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The next Ghost Adventures episode takes us to Montana and the Twin Bridges Orphanage. Things immediately start off with Zak asking people if they’re afraid of the darker side of hauntings. Before we even step foot inside, Zak is laying the foundation for a demonic encounter. The idea of an orphanage never paints the picture of a contented child or happy memories, but Zak is wildly jumping the gun.

Twin Bridges was opened in 1894 and boarded around 5000 children until it was closed in 1975. Most of us would associate an orphanage with cruelty and poor living conditions, and regrettably, this place lives up to that image in every respect.

We hear stories about children getting whipped for wetting the bed. Children were dropped off at the door by parents who couldn’t take care of them. They were forced to do labor the adults should have handled. And this is confirmed by Janie Wasman, a wretch of a human being, who gleefully acknowledges she stuck a boy’s head in the toilet because he kept sighing at her. She has no qualms admitting that story and even laughs at a few others she holds back. It’s pretty clear she took pleasure in emotional and physical abuse. And she wasn’t the only one. There is a journal entry by a boy who was whipped on a daily basis and the matron set herself a goal to make a strong willed boy cry. When she broke him, she smiled at her achievement.

Besides the abuse, there were the usual cases of disease that took the lives of the children. On multiple occasions, the facility would be quarantined. Several children were buried on the property, but their headstones have since been lost. There is however a small plaque in the local cemetery listing their names. Small conciliation.

There is no doubt the matrons of the orphanage were the worst kind of people, but does that make this place haunted? And what evidence do they have? There are claims of children singing and Kurtis says he saw phantom children playing basketball. That’s all they have, but it hasn’t stopped Zak from saying there is dark energy lurking.

For the investigation, they split up into two groups, with Billy and Jay going to the gymnasium, while Zak and Aaron go to the largest building called The Castle.

Within the castle, Zak hears footsteps, and sees the footprints of a child. However, when a pigeon flies out and makes Zak soil himself, he has to admit the demonic energy they’ve been experiencing is just an animal. And much to his chagrin, the footprints turn out to be those of a raccoon. This also confirms that so many of the other cases where Zak hears footsteps and scratching can easily be attributed to animals living in abandoned buildings.

Over in the gym, Billy claims to see a shadow figure and as we should expect by now, Zak points out light anomalies floating around. But as they head to the pool area, things get exciting. They hear the sound of children’s voices and a ball rolls out of the supply closet and falls in the water. Once there, it miraculously moves on command. To add to the excitement, the Ovilus says the name Carol, followed by the words, twist, laugh and cleansing. Zak takes this to mean his twisted  position on the pool ladder.

A ball moving in a water is not a paranormal event. Neither is that ball rolling out of supply closet.

It’s a pretty massive stretch to tie that all together, but Zak is a master of stretching his theory to fit his evidence. While there may have been sounds of laughter, which could have come from anywhere, despite Zak saying they’re in the middle of nowhere, there are no signs of the demonic that Zak tried to sell in the beginning.

The only evil in the orphanage were the mentally unbalanced and hateful employees who took pleasure in mental and physical abuse. But take comfort. By looking at Janie, cancer is eating away at her miserable life.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Haunted Highway – Louisiana Swamp Woman and Pioneer Cemetery – S01E05
• Ghost Adventures – Pythian Castle – S15E11
• Stranded – Burn Brae Mansion – S01E04
• Haunted History – Ghosts of Gettysburg – S01E02
• Paranormal State – Do Bad Things – S05E10
• Ghost Adventures – Reseda House of Evil – S13E04
• Ghost Adventures – Yost Theater and Ritz Hotel – S08E05
• Ghost Adventures – Black Dahlia House – S12E01
• Ghost Adventures – Excalibur Nightclub and Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery – S07E02
• Children of the Grave

Zak and team head to Logan Canyon, Utah to investigate St. Anne’s Retreat, where some strange events have taken place. However, before they can even get there, Zak believes the dark forces are working against him since he can’t find the place.

