The Finale: Bartonville Insane Asylum Part 1

"That's a red light..." - K

"Oh..right (stops)." - D

Bartonville Asylum

We've made it. We aren't sure what made us think this was a good idea or even why we're going through with this, but we are. The Bartonville Insane Asylum was opened in 1898 and has been abandoned since 1971. When it was a working facility, Bartonville was one of the first mental hospitals and it housed those with tuberculosis, insanity, suicidal thoughts, and more extreme mental and physical deficiencies.

Men, Women, and children were brought here from all over the state in hopes that they could be cured. Unfortunately, the amount of patients that recovered from their illnesses was very low and more of them died here than not. There is a story of one man, A. Bookkeeper, who is said to haunt the asylum sobbing, and yelling out to those who lost their lives along with himself.

When we got out of the car at approximately 7:00pm, it started to rain (I know, right?). Walking up to the building was an experience in itself as I was in complete awe of it's size and sense of emptiness. Every window of the building is either broken into or boarded up with cheap wood, many sides of the building are crumbling and wasting away, and there is graffiti assorted along the sides of the walls. After walking around the building a few times, taking pictures and figuring out exactly how entry will be made, I noticed a few small, 14inch x 14inch holes in the basement of the building. Guess who may end up trying to squeeze through them? (this guy) Our more plausible way of entry is a hole in the south end of the building that is covered by a large piece of metal that is a little bent on one side. Hopefully, using the metal jack/crow bar, we can pry this part open and get inside.

I put my hand into the 14 x 14 hole and immediately noticed an extreme cold rush that lingers inside the building. While the temperature outside was around 55 degrees, the temperature in the building is around 25 degrees...absolutely freezing. We stuck our cameras into some windows and cracks in the building to get a few pictures of the inside of the building so that we know what we're getting ourselves into.

I can honestly say that this is getting into the minds of us already. We're already a bit quiet and we keep giving each other the "I cannot believe we're doing this face". Between finding something in the house that seriously fucks with us and getting arrested for trespassing, we're a little on edge right now.

There is very little to no service around the building so it may be difficult to update Twitter and Facebook with our progress, but be rest assured whatever happens to us in this asylum will be shared with everyone at some point. We plan to resume blogging tomorrow after we leave the asylum (at 4 am), but until then try not to forget about us, haha.

On the Hunt,

TPB

P.S. If I don't make it out of the building...tell my wife and kids I loved them and :

- Jonny Gomez = gets my best wishes for finding a better roommate and my copy of Madden

- Tyler Vaughn = gets my shoe collection and my sense of fashion

- Kristin Andersson = gets my everlasting approval in guys she chooses to date (I guess)

- Katie Messmore = gets (finally) my boyfriend Dan Ryan

- Philicia Mizell = gets my new box of crayons and all the pictures I drew for her

- Mark Huniu = gets whatever remaining shreds of my dignity that exist

end.

Fuck the Cardinals...Part 1

"So...you're a boob man." -D

"No Dan, but I have standards" -K

**We apologize for the lack of posts yesterday. Due to technical difficulties beyond our control we have discovered that most of Southern Illinois simply does not believe in the internets and we were reduced to sitting in a McDonalds lobby, sipping on a Sprite, in order to use their blazingly fast (Thats sarcastic.) WiFi to post the last entry.

After an eventful stay at the Original Springs Hotel we were back on the road. Getting gas I ran inside to grab something to drink. When I was checking out the woman in front of me asked the clerk where the Original Springs Hotel was located. In a simple yet weird way it felt like she was taking our spot. Anyways, we were on the road towards St. Louis. Yes I know this is not what the original post said we were going to do. Well here's the thing. APPARENTLY there are two Lincoln Theaters in the state of Illinois and the one we were scheduled to visit was not the one with the haunting. My amazing luck continues.

In St. Louis we arrived, despite google maps attempt to drop us off on an on ramp to the expressway, at the Lemp Mansion. The mansion has a long an illustrious history. The building is now a bed and breakfast and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A little backstory on the place.

It was built in 1868 by a St. Louis local and Charles Lemp an his wife Julia moved in in 1876. In 1911 the building went under massive renovations to convert some rooms to offices and add on an atrium. The house then became a center point for the brewing company. The Lemp's lived in the home until 1949 when Charles committed suicide. The building was sold off in 1950 and became a boarding house which destroyed much of its charm. When I-55 was constructed in the 60's much of the Lemp grounds were destroyed in the process. The current owners, the Pointer family, bought the house in 1975 and have renovated it back to some of its former glory turning it into the bed and breakfast that it is today.

