In the Old Days it Was Like a Dungeon Here. Terrible Things Were Done

The Randolph County Poorhouse and Infirmary was constructed in 1899 and eventually closed in 2005. During that time, the building saw many transformations - and at least 200 deaths.

Special Guest: Ted Martin

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Haunted Road, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm
and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener, discretion is advised. One time,
I practically begged to take a wooden leg home from
a haunted location I was investigating. I'm not proud of

(00:24):
this moment, but truly that leg became one of my
favorite stories of all time, and I just really wanted
to take it home, even though I had absolutely no
business having it. You see, when I arrived at this place,
no one had given much thought to the old wooden
prosthetic hanging on the wall, but I was of course
instantly drawn to it. When I asked about it, they

(00:46):
said they'd found it in the attic. I live in
a three hundred year old house, and let me just
tell you, if I found a wooden leg in my attic,
it would be like Christmas. Don't judge me. I look
for ghosts for a living. What did you expect? Also,
you're listening to this, so welcome to the party. Anyway,
In the room where the leg was, they had some

(01:06):
mischievous activity going on, including something that scared a bunch
of kids trying to have a sleepover. I don't know why,
but I knew that leg was responsible, so I started
doing research. What did I find that one hundred years
before a literal one legged circus performer was a resident

(01:26):
in the home we were investigating, and that he had
a penchant for playing tricks. The timeline of when he
had lived and died in the home lined up with
the style of wooden leg, and on top of that,
activity went wild when we brought him up in the room.
Imagine my excitement when I realized I had absolutely found
a haunted prosthetic. Needless to say, they didn't let me

(01:50):
take the leg home yet, although it's definitely for the best,
and this location quickly became one of my favorites. We're
talking about the Randolph County Infirmary in Winchester, Indiana. I'm
Amy Bruney, and welcome to Haunted Road. To reach the

(02:12):
Randolph County Infirmary, visitors have to drive to rural Indiana,
not too far from the Ohio border. After cruising through
empty farmland, guests will arrive in a city called Winchester.
Outside the city proper, but still within the town's limits.
They'll come upon a two story brick building with peaked

(02:33):
metal roofs, A pair of turrets loom on either side
of the front door, dwarfing a concrete stairway between them.
A carved inscription in stone reads Randolph co Infirmary. Inside,
the hallways are dark and the plastered walls have holes
exposing the brick underneath. Some rooms have been restored to

(02:55):
their former glory with period appropriate furniture and fresh bright
paint on the walls, but it wouldn't take long to
walk from a welcoming sitting room to a crumbling chamber.
Because the building was segregated by gender, there are two
of everything. The facility features a pair of chapels, dayrooms,

(03:15):
and infirmaries, one of which is filled to the brim
with dolls. The county bought the land in eighteen fifty
one to build a poorhouse. While it had numerous different
names over time, I will refer to the facility as
the Randolph County Infirmary throughout this episode for clarity. Even
before the residence halls were built, clients lived in the

(03:37):
agricultural buildings on the grounds. These were low income people
who earned their keep by working on the on site
farm if they were able. This included growing crops and
tending to cows, chickens, and other animals. The official Randolph
County Asylum Infirmary website notes that the facility also provided

(03:57):
housing for people who were too ill, elderly, or disabled
to pick up any chores. By eighteen fifty three, the
main housing building was completed with space to accommodate sixteen people,
but disaster struck almost immediately. The home burned down in
less than a year. When replacement housing was constructed, the

(04:18):
builders didn't follow proper procedure. According to Scott Schaeffer of
the Winchester News Gazette. Individual bricks were made on site,
but they weren't baked properly, and rather than forming sturdy walls,
they began to disintegrate quickly. Within a few decades, officials
tore the building down out of fears about its stability.