After heading back to town, he talks with locals to get directions and hear their tales. And tales they have. They all begin with, "legend says," "I’ve heard," and "supposedly". They hear the story of a pregnant nun, banished to the retreat and forced to give birth in solitude. She then drowned the baby and slit her own throat. I’m quite sure this is an urban legend.

About the only story they can confirm is that a group of teens were held hostage in one of the cabins by three gunmen. They went out on Halloween night, where a group of security guards found them, took a few shots, then tied them up. They were threatened repeatedly and held until morning.

The men were arrested and convicted. The victims claim the men looked evil with one saying he saw a Hell Hound with red eyes, and foretells bad tidings. With a bit of prompting from Zak, they agree the men were possessed by demonic forces.

Tito, says the lead gunman claimed to have killed multiple people and buried the bodies under the cabin. However, no bodies have been found on the property.

To further investigate the claims, Zak brings in psychic medium, Karen Baldwin, who immediately mentions the number 3. This of course refers to cabin number 3, the three men who held the teens hostage, and the three scratches one witness reported getting.

Karen follows this up with stories of Satanic worship and a male presence that likes to taunt and dominate people. She says something negative has played in the hills and she feels "damage." Karen then breaks down and talks about a "she," which Zak says is a reference to the nun.

Zak is firmly convinced the security guards were possessed by demonic forces and these dark forces were conjured into existence through the use of Satanic rituals they have no evidence of taking place.

As the investigation starts, they lock Jay into cabin three. And they really lock him in, screwing a board into place over the door.

Zak and the rest of the team head to the pool where the nun supposedly drowned her child. Zak begins to "summon" the forces and opens the portals. As proof of the demonic, the interior of the bathing shed is red on the thermal. Also, Billy takes issue with Zak’s "summoning."

Zak will open a portal, but he won’t investigate the shed. He leaves that to Billy while observes from a safe distance. Tripping from the use of the word, "summoning," Billy feels a dark energy wrap around him. They also hear noises which they say are Native American instruments.

Meanwhile, Jay comes unglued inside cabin 3. He’s locked inside, and has convinced himself he has no protection since his charms broke off earlier in the day. With fear and sensory deprivation setting in, he feels something is out to get him, so much so, he throws the Spirit Box at it. There are plenty of pops, creaks and footsteps in the cabin, which you normally hear as old wood settles at night. But these terrifying sounds without form bring Jay to tears.

In the main cabin, they look to see if they can find the dark energy hiding in corners. Since nothing is happening, this is proof the entity is a coward. Zak then sends Billy to the top floor, where he becomes aggressive and provoking. As we should expect, Zak sees a light orb and says this is responsible for Billy’s behavior.

While Zak is safely outside and away from danger, he takes full spectrum images and gets something interesting. There is a shadowy looking figure in the frame, which Zak feels is the aforementioned nun, who may or may not have existed.

When we take a step back and cast a critical eye, all the stories are "legends". The only real one involves the security guards, who most likely had severe mental and behavioral issues, not demonic possession. It’s not the 1700s any more.

But again, there is no evidence that shows death occurred at the property. The Satanic worship is rumor and is always told after a place has been abandoned. There is no proof of a nun. The medium does a fine job of adding to the hysteria. There is no proof for anything she said.

Further, what evidence did they capture? Jay wasn’t attacked, nothing came near him. He was left alone in the dark, and when his charm was taken away, it played so heavily on his mind, he figured everything was out to get him.

They heard noises in the woods, heard creaks, and the settling of buildings. No scratches, Zak wasn’t pushed off the railing like the investigator claimed happened to him and Aaron didn’t do his usual routine of becoming dizzy and sick.

