We Went Urban Exploring in a Haunted Mental Hospital. Some Ghosts CAN Hurt You...

St. Daniel's Mental Hospital was haunted. Everybody in town knew that. Especially Century Manor, the old house at the back of the property which had stood there for 150 years, longer than any other building on the grounds.

Maybe that's why it was such a popular place for kids to go urban exploring - we all wanted to prove that we could brave going in there. Not just to ourselves, but to each other.

That’s why Teddy and I went in there, I guess. It was partly just boredom - the product of a late August day with the end of summer vacation looming ahead in the next two weeks. There was a feeling between the two of us left unspoken, that we had wasted the summer. Everyone else in class would be talking about trips to Europe or cruises in the Caribbean, while Teddy and I would be left without a story to tell between the two of us.

My parents were supposed to take me to the beach one week in July, but it had been thundershowering so we had stayed home. Our camping trip had likewise been cancelled, due to a family illness. Teddy’s family had even fewer planned summer events, but they had been likewise plagued by misfortune and last minute cancellations. His parents motto seemed to be the same as mine:

“We’ll make it up to you next summer.”

And that left us feeling antsy and annoyed, as we meandered around the perimeter of the mental hospital grounds, the place we were not supposed to venture into.

Our families lived in the neighbourhood across the street from the century and a half old asylum, so we knew about the lore of the facility better than anyone - but our parents were much more concerned by the tangible threats posed by patients who wandered the hospital grounds largely unsupervised.

“I know what we should do today,” Teddy said suddenly. “Let’s go explore Century Manor. I heard there’s a way to get inside.”

Part of me wanted to say no. To make up some excuse. But another part of me was desperate for adventure, and a tale to tell in September. Everyone else in class would have a vacation story - but we would have a ghost story.

“Alright, let’s do it,” I agreed, following him as he stepped foot onto the forbidden grounds of the asylum.

I hurried after him and we stayed close to the treeline, hoping to avoid detection.

When we got to Century Manor, I looked up to see the old building’s windows staring down at us like sleepy eyes. Its dark, ancient exterior was falling apart in places - the trim moldy and rotting. Tiles from the roof had slipped off and lay on the grass, turning it brown beneath their weight.

“So, how are we supposed to get in?” I asked, looking at the steel bars on all the windows.

“How about the front door?” Teddy said, smiling, walking towards the entrance.

I couldn’t believe it. The old wooden door should have been tightly locked, but instead it was hanging open, swaying gently in the breeze.

“Weird. I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be locked,” I said, following Teddy towards the entrance.

It was dark inside, almost impossible to see past the first few feet. My friend took a few tentative steps into the house before being swallowed up by shadows.

“Hey, wait up!” I called after him. But there was no indication he’d heard me.

Looking down, I saw a loose brick lying on the porch of the old house. I picked it up and used it as a doorstop, hoping it would prevent anyone from closing the door and sealing us inside. Suddenly I was beginning to realize that was a real possibility.

“Teddy, I’m not sure about this,” I said, stepping into the dark house.

It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust. I blinked and looked around to see the old house was dingy and falling apart inside, even worse than the exterior. The ceiling to my right was bulging and looked ready to cave in at any second. The floors creaked noisily with each step I took, as if ready to break.

“Let’s go look upstairs,” Teddy said, seeming bored already with the main level.

Despite his eager attitude, I felt like there was something immediately wrong with this place. It was like a weight on my soul, crushing my heart and making it difficult to breathe.

“Don’t you feel that?” I asked.

“Feel what?”

But before I could answer Teddy was already climbing the stairs going up to the second level. The stairs squeaked and strained with each step. I saw a mouse scurrying up ahead on the main level, and hurried to catch up with him, taking a nervous glance back over my shoulder at the front door which was still hanging open, like the door to a trap, about to snap shut.

The two of us climbed the stairs and explored the second floor, but of course Teddy wanted to keep going. There was a third floor in the old manor and he wanted to see that too.

So far there was nothing to explain the uneasy feeling I was getting, but the sensation was growing stronger the closer we got to that third level.

“I don’t like this,” I told Teddy, as we came to an old, grey wooden door covered in graffiti, including a few pentagrams. “Let’s go back, okay? This doesn’t feel right.”

He looked at me like I was being a scared little kid, ruining his adventure. Which, I guessed I was. I felt a little bad about it, but I couldn’t ignore the feeling I was getting - it was becoming overwhelming.

“Okay, you big baby. This is the last room, then we’ll leave,” he said, pushing the door open as I told him to stop.

I had a strong suspicion that whatever was giving me these negative feelings was just beyond that door.

And when it opened I saw I was not wrong. The scene playing out on the third floor was like something out of a horror movie. Except this was real life.

A girl who was dressed in century old clothing stood before a small fire which was burning at the center of the room. She was giggling as the pile of kindling she had lit grew brighter and the fire burned hotter. I heard her chanting some dark incantation under her breath and her eyes rolled back. Suddenly her voice was no longer that of a child, but of something else much deeper, much more evil.

“What the hell!?” Teddy yelled, snapping me out of my terror momentarily.

At least he could see it too. If not for that I wasn’t sure what I would do.

“Would you let go of my arm, man? What is your problem?”

That was when I realized… He couldn’t see any of it after all. The little girl and the fire - it was all invisible to him. I’d heard this place was haunted, but maybe not everyone was capable of seeing the phantoms who resided here.

Just as I had that thought, Teddy pulled his arm out of my vice-like grip and began to march into the room.

“You’re so weird, dude! There’s nothing here!”

I was frozen in place, unable to scream, as he walked straight towards the fire burning in the center of the room. The little girl was now levitating a few inches off the ground, her eyes still white and rolled back, but now she had a mad grin spreading wide across her face. She began to laugh as Teddy strode into the fire.

It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening, like someone who has set their hand on a stove burner, only to realize it is turned on.

But then in an instant he was lit up like a torch. Teddy turned into a blazing inferno as the little girl’s laugh turned into a screeching cackle.

I felt something cold rush through me a second later, and then saw two women in white and black habits, like those worn by nuns. They were putting out the fire and praying, holding a bible up into the air and pulling the little girl back down.

She settled gently to the floor as the fire went out, and I realized Teddy had also been extinguished, as if the fire existed in some other time, and I was the only one who could see it, and them.

Running out of that room, I raced down the stairs to find a security guard at the door, pulling the brick doorstop out of its place.

“Who keeps opening this door?” he was saying to himself.

I yelled at him to stop, and told him to get help. My friend was in trouble.

“Not again,” the security guard muttered, probably thinking I couldn’t hear him. “They really need to tear this old place down before it kills anyone else.”

Luckily Teddy survived the event, but he’s been in a coma for quite a while, and was unable to defend me during the court proceedings. I was forced to tell the judge what had happened by myself, and he wasn’t inclined to believe me.

Pyromaniac ghosts aren’t exactly the best legal defense, as my exasperated lawyer will tell you. But I wasn’t going to lie. And I wasn’t going to admit to something I didn’t do. I didn’t hurt my friend. I didn’t leave him there to die.

I just hope Teddy wakes up one day soon. I know he’ll tell them I’m innocent.

Someone smuggled in a cell phone for me so that I could share my story. A true friend.

I just hope Teddy can clear my name - or I’m gonna be in this asylum for a long, long time.

MAD

TCC

YT