This is the video of the shadow figure in slow motion. Taken with night vision in complete darkness.
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The History: The Pollak Hospital is part of the complex known as
the Peoria State Hospital. The complex, also known as Bartonville State Hospital or Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane, was a psychiatric hospital operated by the State of Illinois from 1902 to 1973. The picture most people associate with the complex is the massive Bowen building which was originally the nursing school and later used as an administration building. Construction of the complex started in 1895 with the main building completed in 1897. This building was never used, however, as its structural integrity was compromised by abandoned mine shafts on the property. In 1902, reconstruction was completed under the direction of Dr. George Zeller as a cottage system plan of 33 buildings. Among the buildings were patient and caretaker housing, a store, a power station, and a communal utility building. Dr. Zeller was widely respected for his focus on therapeutic efforts. Zeller crusaded for a better public understanding of the mentally ill including inviting newspaper reporters and community members to visit Peoria State. Construction on the Pollak Hospital began in 1949 and was completed in 1950. It was built as a tuberculosis hospital to provide care for the asylum patients suffering from TB. It is named for Dr. Pollak who performed extensive TB research. The Claims: The hospital grounds are the subject of local ghost lore. One well documented legend tells of Manuel A. Bookbinder "Old Book", a patient who worked with the burial crew at the hospital until his own death. It is said that upon his death his physical form was seen crying at the old Elm in potter's field by Dr. Zeller and over a hundred of the patients and nurses that attended his funeral . A closer inspection of the casket in which he rested showed the peaceful remains of the loved figure still resting within, thus the legend of the "Graveyard Elm" began. In the 1920s, Zeller penned a book titled, Befriending The Bereft, drawn from the mysterious experiences he had at the hospital during his two tenures as superintendent, 1902–1913 and 1921–1935. Included, among numerous other eerie stories, were Zeller's own account of Old Book and the Graveyard Elm. In the Pollak Hospital there are claims of lots of paranormal activity, apparitions, voices, doors slamming, singing, shadow figures. The claims are that patient spirits remained at the hospital because they were treated well. Our Findings: We were joined on this investigation by Jennifer and Brandi from In the Dark Paranormal. We visited the Pollak Hospital on November 16, 2013. It was not what we expected. Like so many others we were expecting to hunt in what we now know is the Bowen building - the massive, creepy haunted-looking building you see as you top the hill on Pfeiffer Drive. Instead we found that the Pollak Hospital was the single-story elementary school looking building. It was a very windy evening and the tornado sirens went off as we were investigating in the basement morgue (best place to be I guess). The one thing that we immediately noticed was the temperature shift. The inside of the hospital is very cold. Although our thermometers were reading in the 50 degree range throughout the investigation, it felt much, much colder. That said, cold(er) spots were also felt throughout the investigation. We had lots of personal experiences. A floral fragrance was noticeable in the morgue, we heard a disembodied voice, doors slamming, footsteps in the hallway and the K-2 meters lit up in response to our questions. As far as evidence, we were able to catch a shadow figure on our night vision camera. We also caught some EVPs in the male death ward. We tried the flashlight trick and it turned on and off on command. We were fortunate to have the night vision running at that time also. This is a location we will go to again! |