Eloise: Charting New Territory
Eloise Psychiatric Hospital is full of surprises, mystery and the unknown. The walls of its few-remaining buildings hold a vast amount of secrets, many of which we may never know.
Once a 78-building complex over 902 acres, Eloise had so much more than we can see today. Unfortunately, historic preservation has not been the State of Michigan's strong suit over the years. I hope that changes over time and more of our important historic buildings are preserved instead of demolished or left to rot.
While there are few buildings remaining, we are still learning more about Eloise every day and finding areas we haven't seen before. We recently investigated the power plant and ran static cams, allowing viewers at home to be part of the action and watch our cameras live on Facebook.
The basement of the power plant has been flooded for years, but the building's owners recently hired a company to pump out the water, which has made the basement accessible for the first time in decades. What we found when exploring it was incredible.
The first thing we noticed is that nearly every surface is covered by some amount of rust. Imagine a shipwreck without the water, and that's exactly what it looks like. Some parts are worse than others, but it was amazing to be in a space that once hustled and bustled to power the complex's 78 buildings. Today, an eerily-still silence permeates the entire floor, covering it almost like a blanket.
Standing alone in the dark, I couldn't help but feel that someone was standing in silence feet away from me. Perhaps it was my intuition, or just my mind playing tricks on me, but I did not feel alone.
Below are a few pictures from the basement of the power plant at Eloise. Take a look for yourself.
What was really striking about walking through the basement were the containers still on the shelves and equipment sitting exactly where it was left decades ago. There is something very eerie about seeing things like that. In one of the photos, you will see a shovel that was once used for shoveling coal. It's propped up against a piece of machinery. I'm sure whomever left it there decades ago did not expect it to remain undisturbed until 2019.
In a way, walking through spaces like this and other historic locations is like a time machine. The ability to look back into the past allows us to envision and appreciate what went on there. It's a humbling feeling and one of my favorite aspects about what we do - travelling to historic places, appreciating what happened there, and trying to see if any spiritual energy remains.
We did take some video and audio in the power plant, and we will share any compelling evidence we may come across that we are unable to debunk. We appreciate everyone who tunes into our videos and explores these places with us. Stay tuned for more to come from Eloise and beyond.
