St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital; Radford, VA
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St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital
July 25, 2009- St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital; Radford, VA
For 115 years, St. Albans has stood vigil over the New River at Radford, VA. The buildings were founded as a boy’s school, and then converted to a sanatorium for patients with mental disease. The property was purchased by Radford University in recent years and part of the complex now serves as RU offices. The oldest buildings are vacant and have been subject to vandalism and decay, though they still maintain a solid structural integrity.
The St. Alban’s sanatorium is by far the most active site we have had the pleasure of investigating, and nearly all of our investigators had significant personal experiences here- from interaction with “shadow people” to what appears to be an actual touch…Activity began immediately upon our arrival at 9pm. During set-up, several investigators in the third floor dormitory heard footsteps and voices, and others who had entered the basement of the second building, also heard whispers and footsteps.
St. Albans is a catacomb of winding passages and dead-end hallways, with a maze of doors and stairs in every direction. I jokingly asked our host, Nick Ferra of the Virginia Paranormal Society, if he thought the complex had been built this way to confuse and disorient residents and patients so none could escape the facility. But my own disorientation was no joke. It is very easy to become lost in the bowels of St. Albans, and I can imagine how fear and panic could quickly set in in such a place.
photo by Tom Ward
EXPERIENCES:
One team while in the basement of the second basement witnessed a small ball of light hover near the floor for a moment and then streak away. There was no clear explanation for the phenomena, and unfortunately, it was not caught on video. EVP sessions in the room revealed nothing of significance, though a “mist” was captured in one of a series of photos within the room.
Another team sat in a room on the first floor of the second building for an EVP session. After several minutes of quiet, one of the investigators who was sitting in the doorway between the room and a hallway felt the floor buckle slightly and heard a muffled thud beside where his hand rested on the floor. He sensed that whatever had “stepped” beside him, realized there were people in the room, and quickly retreated. Needless to say, the investigator was shaken up a bit. Audio review revealed a muffled “thud” a split second before the investigator jumps and voices his surprise.
EVP: In this same room, a second investigator (Wanda) reported feeling as if a spider web had brushed across her bare arm. She asked another team member to shine a light to make sure there was nothing on her, and felt the same sensation once more. A third investigator asks aloud (recorded on audio) “If that is you, can you please touch Wanda again?” You hear Wanda’s voice below a distinct whisper that very clearly says, “Why?”
There is an extremely narrow staircase at the end of a basement hallway in the first building, that leads to what appears to have been a recreation room on an even lower level. One investigator entered a room just to the right of the recreation room and immediately felt as if she had been shoved in the chest. She got the impression of a hostile, angry, male presence, though she does not consider herself “sensitive” or “intuitive” in any way.
I was standing in an area where three hallways converged near a staircase talking to Nick of VPS and a local pastor who had accompanied us, when I felt a gentle tug on the back of my jeans just below the knee. This happened twice in succession, and I got the impression that whatever it was simply wanted my attention- I did not feel any intended malice or anxiety.
Throughout the investigation, teams at base consistently heard footsteps on the floor just above the entrance foyer. These were not the popping and creaking of old floors, but directional and rhythmic footsteps. We had an IR camera in that hallway and could see that there was nothing there. Several times, we raced up the steps to try to capture an EMF spike and to attempt communication, without success.
EVP: One team left a common area and headed down another hallway: Tom says, “you walk around here and it doesn’t seem like it’s this big- man, this is a big place ain’t it man?” Investigator “No Joke” Unknown voice whispers, ”Don’t Go”? Tell us what you think! Dont go
Once, myself and two other investigators rushed up the second floor and then heard the footsteps on the floor above us. Upon entering the third floor dorms, we all felt a change in the atmosphere- a heavy palpable oppressiveness. There is a room to the left of a center staircase we dubbed “the Trinity Room” due to the appearance of shredded walls where vandals have kicked in the sheet rock between wall studs. These rips are in patterns of three, and the initial impression upon entering the room is that some three-clawed creature has tried to fight its way out. We had been told that once before in this room, a sink stopper on a chain had begun to swing spontaneously just prior to someone being “touched”. As we entered the room, there was a loud pop just outside the doorway. There is some comical graffiti on a wall near the window that says “Look behind you…” When you turn around, there are the words “hahaha”. As we explored the room and its attic closets, the oppressive stillness grew thicker, a sense of anticipation grew uncomfortable. Wendy asked me to look at the back of her arm- she thought she had brushed against something or something had bitten her. When I looked at her arm, there was a purplish/red discoloration in the clear shape of three fingers, with a thumbprint on the back of her arm. She could not have possibly made this mark herself in the position it was in. I didn’t say anything to her at the time, but I had Mike take a picture of the mark. We decided it would be best to wait until we were back at base to tell her what the mark looked like.
EVP: What sounds like a young girl’s voice is heard above the distant voices of investigators. Interpretations are varied on what the message is. One interpretation is “Tasha, we need to hide.” Another is “God, I want to die”, and yet another is “God shall lead them out”.St Albans #2
Near the end of the investigation, the entrance foyer was crowded with returning teams. Nonetheless, two investigators claim to have heard a male voice yell from one of the center passages the name “Peter!”.
Around 5:00am, activity in the main front left corridor ramped up. Approximately eight investigators all witnessed collectively a shadow at the end of the hallway playing what appeared to be a game of “peek-a-boo” with us. What looked like an adult sitting on the floor peered around the door frame and then moved back in what seemed to be a playful and almost joyful interaction. Another investigator, Randy and I went outside to determine if the phenomenon could be a simple play of light through the windows in the room the shadow occupied. Those windows, however, were on a second floor above a flat roof, with no nearby trees or obstructions to alter the ambient light and cause what appeared to be a shadow.
After “playing” with us for nearly ten minutes, and responding when we yelled “Peek-a-boo”, the shadow at one point seemed to stand and cross the hallway to a room on the left side. It then crawled back across the floor to the right side. We were uncertain at the time whether this was the same shadow or if we were then dealing with multiple entities. An investigator walked down the hallway to inspect both rooms, and found nothing of significance. Sadly, the IR camera in that hallway did not pick up the activity, nor were there any relevant EVP’s.
Tags: apparition, EVP, ghost, haunted, paranormal, psychiatric hospital, Radford, sanatarium, sanatorium, St. Albans
2 Responses to “St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital; Radford, VA”
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Sandy Says:
December 17th, 2009 at 8:33 pmAre these the only EVPS you’ve gotten there? We were curious that were only 2 on your website, do you have more you didn’t share? We’ve been in St Albans several times and we have more EVPs than we can count.
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admin Says:
December 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pmWe have gotten too many EVP’s at St. Albans to post them all- these are a few of the better ones. Our website will continue to exhibit more EVP’s and videos and photos as we have time to add them. Thanks for inquiring!