[narrator] A family finds the perfect place
to build a spooky attraction.
[Dusty] This place is going to make
the best haunted house ever.
[Kimm] I was just like, oh my gosh
we're gonna make this work.
[narrator] Only to learn the location...
is already haunted.
- [voice] Dusty. - [gasps]
[Dusty] Every instinct in me just says run,
run now.
[narrator] But the resident entity...
isn't giving up its prized possession so easily.
He's trying to kill me.
[narrator] In this world,
there is real evil.
Someone's in my room.
[narrator] It lurks in the darkest shadows.
Between what we see,
and the things we fear,
there are doors.
When they are opened,
nightmares become reality.
[narrator] Just south-west of the Great Salt Lake,
sits the former mining town of Tooele.
Once a place where people sought their fortunes.
It is here that lifelong haunted house enthusiasts,
Kimm Anderson and his niece, Dusty Kingston
find a hidden gem.
The Old Tooele Hospital is up for sale.
Although she was my niece,
she was more like my sister.
We grew up close to the same age.
[Dusty] Woah.
Woah is right.
He was super popular.
I was kind of the bookworm.
[Dusty] This is perfect.
[Kimm] I remember coming up the street and seeing it.
I said, I gotta have this place. This is phenomenal.
You cannot be more excited,
as a person that's been involved in the haunted house industry for so long,
to come across an old, abandoned hospital,
it was like a dream came true.
- This is gonna be sick. - [Dusty laughs]
You looking for the nursing home entrance?
It's around the other side.
Oh, no.
My niece and I are looking to buy the Old Hospital.
Fantastic.
I run the nursing home on the other side of the building.
What are you thinking of doing?
Well, we've always wanted to open up our own haunted house attraction.
Well, that's not something you hear everyday.
[narrator] As a teenager,
Kimm volunteered at a haunted house that provided him a community
and turned his life around.
[Kimm] I was kind of a hellion.
I credit the haunted house to really straightening me out
and keeping me on the path.
It really turned my life around.
So, we're hoping to do the same for the kids coming up.
[doctor] We actually used a few rooms in there
for a Halloween fundraiser last year.
So, I might be able to give you some pointers.
Cool, thanks.
I gotta run but here's my card.
Alright, see ya.
[narrator] The sale quickly goes through.
With only a few months before Halloween,
Kimm and Dusty are faced with the monumental task
of getting the haunted house up and running.
[door slams]
[Kimm] Woah.
[Dusty] Oh.
As we walk into the place,
oh, my Lord, I almost didn't need anything.
[Dusty] Ugh.
[Kimm laughs]
This place is going to make the best haunted house ever.
It already looks like one.
[Kimm] It looks like...
a working hospital,
and at one point,
they just decided, "Tomorrow, we're leaving."
Take all the people and go.
It's all perfect.
I was really giddy. I couldn't wait to start on the project.
[Kimm] Look at all this equipment.
We should do like...
a scary surgical room with like bloody nurses and doctors.
Like the one we did together back in high school?
Yes!
But much better, much scarier.
But first, we need to come up with a name.
Hospital of Horrors.
Ooh...
How about...
Satanic Psych Ward?
Ooh!
[Dusty] What's another name for psych ward?
Uh, psychiatric insane asylum--
Asylum.
The name that kept coming up was asylum.
To today's world, it means 'crazy house'.
But...
back in the past, it actually meant 'safehouse.'
And that the Old Hospital,
started construction in 1949.
Asylum 49. I like it.
Let's see what else they have here.
You go ahead. I'm gonna check some measurements in here.
[Kimm] I was happy everything was going well.
And as I walked through,
um, that changed.
It's just amazing.
As I ventured through the maze,
the feeling got more intense.
Way more intense.
It felt just like a bunch of electricity going around me.
This can't be right.
I didn't know what to do.
Leave, run,
I had no idea.
It felt like I was just frozen in time,
and there was no way to get out.
I felt something on my leg.
[girl giggling]
And instantly, fear rushed into me.
[girl laughing]
I was genuinely freaked out.
When I left the maze,
I left the hospital.
I ran out.
Out the door.
[giggles]
[Kimm] I had never experienced anything like that.
