Westwood School is a relatively new name given to the former Liberty Township School #1. History for the school, which sits in the unincorporated community of Rudolph, in Wood County, Ohio, is incomplete. Our attempts to contact local historians to gain more information have been unsuccessful. Indications are the school was built in 1914 as a replacement for an older school. In 1907 Professor H.E. Hall was hired as superintendent for the ‘new’ Liberty Township High School. The 1912 plat of Rudolph shows the school lot was where the civic center now sits – across from the cemetery. We can only speculate that the school on the 1912 plat was the ‘new’ school and Liberty Township School #1 was built to replace it. Failed Safety Inspections We do know that the school was purchased in 2001 by an individual who had plans to use it as a commercial investment. It served as a paint ball club and a commercial haunted house before finally being remodeled into apartments. With the exception of the gym, the building no longer has the original floorplan. Once the conversion into apartments began, any resemblance to a school was lost. In 2018, with exposed wiring, mold, broken windows and a leaky roof, the building failed housing and fire safety inspections. All residents were moved out and the building became available for paranormal investigations. The building was in bad shape when we investigated in 2021. There was a lot of trash and debris inside the building from the previous residents that had not been cleaned out. Children’s toys, lawn furniture and abandoned vehicles littered the property. Only one room in the basement had electricity and extension cords were run throughout the building. Bathroom facilities consisted of a port-o-potty placed outside. We took the gamble Because we travel with a self-contained mobile command center, we made the decision to continue with the investigation despite our concerns about the condition of the building. We are glad we did. Although there is no indication why the building might be haunted, claims are that visitors to the building encounter a young boy in the boys locker room in the basement as well as a female spirit who travels through the girls locker room (also in the basement) to the gymnasium. A woman in white and a woman in black are reportedly seen wandering the basement. Besides the locker rooms, the school cafeteria was also in the basement during the time the school was in operation. The location was very difficult to investigate because of the way it had been remodeled. We finally settled on using four static night vision cameras covering the front entry hall, basement, and two of the second floor apartments. We conducted EVP sessions in several apartments and the basement. Unfortunately, the gym was off limits as the owner uses it as storage. Things we can’t explain The night started off slowly. We did hear a lot of unexplained noises and what sounded like footsteps. Because the building was open to the elements in some locations, we could not rule out the possibility of animals or rodents. Things started to ramp up as it got later. About four hours into the investigation we started hearing disembodied voices. Once Michelle and Wendy went into the second floor apartment – the ‘birdcage’ room - the activity really picked up. They made contact with someone who clearly didn’t want us there and we captured a black shadow on video that appeared in the room shortly after they began their session. Unexplained voices were also heard in real time and captured on our recorders. We have no explanation. To see a video of this investigation, check out our YouTube channel. We didn’t have much hope for this location when we first arrived, and we won’t be going back until (or unless) it is cleaned up. However, we did capture some great evidence of things we can’t explain.
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AuthorI have been looking for ghosts in haunted locations across the country since 1977. Previous Blogs
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