The Juvenile Facility
Sent in by: Denise
During the early 1990's I worked for a juvenile facility in St Louis County, Missouri. The place had quite a history even before it became a state ran facility. It had originally been the first military fort in St Louis built before the Civil War. After this it became a home for delinquent boys and a sewing factory.
During it's run as a home for wayward boys a murder occurred. It was documented in the St Louis Post-Dispatch during the 1940's. I can't remember the specific date but I read the article. A seven year old boy was beaten by a group of three twelve year olds who were jealous that he wouldn't give up a possession they wanted. An employee found the child the next day hanging by his belt in the orchard.
Conflicting reports of other deaths circulated though they couldn't be denied or confirmed. This included a woman who was ran over by a carriage, a boy who was killed on nearby railroad tracks and more recently suicides of two teenage boys who were in the facility.
I witnessed several strange occurrences but I will begin with a brief description of the lay out and others' stories.
Location-
The facility is settled near the Missouri/Illinois border. It sits on bluffs overlooking the Missouri River. After a drive through a park-like area you come upon several old buildings that appear to have been constructed near the Civil War era. Each one sits upon a hill and is spaced from the next though in appearance they are all the same- brick, three story buildings. The entrance to the facility is gated and the drive through the trees is quite lonesome at night.
Stories-
During my employment there I heard several accounts of what others had seen. These were not a friend of a friend of a friend but actual first person stories.
The Man in Black
One night while two staff were working on different floors of a building they both saw the same figure. One was on the second floor, the other on the main. A man dressed in all black with a top hat floated through the floors from the main to the second. The employee from the second floor ran down and confirmed what the other had seen.
The Boy and the candle
One night around midnight a staff was leaving work and her headlights flashed upon a young boy clutching a candle in the middle of the road. She screeched to a halt but by the time she got out there was no one there.
The Troops
A staff took a back road around one of the buildings after leaving around midnight. The road is covered on both sides by trees. She said she had just rounded the corner when her car drove straight into a troop of military men marching. She was so frightened that when she had to unlock the gate she had to sit there a while to muster the courage to get out.
Spirit Voices
Many of the kids in the facility witnessed strange occurrences. One boy said he had a spirit hole that caused him to hear the voices of spirits. Many nights he would scream in his sleep and bat out at nothing. He would be upset when he woke up saying that they wouldn't leave him alone.
The Nurse
An employee saw an old fashion garbed nurse checking the beds of the boys as if tending to them. She had previously been a skeptic.
The bed
A guy I was working with one night kept getting called over to a different building because the staff kept hearing noises. As soon as he would get there it would stop. Finally after a few time he went over there and witnessed a girl's bed begin to shake and levitate off the ground. He was a bit shaken up.
My account-
I had a lot of experiences. These were things I could never explain away.
The closet
There was an old cloak closet we kept locked. I was sitting against the door one night when a crash like several books falling to the floor came from the other side and the door pushed against me from the middle like the wood had bowed.
Furniture, TVs & Toilets
There were two groups of kids in each building which meant at night two staff were on duty...one for each group. We would straighten the living area up every night and head upstairs so the kids could go to sleep. Countless time we would walk downstairs again to find the furniture moved around or the cushions ripped off. No one else could've been in the building but us. The TVs would also shut off and on as well as the volume changing. Toilets would also flush on their own.
The water
One night I was with another staff when water began dripping from the door then stopped abruptly. The door frame was dry to the touch.
The blackness
Late at night I would sometimes catch a black ball scurry across the room. At first I thought it was a rat but later it would move into the air and over the boy's head who heard voices.
Footsteps
Footsteps on the third floor was a common occurrence. None of the staff would go up there. There were also footsteps on the steps. A specific occasion I recall is sitting outside with a staff and hearing the backdoor slam and then running steps go up the stairs. We went inside and searched the building but didn't find anyone.