Curious Twins Paranormal offers eerie tours of Yorktown Memorial Hospital, renowned for ghostly activity, and invites visitors for a spine-chilling experience.
SAN ANTONIO — Are you easily frightened by things that go bump in the night? Then you might want to stay away from Yorktown memorial hospital.
Located about 75 miles east of San Antonio, this closed down catholic health care facility is considered a hotbed of haunted activity. If we haven’t scared you away, don’t say we didn’t warn you
The hallways of Yorktown memorial hospital were once filled with doctors, nurses, and patients. Now, they are home to spirits, and those who want to connect with them.
“ I encourage you to be respectful when you try to communicate with these spirits,” says tour guide Fred Garcia Guzman. “Because they may have gone through a lot, and we may not truly understand their story.”
Fred and his brother Stephen run Curious Twins Paranormal. They recently purchased the building to preserve its history.
“Some people believe this is one of the most haunted, abandoned hospitals in the entire world. I’ve experienced some things that I really can’t quite explain,” says Fred. “It has an amazing, interesting history. It dates back all the way into the 1950s. In 1951, the Felician nuns to the Roman Catholic Church opened it up and they opened it up with help of grants and hard work. And they ran this all the way until 1986, when they had to close it down just due to economic reasons and other hospitals being built in the area.”
While the people may be gone, their legend lingers. Once a place of healing, it also hid a dark side.
“Doctor Dorsey, he ended up retiring once the state had their talk with him,” says Fred to a group of 20 ghost hunters. “He probably should have retired in his mid 70s, but he kept going into his 90s. And, as he got older, he got a nickname in the country, and it wasn’t such a nice one. It was The Butcher.”
He explains to the horrified group that the doctor reportedly committed major mistakes like cutting off the wrong limbs, to doing simple operations that ended in the patient’s death.
Among this night’s haunted tour group is KENS5 director Jill Manuel. She has a personal interest in the hospital since five of her relatives died here.
“I’m nervous. But I’m really excited,” says Jill. “I’m hoping I can capture something and make myself a real true believe, but we’ll see.”
As the tour travels down the dark corridors, a few guests report unusual encounters.
“Something touched me!” screams one scared ghost hunter as she swipes away at something unseen. Another man experiences cold sweats as he walks down a staircase. “My back is freezing,” the man says as another guest scans him with a laser thermometer. “Ya, your back is colder than your front.”
Many of the ghost hunters here are using apps that vocalize some of the things the spirits are supposedly saying. They’ve heard some interesting things.
“What happened to me?” one voice appears to say. Jill Manuel is spooked but still keeps her sense of humor.” What happened to you? What’s your name, is that Ryan? If we’re talking, you might have died.”
Other ghost hunters use electro magnetic field (EMF) detectors and balls that light up to make contact.
“Make it light up again,” one woman in a nursery says as she encourages the spirit of a child to light up a small ball. “You did it before. See if you can make it light up again.”
Nearby, her companion holds an EMF detector that is lighting up. “Woah, there it goes again.” As if on cue, the small ball lights up. “There you go. Good job!”
During a late-night séance in the chapel, some of the spirits seemed talkative, others menacing.
“Did you lose a child here?” asks the medium who is contacting the spirits.
Suddenly, EMF detectors light up across the pews.
“Woah. Both of our EMFs went off.” Then the Ghost Tube apps being to chime in. “Find me,” says the chilling voice of a child. Across the room, another voice growls, “Get out!”
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, Yorktown’s memorial hospital will leave you with a lasting impression. It did for Jill Manuel.
“Demon,” says a disembodied voice via the Ghost Tube app. “Oh hell no!” says Jill, as she quickly exits the dark hallway.
Curious Twins Paranormal will hold a Halloween night tour of the Yorktown hospital form 6 p.m. to midnight.
Visit their website to sign-up, if you dare!