There were four suicides committed in the house. Charles Lemp, who has been rumored to have been deathly afraid of germs, took his life on May 9th of 1949. He was found, by his brother Edwin, with a single gunshot wound to the head and .38 caliber Army Colt revolver clutched in his hand. Charles was the only one of the family to have left a note behind. William J. Lemp Sr., son of Charles, took over the brewing company after his fathers death. Sr. saw times of great success and great decline for the company. On February 13, 1904 William J. Lemp Sr. shot himself in the head at 9:30.

After breakfast. William J. Lemp Jr. then took over. Although the brewing company was doing well the good times would not last. Jr. had been married to Lillian Handlan but she filed for divorce in 1908. She was known as the "Lavender Lady" and had a tendency to spend the family fortune as quickly as it was being made. Although Jr. had enjoyed his trophy wife he eventually grew tired of her and divorced her.

After the divorce Lillian went into seclusion from the public eye but can still be seen in countless paintings in the mansion. When prohibition hit the family took a steep down turn. Jr. was able to sell off the company and the plant for $588,000.

Nothing compared to the 7 million dollars it was worth in the years before prohibition. On December 29th, 1922 William J. Lemp Jr. shot himself in the heart with a .38 caliber revolver. The fourth and final suicide was Lemp Sr.'s daughter Elsa. Elsa was married to Thomas Wright but the two got divorced. For a while. They then reconciled and got remarried in March of 1922. On March 20th of the same year, while suffering from insomnia, Elsa shot herself in the heart while in bed.

The mansion is elegant with original paintings of it's former owners, large rooms that contain beautiful pieces of 19th and early 20th century furniture, and plenty of glass cabinets that

contain historical artifacts or clues to the mansion's true past. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who asked us if we were there for lunch. After politely declining his offer, he mentioned that we were curious about the troubled past of this house. Almost immediately the waiter gave us two pamphlets containing the mansion's history and gave us permission to explore the entire house.

As we walked upstairs the floor boards creaked beneath us, a healthy reminder of the mansions old age. We walked around the 2nd floor for about 15 minutes, looking for any hints of a haunting and trying to feel the overall tone that the house was emitting. There was surely a sense of darkness, like a hidden secret, that covered the house; the elegance acting as a mask, trying to hide the deaths and suicides of many. After about 35 minutes of completely exploring the mansion, we realized that only so much could be proven in the middle of the day with only so much time to kill, thus we decided to leave the mansion with many questions unanswered.

**********************************************************

Name: Lemp Mansion

Location: St. Louis, MO

Research Conducted: N/A

Hours Visited: 1:16 pm - 1:45 pm

Forms of Evidence: Psychic Energies

Conclusion: Level 1 - Casper is... Staying in his Room

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Our next stop on our hunt was the Lewis Center in University City, MO just outside out St. Louis. The Lewis Center is a residence facility and office for Washington University in St. Louis, and is said to be haunted by a woman in a white dress who walks the floors sobbing and calling out for her husband. People who visit here claim to have heard knocking, doors closing, whispers, and footsteps all within the walls of this building.

When we walked up to the gates of the Lewis Center we realized that one side of the building was abandoned, while the other side was still an operating facility...very strange. Unfortunately, we could not find a way in as all the doors were locked and there didn't seem to be anyone that we could ask questions to; however, we did find one resident of the building studying outside in a small park next to the building. When I asked her if she knew anything about the haunting, she gave me a puzzled look and told me that she "had no clue". Because of this, and the fact that very little information could be found about a haunting at this place, we decided that there just wasn't enough evidence to make this one plausible. If a resident, that has lived here for a while, not only hasn't had an encounter with a spirit, but also hasn't even heard of the possibility that there is a ghost...I would say that this is Busted.

Name: Lewis Center

Location: University City, MO

Research Conducted: N/A

Hours Visited: 2:06 pm - 2:35 pm

Forms of Evidence: None

Conclusion: Level 0 - Casper is... Non-Existent

Part 2 of our St. Louis hunt will be posted soon, including our drive through two cemeteries and a small look at one of the creepiest places I have ever seen.

Off to hunt,

TPB

Original Springs Hotel: Part 2-wrap up and conclusion

"Can we go back to the room now...?" - D

As we went through the audio recordings again and again there seemed to be no explanation for these disembodied voices. The feeling that caused me to shutter in hall has become something beyond explanation. We reviewed the remainder of the recordings to find nothing else of value on the tapes. With this audio evidence we immediately wanted some physical evidence to back it up. In hopes that there may be something up there that our eyes simply couldn't see, much like the voices that could not be heard by human ears, we brought the video camera along with us this time.

