Saturday, July 10, 2010

Busted! (But Not by the Ghosts!)


On our Ghost Hunters of Asheville tours, I'm asked frequently what I consider to be the scariest place in Asheville. For me, it's the tuberculosis wing of the old Veterans Hospital. The spirits are reportedly very disturbed and have been known to literally scratch, push and scream in the faces of the paranormally sensitive. I've never been there myself, and based on the following report of what can happen to trespassing ghost hunters, I won't be adventuring there any time soon!
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At 10:15pm on 4/12/2010
Monday, April 12 2010, 10:16 PM EDT
Ghost Hunting Arrests
by Holly Headrick

A group of teenagers go ghost hunting Saturday night and get a scare they hadn't planned on. Veterans Affairs police say they arrested eight people for trespassing at the VA Hospital in Asheville. 18-year-old Brooklyn Robinson was one of them. The Enka High School senior tells News 13, "We heard it from one of our friends it was haunted. That's why we went is because they've been in it and said it was haunted." Robinson says she never expected to spend two nights in the Buncombe County Jail. The VA is federal property which means they had to wait in the jail until Monday to see a federal magistrate judge.

Her mother Libby Perry said it was, "something I wouldn't wish on anybody, any parent have to lay in bed for two nights and have to worry about your child." A poor decision she says the whole family's learned from.

VA officers say they heavily patrol the area because of numerous break-ins. They say it's more of a safety issue because the building is full of asbestos, lead paint and has water damage making the floors unsafe.

3 comments:

Tim said...

I recently tried to visit this derelict Victorian hospital - http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2321/2387228168_c8abbf1d29.jpg HUGE it is, but got intercepted by a security guard and asked to leave... :o(

Unknown said...

Actually I had my own encounter with the VA Police... rather cool guys if you ask me. I went late night around 2:30 am just to take pics wasn't going to break the law and go through the fence but the land is also federal so it's illegal to be there period but while there with these guys they had told me that the main part of the hospital is not what people think it is the building with the fencec and wire around it was nurse quarters and because of the time it was a segragated hospital so the building off to the right that they are renovating is the quarters for the black nurses. Back behind those quarters is a gate that is locked of course and the main part of the hospital is back there. They plan to demolish what is left that they are not renovating in about 6-9 months. Also I don't know if it was because I am a younger female and I went by myself and it was pretty late( I wanted to go during dead time) they told me of drug dealings, prostitution, squatters and a woman being raped back behind the building. So aside from the asbestos and lead paint and weatherization to both the inside and outside they do it for our safety. But it is history and it is interesting and needless to say they let me take my pics and nicely asked me not to come back. And FYI those cameras that they have out there aren't regular cameras they are infered cameras a show body heat so there is NO sneaking around because they are in the front and in the back and Veterans Affair Police are not to far away!!!

Arthur said...

What's really going on at this place. On our way back from dinner last night , we saw lights at the top floor and decided to take a quick drive through the road that borders the old hospital , in a matter of minutes we were confronted by an officer in an unmarked car, our driver told the officer we were curious about the facility, he quickly informed us that this was federal property and we needed to leave.
Weird , what are they afraid of , what could they be concealing , why we're there lights in a defunct delapadated old building. Very strange!