Asylum Echoes: The Haunted Labyrinth of Century Manor

Today, we’re trekking up the Hamilton mountain to a place where the architecture is stunning and the history is... well, a bit "creeptastic." We’re peering through the boarded-up windows of Century Manor, the last standing piece of the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane.

From the "Female Troubles" that got Victorian women locked away to the literal underground labyrinth of tunnels, we explore how a place of healing became a place of haunting. We’re digging into the 1911 fire tragedy, the angry "Grey Man" who still roams the grounds, and why this Gothic masterpiece deserves a repurposed future instead of a wrecking ball.

Want more Weirdos of Whimsy? Check out https://bio.site/weirdosofwhimsy to find everything in one place! From there, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel, grab some official merch, or follow us on Instagram to chat!

Have a bone-chilling story of your own? We want to hear it! Send your scary encounters to weirdosofwhimsy@gmail.com or DM us. Your story might just make it onto a future episode! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

In the late nineteenth century, women could be committed for what they called female trouble. A catch all term that included anything from postpartum depression to simply being unruly or having menstrual disorders.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Literally just being a woman. For having your period.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

I can't, Steven. I uh ooh, I had to walk away when I wrote that.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

You guessed it. Whimsicks.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Hi, my name is Jacqueline. And I'm Stevie. And today, first of all, hi. Hi. It's been like a second.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

I know for you guys, it was last week.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Yeah, literally last week. I wish that I saw you every single week of my life.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Could you imagine?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Nothing would be done.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Soon enough. We might be moving. It's true. It's not gonna happen. But we're leaving. We what where did we decide it on? Either Italy or Portugal. Portugal, Spain.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

San Diego only if it's Bisogna is Netherlands. San Diego only if it's chiseled off.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I love you, but yeah, I will not be going to the chisel.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Or like Finland, Sweden, really anywhere but here. Anywhere but here. Is kind of um our point.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

The only thing we is the issue with the Netherlands or Finland, Sweden is winter. They still right?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Just to clarify, that's why we weren't talking about moving.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

We done with winter being here, sort of from like April to November.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Fair.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

And then I want out. I think that's the thing.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

And then the winter depression got this winter.

unknown 2:09

Oh God.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I you know what? I was walking with Kyle and Moes this morning before I came down. And I said to him, Wow, our snowbanks are finally melted to the point where it's normal snow amounts.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

You still have all the snow.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Oh, baby.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Oh, I have one snow bank that's in one of the roundabouts over here that hasn't quite melted yet. But that is when I'm like, okay, my winter depression will be done when that's gone. That one chunk is gone. Everything else is gone. Yeah. You still have it all.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Oh. Oh, I still have like all my winter boots, all my winter coats, all my hats, all my scarves, all my mitts at the front door. Because no, like you look outside my house and it's still like tons of snow.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Even though it's still negative sometimes, I have gone to my spring jacket and I am not just to feel alive.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Just to feel alive. I need it. I you know what? I was at a wedding recently on the weekend, and I was like, I'm wearing open-toed shoes. I don't fucking care.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

I cannot wait for my flippy floppy.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

I gotta tell you, I didn't only because it didn't look good. But I was prepared to do it.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Yep. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, flippy floppies. Yeah. So good.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

I just I can't wait for our commune somewhere nice.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

You guys, listen, we've talked about this before. We don't have children. No. And if you ever hear us talk about our com have we talked about our commune on the pod? I hope we have. I hope so too. Um we are literally selling everything we own. We are finding a chunk of land and we are getting tiny homes. And we're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Tiny homes we'll have like one big home that will be like our communal space. Right. And have like a we can transform it into a really nice kitchen.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Like a galley kitchen, and then like a cool little, like we'll have like a movie theater room in there.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Um and that's where our hot nurses can live that take care of us. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

It's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah. And then we'll have our little tiny homes that will be connected by little path covered pathways. Yep that will be heated.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

What was that?

SPEAKER_00 4:00

That is robo mom. Our cat feeder, we have a robo mom, and it just scared the shit out of them.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

I have to tell you. Like, roll the tape. Why does it keep going?