(04:40):
A third structure, the one that still stands today, was
erected just before the turn of the century. Unlike the
previous buildings, this one was solid and well built. It
cost fifty thousand dollars to fabricate, the equivalent of one
point eight million of today's dollars adjusted for inflation. It

(05:00):
had a bell system that rang through the facility to
help residents stick to strict schedule. They ate and worked
on the farm at specific times, and according to the
official Randolph County Asylum Infirmary website, it also boasted laundry
and kitchen facilities and a pair of dining rooms that
were segregated by gender. Other news structures on the grounds

(05:22):
included chicken coops, barns, machine sheds, and more. In nineteen eleven,
the Monday Evening Press declared the Randolph County Infirmary one
of the best in the state, and its history is
marked with several uplifting stories. For example, a thirty two
year old former lumberjack named Jimmy Cantrell checked into the

(05:45):
Randolph County Infirmary in nineteen nineteen as spinal cancer left
him immobilized. He couldn't work a traditional job, but the
hospital's superintendent's daughter taught him tatting or lace making. Initially,
Jimmy was resistant to the new hobby. He later told
a reporter with the Muncy Sunday Star that he saw

(06:06):
tatting as women's work, something embarrassing for a man like
him to do, But after he gave it a try,
he discovered that he was incredibly talented at the craft.
He eventually opened a highly successful lace business and told
the same reporter, every once in a while, I think
about learning to do something more along a man's life,

(06:29):
But then I remember that I'm making something useful, for
without beautiful things, life wouldn't be much worth living. This
story highlights how important organizations like the Randolph County Infirmary
could be. There's a real power in giving meaning and
purpose to people who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

(06:49):
But as time went on, the conditions at the facility deteriorated.
Sometime along the way, someone installed a barred jail cell
on the second Supposedly this was a place where inebriated
residents could sleep off their alcohol binges, but reports suggest
some cruel staffers would also throw patients in the cell

(07:11):
as a punishment, even for minor infractions. There were roughly
two hundred documented deaths on site, maybe more. One early
one happened in March nineteen oh six, not long after
the newest version of the building was constructed, and five
years before the newspaper sang its praises as the best

(07:31):
in the state muncies. The press described how a residence
suffered an epileptic seizure while standing near the top of
the staircase on the third story. He fell nearly all
the way to the ground floor and ultimately succumbed to
his injuries from the fall. Decades later, another long term
resident became confused while attempting to cross the street and

(07:54):
stepped in front of an oncoming car. He was hit
and died the next day. There are numerous other accounts
of falls and car accidents, including one possible murder. In
nineteen forty three, a man named John Oliver Champ tumbled
out a second floor window and passed away afterward. There
are allegations that this fall was no accident. It's said

(08:18):
two other patients pushed him to his death, but these
claims are unverified. However, I want to focus on one
more notable passing, that of Ida Gunkle. She suffered from neurosyphilis,
which was untreatable at the time she checked in in
nineteen thirty eight. Without medication. Syphilis is degenerative and causes

(08:42):
cognitive decline. In Ida's case, she was prone to running
through the halls and she had horrible hygiene. Before long,
her caretakers determined that a traditional room wasn't adequate for her,
so they transferred her into the basement into a dungeon
like cell with barred windows. One evening, she hung herself

(09:04):
from the ceiling, and her final moments were anything but
quick and painless. The drop didn't break her neck, so
she spent her last minutes choking and gasping for air.
She was found dead the next morning. In nineteen ninety four,
the Randolph County facility passed from public to private owners,
and the new administration tried to change the way they

(09:27):
ran the operation. Instead of ringing bells to keep all
the residents on the same schedule, they instead tried to
add more flexibility to the calendar. This didn't go over
well with the residents. By now only about twelve people
lived on site, a sharp decline from previous eras when
the Randolph County Residents housed around ninety people. But those

(09:49):
dozen or so clients were adamant about sticking to the
way they'd always done things, and eventually the new owners
caved to their demands. A few years later, in nineteen
ninety seven, reporter with the Indianapolis News interviewed an eighty
two year old resident named Doris Addington, who'd lived on
site since nineteen forty five. She described her time at

