Spectral Research and Investigation returned to the Old Hospital on College Hill on October 14th!
The Old Hospital on College Hill, pictured above, rests on a hill above the city of Williamson, W.V. like some forgotten monolith of a time long past. It looms, and immediately draws the attention of those entering the city of Williamson from US 52 and US 19. It's white facade, complimented by the yellow brick of the Nurses College next door, beams out upon like the town like the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
(Just Look Up!)
Returning to a location for a second time is always thrilling for a paranormal investigator. It is an opportunity to validate experiences, test theories, and even debunk previous findings if possible. It can also be an opportunity for, to some degree, an element of redemption. Such was the case for SRI's second-visit to this active, and wonderful location.
The Old Hospital, the former Williamson Memorial, sits above the city of Williamson in the same manner it has since its completion in the 1920's. Servicing West Virginia, Kentucky, and part of Western Virginia the hospital represented a key part in the Coalfield Community. It was a place of healing, a place of joy, and a place of mourning. It represented all that was good in the community, a community that was often the scene of tremendous violence, and had bore witness to countless man-made and natural disasters.
In July, Spectral Research and Investigation team members visited the location for the first time. A relative newcomer to the paranormal scene, the OHCH came heavily recommended, and when the chance arose to get the team together for this large scale investigation of such a location, SRI jumped at the opportunity. The location did not disappoint.
From the onset, the location was active. Phantom sounds, disembodied voices, unexplained electrical "blips", strange shadows, and even the sighting of what appeared to be a face in the darkness witnessed by several team members were just a few of the marquee events from the location. By the time 7 A.M. rolled around the next morning, it could be stated that team members were at once exhausted, and at the same time in love with the location.
The only problem is a factor that is both so fun, and so detrimental, to paranormal investigators if not managed - excitement. From the onset of our first time in the location, we began to experience unexplained activity that continued throughout the night. This, ultimately, led to some logistical problems as we began. Chiefly, equipment that normally would be used to canvas the location for environmental factors was ignored, at crucial times through the night.
While this would not, to the casual observer, seem like such a big deal to the novice investigators this was detrimental to our ability to collect evidence, and thus required some careful adjustments to our strategy for future investigations. This also led SRI to acquire several new pieces of equipment, chiefly a multi-camera DVR system with 8 individual cameras to canvas large, and small, locations alike. Coupled with several 100' sections of cable, SRI had a fighting chance to canvas several locations in the Old Hospital on College Hill that were active in our previous locations, and other locations that seemed to be far less active.
October 14th, 2021 dawned a beautiful fall morning in Appalachia. Of note, it was the 1 Year Anniversary of SRI's inaugural investigation of the Haymond House with Theresa and myself. Kaysee, James, Brian M., Theresa, and I were all in attendance for SRI, and we were accompanied by several guests for the location, including Becky, Chris, and Daniel.
James, Chris, and I arrived at around 3:45 p.m. and met with Charlie Hatfield, Mayor of Williamson and owner of the location, and discussed some of the recent goings on of the location and some of our experiences from the prior investigation. Upon entering the location, signing of all the necessary paperwork, and so on, the location was left to us and together with Theresa and Becky, SRI began to set up equipment around the location.
(Ran 5 Stationary Cams throughout the night!)
As could be expected, the process of setting up the DVR system took some ironing out, as well as the taping of cables and, setting up audio equipment, and so on. This process took a couple hours to complete, and by the time we had finished, the rest of our members had arrived and SRI left the building for a bit over an hour in a state of abandonment. Cameras running, audio running, and so on.
(The Front Hallway)
From this point on SRI took a while to have dinner together with our guests, and to plan strategy and discuss the paranormal. Time flew by, and we soon had to return to the location to get our night started!
(SRI Family Dinner with Guests at El Sazon Restaurant in Williamson)
Upon arrival back at the building, SRI team members began to collect equipment from the second floor compound, and proceeded to the Fourth Floor Pharmacy, where myself and Zachary Schwartz saw what appeared to be a face materialize from the darkness in our previous visit to the location. Almost immediately, things began to pick up.
For whatever reason, the location had extreme peaks of activity, followed by valleys of nothingness. Simply put, for whatever reason, the location did not rise up to meet us in the way that it had in our previous investigation. It is suspected that the number of investigators was a determining factor, though we will never be certain.
Despite this, however, many of us had our own various experiences in the location. Aggressive phantoms, strange shadow forms, strange sounds and voices with no discernible cause were fairly common throughout the night. Getting touched, cold breezes, and hits on the Ovilus and Echovox added extra pizzazz.
Evidence review is ongoing, and thus far very little that could even be considered as "possible evidence" has been located, though our DVR did provide us with tremendous enjoyment from one of our guests!
(SRI Member James and Chris, a guest. Check out Chris' reaction to the Motion Sensor!)
(Me, laying down on the left. Brian M on the Right. Chris...well, you'll see him...be easy on him, this was his first time legitimately ghost hunting with a team!)
Hopefully, as evidence review continues, we will have more to share with you!
Keep your eyes out for more SRI Content, coming up!