[narrator] Kimm tells no one about the experience.
And instead,
focuses on getting ready for the grand opening.
It was something that I didn't have an explanation for,
and I didn't want to be that crazy person.
I was a skeptic.
I decided I better get back to work.
I didn't want to mess this up.
I feel like we live here.
Might as well roll in a sleeping bag.
[Dusty] It was a lot of hard work.
We had to pull in family and friends left and right,
go to our day jobs,
still deal with our houses, our families.
Come up here, work every night, every weekend.
[Kimm] Didn't you say you needed to tuck your daughter in tonight?
Yeah, but...
not until nine.
Well, it's nine now.
I'll see if I can come back after she's in bed.
Cool. Later.
[door closes]
I knew I was the only person here in the building.
[faint footsteps]
[footsteps approaching]
And...
I hear loud footsteps coming down the hall
where I was at.
And I thought to myself, "Damn, somebody got in the building."
[loud footstep]
- [footsteps continue] - [Kimm] Hello?
[footsteps continue]
Who's in here?
- [footsteps continue] - You're not supposed to be here.
[Kimm] I look out in the hallway,
and not see anybody.
But I could hear the footsteps still coming closer.
- [footsteps approaching] - And...
again, the confusion and the fear set in.
[footsteps continue]
But, I was like, I'm not letting this,
I'm just going to go back to work.
That's it.
So, I remember setting it down clearly
and walking out of the room.
It was so far up into the table, it just didn't fall off.
It had to have been pushed off the table, I knew.
[dialing]
I had to leave. I couldn't take it.
Hey, Dusty.
Yeah, I'm calling it a night too.
No, don't bother coming back.
Yeah no, I...
I think these long hours are getting to me.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind going home and seeing the wife for once.
Alright.
Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.
[narrator] Kimm pushes the experience out of his mind.
But soon they won't be able to deny
the building is far from empty.
[Dusty] I was on a six foot ladder,
balancing a spider up by myself in the dark.
Come on.
-[eerie voice] Dusty -[gasps]
[narrator] While putting finishing touches on their grand opening,
Dusty Kingston suddenly fears she is not alone
in the lobby of the old hospital.
[eerie voice] Dusty.
[Dusty] It touched my inner core,
because it was right here. I felt the breath.
[eerie voice] Dusty!
My whole body just collapsed in on itself
because I knew...
every instinct in me just says, "Run."
"Run, now."
[panting]
- Kimm. - Yeah?
What's wrong?
Were you just in the lobby with me?
Are you messing with me?
No, I've been back here. Why?
I thought I...
I thought I heard you call my name.
I could tell
that it had shaken her bad.
It really had freaked her out.
No, that wasn't me.
You okay?
It's nothing.
I'm just so tired.
I'm hearing things.
Never mind.
Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up
and then we're gonna
take a break and go get some dinner, okay?
[narrator] Worried Kimm won't believe her,
Dusty keeps her fear that the hospital may be haunted
to herself.
But Kimm already has his own concerns.
Neither have time to dwell on their experiences,
as it's just a few weeks before Halloween,
when Asylum 49 opens to the public.
I was just like, oh, my gosh.
We're gonna make this work.
We're gonna scare some people.
This is the best thing that could have ever happened.
[eerie voices]
At the end of the first night, everybody was super excited.
[Kimm] The buzz was in the air.
This is going to be something big.
[narrator] As word spreads of the hot new attraction,
Kimm receives a visit
that renews his suspicions.
[doctor] I've been meaning to stop by for a while.
Love what you've done with the place.
Nice and scary.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, one guest,
he was this big guy,
and one of the girls had him crying
as she chased him down the hall.
[Kimm] Um, he was excited for what we had already accomplished,
and we started to swap some of the stories for the haunted house.
I, um...
I haven't told anybody this but um,
kinda psyched myself out in that room, right there.
I, uh...
I felt somebody tugging on my cargo shorts.
You know, like, as if a kid was trying to get my attention.
Oh.
I could see the expression and the color on his face just change.
I need to tell you something that happened
to one of the nurses who set up the maze.
She swore she saw a girl in there,
running through the maze.
I didn't believe her at the time.
I swear I just looked into his eyes,
for hours.