(10:11):
the Randolph County Infirmary to the journalists, saying, in the
old days it was like a dungeon here, terrible things
were done. When the journalist asked her to elaborate, she
burst into tears and couldn't answer. Later in that interview,
she alluded to something involving getting in a car with boys,
but this account was short on details. While the reporter

(10:34):
didn't get a clear explanation. Then it's not too late
to learn from Doris. Even though she passed away in
two thousand and six, her spirit is sometimes spotted in
the kitchen where she used to work. Many claims she
moves items around, situating things just the way she once
liked them. She's also thought to be a presence in

(10:55):
the infirmary where she spent her final days. Mitch goth
Of haunted us for that. Doris loved porcelain dolls in
her life, and now the infirmary is filled with her
old figurines and other dolls that were left in her honor.
Visitors claim these toys sometimes move on their own, as
though Doris is still arranging or playing with them. The

(11:17):
woman who killed herself, Ida Guncle, is also said to
haunt the basement cell where she took her own life.
Many visitors who set foot in the chamber feel an
overwhelming sense of panic, and people have recorded a voice
urging them to get out. Ida seemingly saves the worst
of her ire for people who get facts about her

(11:38):
life wrong. According to the reality TV show Destination Fear,
Ida has been known to become violent against those who
mock her or make untrue statements about her. She's even
scratched people deeply enough to drop blood. However, some visitors
have tried to placate her by bringing small gifts and
leaving them in her former room. Likewise, many guests bring

(12:01):
toys as a gift for a boy who's been dubbed Noah.
One psychic claimed the child's ghost made contact with her
and asked for toys, and if you bring him an
offering he likes, he may try to play with you
in his former first bedroom. Guests have also reported interactions
with the spirit of an unidentified judge who's said to

(12:21):
be particularly active in the attic. Mitch Goth claimed he
was notorious for his harsh verdicts in the courtroom. Apparently,
after he was admitted to the facility, he continued to
wield his perceived authority, subjecting other residents to foe trials.
In the attic, investigators have captured his voice on tape,
and many feel as though they're being watched when they

(12:43):
reach the top floor. There's one eerie area on the
second floor where guests often feel as though some invisible
attacker is punching them in the gut or grabbing their throats. Interestingly,
this isn't too far from the site of John Oliver
Champs deadly fall out the window. If it's true that
he was murdered by his fellow patients, these ghostly blows

(13:07):
might be a spectral echo of his final fatal moments.
Beyond that, the infirmary has many of the typical tell
tale signs of hauntings. Figures appear in empty spaces. Mitch
Goth describes some as white and misty and others as
more shadowy. Passers through might also feel as though someone

(13:28):
they don't see is touching them, and a tricycle in
the attic has rolled on its own. For an empty facility,
it's surprisingly noisy in unoccupied rooms, Guests may hear doors,
slam bangs on the walls, or voices including children's laughter,
screams and moans frequently echo through the basement and near
the barred jail cell on the floor. Some of these

(13:51):
disturbances don't have a clear explanation. For example, at least
one visitor saw a figure in the basement that they
described as resembling a baby octopus. Others have identified something
they call a creeper. The Hauntings around America web page
on Randolph County Asylum described the creeper as having an

(14:12):
ominous ambiance. It's said to charge it visitors moving impossibly fast.
It's clear there are many spirits with a variety of
different attitudes and personalities at the Randolph County Infirmary. To
tease out their stories, I'm going to speak with someone
who spends a tremendous amount of time there, mister Ted Martin.

(14:35):
Ted heads up their tours and does a lot of
paranormal investigations on site, and he's got some very interesting
stories to share with us. That is coming up after
the break. All right, So I am now joined by

(14:56):
Ted Martin, who is the historian at the infirmary and
has a wealth of information. Also kind of has what
I consider to be a dreamy job. I'm a little jealous.
So welcome to the programs.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
Ed, thank you.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Now, when did you get started with the INFIRMI how
long have you been associated with that building?

Speaker 2 (15:14):
A little over three years?