As Zak said, it looks like the set of Friday the 13th. A group of mentally unbalanced guards took some kids hostage and legends have grown from there.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Hauntings of Vicksburg – Demons and Dolls – Part 2
• Ghost Adventures – Nevada State Prison – S12E10
• Ghost Adventures – Wolf Creek Inn – S15E13
• Ghost Adventures – Hotel Metlen – S13E07
• Ghost Adventures – Hotel Leger – S16E05
• Ghost Adventures – The Domes of Casa Grande – S12E09
• Ghost Adventures – Zalud House – S13E11
• Ghost Adventures – Fear Factory – S09E05
• Deep South Paranormal – Old Soldiers Never Die – S01E04
• Ghost Adventures – Reseda House of Evil – S13E04

For this episode we’re off to investigate the Hotel Metlen in Dillon, Montana, an Old West hotel built in 1897. As Philly introduces the hotel, she claims there has been all sorts of paranormal events. She says she saw a shadow figure while laying carpet. The incident scared her so badly, she cut herself in the thigh. Based on that, carpet accidents are now the work of the paranormal.

Additionally, when her mother passed away, she asked for a sign. It came in the form of a glass that fell off the bar counter. Amanda, a former employee, says she saw a woman in a white dress. Bailey, the bar manager, says a dark cloud came over him one night and he lost track of time in a full bar. Zak attributes this lost time to possession.

Philly takes Zak and Aaron around the place and shows off coins she found in the wall while doing renovations. The coins are from the 1900s and while looking them over, they claim to get sounds from where Philly found them. There are other items like spurs, left behind from visitors long since jones.

Also, the third floor of the hotel has been sealed for 30 years. Philly says she is scared of the space and won’t go up there. But without much hesitation, she’ll let Zak investigate it.

As the investigation gets underway, they hear a loud bang from the third floor and a scream that sounds like a dog bark. We also have the sound of the ceiling coming down and the words, "great nana" on the Ovilus. Zak feels he captures a shadow figure on the thermal camera. To prove the existence of this entity, Zak asks the spirit world to confirm how old they are. When it answers 40, Zak is besides himself with joy, because that’s how old Aaron is. Not the age of the person asking the question, but someone in the room where they can make it fit.

As they contact the great beyond, they get reference to a closet. As they look around, they happen to find one, where they claim to hear boards moving. When old boards fall over in a disheveled closet, it’s proof of the paranormal.

Zak is taken to playing on people’s fear. To that end, he locks Aaron on the third floor. He wants to use that fear as bait. As Aaron waits alone, he gets, "taken" on spirit box followed by "want some", then "be gentle" and finally "you’re welcome". Zak believes they have caught paranormal sex on tape.

Later on, they bring out the Paranormal Puck 2, which they feel makes contact with Karen, a woman who might have killed herself in the bathtub. At the same time, Zak begins to feel drained and has a hard time standing up.

For the final experiment, they send Jay down to the basement without any light and an IR camera strapped to his chest. It’s only a matter of minutes before Jay is tangled in the debris and junk down there, crashing twice and toppling over into a terrible heap. At least Zak didn’t call his falling over in the dark the work of the paranormal.

Again, Zak feels there is a dark energy in the hotel, perhaps one that’s demonic. But what supports this idea? They capture the usual noises of an old building, see the usual orbs and make plenty of assumptions. But demonic forces? Further, how many women in white dresses are going to be seen in hotels associated with the West? This "sighting" has basically become cliche.

Despite the claim, there was no flying glasses. Bailey didn’t get captured in some time bubble, we saw no woman in white, no shadow figure fell out of the closet. There were some old boards, so that will have to be close enough.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Hotel Leger – S16E05
• Ghost Adventures – Mizpah Hotel – S05E02
• Ghost Adventures – Crazy Town – S07E13
• Paranormal State S04E06 – Dark Practice
• Ghost Adventures Documentary
• Ghost Adventures – The National Hotel – S06E04
• Ghost Adventures – Return to the Riviera – S12E04
• Ghost Adventures – Sacramento Tunnels – S04E23
• Ghost Adventures – Valentine’s Day Special – LongFellow’s Wayside Inn – S04E18
• Ghost Hunters International – Argentina/Australia S02E08