#ayslum

In 2014, my sister, Holly, and I were in Ohio University Upward Bound, which is a college prep for low income or first generation. Every summer Director would choose a dorm for the students to use for the summer phase. This certain Summer Phase was in Shively. Holly and I were staying on the second floor, but in different hallways.

         Holly, Mickey, Adrioanna, Minnie, and I have been friends since we had first met. We did everything together. We would sit together, joke, laugh, help each other with our homework and etc.

         It was in the middle of the Summer Phase, class work, finals coming up, and keeping grades up was stressful enough; during the last few weeks the other Upward Bound members were freaking out about hearing and seeing explainable things. One story had stuck with me and I remember talking to my friends about and we came to a conclusion she wanted attention.

         The girl had went to take a shower on the second floor of the Shively dorms. She had thought since everyone is out of the dorms and in class, she could shower peacefully. In the middle of her shower both shower curtains had flung open by themselves. She first thought someone was playing around with her, so she walks out the shower and look around the bathroom. The girl then realized she was alone. I just shrugged it off and thought how the others were just talking about the paranormal sightings to have fun and scare others.

         If you don’t know this already, Athens, Ohio is in the top 10 most Haunted Cities in the United States. The biggest attraction for the paranormal lovers is the Ridges, which is now owned by the University used for storage, an art museum, and also tours of the Ridges are provided by the University students and staff.

         The Ridges was originally called, Athens Asylum for the Insane, which opened on January 9, 1874. It was first used for the Civil War veterans who had PTS (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  When the years went by, they had accepted other disorders. In the 1980’s the Ridges soon closed. Behind the building there is a large amount of unmarked graves of the patients. Some Paranormal experts say the patients’ spirits are roaming around the City of Athens not knowing they had been dead for years. I knew this when I went up to the university, but I did not expect to have an experience of a spirit.

         The day I had my experience was in the late evening, my classes were finish for the day. I had planned to go out with my friends, Mickey, Adrioanna, and Holly, to walk to Court Street and walk around. Mickey and Adrioanna had shared a dorm and Holly’s dorm was in the same hallway as their dorm was. I thought we were going to meet up at Mickey and Adrioanna’s dorm. When I got the door, I knocked two or three times and I swore I heard Mickey saying, saying, “Hold on, I will be right there.”

         I waited there in front of the door for another fifteen minutes and I had enough of waiting, so I knocked on the door again. Then I heard Mickey yell in frustration, “I said, ‘Hold On.’”

         When I heard her yelling in frustration I decided that I would come back later when she is in a better mood than this minute. I turn to go back the dorm and in order for me to go to my dorm I had to turn into another hallway and make a right into another. Before I get to the other hallway there is a stair case and I had to through it to get to the hallway. In the door way there is two doors on each side of the hallway. One on the left is a dorm room and the one on the right is the lounge of the second door. There is a window next to the door that you can see a few tables and chairs inside. When I looked inside there was Holly, Mickey, and Adrioanna talking and laughing inside.

         As I was looking at them my heart rate had sped up a little and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Without thinking I ran in there and I told them what happen I was a little shaken up, but I soon calmed down. Holly and Mickey did not believe, but Adrioanna had the look on her face telling me she was confused.

“Don’t be like everyone else, Hannah,” Holly said with disgust, “Mickey, come with me to my dorm real quick. I give you, your notes back.”

“I’m not lying I swear.”

“Okay,” Holly said as she had shut the door with Mickey in front of her.

         Adrioanna and I sat there and began to talk about our art project and how we going to finish it. As we were talking, Holly and Mickey barged in crying hysterical. Holly ran and hugged me tightly, shacking in fear. Mickey had done the same with Adrioanna.

“Holly, had got my stuff and we were heading back here. Then Holly decided to knock on my door to see if Hannah was telling the truth. As soon as Holly had knocked on the door, someone had yelled in anger, ‘WHAT?!’” Mickey cried out.

         When the Summer Phase had ended everyone had heard of our story and freaked out. They believe that the spirit had made itself at home in Mickey and Adrioanna’s dorm.

         I haven’t been back to the Shively Dorms at Ohio University, since that summer and I don’t know if I would want to either.

 Bibliography

http://www.forgottenoh.com/Ridges/ridges.html