So Adele & I are out cruising in the LTD after going to a Halloween party and we end up down at the Haunted Old Mill. Remember, down in Sandy where they used to have the Haunted House every Halloween. It's all fenced in, barbed wire and everything. The parking lot is fenced in too, separate from the building. As we were out there taking pictures of the burned out building we're talking about how cool it would be to get in there and check it out. We decided that because of the barbed wire, and the need to climb fences, that we probably better not, we'll just settle for more pictures. Until these 3 in their early 20's (2 guys and a girl) show up taking pictures too. Their camera wasn't getting any good shots, so I started showing them the pictures I took. That was when they said something about sneaking in and how they'd found an easy entrance into the parking lot. Well, one thing leads to another and next thing I know Adele, these 3 and I are climbing around the fence into the parking lot. One more fence and the building is ours. We walk over to the fence surrounding the building and start looking for a way in. We go around the fence, starting up the side of the hill, out of the light and in the brush. We found a hole almost big enough to get it, but I got a little bit stuck and some really nice ba
rbed wire tattoos, so we decided to hike further up the hill in search of a better way in. This is where Adele says something about remembering a teen horror movie that started this way, so I turn around say "Blair Witch Project" and take this picture (and a couple more). About 30 seconds later, from the top of the hill where there is nothing but Wasatch Boulevard, a bright light flashes in our eyes and a disembodied voice calls out "Trespassing, go back the way you came." and then the light goes out. Before we can even turn around the light comes back on and the voice again tells us that we are trespassing and need to leave immediately. Before he is even done our backs are to him and we're retreating down the hill, yet he takes the opportunity to remind us of our trespassing three more times before the light goes off and he is silent. Having no clue who this is we, of course, head back out to the car, and do a little debriefing amongst ourselves. Adele and I were talking about the other Halloween rituals we knew of (Emo's Tomb and such) and they seemed pretty interested, enough to ask where we were headed next. I told them we were going to head up to the top of the hill to see if we could see where the disembodied voice had come from (we'd already discussed this, and they had shown the same interest in it Adele and I had). I asked them if they wanted to join us and gestured towards the car. One of the guys jokingly said "yeah, you got some candy in there too?" (you had to be there because it didn't come out as creeped out as it sounds like). So we laughed, said our good-byes and Adele and I took off. Halfway up the hill it occurred to me that psychology is a weird thing. These 3 kids were more than willing to go into an abandoned Mill with us in the middle of the night, but wouldn't get in the back seat of my car. Adele pointed out that it's a territory kind of thing - the Mill is neutral ground, my car gives me the home team advantage. I don't blame them for not getting in the car, I probably wouldn't have either, but in reality either way could be fatal if we were homicidal maniacs. Alas, the adrenaline rush of the whole experience was too much for us older folks, and that was the end of the night. If you want to see all of the pictures from the night, click
HERE. And :
BOO!
rbed wire tattoos, so we decided to hike further up the hill in search of a better way in. This is where Adele says something about remembering a teen horror movie that started this way, so I turn around say "Blair Witch Project" and take this picture (and a couple more). About 30 seconds later, from the top of the hill where there is nothing but Wasatch Boulevard, a bright light flashes in our eyes and a disembodied voice calls out "Trespassing, go back the way you came." and then the light goes out. Before we can even turn around the light comes back on and the voice again tells us that we are trespassing and need to leave immediately. Before he is even done our backs are to him and we're retreating down the hill, yet he takes the opportunity to remind us of our trespassing three more times before the light goes off and he is silent. Having no clue who this is we, of course, head back out to the car, and do a little debriefing amongst ourselves. Adele and I were talking about the other Halloween rituals we knew of (Emo's Tomb and such) and they seemed pretty interested, enough to ask where we were headed next. I told them we were going to head up to the top of the hill to see if we could see where the disembodied voice had come from (we'd already discussed this, and they had shown the same interest in it Adele and I had). I asked them if they wanted to join us and gestured towards the car. One of the guys jokingly said "yeah, you got some candy in there too?" (you had to be there because it didn't come out as creeped out as it sounds like). So we laughed, said our good-byes and Adele and I took off. Halfway up the hill it occurred to me that psychology is a weird thing. These 3 kids were more than willing to go into an abandoned Mill with us in the middle of the night, but wouldn't get in the back seat of my car. Adele pointed out that it's a territory kind of thing - the Mill is neutral ground, my car gives me the home team advantage. I don't blame them for not getting in the car, I probably wouldn't have either, but in reality either way could be fatal if we were homicidal maniacs. Alas, the adrenaline rush of the whole experience was too much for us older folks, and that was the end of the night. If you want to see all of the pictures from the night, click HERE. And : BOO!
3 comments:
I didn't know that thing was still standing. Cool! I thought someone'd made condos out of it a few years back.
My best memories of the Old Mill are of when they used to hold the Utah Slavic Festival there. Great times. I'd spend all afternoon Saturday and much of Sunday there as well on those weekends. We'd perform out on the back courtyard and in one of the main rooms indoors. The floor in that room used to bounce so much that you could actually SEE in moving -- especially if you were walking through the room underneath it (when another group was dancing; we weren't the only ones).
And these experiences gave me the best/oddest dressing room stories to tell. They'd give us a storage room to change costumes in. No big deal, we were used to changing in storage rooms or wherever. But this was always the area where they'd store props and stuff from Halloween. So, I'd often have to arrange my various costumes hanging over coffins and tombstones (real ones made of granite!) or Frankenstein's lab equipment. It was Halloween in July every year.
What a place! I'm sorry you didn't get in.
My favorite part of that whole thing is the last picture, of you :) Aww, makes me a tiny bit jealous you'd rather hang out with wife #1 :) Hahaha! I admire you being young and hip, trying to get in to a haunted house thing! I think I'd be too much of a wimp!
Actually, we were going to wimp out also - until the 19, 20 year olds showed up. One of those "the more the merrier" situations. And, at least for the next 2 years, I hang out with you more than anyone else - I could just go home and take the bus up to school every day, but I enjoy our Trax adventures.
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