It’s October and time to think about Halloween, haunted history and ghost stories. So, to get everyone in the mood, I have pulled a story out of my closet that just might make the hair on your arms stand up straight.
My hair raising experience happened during a previous press trip to Foley, Alabama. It was several years ago that I took ten travel writers on a tour of the Holmes Medical Museum.
During the trip to the small, charming town on the way to the Gulf Coast, something unexplainable happened. Something that to this day gives me chill bumps.
Let me provide a little background first. The museum in Foley is housed in a former hospital built in 1936 that closed in 1958. Many babies were birthed in the hospital, in fact, the docent giving the tour said she was born in the hospital. Doctors also performed surgery and took care of whatever ailed the townspeople. The equipment looks medieval compared to today’s standards. We saw things like reusable needles, cane back wheel chairs, metal probes, jars of antique bones and get this, a real skeleton. Yes the bones were real.
We started the tour on the first floor which housed an old hearse looking ambulance. Nothing too scary was on the first floor. As we walked up the stairs to the second floor of the hospital, I began to feel a little uneasy. The stairs creaked with every step. It was dark and eerie, and the items on display made me a bit nervous. I eyed long needles sitting next to a needle sharpener. They didn’t have disposable needles in those days, so they used the same needle over and over while sharpening it from time to time. Old bottles and apothecary items were everywhere. The surgery room was even scarier.
Photo Credit: Holmes Medical Museum
When I walked into a second-floor room with old medicine bottles on display, my eyes caught the site of a skeleton hanging at the far corner. One of the travel writers was also a professional photographer, Patrice Raplee. She asked me to stand next to the skeleton to have my photo taken. As I neared the skeleton I could see it was real. The rib bones were dark and had a honeycomb appearance, which probably meant the person had some bone loss. In fact, the docent said it was indeed a real human skeleton. I felt a chill once I saw up close that this was not one of the plaster ones we are used to from our childhood teachings of the human body.
Before I go on, keep in mind that this was a cloudy day. There was only one window at the opposite corner of an approx. 200 square foot room, no other people were in the room, no shadows to cast, and no flash was used. Patrice had a long lens on her camera (about 10 inches). I leaned in toward the skeleton to make it appear that I was touching it when in actuality I was slightly behind it. I asked Patrice to hurry and take my photo. My bravery was quickly waning.
Patrice snapped my photo as I posed and said with a gasp, OH MY! I asked what was wrong. She said, “I’ll show you in a minute …let me take another photo.” Her gasp brought others into the room. Then she snapped another picture. Upon showing me the first photo I too gasped! Yikes! I could not believe my eyes. The photo showed me standing next to the skeleton, and appearing in front of me was a black, wispy, slightly transparent, apparition (for lack of a better description). It looked like a person standing with their arms in the air. No, this was not Patrice’s hand or fingers. She was holding a long telephoto lens and I saw her take the photo.
Right: Photo with mysterious shadow
Photos by © Patrice Raplee
In the photos, look closely at what appears to be the shadowy figure next to me. Was it some sort of energy? A ghost? You be the judge.
So I leave it to your eyes. View the photos, the first with the black, transparent figure in the dark corner compared to the photo taken immediately after. Keep in mind there was nothing to cast shadows, no flash, no one else standing in the room.
Upon her return to Seattle, Patrice told me that she had taken the photos to the University of Washington to show it to a few professionals. She explained to me that the consensus was that it had nothing to do with the camera and it could not be explained. I also recall the docent at the museum had told us that others have reported seeing ghosts in the halls and rooms. And she left it at that. Is the Holmes Medical Museum Haunted? You may have to visit to see for yourself. And October is the perfect time to visit.
Credits: Photo Left: Holmes Medical Museum Photo Right: Google/Cindy Woodhead
There’s plenty more to do and see in Foley, but the Holmes Medical Museum is a must-see for those who like spooky.
Everyday Edith 