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Now, that's great. And now did you just kind of
fall into it or was it something you had an
interest in initially or.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
No, I was actually the county historian and I was
a president of the Historical Society. You yourself have been
to our museum up there, and I had retired from
my full time job, and these guys knew me from
working with them a little bit here and there, and

(15:43):
they called me and asked me if i'd like to
have a job by meeting people at the door and
telling them the history and showing them around the place.
And it sounded like exactly what I wanted to do.
So how I become involved?

Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, well, I mean I would say, you're the perfect
guy for the job. So now, did you have you
always believed in the paranormal or did the infirmary kind
of make you a believer?

Speaker 2 (16:08):
The infirmary definitely made me a believer. To be quite
honest with you, Ammy, I was fourteen years Army Infantry
and eighteen years firefighter, and I wasn't much that I
was afraid of, to be honest with you, and I
didn't believe that this stuff was real. I always said
that somebody goad to walk up and shake my hand

(16:30):
and introduce themselves to me before I believe it. And
lo and behold, it basically happened here.

Speaker 1 (16:36):
What was the moment, What was it that made you
a believer?

Speaker 2 (16:39):
Well, the moment that made me believer. You remember me
telling you back when you guys were here about the
judge up in the attic.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
Well, why don't you recount it for us, just because
there's a lot of listeners who aren't familiar. But I
do remember, okay.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
Well, I had told you about the judge had mock
court mock trials up in the attic. He came here
like in nineteen thirty eight, and he didn't have any
family or anything, and he offered to pay the county
commissioner's rent to live here, and of course nobody else

(17:15):
is paying anything, so they took him up on it.
And so he was asked what he could do to
help people here and they had decided that he would
be in charge of security, and so they let him
do mock trials up in the attic so that the
regular residents of the people here where he was a jury.

(17:40):
And of course he had taken the superintendent to win
to Winchester to County jail, and they had purchased a
jail cell and took the jail cell apart and brought
it out here and put it in one of the
rooms on the second floor. So if in his mock trials,
if he sentenced you to an overnight or a day

(18:01):
or two in jail, he actually had a place to put.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
You, oh my goodness.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
And so fortunately he was a good, honest man. He
wasn't like he was a hanging type.

Speaker 3 (18:11):
Drugs that could have been bad, yes, And to be
honest with you, since he was retired, he actually had
no legal authority.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
But if the superintendent of this building says he could
do it, and they let him do it, and people
are going along with it, well he can pretty much
do what he wants to do. So I remember one
evening I was up in the attic with some guests
that was up there, and there's two different guys and

(18:44):
both of them had SLS cameras, you know, the stick
figure shoot a stick figure. And they asked me, they
said ted, They said, where is the jed holding him
open his mock trials? And I said, right in front
of you. It was Christopher and Philip Booth is who
it was.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
Oh yeah, yeah, okay, you know who they are? Yeah, yeah,
I am familiar.

Speaker 2 (19:08):
And so they asked me, worry, how did he mock trials?
And I said, right in front of you, right out there.
And they said, why do you reckon he's here? And
I said, yes, I think he's still up there. And
about that time Philip said, look at my screen on
my camera, on the computer screen, and I looked on
his computer screen and he had it pointing towards an

(19:30):
upright up up there in the attic, and there was
a stick figurehead peeking around the upright and he said
you recognize him and I said, yes, I do recognize him.
He said, well can you get do you know him?
And I said sure, I know him well enough I
can talk about him. And he said, well, see if
you can get him to come out. So I went

(19:51):
down to where that upright was and I said, judge
listen to me, I said, THEMN cameras, them guy's got
can't hurt you. They won't hurt They'd like for you
to come out behind from behind this upright so that
they could see you better. And of course I couldn't see.
I didn't have no camera, and that's one of the
big reasons why it didn't scare me to death. So

(20:15):
I went over there and he I asked him to
come out, and I turned around and walked back across
the hallway and was leaning against a chimney up there,
and one of the guys, either Phillip or Christopher, one
said he's following you. And then Christopher said, well, as
a matter of fact, he's leaning against the chimney right
beside you. Well, if he's right beside me, that makes

