearly see one in her picture. The Orb is on the lower left part of the man's back in front of us. It's probably one of the more clear ones I have seen in all of our pictures.

From the main floor Brandon said he also got chills by the southwest set of double doors. Sure he said it could just be that it was colder over there but they were strong enough to give him the willies.

We moved upstairs to the top floor where there is a railing around the floor because the center is carved out and leads to the main floor (don't want anyone falling over). Brandon said he got the strongest chills in a hallway that we met up with him later on - where we both noticed a temperature change. He snapped pictures here and he got a picture where it looked like an aparition of a little boy. This is more of like a shadow that when you zoom in looks like a person. Clear as day was the outline of a little boy. At the end of the night our instructor asked about experiences. I was telling him about my experience of feeling sick in the bathroom (see further below) and he stopped me to ask if I was pregnant. I told him no I was not and there is no chance that I am, and he said he felt a child's presence at my side. Brandon was standing next to me. I actually think the child was attaching to him, and not to me.

Anyway once we were upstairs we all kind of did our own thing but would meet up with each other. The whole time our tape recorders are on to try to catch any EVP's. We all would ask questions like "do you know you're dead? Why are you still here? Are you able to leave? Are you alone?" You pause for 20-30 seconds in between questions to allow any entities a chance to answer (again we have yet to go through all of our audio). So I was just casually walking South on the west side of upstairs and about 10 feet before I came to the portion where I'd have to turn left and head East, I leaned up against the railing. I felt a sudden case of vertigo hit me - so strong I stepped away from the railing. I then felt immediately clammy, and then dizzy and nauseous. It was intense and strong and I felt the urge to move. I rounded the corner, holding on the to the rail and it was immediately gone. I felt completely fine. I wasn't scared by this but I was intrigued. So I tried it again and went back to the spot. Bingo. Instantly I started getting clammy again. I called for Brittany to come meet me. Without divuldging what I felt she noted it felt cooler there (which is interesting because I was clammy/sweaty and warmer). Then I explained how I felt. She snapped more pictures. She thinks she found something but she is going to look harder and get back with me. We left that area and she saw that the clammy forehead was instantly better and both of us were a bit surprised. We "played" around in that area a bit - me walking back and forth and reporting what I feel. Me "running" through it - and getting so dizzy I started veering to the left - to which she cracked up laughing at. Brandon said he saw me do this and wondered what I was doing and that is what prompted him to come back to where we were.

From there we decided to finish walking around up stairs. The east side of the building was noticeably colder than the west side and Brittany kept getting chills - strong ones. I don't think we've found evidence yet on that side but that took us to the hallway to meet up with Brandon where he got the picture of the little boy. Unfortunately he went to change the batteries in his camera and erased all his pictures. Part of me wonders if "someone" didn't want him to have those pictures. It's just a theory. He kinda thought the same thing when I mentioned it.

Last but not least - Brittany and I found the bathroom that is said to be the most haunted place in the building. The Purple Lady is said to roam that bathroom - turn faucets on, bang on things, and sometimes appear in the mirror. Naturally we didn't see or hear any of that. The Purple Lady was a lady that was engaged and her fiance broke up with her. She was wearing a purple dress the day she was wondering in the train station. She was so distraught by the break up she threw her ring onto the tracks. After realizing what she had done she jumped down to retrieve her ring and was killed by a train. So that's her story.

We were in the bathroom a good 30 minutes I'd say just the two of us conducting an EVP session. When we first got in there I felt a wave of nausea hit me but I dismissed it quickly thinking it was left over from just coming through that spot in the main area. We both snapped pictures. The second picture below is from Brittany's camera. She snapped this picture and if you look closely there appears to be 2 Orbs. Which makes the 3rd picture even more fascinating to me.

We were in there for 30 minutes or so before Brandon tapped on the door and came in. He was in there about a minute or so and we were all casually talking. I turned around to talk to him and a huge wave of vertigo hit me so hard that I thought I was going to fall straight on my face to the marble floor. I think I may have been mid sentence even (the recorder will tell us when we review it). I started grabbing for the sink before I fell and Brittany noticed and reached for me right as I was falling. My recorder almost fell but I have cat like reflexes (ha!) and caught it. I immediately felt a bead of sweat on my forehead form and fall down my face. I wasn't hot. I felt a bit disoriented and at that moment I wasn't feeling sick but I was feeling dizzy. She sat me down on a chair. She started asking questions directed at The Purple Lady asking "Are you upset there is a man here?" As soon as she finished that question I felt like I was going to toss cookies right then and there. I started having tunnel vision. All I could see was the sink and I was wondering if I could make it in enough time, but I was afraid to stand the vertigo was so overwhelming. She asked a few more questions that I don't even remember. I was starting to be in my own little world almost. Brandon noted that I seemed "out of it" and he asked me if I was ok. I mumbled something but was afraid to talk because I didn't want to get sick. I don't think I've ever felt this way before in my life. Not like this where it's hard to describe exactly what I was feeling. Whatever it was, it was terrible. Brittany snapped a few pictures and then got me up and walked me out. I wasn't feeling better right out of the bathroom but I walked to the water fountain and it was instantly gone. I felt completely fine. I did not toy with going back in. That feeling was too strong. I did not like it.

So then Brittany emails me these photos. It's as if the two Orbs from the one picture combined and is seen over my left shoulder in the 3rd picture. That was the time I was most sick and she had just asked her series of questions revolving around Brandon being in the bathroom. This is strong evidence because we have the tape recorded session proving how sick I was feeling - I mean I know you can't prove that - you just have my word. But a coincidence? I think not.

I've always thought I was sensitive to it - but now I just need to figure out how to tap into it more and not feel so sick. Thoughts around this are that I am more "open" about the experience and entities need energy. They may have used mine. We got home and I felt like a Mack truck had plowed me down. It was a mixture of feeling drained, sore, bones aching, low blood sugar, and my eyes stung. It was a powerful experience.

I am looking forward to this Thursday. We are going to the old Tooele Hospital. :) There's gotta be a lot of activity there! More to come!

Thanks for reading!

Ghosthunters in UT

Welcome to our page!

We are very new to Ghosthunting but we know there are so many people out there that are interested in the paranormal and so we wanted to just put our experiences out there. Right now it appears there are 36 registered Paranormal Investigative groups in the state of UT. We are not registered but that doesn't mean one day we won't be. We wanted to just introduce ourselves and then start our blogs from here.

We are a small team of 3. I am Melody, the host of this page, and I am the girlfriend of Brandon and really great friends with Brittany. Brittany and I met in a musical and figured out that we shared common interests in the paranormal. Brittany contacted me about a month and a half ago in regards to singing up for a Ghostbuster's class through Granite Peaks continued education. I was ALL OVER IT, as was Brandon. So we all 3 signed up.

We started our first investigation 2 weeks ago and you can read our blogs about it. Our last class is next week and then we'll be on our own from there. So take some time to read a little about us and our experiences.

This site is dedicated to Ghosthunting investigations, phenomenon and more so for the non-skeptic. We appreciate skeptics coming to read but we mostly appreciate positive feedback rather than negative. Basically...don't hate! :)

If you have questions, or comments, or inquiries do feel free to contact us! We are also very welcoming of tips and even suggestions of where to hunt next. Any helpful feedback is something we look forward to!

Thanks for reading!
Melody, Brandon & Brittany