We had settled on the idea that the male voice belonged to Ben and the meek female voice had to have been Alma stricken with grief. With this decision in the back of our minds we reentered the third floor. Armed with the video camera and our often effective audio recorder we round the corner. Koray begins to call to Ben again asking if he was with us and looking for a sign. After a few minutes the cold chill came over by back again. Knowing what to expect I was able to maintain my composure and make mental notes of what was going on. Ben seemed to draw on me more this time almost as if he had asked and I had given him permission. This was repeated a couple of times but would subside in between each visit. Each wave of a visit was a little stronger then the one before but Ben would not stick around for long almost as if he was checking the hallway for someone or something and when he saw they weren't there would continue on his way down the stairs.

After a few encounters I was ready for a break. We head down to the pool area that we were informed by the trusty Burger King manager Jenn was filled with the mineral water that the hotel is so famous for. If this is true then this pool would be another excellent draw for paranormal energy. we went around and took a seat in the pools game area. The air was cooler and much lighter down here. Although the feeling of being watched was still very much present the continuous crushing feeling had let up. Thats not to say that it had subsided completely but let up none the less.

We then decided to do a quick video blog on the camera to catch the feelings that had been present on the third floor. All seemed to be going well and we had almost come to the conclusion that this pool area was the closest thing to a "safe zone" we could come to. However, during our discussion both the video camera and the digital camera were capturing video. The Digital captured an unexplained shadow move across the table around the time of our "safe zone" discussion almost as if to prove us wrong in the instant. A few short minutes after that I felt a pull of energy from the middle of my back. This was not Ben. There are few things that I am certain about after last night but of one thing I am sure. This was a completely different presence. Like I had said before Ben's presence could be described as a cold sheet over your entire back. It was there, you could feel it, but it was gentle. This on the other hand was a forceful grab of energy. The best visual I have is to compare it to the Ka-li-ma hand from Indiana Jones except pulling something out of your back.

This was not a kind thing.

This was not simply the borrowing of energy that, although can be disconcerting, I had almost become used to. I wanted out. I suggested that we head back to the room to continue reviewing the research as an excuse to get out of there. Without waiting for Koray I was out of there. Back in the room I was attempting to shake off the residual feeling from the incident when Koray, now on the opposite side of the bed then he had been all night, felt a sharp chill run up his spine and radiate out through all of his limbs. The shock and force of this presence was unlike anything we had experienced in the room all night. immediately on the other side of the bed Koray said he simply

did not like what happened in that spot. Standing in the same spot I could feel a slight chill in the air but nothing was taking me the way that it happened to him.

It was then that I realized that though the room had been heavy, hot, and humid the entire night at this point it was actually kind of chilly. In my haste to get out of the pool area and Koray's immediate experience it wasn't until the room started to warm back up did we notice that he had actually walked right into the lions den.

After reviewing the data collected with little to no results we decided to visit the third floor one last time. This time we were focused on room 28. This is the room that several people say makes them extremely uncomfortable to be around and understandably so. To Koray and I the doorways are what makes this hallway so unbearably uncomfortable. The doorway to room 28 seems to only be half there. While all the other frames reach to the ceiling this one barely brushes past your head. Conversely, room 230, directly across the hall, seems to have been made into one large room out of three smaller ones. The problem with this lies in the fact that instead of tearing out the old doorways they seem to have simply bricked them up. It gives the area a trapped feeling and is extremely unsettling especially in combination with the Victorian vanity mirror that doesn't have a straight reflection and the floor that sinks around these doorways.

After this final trip nothing else of note seemed to have happened. After a long day and some help from a TV we were finally able to fall asleep. In conclusion, in our opinion it is safe to say that there is definitely something here that is not of this world. Wether or not it is benevolent remains to be seen, but as for the bandits we are considering this location CONFIRMED and are on to the next raid.

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Rating of Haunted Zone:

Level 0 - Casper is... Non-Existent = No signs of haunting...myth busted.

Level 1 - Casper is... Staying in his Room = It hasn't been debunked or confirmed yet, so there may or may not spirits/ghosts here. Possible/doubtful signs of haunting.

Level 2 - Casper is...Forgetting to call us after our first date = We encountered a spirit/ghost at some point, but made no connection past that. Perhaps one small sign of haunting.

