Up Your Cupcake
Please 'Register' or 'Log-in' to start interacting with the forum.
Up Your Cupcake
Please 'Register' or 'Log-in' to start interacting with the forum.
Up Your Cupcake
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Up Your Cupcake

Connect with other women from all over the world! Share advice, get support, & make lifelong friendships.
 
HomePortalLatest imagesRegisterLog in
Log in
Username:
Password:
Log in automatically: 
:: I forgot my password
Navigation
Portal
Forum
Memberlist
User Control Panel
Forum FAQ

March 2024
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
CalendarCalendar
Tweet With Us ♥
Poll
What is your opinion on Male Infant Circumcision?
 Pro-Circumcision
 Pro-Parents Choice
 Anti-Circumcision
 I don't have an opinion.
View results

Share
 

 Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’

View previous topic View next topic Go down 
AuthorMessage
epiod
epiod
Administrator
Administrator


Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’ Empty
PostSubject: Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’   Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’ Icon_minitimeSun Jan 25, 2015 5:36 pm

Quote :
[size=85][size=85]T[/size][/size]
he image of an insane asylum from the turn of the 20th century conjures pictures of screaming patients in restraints, inhumane treatment and the torture of those least able to defend themselves. The mental health practices of the day are brutal to a modern observer.  It was only thanks to the efforts of people like Dr. George A. Zeller that patients came to be treated with kindness and decency. It should come as no surprise, then, that at a facility run by Dr. Zeller, even the ghosts should be of a gentle nature.



Peoria State Hospital, circa 1905


The first iteration of the Peoria State Hospital in central Illinois was forbiddingly dark and grim. Built in 1895, it rose out of the prairie like a medieval castle. However in less than two years, it was closed due to structural issues, and this is where Dr. Zeller entered the picture. In 1902, he had it renovated, creating a system of cottages where the patients could live comfortably. There were no bars on the doors or windows, and the patients were unrestrained, something that was unheard of at the time.

Under Dr. Zellar’s stewardship, patients were given respect, responsibilities and chores, and one such patient was a man known in Dr. Zeller’s journals as “Old Book.” The story goes that he was entered into the hospital’s records as A. Bookbinder, because the only knowledge to be had was that he was a bookbinder who had been rendered mute by stress or trauma. On his gravestone, he is listed as Manuel Bookbinder.


The Gravemarker of Manuel Bookbinder, also known as Old Book.


Old Book was a man much beloved during his tenure at the Peoria State Hospital. He was assigned to grave digging duty, and he also oversaw the care of the graveyards that were adjacent to the grounds. During that time, many mentally ill people were abandoned by their families or had families who could not claim the bodies, and so their final resting place was at the hospital.
During ceremonies for the deceased, Old Book would lean against an old elm tree nearby and weep for the deceased. He mourned even the people he did not known, and his sympathy for those who had passed on was real and moving.
In 1910, Old Book died, and because he was popular with staff and patients, his funeral was attended by close to 400 people. What happened next has been noted in Dr. Zeller’s own journal, and witnessed by all present.
Book’s coffin was seated on crossbeams over the empty grave. Men stood on either side holding ropes running the coffin and ready to pull them taut on the signal. When another man pulled the crossbeams away, the coffin could be lowered.
The signal was given and the ropes pulled taut, but the coffin bounced up and the men fell down. Dr. Zeller wrote in his journal, it “bounded into the air, like an eggshell, as if it were empty.”
Some of the nurses ran away in fear, but those who remained were suddenly frozen by a very familiar sound. It was the weeping of Old Book, coming from the nearby elm.
Quote :

“Every man and woman stood transfixed, for there, just as had always been the case, stood Old Book, weeping and moaning with an earnestness that out-rivaled anything he had ever shown before. We could not be mistaken. It was the same Old Book.”




figure



These words, taken from Dr. Zeller’s journal, states firmly that no mistake could be made. Close to 400 people saw the dead man in broad daylight, and no one spoke or moved.

When the coffin was opened, Old Book’s body was present, and the weeping stopped, never to be heard again.


Back to top Go down
Wendynas
Wendynas
VIP
VIP


Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’ Empty
PostSubject: Re: Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’   Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’ Icon_minitimeMon Jan 26, 2015 12:38 am

Well if 400 people saw it, it must be true... And creepy. I'm probably going to have nightmares now.
Back to top Go down
 

Weeping Ghost: The Creepy Story of A Man Named ‘Old Book’

View previous topic View next topic Back to top 
Page 1 of 1

 Similar topics

-
» Ghost Tours
» American Horror Story
» TOP TEN GHOST PICTURES NOT PROVEN FAKE
» American Horror Story Hotel?
» "The Brittany Murphy Story" is premiering on Lifetime tonight

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Up Your Cupcake :: HOT TOPICS & E-DISCUSSIONS ♥ :: History & Culture :: Supernatural & Paranormal-