Page 60 of The Haunting of Lockton

Did he have a crush on a Knox brother too? If so, it looked like we were both destined for a trip to Heartacheville.

“Now thatthat’sover,” Julian muttered, “we can start.”

Skyler bounded over and gently shoulder checked me. “Hey, partner. Ready to chat with some ghosts?”

Little did he know I chatted with one every single day. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Ah, really?” He grinned. “I thought you came just for me.”

“Eh. You’re a close second.”

That grin transitioned to something softer. “Jules and Taylor will cover the basement. We’ll be upstairs. Sound good?”

I nodded.

“Cool. Let’s go.”

The second floor wasn’t much different from the first. More blocks of patient rooms, a nurse station, a medical ward, and a recreational area where patients had been able to socialize and play board games.

Skyler and I started there and did some EVP work. He asked if anyone was there, and if so, what games did they like to play. Did they have any friends? We kept the questions light at first, not wanting to delve into tougher subjects right off the bat.

The various windows allowed moonlight in, and my eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to see. Overturned tables lay withtheir legs broken and covered in years of dust. Anything of value had been ransacked long ago.

Skyler cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”

I listened closely, hearing nothing at first. But then, I did. It was low and faded in and out, easily missed if not paying attention. “Humming.”

“Yeah.” He studied the room, sweeping the flashlight along the wall where the sound seemed to be coming from. “Is there someone here with us?”

The humming stopped.

“We might’ve caught something on this.” Skyler nodded to the EVP recorder. “Let’s move on for now. Any suggestions?”

“Want to try the baths?” I asked, and he nodded. I led him farther along the second floor to the bathing area. Rows of rusted tubs lined one wall, and on the other was a doorway. I motioned to it. “The showers—well, an early version of them—are through there. But they weren’t used for bathing, really.”

“Oh?” Skyler moved his phone around the room and aimed it at the doorway. “What were they used for?”

“Hydrotherapy,” I answered. “The patients were submerged in ice baths and held under, sometimes for so long that they drowned. Others were placed beneath a spout and had cold water poured over their heads. Doctors at the time believed ‘madness’ was the result of a hot brain, so they used ice-cold water to coolthe supposed hot and inflamed blood vessels.”

He frowned. “So again, it was torture disguised as a treatment.”

“Some believed it actually worked,” I said with a shrug. “I think those who were held under until they drowned, however, would think differently.”

Skyler did an EVP session while I took his phone and recorded him. It wasn’t hard at all to stay focused on him. The man was made for the limelight.

The walkie-talkie clipped to his pocket released loud static before Julian’s voice came through. “Everything good up there?”

“Yeah, we just finished in the baths,” Skyler responded after pulling it off his hip. “We’re heading out now. How’s it going for you?”

“Not bad. We’re in the solitary wing right now and caught a cold spot on the thermal cam that looks like someone walking from one side of the corridor to the other.” A bit of static. “I can’t even explain what I’m feeling, Sky. Whoever’s down here is consumed by grief.”

Considering most of the patients confined there had been isolated from everyone for days, weeks, and sometimes months with only their thoughts to keep them company, I could only imagine the emotions that would be left behind. The intense loneliness and fear they must’ve felt.

After leaving the baths, Skyler wanted to check out the medical ward. There were rows of overturned beds with broken springs, a desk, and cabinets that had long since been pilfered through and ransacked. Two private operating rooms were separated from the general medical area, and we went there first.

“Fucking sick,” Skyler said as we stood in one of the old examination rooms, eyeing a chair with restraints. The material had been worn with time and had tears, but it was clear what it had been used for. “I wonder if all the doctors were evil pricks or if some truly believed they were helping.”

“I think most, if not all, knew what was really happening here. Even if they didn’t participate in the worst of it themselves.” I glanced around the dark room. There were no windows, so we only had our flashlights to see. The air was dank and stale. “To me, they’re just as guilty for turning a blind eye.”