Level 3 - Casper is...Making Scooby bark uncontrollably = There were at least a few small signs of a haunting...something that would disturb a puppy. Possibly one strong sign of haunting.

Level 4 - Casper is...In need of a US Census Form = Something definitely lives in this building/area and is making it's presence known. Many small signs and at least a few strong signs of haunting.

Level 5 - Casper is...THROWING shit at us! = This place is extremely haunted. The spirit/ghost is a powerful force and isn't scared to show it. Many STRONG signs of haunting, both physical and psychic.

*******************************************************************

Name: ORIGINAL SPRINGS HOTEL

Location: Okawville, IL

Research Conducted: 10:15 pm - 4:30 am

Hours Visited: 9:36 pm - 11:00 am

Forms of Evidence: Audio (voices/sounds), Photos (orbs), Video (shadows), Psychic Energies (Cold Spots, Intense waves of energy)

Conclusion: Level 4 - Casper is...In need of a US Census Form

On the hunt,

TPB

Arrival: Original Springs Part 1

"Did you hear that?" - D

We arrived at the Original Springs Hotel at 9:27 pm. We walked into room 2 on the 2nd floor, the room in which we'll be staying and immediately started to unpack. Flashlights, cameras, notepads, voice recorders, and more became scattered around our bed--which we likely won't need. At 9:36, as Dan and I continued to unpack, our h

eads both shot up and we looked at each other.

Dan: "Did you hear that too?"

Koray: *long pause*

Dan: "Did you hear that?"

Koray: "Yeah it was a little girl...right?"

Dan: "that was RIGHT next to my right ear.."

Koray: "It was loud...like a chuckle or a giggle"

Dan and I heard what seemed to be a little girl's joy coming from OUR room. We heard voices of other people

upstairs before and we can assure you that this sound was in our room and caused us both to freak out a little bit. After hanging out for 10 minutes...continuing to unpack, we decide to give ourselves a tour of the hotel.

We walked up to the 3rd floor...just above us where a woman in a white dress is said to be seen often by hotel visitors and those who work here. In our research we found that this woman could be Alma Schulz, married to Ben Sch

ierbaum, who owned the hotel from 1911-1916. He killed himself with a double barreled shotgun in 1916 after Alma left him alone and without much business. It is said that she walks the 3rd floor still, grieving and trying to find the answer to why her husband left this world.

The feeling of the 3rd floor was like a thick chilled heavy blanket was covering the air, making it difficult to breathe and left us feeling like there was a powerful weight pushing on our chests. We paced the hall a few times, making rather loud creaking noises with each step, and decided to take a seat at the beginning of the hallway upon a raised staircase. After about 10 minutes of silence, Dan sort of gasped for air for a moment and looked at me with a puzzled face...I immediately was forced to take a deep breath as we heard one heavy breath come from unoccupied room 24.

When we took our audio recording device up there we didn't expect to catch anything, we were wrong.

On our recording we captured a man's voice say what sounds like "There was so much blood"...soon after a woman's voice replies with a concerned "what!?" and then Dan's shutter and deep breath is heard. Dan and I do NOT remember hearing ANYTHING of like this when we were in the hallway and it seems it was only captured by the voice recorder. Perhaps even more startling is what is heard after Dan's deep breath...that same man CLEARLY says "you left me". This audio is VERY clear and makes a good amount of sense when considering historical context. Perhaps this is Ben voicing his frustration to his also deceased former wife.

We're back in the room now...discussing our next move and trying to make sense out of what we've just heard. I am truly trying my hardest to find some reason or explanation for the voice, but I have nothing...this is getting weird.

Off to hunt,

TPB

Ready to make Casper my bitch!

"I knew that I would be here to save the day!" -K

Just a few hours into our investigation and The Phantom Bandits already have things to report. We arrived at the Original Springs Hotel around 9:20 this evening. The exterior of the building is rustic to say the least and in the darkness of the night has an almost skeletal appearance to it. Walking in was a surreal experience unto itself. The air is charged with an almost tangible energy that makes it hard to breath and wearing a simple shirt and sweatshirt has one feeling over encombered. The walls seem to be leaning in on you and the furniture tends to follow them. With everything seeming to be sinking towards the middle of the room it is not a stretch to feel that you are being watched. Within minutes of our begining to unpack there was a young female giggle audible to both of us resonating from directly over my right shoulder. Koray heard a similar noise at the exact same moment situated near the bathroom. We finish unpacking, setup,and left an audio recorder behind to see if we couldn't catch any illustrious noises while we were out.

