Paranormal Activity Investigators

Location Information

Date:26th March, 2010     Type:Business

Location Title:Glore Psychiatric Museum     City/State:St Joseph, MO

Investigation Times:09:00 PM - 01:00 AM     Status:Analysis

 

Weather Information

Sunrise:07:12 AM   Sunset:07:36 PM

High Temperature:58 °F   Low Temperature:33 °F

Sky Condition:Clear   Wind:SE at 11 mph

Humidity:74%   Precipitation:0%

Lunar Phase:Waxing Gibbous   % disk visible:85%

Solar X-Rays:Normal   Geomagnetic Field:Quiet

Pressure:29.98 mmHg  

 

Investigators Present

Christina Anderson

Becky Ray

Jennifer Sprague

Shawn Walsh

Trista Walsh

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Location History

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From http://www.stjosephmuseum.org/glore.php
The Glore Psychiatric Museum chronicles the 130-year history of what was once known as the “State Lunatic Asylum No. 2.” The Museum uses full-sized replicas, interactive displays, audio-visuals, artifacts, and documents to illustrate the history of the treatment of mental illness. The museum is recognized as “one of the 50 most unusual Museums in the country.” It is also featured in the book “1,000 Places to See Before You Die in the USA and Canada.”
The Glore Psychiatric Museum is named for its founder George Glore, who spent most of his 41-year career with the Missouri Department of Mental Health nurturing its collections into arguably the largest and best single exhibition explaining the evolution of mental health care in the United States. His ultimate goal was to reduce the stigma associated with psychiatric treatment for patients, their families, and their communities.
George Glore joined the Missouri Department of Mental Health at Farmington, Missouri, in 1956. In the early 1960s, he transferred to the St. Joseph State Hospital and joined the occupational therapy department, which was also responsible for community relations. In 1968, he worked with hospital carpenters and patients to construct a series of full-size replicas of 16th, 17th, and 18th century treatment devices for a Mental Health Awareness Week open house. They were so well received that he was encouraged by hospital officials to expand the exhibit, and the museum was begun on the campus of what had once been ‘State Lunatic Asylum No.2.’ 
‘State Lunatic Asylum No. 2’ opened in November of 1874 with 25 patients on land located east of the City of St. Joseph. Dr. George C. Catlett, the hospital’s first Superintendent, explained that the hospital was dedicated “to the noble work of reviving hope in the human heart and dispelling the portentous clouds that penetrate the intellects of minds diseased.” 
Demand cause rapid growth. The original 275 beds filled quickly. An additional 120 beds were added, and then another 350. Relatives who could no longer provide for their family members special needs admitted most patients. A devastating fire in 1879 only temporarily slowed that growth. When the hospital reopened in 1880, it became a sanctuary not only for the mentally ill, but also for tuberculosis patients, syphilitic patients, alcoholic patients, and patients with physical disabilities. By the early 1950s, the patient population had grown to nearly 3,000, which made the hospital one of the largest employers in St. Joseph. It was not until the 1970s that the hospital began to downsize in order to concentrate on treating the mentally ill. Patients who suffered from physical illnesses were transferred to other hospitals for specialized treatment. 
Through the years, the name of the hospital has been changed several times. In 1903, the name was changed to the State Hospital No. 2. It was changed again in 1952, to the St. Joseph State Hospital. In 1994, ground was broken across the street for a new hospital campus, the Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, which houses 108 intermediate and long-term care patients. The original campus was converted to the Western Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center. The Glore Psychiatric Museum was moved into a building on the original grounds that had once been used as the admitting ward and the clinic for hospital patients.

