I've always had a love for anything paranormal. Growing up, it was really just limited to documentaries and scary movies. When my husband and I first started dating, I learned my now mother-in-law did as well! She even had her own investigating team, and we got to go on a few investigations with them, vastly opening my mind and the knowledge I have for it. It kind of became our thing, exploring homes and old buildings, listening to the stories they had to tell, in a very different way.
Anyway, about a year and a half ago myself, husband, kiddos, and the mother-in-law were visiting with family in Illinois. The day before we went home we went exploring. We heard the old Peoria State Hospital Historic District (also called Bartonville State Hospital) was going to be torn down just a few days after we were supposed to leave. With no intention of going inside, we drove up to it just to get a look of the outside (we often playfully get teased about our idea of vacation fun. We toured some haunted hotels in Eureka Springs, AR for our anniversary a couple of months after this happened. What can I say, we love it!).
Isn't it just beautiful?
Different angle
As we were taking pictures, there was a man there who gave tours of the building. He was generous enough to offer us one last tour of this historical building! All of us having a love for this kind of thing, looked at each other eager with excitement, and in we went!
One of the staircases
Each room, the man had a story to tell. While some of the items placed in there were just props, it really gave you the experience of what some of the patients went through.
We didn't get to do any investigating that day, but man was it an honor getting to walk around those rooms, hearing the stories of how things were done, and even listening to a couple of the man's experiences while touring.
We also stopped by the cemetery.
We loved looking at all the graves, respectfully of course, finding the oldest ones we could.
We couldn't be sure but we thought those years marked on there was the year they passed.
These are just a few pictures of our time spent there. Thanks for taking the time to check them out. Hope you enjoyed!