SPEAKER_00 4:13

It it does it three times. It feeds in like little portions.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

Play the roll the tape back of my face, lose and trying to leave my nuts. That was the scariest thing. I surely have heard that before.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

I don't know if it's gone off when we've recorded down here, actually.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

Clearly not. Clearly not.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Okay. Well, to put a pin in it. Commune home. Commune home. I'm afraid of things in Steven's uh not basement studio.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

There's a lot of weird sounds down here.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Man, the way I was like ready to leave. I was there was flight in my eyes.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

It's our little, it's our little ghost boy.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Sure. I would have been happy with that. But like the machines are taking over.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

The machines are taking over. Also, I don't know if you can pick it up on the mic, but like we are dog sitting this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Right, yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

And they are wrestling and having a gay old time, but lovely time. What did you call it? The Skittles on the Skittles.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Skittles on the heart. Skittling around on the heart. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I want Skittles.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Oh, me too.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Fairies and cream.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Fairies and Cream. That's come up a few times. People have referred to it. And it makes me so happy. Someone was wearing a wig that looked like it and they referred to that. I was like, yes.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

See? It's just so good.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Well, okay. Well, should we cheers it? Cheers. Cheers to another round of podcasts. Cheers to more podcasts. It seems like we've been with you this whole time, but Steve and I are only seeing each other after what, like three weeks? I think. I feel like it's, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

We try for what? Once a month?

SPEAKER_01 5:41

We try for once a month where we do batches. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Children. We don't. Actually, we should talk about that too. If you ever notice the inconsistencies of what was the last one? So, oh god. St. Patrick's Day.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

We were talking about line it up.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Line it up.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah, we were wrong on St. Patrick's Day.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Um, we were wrong on a week before and after St. Patrick's Day. We also said something about um soon you're gonna hear one from the Fresno Nightcrawler. That was weeks ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Listen, guys, we're amateurs.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Organized.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Amateurs.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

It's not I am undiagnosed ADHD.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

And I am diagnosed.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

And so it's just, you know, just come with us on this journey.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

You don't come here for organizing.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

I also want to individually thank um all of you for not writing any complaining that that happened.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Thank you. We appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

If you're here and you're still listening to us, you know that this is just a hot mess.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

So I have a thank. Uh a thank. Well, that's a thank. A thank. Okay. Let's call it that. What is your what is your thing? My thank for today. Um, so shout out to our best friend Zoe. Because Zoe bought one of our shirts and she sent me a picture, and we love you so much.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

And it looks amazing. It looks so good. Yes. Um, if you too would like to receive a thank, go ahead and purchase our merch.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Aunt Susan and Jacqueline love you. Uncle Susan, Uncle Susan. Have you heard this?

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Oh, I've heard, but now you have to tell the joke.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

I have to tell the story. So um, I could be making this. I'm not making this real story. So Zoe uh messaged uh Dan and I. Uh and she has a picture book of um like family members and friends that she will um go through with her daughter Sloan. Yes. And she so Zoe is like, uh Sloan, who's this? And she'll be like, that's Uncle Dan, and this is Uncle Susan, referring to me. No child can get my name right.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Steven is not, I mean, listen, I'm also not a small baby.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

So maybe it is tough to say. Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

But that is adorable, and I think I should probably call you Uncle Susan.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Uncle Susan. So now, yeah. Uh we're I'm referred to as Uncle Susan. Dan will even talk to the girls he goes to the gym with, and they now refer to me as Susan. How's Susan? How Susan. So I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

I love it. Zoe, you're the best. We love you. We love you. Thank you so much for your support and for having the best daughter ever.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Honestly, she's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Um, I have a thank. Can I have a thank? Can I give a thank? Give you a thank. I would like to thank you for this beautiful, handmade, wonderful. Um, what are we calling this? Like a shawl. A shawl. A beautiful Stevie Nix-inspired shawl. Yes, and it's incredible, and it is my colors, i.e., gray and black.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Gray and black.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Um and it's stunning. And Steven made this. Steven made this. He crocheted it and it's snugly and beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Now it is what, end of March.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

And it was meant to be a Christmas gift for Jacqueline. Uh, and it took me, I it didn't take me long to do. I just kept putting, like, taking breaks, getting distracted. Um it's amazing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Like it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