Stuck there.
I don't even remember leaving
after talking to him.
I was so confused and so freaked out.
[girl giggling]
I was relieved that it wasn't just me
and I wasn't going crazy,
but I was also fearful of...
something I can't control.
This was out of my control.
[narrator] Through a friend,
Dusty and Kimm get in contact with a local ghost hunting team.
Hopeful, they can provide answers.
Within weeks,
members of The Utah Ghost Organization arrived to investigate
including psychic, Trudy Roberts.
[Trudy] There was a mix of energies when I first walked in.
I've felt these feelings before.
But not all in one location.
Hey, Alan! Did you plug in this camera to the record drive?
Hello?
The temperature behind me is very cold.
Very cold.
Hey, Alan! I'm gonna start down this way.
See if I can capture any EVPs.
Is there anyone in here with me?
[eerie sound]
It was just a really big mass.
He blocked off about half of the hallway.
I couldn't breathe.
[screams]
[narrator] While investigating Asylum 49,
psychic Trudy Roberts encounters a dark entity.
[screams]
[Trudy] I felt it was threatening.
I knew that he was a male.
But he didn't want to show himself.
[panting]
You okay? What happened?
Something just rushed at me.
I'm okay.
We should just be cautious.
There's so much more activity here than...
anywhere I've ever been.
[Kimm] I remember waking up the next day,
getting a phone call.
They were freaking out about all the activity
that had occurred in the night.
[narrator] The investigation team concludes,
the building is actively haunted.
They share the evidence with Kimm and Dusty.
I wanna play you something from our audio recorder.
They brought up some EVPs which are electric voice phenomenon.
[Trudy] This one rattles me a little.
Glad I didn't hear it when it happened.
[Trudy, on recorder] Is there anyone in here with me?
Not sure how to feel about that.
Who are they?
What are they doing here?
There are definitely a number of spirits
who are patients here.
A spirit of a little girl,
she seems pretty playful.
This location is active because of what it was.
A working hospital.
There's a lot of trauma that happened here.
Those spirits sometimes,
they don't leave.
You have a mix
of residual and intelligent hauntings here.
There is one entity I couldn't connect or communicate with.
He seems...
protective.
Potentially aggressive.
So, be careful.
I still remember being skeptical,
still remember thinking,
"They're just trying to trick me. This can't be real."
[narrator] Kimm purchases a tape recorder,
and attempts to capture his own EVP's.
[Kimm] I decided that I was going to do this myself.
And I just did what she did,
on the recording, I just started to ask questions.
Is there anybody in here...
other than myself?
[Kimm] And I waited.
Why are you here?
[Kimm] I thought, "This seems silly."
Might as well listen to it.
Don't know why. I'm the only one here.
[Kimm, on recorder] Why are you here?
Woah.
[Kimm] I lost it.
I was the only person.
There was no one else there.
No one could have made that noise,
other than a ghost or a spirit.
It was life-changing for me.
I had to accept...
that the paranormal existed.
[Kimm, on recorder] Why are you here?
Oh, damn.
[narrator] Intrigued by the paranormal,
Kimm and volunteer, Tyson Lemmon
dive headfirst into conducting ghost tours in the off-season.
[Kimm] I think we need to bring people in,
and let them know that ghosts exist.
To share what we were experiencing during these ghost hunts.
[Tyson] The spirits in this room...
move objects.
Can you turn this flashlight on for us?
[woman] Holy [bleep]
[Kimm] That was something that we could show the world was happening.
And so it became a staple of the ghost hunts.
People would come in and they would want to see this.
It was the demand...
to impress the people that were coming.
[Tyson] Turn it on again.
Come on, now.
This is lame.
[Tyson] Okay, if you're real...
why don't you try moving me?
And all at once, I get a hand on my neck.
And it like picks me up, I'm on my toes.
I'm a big guy.
He moved me like I was a feather.
Okay,
uh, that's all we have for tonight.
Thank you so much for coming.
If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the exit.
It scared the hell out of me.
[narrator] Kimm worries if they've pushed the spirits too far.
The tour over,
everyone leaves for the safety of home.
Or so Kimm thinks.
[Kimm] Ghost hunting had taken everything out of me.