(20:38):
him no further away than two feet away from me.
And I'm wanting to see him. And so I'm looking
real hard, looking real hard, and the next thing I know,
I break out into a cold sweat, and I feel
like I'm going to do a nose dive. I feel
like I'm going to pass out right, And I squatted down,

(20:59):
clothes to the floor, and Philip or Christopher popped up
and said, then Ted, He said, Ted, I think he
likes you. He laid his hand on your shoulder. Well,
that's what it was. He was zapping my energy, trying
to materialize, I guess, and that was making me sick.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
Of course.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
I was scooted down next to the floor and I said, Judge,
I said, if this is you, I said, you're going
to have to please get your hand off of me
because it's making me sick. I can't take it. And
within ten seconds I felt fine, and I asked him
what happened, and Christopher said, well, I believe he dropped
his hand off your shoulder and walked back across the

(21:44):
opening hallway there and went back behind the upright, and
we can't see him now. So any skepticism of my
head went right out the window. That night, I couldn't
see it. I couldn't feel anything, but something was bothering me.
Something was making really feel tapped.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
Right, And I mean the timing worked out to you.
I mean, what an interesting story, like I can't imagine,
first of all, the way that man lived. You know,
He's just like I'm gonna rent the attic of the
infirmary and hold mock trials like, this is what I'm
doing with my life. And so obviously he already had
kind of an interesting personality, so it makes sense that
he would stick around, and it makes sense that he
would have an affinity for other people, especially people dedicated

(22:25):
to the location. So I think that's really interesting if
someone visits the informer, like I've been there, and honestly,
I adore that building. I love the history there, I
love the activity there. The feeling there can vary greatly,
Like in some places it feels very warm and inviting,
and I've been in other places where it feels a
little bit like we don't want you here, you know,

(22:46):
And it just depends on the day. I would say.
But along those lines, when people visit, what would you
say is the most common activity that they report or
that they experience.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
Well, I would say the most common experience most people
have is with either a guncle the lady that hung
herself down in the basement, or with Doris Addington, the
whole woman that cooked here for seventy years.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right, those were two names that came up a lot
in my research, and I mean I found both of
their stories fascinating. I love Doris just because she's kind
of a recent figure, and I was able to find
like photos of her and everything still there. How does
she manifest? How do people know that they're encountering Doris.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Well, she'll either interact with him to a spirit box
down in the kitchen around the island down there in
a basement, or she'll interact with them in the room.
And she passed away in a sick room up here
on the first floor where all her dolls.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Are at Okay, And so the dolls that are there,
those actually belong to her, are those dolls that people
bring for her.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
One album on the shelves against the north wall in
her room are really hers. All the others that are
in there is people that's heard the story by listening
to different things like this, and they bring her doll.
And if they bring her a doll and present it
to her, it's usually on film or on tape or something.

(24:19):
And she has never yet neglected not to thank somebody
for giving her a doll. If you've got a spirit.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
Box, wow, So if people bring a doll, most likely
they're going to get some sort of interaction with her,
like her actually thanking them for it.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
I can't guarantee it naturally, you know how. Yeah, but yes,
actually most of the people do have some kind of
interaction with her.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
See. I like that, that kind of interaction between you know,
the living and the dead. It's this kind of very
peaceful kind way of getting activity. Right now, as far
as ida I know, most of the activity involving her
seems to be in the basement. Is that.

Speaker 2 (25:01):
Right? It's in that room. Supposedly she hung herself in
that room.

Speaker 1 (25:06):
And how does she manifest? What does she do?

