Alexie is currently writing more paranormal adventures for Mia and PEEPs, and I, The Red Pen, volunteered to put together the blog post for this week. Even though I’m still in the midst of editing Restitution, I remembered something that might be of interest: the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital. Coming in at #7 in CNN’s “7 of the Freakiest Places on the Planet,” Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital is an abandoned structure in Gyeonggi, South Korea.
The rumors about Gonjiam revolve around the tale of a hospital in which patients began to die from unknown circumstances. These deaths resulted in the hospital’s sudden closure (mid 1980s). Some say the doctor tormented his patients, and it is those patients who remain, haunting this empty, mold-blackened, deteriorating husk of a building. Some others say it was simply a closure brought about by a bad sewage system, money problems, and the owner legging it to the United States, taking all documents pertaining to the land and building with him.
There are several videos of youtubers’ excursions into the mental hospital. The first one I’ve linked is the best in terms of capturing the eerie visuals of the place. It is short and steady - no shaky-cam à la Blair Witch - and is paired with creepy music.
The following are short excursions with commentary. In the first one, a door moves towards the end of the video. But why? Wind? The creepy spirit that – is right behind you! Okay, enough silliness. In both videos, a person decides to take a souvenir. One takes a stone piece from a game of Go, and another takes a rice paddle. Why? I like to present myself as a skeptic, but I would absolutely be afraid to bring something home with me. Just imagine what “ghostly attachment” a person would be inviting into their home.
Alexie would laugh at me saying I’m skeptical. She knows that I always lift me feet off the ground when I’m watching a scary movie, and she had to coax me out of the car when we visited a “haunted” cemetery. Have any of you visited some places of paranormal notoriety? If so, you are probably braver than me. Well, back to policing commas. Have a great weekend!