We're putting the band back together...

 

In 2010, Nashville’s Awesome Paranormal Society (NAPS) embarked on its first investigation. In a combined investigation with NADS, (North Carolina’s Awesome Demonic Seekers), ten of us set sail for Louisville, KY and its infamous Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

Now, it’s official. We’re heading back in 2011…

The fact that I’ve intentionally spent the night in what is considered one of the most haunted places in the world has garnered a variety of reactions. From fascination, to hibby jibbies and shock - it can definitely be a conversation starter, or stopper. More so, I think folks are intrigued that I’d want to do this. Either they don’t believe, and think it’s a waste of time and money, or they do believe and are genuinely afraid to mess with the unknown or paranormal.

You may have seen my four part mocumentary about our trip, however, I’ve never taken the time to talk seriously about my experience and my reasons for wanting to do this. Now that we’re prepping for our return trip, I figure it’s a good time.

I’ve decided that perhaps it’s best if I interview myself. That way, I’ll provide myself with an opportunity to answer some of the questions I tend to get.

INTERVIEWER (me): Brad, what in the world would make you want to do something like this?
BRAD: My reasons for wanting to do this are pretty simple. I mean, you’ve seen The Goonies haven’t you? Seriously, it’s just sort of a fun adventure, one that speaks to my inner child. Five of us in the group are hometown friends, and we pretty much grew up together. As kids, we’d spend our time together going on ghost hunts. Granted, it was usually in our own houses, but it was still a blast.

INTERVIEWER (me): I have to assume that you enjoy watching shows on the paranormal, such as ‘Ghost Hunters.'
BRAD: Absolutely, ‘Ghost Hunters’ in particular is where I first heard about Waverly Hills. I was having a conversation with my friend, and fellow GH fan, Neilson Hubbard, and he mentioned to me that you could actually go stay the night there. After a year or so of talking, we finally made it happen.

I'm most certainly intrigued by paranormal shows. ‘Ghost Hunters’ being the main one.  I’m a fan of old buildings anyway, and I just loved that these guys and gals would walk around in the dark searching for paranormal activity. I thought it would be so cool, but at the same time wondered if I could even do it without getting really freaked out.

I was also fascinated by their experiences. Obviously, this is television, and I’m well aware that things can be fake. But, what if they weren’t? Some of the evidence is indeed compelling. I just needed to try and have my own experiences.

INTERVIEWER (me): So, would you say you were a skeptic or a believer?
BRAD: Oh, very skeptical. But, why not go and see for yourself? Like most people, I’ve heard ghost stories all my life. A lot of these stories have come from some of the smartest, trustworthy people I know. Others not so much. I’ve had friends who have had experiences, and I had my own years ago that I’d sorta written off over time.

I think because I chose to go do this, people assume that I believe in ghosts. That’s not true, not in the classical sense at least. Again, if you could go somewhere and experience something paranormal, why wouldn’t you?

INTERVIEWER (me): I think a lot of people are cautious to mess with things that they can’t understand. Would you agree?
BRAD: Sure, I can understand and respect that. There’s a part of me that gets concerned I’ll experience something that I can’t quite process. However, while I’m open to idea of paranormal activity, at least in a scientific sense, I’m not as open to the idea of Patrick Swayze coming back to help protect Demi Moore.

INTERVIEWER (me): When you say you’re open to paranormal activity in a scientific sense, what does that mean exactly? Explain that for our readers.
BRAD: Well, as I mentioned earlier, I don’t really believe in ghosts in the classical sense. What I mean by that is, I don’t necessarily believe  a ‘ghost’ would be any proof of a spiritual afterlife. I am open to the idea that there are things going on that I, as a human being can’t quite sense or comprehend. For example, the human eye is limited to a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The ear as well has a limited range of frequency.

Let’s be clear though, in saying this, I’m not trying to say that 1) I believe in ghosts, and 2) any of what I’m saying would explain why if they did exist, they would be hanging out at this sanatorium. The truth is - I just don’t have a freaking clue.

INTERVIEWER (me): Okay, okay - so you don’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but you’re open to accepting that there are things you don’t understand.
BRAD: Right. I believe in what is real and I believe in science. At the same time, I’m in no way arrogant enough to think I have it all figured out either. The reality is, the experiences we have or don’t have will be ours. Maybe we catch some interesting evidence like we did last year.  Perhaps other people see apparitions this time. Regardless, we’re not going to unravel the mysteries of the universe, we’ll just be left with more questions. Again, why not go? If you told me I had a good chance of seeing a UFO at mile marker 51 on I65, I’d go.