Speaker 2 (25:09):
Well, you got to have a K two meter in there,
and she'll she'll light it up bright red. She'll pag
it clear to the top. Now there's a there's a
there's an electricity line across the ceiling in there, but
as far as I know, there's no electricity to it.
I've never seen that light work before. When she when

(25:31):
she manifests herself, your K two meter will basically jump
out of your hand. I mean, it PAGs it right,
bright red.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
Sometimes I think that those kind of items like K
two's are the things that light up. I just think
that spirits sometimes that's just a very easy way for
them to communicate. It's like this universal language, like everyone
understands a light or a knock or something like that. Now,
as far as people visiting that, you did you guys
do daytime tours non paranormal related, right? Or is everything

(26:04):
paranormal related?

Speaker 2 (26:05):
Well, I do history tours through the daytime, or if
I just tell people the history of the place and
then take them a walk through the building. But it
doesn't really matter whether it's daytime or night. I've had
his people see shadow figures and everything else when I'm
just doing a history tour.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
That's what I was going to ask if. I was
going to ask if when people come in to do
like a history tour, are they ever surprised and suddenly
have a paranormal experience? They weren't bargaining for.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
Right they have. I've I've had one young guy swear
that there was a big, tall shadow figure like standing
in the hallway at the end on the men's side
of the second floor, and we were cleared down the
hall from him, and he swore that he's standing right
there beside the door. And I was convinced that he

(26:53):
saw something. I really was.

Speaker 1 (26:55):
So now did he remain or was he done with
the tour at that point?

Speaker 2 (26:59):
Well, he remained. The young man. He was with his mother,
and they went ahead, and we still had to go
the remainder of the second floor enough through the attic,
and they went on with it.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
Well that's good. Have you ever had anybody just who
had enough and was like, I'm done, They're out, They've
they're leaving the building.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
Usually it'll be a man, and usually it'll be a
time when he's going I don't know whether he's trying
to prove something to himself or what. But we've had
two different guys show up by themselves and going to
stay here by themselves at night, and both guys have

(27:39):
called me later at night and said that they're not
there anymore, that they went on down to the motel
a couple of miles down the road from here, and
so they just had enough of it, and they basically
would scare them all.

Speaker 1 (27:53):
Oh jeez. I mean, I wonder what they were doing.
I think I get hang there by myself for the night.
I mean, I don't know, I might get lonely, but
I don't know if I get scared, I.

Speaker 2 (28:06):
Don't think they'd let you get long.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
I guess you're right, that's true. Now on the day
to day, now I know that. You guys get a
lot of shadow figures in that persons. Have you got
any identifiable evidence or interactions where they say their names
or names you weren't familiar with anything like that.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
Well, one of them was I saw personally. I saw
and a young girl with me, and I saw a
figure of Doris go across from the ladies dining room
down there in the basement, and she kind of floated
through that doorway into the kitchen, and I could see

(28:44):
from her waist up. And so since I know what
Doris looks like, I could definitely recognize who that was.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
And now, remind me what year did Doris pass away?

Speaker 2 (28:56):
If I'm not mistaken, I think it's nineteen eighty.

Speaker 1 (28:59):
Four, okay, And then why do you think she stays there? Like,
what's your theory?

Speaker 2 (29:04):
Well, once she was here, you know, I've told you
a story about about every church in town. When they
would have a function, like a food gathering or something,
they would always ask Doris to help them cook. And
when she was doing that, different people of the church

(29:25):
to offer her a place to stay, and she would
always turn it down. She'd always say, no, I got
to get back out there. Somebody might have missed her
supper tonight I got to get ready for him. So
I feel like, basically she was dumped here by her sisters.
But I feel like as she stayed here throughout the years,

(29:46):
she felt obligated to the place, and so she just
didn't want to leave. She wanted to be out here
and wanted to make sure she was doing what she
was doing right.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
It's almost like she felt kind of a sense of
duty to the place. Now, I think I'd talked about
it in the first half, but I'm trying to remember,
like how many years. I feel like she lived there
for like forty six years or something. Do you remember
how many years it was she spent there.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
She was here for seventy years, So.

