In 2017, I was attending an investigation in Alton, IL when I think I may have been attacked by something I couldn’t see. This particular building has been reported to sit on the foundations of 3 different houses, one of which was supposedly part of the underground railroad. Now, I can’t verify this information and the source is not the most reliable so this is just the story I was told. Anyway, the story continues that the basement of the building is haunted by a male entity that has repeatedly scratched investigators when they encounter him. The most active location was stated to be a narrow hallway along the back wall and behind some boilers. So, I took a couple investigators with me and went down to check it out. 

As any basement, it was creepy and kind of messy. I wouldn’t recommend falling on anything without first having a tetanus shot. We poked around the different rooms and finally decided to check out the tunnel. I positioned myself behind the second boiler, my friend and a new investigator in front of me and might I note, closer to the exit to this particular situation. We began to conduct an EVP session when the investigator closest to the tunnel noted the sound of shuffling as if someone was pacing in the tunnel. He was a newer investigator (aka newbie) so this was clearly very exciting and frightening for him at the same time. We continued to ask questions and the shuffling appeared to move closer until we all clearly heard something scratch the concrete brick wall to our left. We could hear small bits of concrete fall and hit the floor. Newbie promptly states “That’s it, I’m done” and bolts out of the area. He is quickly followed by my more experienced investigator friend who also states “Yeah, I’m good too” as she bolts. So, I’m left standing by myself behind a couple boilers thinking, “Isn’t this why we came down here?” Then I have another thought, “Why am I standing here by myself when this guy is reported to be aggressive?” Thus, I start to follow the other two when I feel something push through the upper right side of my back, grip, twist, and then pull back out. I quickly move forward and nudge my friend frantically stating “move, move, MOVE!”

Outside of this area, an investigator had been filming us throughout the session. He tells me to calm down and that there is nothing there. Once out of the entrance to the area, I turn around and state “Did you just grab me?” At this point, I’m sure the other investigators are positive that I’ve just lost my mind. “Did you grab me and if so, I don’t appreciate that.” My friend tries to calm me down and convinces me to go back upstairs where we can take a moment to regroup. 

After about 20 minutes, I am starting to talk myself out of the experience. I tell the other investigators that I clearly got freaked because of the story, our experience, and being left alone behind the boilers. That’s when my friend looks at me and says, “Uh, no. You don’t EVER react that way. I believe something really did happen to you.” She doesn’t let me go back to the basement the rest of the night and is convinced that I was attacked by whatever scratched the wall. Later, I found out that the guy recording the event from directly outside the area can hear the sound of the rocks falling from the wall. Upon watching the video, I once again felt a bit freaked out. 

Two months later, I returned to the location with my investigator friend and a different newbie. I tell my friend that I need to go back to the basement and try to communicate with whoever may have tried to grab me. So, we head down and place ourselves along the wall entering the area. I refuse to block the tunnel in the manner we had done before, convinced that if I was attacked it was because we had pinned this guy into the tunnel without an exit. We begin an EVP session and I hold a K2 meter out into the tunnel area. We begin to get hits on the K2 and hear shuffling. The session went like this. . . 

“I don’t know if you remember me but I was here a couple months ago and I think I may have upset you. You may have felt like you were trapped and we were asking too many questions. I wanted to come down and apologize. I also wanted to let you know that when you grabbed me, it was really upsetting and that I didn’t appreciate it.” It went on like this for about 10-15 minutes with the K2 and shuffling seeming to react to my comments. The newbie was standing close to my friend and kept repeating “Crap, Oh Crap” with her head buried in my friend’s shoulder. After I said my piece, we returned to the main floor where the newbie looked at me and said, “You don’t ever see that on tv.” I asked her what she meant and she said “you just did conflict resolution with a ghost.” I laughed because I hadn’t thought of it that way.  I thought of it as having a conversation with another person who may have felt as violated and upset as I did. 

Anyway, that’s the story of the time I might have been attacked by a spirit or I may have just freaked myself out. You can come to your own conclusions. I’m still on the fence myself. 

Happy Hunting!