Page 24 of The Haunting of Lockton

“Hey, guys. I’m sitting here with Paxton Crane. He’s a guide at Ivy Grove Ghost Tours and will be helping in our investigation.” He then turned that dazzling smile on me. “To start, can you tell us a bit about Lockton Asylum?”

“Uh, y-yeah. Lo… Lockton…” I felt my heartbeat in my throat as I tried to remember how to form words. Being put on the spot was a true nightmare for people who suffered from anxiety. I stared at the camera like a deer in headlights, once again inwardly cursing myself for agreeing to the interview.

“Hey.” Skyler leaned closer, and for once, he didn’t seem cocky or flirty. “I know it can be scary to have a camera pointed at you. Believe me, it might not seem like it, but I was like that, too, in the beginning. Just remember what I said. This isn’t live. Jules will edit it. And we can have as many takes as you need. Just take a deep breath and try to pretend it’s just me and you.”

Yeah, like that helped. Being around him kicked up my heart rate and made it even harder to think. But I took a breath like he said and exhaled.

“Okay.” I focused on the camera before returning my gaze to Skyler. I was too drawn to him. “Lockton was built in the mid 1800s and has quite the tragic history. Many patients died within those walls.”

“Died how?” Skyler asked. He already had an idea but was asking more so for the sake of the viewers.

“Like other asylums of the time period, there were… treatments. Many of them inhumane. Lobotomies, electric shock therapy in later years, isolation, and being submerged in water were just some of the methods used. But the doctors at Lockton took it a step further. Many of the so-called cures and treatments were actually forms of torture.”

“How so?” Skyler asked.

“Records show that some patients were forced to wear a boxlike device over their heads for sensory deprivation experiments,” I explained. “Others were locked in cells in the basement and forced to be in complete isolation. It’s speculated that the doctors would then set them loose in a group after months of this type of solitary confinement to see how they reacted.”

“Why did they do it?” Julian asked from behind the camera. “What was the purpose of torturing them like this?”

“Arthur Warren didn’t view the patients as people,” I responded, sick at the thought. “To him, they were subhuman, cast out by society for him to do with what he wished. Many of the patients at Lockton didn’t have families, and if they did, the families willingly gave them over to the asylum once Warren paid them.”

Disgust clouded Skyler’s expression. “That’s sick.”

“Some people will do anything for the right price, no matter how despicable,” I said. “I’d like to say that things improved at Lockton after Warren’s death in 1891, but they only got worse. A doctor named Samuel Howard took control of the asylum and continued Warren’s experiments, as well as added his own. Countless patients died under his watch.”

“Samuel Howard,” Julian said with a nod. “We read about him when we went to the library.”

Skyler looked at me. “Can you tell us anything about the hauntings?”

“Well, um.” I paused to clear my throat. “People have reported hearing sobbing in the halls, as well as seeing apparitions. Some people claim they were shoved and scratched while inside the asylum. While giving tours, I’ve heard voices and saw dark shapes out of the corner of my eye.”

“Thanks for all your help, Paxton.” Skyler turned to the camera. “We’ll be investigating Lockton very soon. I have a feeling this will be our wildest ride yet.”

Julian stopped recording and took the phone off the stand. “Do you want me to edit that interview in with our first episode at Lockton, or do you wanna use it as an exclusive for patrons?”

“Let’s post it for subscribers only,” Skyler answered after thinking a moment. “Exclusive interviews and stuff is part of their rewards. We can use a shortened clip of it for our social accounts as a sort of teaser, though, with a mention for them to subscribe to see the rest.”

“All right.” Julian walked over to the table where a laptop was set up. “I’ll get this edited and posted tonight once we get back.”

I stood from the chair, not sure where to place myself. They had mentioned visiting Lockton after lunch, and since the rain had let up, we could leave now. I grabbed my coat off the bed but hesitated instead of putting it on. God. I was so awkward.

“Ready to go?” Skyler asked me.

Not trusting my voice, I gave a sharp nod.

“Is it cool if we ride together?”

Another nod.

“I really do appreciate you helping us out today,” he said. “I’m sure there are better things you’d like to be doing.”

“It’s no problem.” I did my best to avoid direct eye contact. Each time our eyes met, I got a little lost in the gray depths. He smelled like fresh rain and something warm. Earthy. I’d need to buy a bottle of his cologne and spray it all over my damn pillow.

I’m so pathetic.

“How was your breakfast date?”

I glanced at him. “What?”