Speaker 1 (30:13):
Seventy years, so I wait, seventy years, So that's really
all she knew. So it really makes perfect sense why
she would be a very prevalent spirit there because if
I remember correctly, did she have any living relatives when
she passed or anything, or.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Well, she had family. She's not buried down here in
a pauper graveyard. I think she's buried and found Park
Cemetery right in Winchester. But like I said, she had
I think the longer she stayed here, the more of
an obligation she felt like she added to this place.
And so this was just her life, is what it was.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah. Now besides her and Ida, are there any other
spirits that you can think of at the top of
your who kind of make themselves known pretty regularly?

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Well, the judge, like I said, up in the attic,
and there's a boy in the room down there. He
interacts with people by jahn asking you to take one
of the notebooks in there and the drawing pencils, and
he'll interact with people to a spirit box by asking
him to draw him a picture. You got to remember,

(31:26):
in his world, it's nineteen forty three.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, so that's that makes sense for probably something he
enjoyed in life too. Are you guys hosting do you
have paranormal investigations there pretty regularly and tours and everything?
How does that work?

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Well, we got a schedule and there's a yearly schedule
Roucate and you have doctor her, but she scheduled, Well,
there's one just about there's more more scheduled days than
there are open days.

Speaker 1 (31:57):
Oh, I can imagine, I can imagine. I feel like
places like that, you know, I think that you're you're
bringing to light a really important part of history. And
I also find the building to be beautiful. And I
also think that probably for a long time, there wasn't
anybody talking to those spirits there, So I think it's
great that, you know, it's become kind of a regular

(32:19):
thing for people to come in and interact with them.
And you guys have all been lovely. I've met you
all a couple of times now, and I'm eager to
get back there. So I really do enjoy what you're doing.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
Well, we enjoyed having you all here. I hope you
get back soon.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
Oh yeah, absolutely, so really quick. If people want to
visit the infirmary, I know you mentioned Kate, is there
a website or anything that they can head to or
anyone they can call if they want to schedule time
or take a tour.

Speaker 2 (32:45):
Yeah, I believe it's called save Saving the Old Proberies
dot com.

Speaker 1 (32:50):
All right, Save Theold Properties dot com? All right. And
I know that you the people who run the infirmary,
they've they're building up quite the portfolio of really cool
old buildings in that area, and I think that is awesome.
So I think this is one of the byproducts of
paramol investigation that sometimes there are buildings that really wouldn't
have a life otherwise, and this is a way to

(33:11):
kind of fund that, but also keep history alive and
also keep those spirits happy. So I appreciate everything that
you guys do.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, there's not very many old buildings around here that
doesn't get their attention. I'll say that.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, definitely, recently bought one.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
If I can kind of put a plug in, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Of course. Listen, you want to tell me about your
new old building, you go right ahead.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Recently just bought one down the land, which is only
like seven or eight miles from the infirmaries, south of
the infirmary, and it was the old the old church
as a Nazarene church that they bought it land and
at the church at Jim Jones grew up again.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
Oh wow, that's quite the history. So well, I can't
wait to hear more about that. I'm going to have
to come visit soon and jump from all these properties.
So thank you so much for joining me. I really
appreciate you taking the time, and hopefully we see each
other in person again soon.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
Thank you for giving the opportunity for the exposure, we
really appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
Randolph County Infirmary represents an odd tension that's true of
almost any care facility. It can be a happy place
where people go to get their life back on track,
but not every resident will be a success story, and
for some it will be a site of tragedy. For
every patient, like Jimmy Cantrell, who found purpose and meaning

(34:42):
making lace, there were others who saw the hospital as
an unspeakably terrible place. This dichotomy is reflected in the
spirits that remain today, some friendly and some not so much.
As we all know, life is complicated, and it seems
that death can be as well. I'm Amy Bruney and

(35:04):
this was Haunted Road. Haunted Road is hosted and written
by me Amy brune with additional research by Cassandra de Alba.
This show is edited and produced by Rima El Kali,

(35:27):
with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Menke,
Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Haunted Road is a production
of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Menke. Learn
more about this show over at Grimandmild dot com and
for more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,

(35:49):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.