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Investigators Notes

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Christina Anderson:First of all, a big thank you to the staff of the Glore Psychiatric Museum for allowing us to investigate! As a former resident of St. Joseph, I had heard stories about this location for years, along with reports of other activity on the grounds of what is now the WRDCC facility of the MO Department of Corrections. Given all of the tales, I wanted to see the place for myself. During our investigation, we were allowed access to a specific region of the tunnels beneath the buildings. In one tunnel, three of us noticed what appeared to be shadow movement at the darkened end of the tunnel. This could not be reproduced. We also heard something that sounded like whispering. A couple of unusual EVP were captured in this tunnel. In the tunnel of the opposite side, We also heard what appeared to be loud discussion, but when investigated, the sound was found to be coming from plumbing. This area also had an immense amount of wiring, which can contribute to the feeling of being watched and/or followed. On the third floor of the museum, the entire group heard a loud knocking. We traced this knocking to a locked door. Each of us took turns listening at the door, and we each heard what sounded like a child saying "Help me." When asked to repeat the knocking noise, it occurred again, and responded when Jennifer and Becky asked it to knock louder, a certain number of times, etc. We did ask the attendant for that evening to open the door so that we could investigate further, as we were convinced this would be the HVAC room. Imagine our surprise when the room turned out to be an office, empty except for a desk, a few chairs, and file cabinets! We still have no full explanation for the noise. Several EVP were captured on this floor, including one that occurred as I mentioned needing to go to the restroom..."Go right in." We did go across the breezeway into the area that now houses the St. Joseph Museum and the Knea-Von Black Archives. No EVP were captured here, but I did have the feeling of being followed, and saw some movement in a room across from where we were all sitting vigil. On the second floor of the Glore Museum, we did not experience anything unusual, but this is where several EVP occurred, with particularly strong ones in a room that showcased restraints, historical treatments for mental illness, and cages that people had been locked in. We were fairly slap-happy at this point, and had been joking around when the EVPs were captured. In the basement, we experienced cold spots, particularly at both ends of the hallway. These were felt the most near the door to the morgue, but not within the room itself. Some of these were measurable, and equipment registered drops of anywhere from three to six degrees. They also were not stationary, and seemed to come and go. Some EVP were captured here as well. There have been reports of a man on this floor running to the elevator and telling people to leave, but we didn't see him! Although we didn't experience anything unusual on the first floor where the offices are located, we did capture some EVP in this area. Overall, this was a pretty interesting investigation, and I would love to return to do a follow-up. While the paranormal element is definately a draw, I would recommend that anyone take a tour of this museum. It is an eye-opening experience to see how mental illness was treated in years past in comparison to the way it is treated today.

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Becky Ray:This was a interesting night to say the least. While we did see some odd shadows in the first tunnel, one of the two major events happened in the second tunnel. We all kept hearing what sounded like people having a loud discussion. I was convinced there were actual people down the hallway who weren't aware we were there. However, after Shawn went to check it out, it was discovered that it was just echoing running water. The auditory illusion of voices was amazing, because even after it was very obviously water I could still hear what sounded like human voices in it. Very interesting.
In the main building things seemed to be fairly uneventful until we had an experience on the 3rd floor involving a knocking sound. While it may have been coincidence, the knocking corresponded with not only our requests for knocks, but how many knocks. We tracked the source of the sound down to a door that was locked. At this point we all took turns listening at the door and several of us heard what sounded like a child's voice coming from the other side. After our debunk in the tunnels I was certain this room must house the HVAC system or something to make the knocking and voice sounds. However, after we retrieved a staff member to open the room for us, I was stunned to find an empty office.
Also interesting to note, during the time we were all a bit slap happy and I was convinced there was nothing going on is when most of the EVPs were recorded that night. I'm very interested in returning when it is possible for a follow up.

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Jennifer Sprague:On this investigation I was note take for the group. Overall, this was a fairly quiet investigation. We had one interesting occurence where we all heard some pounding noises that seemed to coorelate to the questions we were asking during an evp session. Many of us also seemed to have heard a voice that seemed very child. Upon investigation and trying ot locate the noise we were all surprised that the noise was coming from an abandoned office as the noise sounded loud of enough to be some type of a machinery, needless to say we were surprised to find it coming from an empty office. The noice was more clearer once we were inside the office I believe that it was piping that was banging and squeaking in the walls that was giving off the illusion of the noise and that it's response was just coincidence. When we went downstairs we could also here the same knocking and banging noise. Although none of us really experienced anything personally other than the above mentoined, we did capture some interesting evps and those should be posted soon!