LIGHTS OUT TOUR
THE E & H BUILDING | APRIL 2022
The steady patter of spring rain fell upon us as we approached the E&H building the night of the ghost tour. The only light to fill the darkness was reflected from the full moon on the damp streets and the welcoming lights from White Dog Liquors. While closing my umbrella, I strolled inside to meet my fellow adventurers, and the anticipation of what was to come filled the air alongside laughter.
Willis George Emerson and W.C. Henry Building
The steady patter of spring rain fell upon us as we approached the E&H building the night of the ghost tour. The only light to fill the darkness was reflected from the full moon on the damp streets and the welcoming lights from White Dog Liquors. While closing my umbrella, I strolled inside to meet my fellow adventurers, and the anticipation of what was to come filled the air alongside laughter. As the group anxiously toasted one another before the tour began, I realized we were the characters at the beginning of every scary movie ever created. As you watch a group in a haunted house on a rainy night with a full moon, you shovel popcorn into your mouth while yelling, “What are you doing? Get out of there!” And since I am very much that character who would be selected first for some sort of ritual or sick joke from a ghost, you can imagine my terror. But instead of listening to reason or logic, we were greeted with the calming aura of our medium spirit guide, Rebekkah Razee. Her soothing voice and beautiful eyes scanned over our party as she explained how she has been seeing and hearing spirits since she was 9 years old. Our group varied from newcomers, employees of SMLI, and even a family who has been in Encampment for generations.
Our group of fools (I mean adventurers), began in the basement which sits below White Dog Liquors. The creaky wooden steps were illuminated by a headlamp, revealing stone walls as solid as the knot in my stomach. The group still giggled with nervous energy as we organized ourselves amongst the wooden beams. School books from the 40s, banknotes and scattered papers were laid amongst us. “Shall we ask a question?” Rebekkah began. She turned on the small voice box in her hand the rest of us could hear the feedback that she hears as a translator.
“How many people are down here?”
“Are there children?”
“Did you used to work here?”
“What’s your name?”
As responses rolled in from the spirits, many of us were shocked into silence. It was during our session in the basement that one of the guests revealed she was also a medium and I sat in awe watching her converse with a spirit I could not see. “Okay, thank you,” she would say to the spirit as if she was speaking to one of us. I decided to follow the two ghost-whisperers as closely as I could for the remainder of the night as if they were teachers discussing our test results.
We let out a collective exhale as we climbed the stairs to venture into the market space. By now we had the hang of how this ghost thing worked. We gathered in various corners, asked our questions, and thanked the spirits when we received answers. We were like tourists to a foreign country, finding comfort in the ease of understanding the new customs. As we made our way inside the bank vault that still shone with its original glory, one of the guests began to read the names on the bank cards that had been tucked away in shelves forgotten until now. Suddenly, the mediums received messages of names to look for on the cards. As if we needed more proof of what we were witnessing, the names were spot on.
We finished strolling around the market, witnessing spirits from the 20s, others from the turn of the century, some who just desired to protect the business they once loved, and another spirit who was just an angry man. A constant chill ran up my spine, but there was also ease to the whole affair. We had nothing to feel afraid of since we were just the next wave of souls to encounter this place.
Our group of explorers exited the market and left behind the bustling energy that was still present. The sleet-filled sky taunted us as the General Manager, Stacey opened the door to our next adventure. The antique door swung open, revealing the wide yet grand staircase that was now only illuminated by the stream of flashlights. The contractor, Glenn, stood at the top of the staircase to show us his findings from the structure of the building, and I wandered off to follow the mediums. (This is definitely the part of the movie where I would go missing by accidentally getting lost, just saying). I watched in awe as they pointed to a window where they had both seen a woman, or a man wearing a fedora. I couldn’t decide if I was jealous of their incredible powers or relieved that I didn’t have that burden. Our group scattered across the rooms, and I delighted in hearing what the family members remembered about these once filled apartments. Most rooms felt joyful as if wonderful memories still lived within their borders. Some rooms felt fogged in sadness or confusion, and the mediums worked to understand why the spirits were stuck.
The mediums, Stacey, and I found ourselves to the left of the grand staircase. We strolled until we stood in a framed room to the right of the back door which once led to a fire escape. “There was once a lot of passion in this room…” Rebekkah said while the other medium began to speak to the spirit. “You’re really sad aren’t you…you really loved him…was he married…and he broke your heart.” The mediums discovered the devastated woman was named June and it was around prohibition when the man she loved climbed the fire escape to see her at night. June waited for him always in that room and now she couldn’t leave. I felt my chest tighten as I realized even a century later, nothing has changed when it comes to love.
The four of us huddled over the voice box as the mediums continued to ask her questions. “Why do I feel so sad right now?” Stacey whispered. I looked up from the voice box that I was staring at like a movie theater screen and watched through the flashlight glare as the color drained from her once tan face. Her breath quickened as a burst of tears flowed from her eyes. “I don’t know why I’m so sad!” Calmly, Rebekkah rubbed her back and said, “It’s June.” Choking sobs now escaped Stacey as the mediums led her to the ground and instructed her to sit. The mediums held Stacey’s hands as they spoke to the saddened spirit.
“June, it’s time to let her go.”
“Don’t do any more harm now, June.”
“Please let her go. This isn’t right.”
After a few minutes, Stacey’s energy began to regulate as the tears slowed. She breathed in deeply, breathed out even deeper, and then June was gone.
Polaroid Evidence
