The Sanitarium Hospital Demons

My Step-Dad was a County Social Worker, and one of the places he had to go, was the local Sanitarium. I'm talking about the Mental Health Hospital. This was the place, where the really bad cases were kept. I volunteered at the regular hospital, less than a block away.

Each time I passed the Mental Health Hospital, it was like a hand kept reaching out to me. Not a real one, but an imploring, invisible hand-begging me to come. Believe me, it was the last place I wanted to venture.

Of course, you wear down after time, and I just came out, and asked my Step-Dad.

" What do you think about giving me a tour?..." I said. I remembered that he smiled, and then a mischievous sparkle filled his eyes.

" I will make the arrangements, can you come after work tomorrow? "

He said. I told him, I would be there, but I was a little nervous.

I didn't get off work at the hospital until eight in the evening.

Now, keep in mind, he didn't know I had "Gifts". I learned early on, you didn't discuss this kind of stuff with him. He just didn't believe in the ability to communicate, with those on the other side.

You know! The deceased, the departed, etc...

In a way, I was excited to go into the Mental Health Hospital, because I was being called by someone, but I was nervous as well. What if it wasn't a someone, but a some "thing" that was calling me inside there.

Well, either way, I was committed (no pun intended) to going, and there was no going back now. I watched the clock tick down until my time at work was done. I changed my clothing, and met my Step-Dad in the lobby of the main Hospital.

" Are you sure you want to do this? " He asked me.

" Absolutely! I am sure!..." I answered, and off we went.

We were buzzed in by a burly looking man in white. He looked more like a bouncer, than a hospital worker. I don't know what his job was, but he wasn't a Doctor. At that time of night, I didn't see any Doctors walking the floor.

It was interesting to see that it looked like a regular hospital, except the doors had stronger looking locks on the doors. Patients wandered about, but they didn't look unstable to me, but what did I know?.

A young man came at me out of a darkened room. It startled me, and I felt my heart starting to pound. He touched my face and said, "Pretty...". My Step-Dad took the young man by the hand, and walked him back to the room.

" Joel, get back in bed..." he said. The patient appeared to be around my age, and I felt so sad for him. I wondered if he had been like this-all his life?. I would never have a chance to ask that question.

What happened next, I didn't expect. In the sitting room, chaos was happening. I could hear chairs being thrown about, and lots of screaming and cries were greeting us in the hallway. My Step-dad took off running toward the sounds, and I was left alone.

I didn't like being there. The air felt wrong, and I could see the beginnings of dark shadows trying to swallow up the ceiling lighting. The lights were growing dim, where I waited, and I took a few steps back. "It" was coming to me, and I didn't know what to expect.

I wanted to go forward, and find my Step-dad, but I felt weak. My knees were shaking by this point, and it was a matter of seconds, until I saw what had called me into this place.

They started to appear in front of me. One, two, three...five, six, seven... They kept coming. I started backing away, but then I fell. Landing on my back, I was staring up, and into the face of "Joel"...the patient, my Step-Dad had helped back to his room.

He helped me up, and then stood in front of me...

" Go Away!..." He bellowed, at the dark forms in front of us. He could see them!. I was frozen where I stood, and all I could do was watch as he dropped to his knees and started to pray. I did the same, and the shadows started to back away. I saw my Step-Dad, and a bunch of orderlies, running toward us, and Joel was scooped off the floor, and carried away. I heard him crying out, and calling out to his mother, but his voice was cut off by the closing of a door.

My Step-Dad apologized, and I don't remember what he was saying. I was dazed, as he lead me outside the building. I kept looking over my shoulder. It felt like we were being followed, but whatever haunted the Sanitarium, stayed within the Sanitarium.

It took me days, to rid myself of the fear. The unclean entities residing inside that hospital, they were there to torment the unbalanced, the weakened.

All I could do, was pray for the Souls, locked within their minds, locked within those walls... And I prayed a lot for "Joel"...