INTERVIEWER (me): How about we talk about your last visit? You actually had some personal experiences, and caught some strange things on tape, right?
BRAD:

The Sanatorium itself is just ominous. When you pull up, you can’t help but be in awe of the building. It’s dark and brooding, and it just seems alive. Not in a ghostly sense, but you can feel the history of the building. It’s almost as if it’s breathing.

Honestly, that night, it didn’t feel that scary. Creepy? Sure. I get creeped out in my own house in the dark, so to be in a dark abandoned tuberculosis hospital where 60,000 plus people died is naturally a little eerie. But, all in all, nobody was terrified or scared. It didn’t quite give me that hair on the back of my neck sorta feeling I would have expected.

There were several personal experiences throughout the night, but for the most part, we wrote them off. It was dark, and it was very easy to accept that your eyes were playing tricks on you. Most of the group was made up of skeptics, but the two most skeptical both saw apparitions. One guy was standing in a room on the 5th floor by himself, turned around and saw somebody standing in the corner of the room. My cousin, Matt saw the infamous ‘creeper’ ghost on the 4th floor.

There were a couple of sounds. Three of us were in a room when we heard what sounded like a lady clearing her throat. Another person heard a woman moaning. There were a few that claimed to have been touched, mainly on their ankles, which is something that is commonly reported there. There were definitely a couple of shadows from time to time. I did see a flash of light that I didn’t mention, and later in the night somebody else described seeing the same type of flash. Again, we dismissed a lot of these experiences, and honestly they were probably nothing.

There was one bit of evidence that we discovered on site that was interesting. Several of us were recording a lot of audio throughout the night. During an on-site  playback we discovered our first EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). We didn’t hear it at the time, but when played back, you can hear what sounds like children singing. Spooky, eh?

INTERVIEWER (me): But after you guys got home, you discovered more, right?
BRAD: Yeah, it was a few days later and I get a call from a fellow NAPS member. He’d been listening to some of the audio he recorded and found something he wanted me to hear. It was shocking, honestly. He and two more were in a room on the 3rd floor doing an EVP session, when you hear what sounds like two footsteps and a disembodied voice say what clearly sounds like ‘whore’. They didn’t hear it at the time.

So, I got to thinking. I didn’t record much audio, and I didn’t hear anything on that - but, I did record some video which also records audio. It’s best to watch the ‘Reveal’ episode of NAPS, but I had captured two really strong EVP’s.

INTERVIEWER (me):  How did you react to that?
BRAD: Shocked, absolutely shocked. These two were pretty strong. There were a few more, but they were just too questionable to post. In other words, I could debunk if I wanted. These two were harder to dismiss.

INTERVIEWER (me): How so?
BRAD: Well, you’d have to watch the clips first, but trust me - I spent several late nights trying to debunk. I slowed down the audio, went frame by frame. I spent many hours with the clips.

INTERVIEWER (me): Wow, that’s pretty fascinating. Does this mean that you’re a believer now?
BRAD: Eh, no and yes. If anything, it makes me more excited to go back. I can’t explain the footage, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an explanation. But, even still - that explanation may involve the paranormal. I have no clue. That’s why I want to have more experiences. I think we’ll all approach the night a little differently, more seriously than before.

INTERVIEWER (me): Will it make it scarier than before? Now that you have this initial sort of evidence.
BRAD: I don’t think so. The clips themselves don’t make my feel frightened, more intrigued than anything.

INTERVIEWER (me): Alright, well we look forward to talking with you following your next visit. When will that be again?
BRAD: We’ll be going back May 30th.

INTERVIEWER (me): Sounds exciting, Brad. We appreciate you taking time to sit down and discuss your experience in a little more detail.
BRAD: Absolutely, my pleasure. I appreciate the interview.

INTERVIEWER (me): That’s Brad Talley, co-founder of NAPS, Nashville’s Awesome Paranormal Society. For more info on NAPS, and to hear more stories from their first visit to Waverly, check out NAPS: The Complete Series on ghostcockroach.blogspot.com.