Work had taken everything out of me.
I remember...
just being completely exhausted.
I remember laying there and drifting off.
Thinking, "Finally, I'm going to get some rest."
And the next thing I remember is,
my chest starting to hurt.
I can't breathe.
I tried to move my hands. They couldn't move.
And this thing is just...
pounding on me.
Pounding,
pounding.
He's trying to kill me.
[narrator] After learning his haunted house attraction is actually haunted,
Kimm Anderson finds himself
under attack in his own home.
I thought, I'm going to die.
[gasping]
Help!
Are you okay?
I was just excited that the light was on.
And that it was gone.
[panting]
I'm all fine. It's okay.
Just go back to sleep.
Wait.
Can you please keep the light on tonight?
[Kimm] I didn't want it to be dark anymore.
I don't know what just happened.
Something followed me home.
I was scared, I didn't know what to do.
[narrator] After Kimm shares what happened at home with Dusty,
the pair realize they are in over their heads.
[Kimm] I thought, did I bring this on myself?
Did it happen just because I dabbled in the paranormal?
We need to stop what we're doing
and find out why.
And so we did, we stopped the ghost hunts.
[Richard] Hi.
I'm Richard.
[narrator] Luckily, a well-known paranormal investigator
has just asked to visit Asylum 49
after hearing about its activity.
[Kimm] Richard Estep didn't just want to come in and investigate,
he wanted to help out.
Thanks for coming out.
We really need your help.
Of course.
[woman screaming]
[Richard] I first came on Halloween.
I'm always wary when somebody stands to gain from a story of a haunting.
These guys run a haunted hospital.
Before I investigate, I wondered if I could take a tour of the haunt.
Experience it as if the public would.
Sure thing.
You're just in time for the last group.
Perfect.
[wailing]
[door creaking]
[eerie sound]
[woman screaming]
[Richard] I was about halfway through the haunt,
and I saw a young girl in a Victorian style dress,
pulling a woman
- into one of the rooms. - [woman screams]
And the female that she was pulling into the room,
looked terrified.
Impressive.
I kinda laughed and thought, "You're getting your money's worth, ma'am."
[howls]
[laughs wickedly]
So, what do you think?
Oh, I was thoroughly creeped out.
The little girl was particularly affective.
I can't believe you have someone working here so young.
What is she? Seven or eight?
What do you mean?
Then I described what I'd seen.
I'm convinced it's a kid.
The little girl, she was about this tall. She was wearing a dress.
Walking across the hallway. It was the best bit.
We don't have any little girls.
And no one in a dress like that.
Whatever you saw, that wasn't one of our kids.
You're sure?
Yeah, you can check if you want.
All the volunteers are meeting backstage together.
Perfect.
This little girl was not here.
And that's when it dawned on me that what I had seen was an apparition.
And that was...
incredible.
[narrator] Estep gets to work, uncovering details
about the spirits who haunt the building.
[Richard] Okay, we have our baseline readings.
Uh, make sure that you mark down any sudden spikes
or any changes from hereon in.
Will do.
[Richard] As soon as the last person has left,
we lock ourselves in the building
to make sure we're not disturbed by the living.
Are there any spirits who would like to communicate?
Or otherwise make themselves known?
Yeah, I got it too.
When you capture a child's voice
on a recorder,
that chills the blood.
Okay, let's mark down that reading.
Who are you?
What's your name, please?
[narrator] Richard continues to collect information
about the spirits haunting the former hospital.
His biggest concern...
is the figure who attacked Kimm.
[Richard] I don't like bullies when they're alive,
I like them even less when they're dead.
And so I decided it was best to go confront the black shadow.
[man] Now this leads to where they saw the dark entity.
[Richard] We began to hear footsteps in the darkness.
Did you hear that?
[faint footsteps]
We were locked in.
There was no way this was a flesh and blood human being.
They would draw closer and closer.
[footsteps approaching]
We are hearing movement in the darkness, all around us.
[footsteps approaching]
[Richard] You're not the boss here.
Kimm and Dusty are.
[loud footsteps]
[loud footstep]
You're not the boss here.
Kimm and Dusty are.