A minute and 44 seconds after we leave there is a sound captured that can only be described as being the rattling of the old door handle still left on the door after the replacement handles had been added for the new locks. Further analysis of the recording found nothing beyond the sounds of a distant vacume and unless we have a ghost with OCD I don't think that was ment for us.

In our second round theough the building koray and I spent an extended amount of time in the third floor corridor. This is the floor and wing that several employees refuse to go to. After some time we got the feeling that you get when standing between two people in an argument. At one end of the hall were sobs and the one near us were deep sighs of exasperation. The air was so thick at times it was as if you could swim through it which made the chill feeling that followed all the more intense. The air grew not freezing but decidedly cooler and at one point I felt the chill of a harsh stare run through me.

Interviews with the desk clerk came up empty handed as he seemed to not know much beyond how to level his level 14 dark elf in WOW.

The lights are out. The flash lights are on. The investigation continues.

On the hunt,
TPB

P.s. although most posts are a team effort on this blog we will sometimes blog individually to account for different perspective.

We're Bad People...

"I make them good girls go bad..." - K

"...yeah, I've heard those stories." - D

(In Oak Lawn)

So here we are... sitting in a McDonalds in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, stretching our legs, and feastin' on shamrock shakes. We're essentially halfway to Washington, IL and aside from some terrible drivers, 2 stray sheep, a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich (see fig. 1.), and hours of singing/screaming to:

• Fastball
• Motion City Soundtrack
• GhostBusters Theme Song (video to come)
• Attack! Attack!
• Say Anything
• Panic! a la discoteque
• Journey
• Earth, Wind, and Fire

and a Vitamin String Quartet tribute to Yellow Card's

Ocean Avenue.....

More to come in a few hours! (Fig.1.)

Love,

TPB

ATTENTION! WARNING! DRIVER CHANGE! FLOOD OUT! TARHAN IN!

please people of southern illinois...be careful.

Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts...

"You may think we are crazy, losing our sanity, or really bored when in reality...we're just really committed to this joke." - K

This started off as a terrible joke after watching a colorful piece of television known as "Ghost Adventures" hosted by our "idols" Zach, Aaron, and Nick. I turned to Dan, a smirk on my face, and asked him (or requested rather) that we "go ghost hunting" for spring break. After looking at me with pure confusion for a good 20 seconds, another smirk developed and Dan replied with "let's do it."

Before I go any further, I feel it is vital that I identify our goal, purpose, and the reality of this trip. Dan and I are, as our title implies, blissfully skeptical--we believe that there is a world between earth and whatever else happens after death...we believe that TV shows, movies, and folklore, while keeping this idea alive, have somewhat tarnished the image of other-worldly spirits. We feel that it is our job to put the pieces back together and, if there are spirits, ghosts, and the undead lurking in the world we live in, to preserve them through restoring their definitive existence.

oh and having a blast is also kinda important...

So here we are...2 guys...2 weeks later and we're about 2 hours away from departing from the beautiful suburb that is Oak Lawn just after getting our final supplies at Target (pronounced Tar-jay (ish)). We have a 4 day trip throughout southern Illinois that contains 14 hours and 720 miles of driving that we hope we don't fall asleep through. We'll start off heading south towards Washington, IL to stay and do research at the Original Springs Hotel which is widely known for its paranormal activity. Tuesday will be a short drive to Belleville, IL, a small town just outside of St. Louis, to visit a haunted location known as the Lincoln Theatre. Mid-day will contain another short trip to Alton, IL, just along the river and border of Illinois, where we will conduct research and explore the McPike Mansion and other cemetery's in the area. Tuesday night will be spent at a friend's house discussing our findings, our plans for the next day, and possibly a hint of getting shwasted...

Wednesday is the day that Dan and I fear a little bit. In the early afternoon we plan to drive up north to Peoria,IL and more specifically, the Bartonville Asylum which is abandoned, falling apart, and definitely filled with something not of this world. Considering this is the last stop on our trip, we decided we have to go out with a bang and therefore are planning to not only find our way inside the Bartonville Asylum...but to stay there from 11pm until 4:30 am trying to discover something that may prove that the dead are alive.

We plan on actively keeping this blog updated with news, events, historic details, interviews, personal problems,and irrelevant and often disturbing ramblings that stem from the destructive minds of Dan and I. Stay in touch through our Facebook accounts and follow us on Twitter (Electric Elmo/Koray -- dflood88/Dan). Any questions, suggestions, or comments that you feel are necessary can be sent to our email at the.phantom.bandits@gmail.com.

Off to hunt,

TPB