[narrator] While uncovering the details of the spirits
haunting Asylum 49,
investigator Richard Estep finds himself in a standoff
with a dark entity.
He was angry at us.
And specifically, angry at me.
I will not be pushed around.
He's not used to being challenged.
And like most bullies,
when you draw a line in the sand,
he backed off.
[narrator] After analyzing his evidence,
the investigator shares his findings
shedding some light on the dark entity.
There are several spirits here,
both patients and staff.
If you ask the right questions,
you'll learn about each spirit.
Richard brought a unique style to ghost hunting.
More of an analytical style.
What about the black shadow?
The one that attacked me?
And Trudy?
Ah, yes. That.
Well, he does appear a bit possessive of this place.
He comes off as a bit of a bully.
If you poke the bear, it will bite back.
I certainly found that out.
Yeah, I guess we were treating them like trained monkeys.
Guess I had it coming.
It's important for us not to treat these spirits simply as a thing.
We have to remember that these are people.
And giving them the respect,
that we would give any other human being,
is absolutely essential.
[Kimm] I had forgotten that they were human.
I had to make it right.
Now, I believe you can co-exist.
Do you think it's safe to start the ghost tours back up?
Oh, yes. Yes.
With a few adjustments.
[narrator] With the changes in place,
Asylum 49 prepares for another Halloween season
believing they've made amends.
But some spirits
are not so forgiving.
[Dusty] When we're up here building the haunt,
we have a ton to do.
So much. And so, you walk and talk.
And so, I saw Kimm.
Kimm,
which room do you want the mummies in?
Kimm, I'm asking you a question.
And he just is walking faster and faster and faster.
He turns down the short, little hallway that goes to the back.
So, I storm after him.
Kimm!
It is a hallway with walls and a door there.
Kimm...
There's nobody there.
There's no other doors to go out of.
Kimm?
Hello?
Anybody?
My chest was closing in on itself. I couldn't breathe.
It felt like it wanted to destroy me.
Kimm!
[narrator] Dusty Kingston has just been attacked
by an entity mimicking her uncle Kimm.
It was like every fear...
that I ever had in my entire life,
had just come in at me, at once, from every direction.
Hey.
How long have you been out here?
I don't know. About...
20 minutes or so.
Chatting with some folks interested in volunteering for next season.
Why?
You okay?
I just followed you through the back hallway.
You disappeared and...
[Kimm] It's definitely disturbing
that something out there can mimic me that close
to where my closest relatives believe it's me.
And Dusty was genuinely freaked out.
What's going on?
I don't know.
But I'm really worried there's something bad here.
I was at my limit.
[narrator] Dusty reaches back out to Trudy,
who believes they are dealing with a dark entity,
known as a doppelganger.
[Trudy] Dealing with a doppelganger or a mimic,
it's danger.
Just danger.
This entity...
can mimic people.
It took your energy.
It was trying to possess and control you.
It actually did...
attempt to try and take over me.
[Trudy] It appears to be...
possessive of this place.
It's appearing in many different forms.
Sometimes as Kimm,
and sometimes as a shadow entity.
So what do I do?
How do I stop it?
This is our building.
[narrator] Trudy instructs Dusty how to put up a psychic barrier
to fend off the dark entity.
You need to stand up to it.
You can't let it manipulate and control you.
[eerie sound]
[Trudy] It's here.
I knew I could stand up to him
but it terrified me.
You don't get to do this.
You don't get to control me.
He was no longer there.
I could breathe.
[narrator] Ever since learning how to protect herself,
Dusty has felt in control,
and no longer fears being alone in the asylum.
Kimm, Dusty, Tyson and the rest of the crew,
are forever changed.
I went from being the biggest skeptic you ever met,
to being the guy that will show you it exists.
[Dusty] I don't walk into Asylum anymore on edge because
I know who's in the dark now.
Hey, there.
We've made a connection with the spirits here now.
They still keep me on my toes.
How about you wait till the crowd shows up before you show off?
Jessica, is that you?
[Dusty] A lot of spirits up here,
they're like our cast.
They're just family.
[girl giggles]
Ready to open?
Got quite a line out there.
Asylum...
to me is a home. It's a family.
[crowd cheering]
Welcome to Asylum 49.