It's great. Uh, and now that we're almost at like springtime when it's not gonna be cold, you're not gonna need it.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

It's great for down here.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

That's true. It is cold down here.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

I'm I'm really loving it. So thank. Thank you. Um, I guess we should probably get into the although we love this. We love the banter. All right. So today, let's get into it, shall we?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

So today we are opening up the chapter on Victorian era insane asylum.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Honestly, my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

There's just something about that. I know. Maybe your past life you're in one.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Um, of course, we know that kind of vernacular is not used.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Um, because obviously. Um, but it was the phrase back in the day. It was the phrase. It would like these were actively named such a thing. Um so we're just gonna run with it. So like we don't mean any offense.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Um do we know what the uh they're not really a thing anymore, are they? So like what would be the term now?

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Um, I mean like medical facilities.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Medical facilities.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Probably, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Because the one I don't uh again. Uh-oh. I I don't know if it's this one that we're talking about, because like you guys know I don't read ahead a lot. But there the sanatorium.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

The sanatorium.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Which was in Hamilton as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Right. Also an ancient term. An ancient term.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Uh opposed to such a cool word. It really is. It also lends back in the day.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, true. Um, did we also like have no respect for anyone? I mean sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

I mean, yeah. And you and I both would have been in one back then.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Oh we'll get into it.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

You for being a woman.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Oh, a thousand percent. Like I we will get into it.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

We will get into that.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Um, but yeah, so so sorry, so sorry, but also we're just gonna we're gonna use it. Insane asylum. Insane asylum. We gotta. Right, right. So over you CB.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

That's me. I don't know if you guys knew this. Yeah. We have local locations as well as infamous locations in different countries. Yes. Uh, not only known for their creepy tales, but for the truly horrific things that living human beings did to other human beings. Which I mean, tail is old as time there, right? Uh, in what can only be described as a heinous attack on victims who truly just needed compassion and help. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Like, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of people who unfortunately were, you know, unable to help themselves or experiencing all sorts of problems. But really, there were a lot of people who just like needed a help. Yeah. Needed a hand.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

They were just like depressed.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Yeah. Yeah. So while this topic will be sprinkled throughout a couple of different episodes, let's kick things off with a building that both of us have been to. I think. Am I wrong in that? I honestly don't think I've actually been to the okay that I have been to. Um, and is essentially right in our own backyards, or at least was before we both moved.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

Um, Century Manor and the rest of the Hamilton and Scene Asylum. This was actually one of six locations across the province like its kind. And if I may interject for just a second, the other another one, a second of the six, is now in a town where I live, or I shouldn't say I am now in the town where it is, in Aurelia.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

There's one there.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Yeah, the HRC, which I will we were gonna, we're gonna dive into that.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

It's wild. It's wild. Terrible things happen there. Oh yeah anyways.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Oh yeah. Uh the sprawling grounds, according to some reports, originally were on about 500 acres. They included a massive brooding structure that was perched on the Hamilton Mountain at West 5th and Fennel East. Yes. Essentially bordering where Mohawk College is now, if you peeps know where that is.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Yeah. So it like was overlooking down from the mountain. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

It's on the escarpment.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Exactly. Um, I also think it's so funny when I'm like talking to people who are not from Hamilton, they're like, there's a mountain in Hamilton.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

I'm like, well, I mean, yeah. Technically, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

And ironically, so we spent the last month talking about Ireland. And so my friend John O came over and he I was like, oh, we can go up the mountain. He's like, You have a mountain? I'm like, oh, nothing like, no, wait.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Yeah, now we're picturing.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Nothing like what mountains you've seen.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

My dad and stepmom live on the mountain.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Same with my mom and stepdad. Yeah. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

Yours are further back, though. Like mine are on the escarpment. Like they're right at the Jolly Cut.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

I want to see. I want to come over. Guys.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yeah. I love that place.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

That's so fun. Um, so okay, on St. Patrick's Day in 1876, which means at the time of this recording, it has since just celebrated its sesqui centennial. It officially opened its doors and became the Hamilton Asylum.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Um You are familiar with that word, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

I am very familiar with Sesqui Centennial because I was around for Greensville Public School's Sesqui Centennial, made a big deal out of it. They made us spell it. We had to say it. They did a song. There's a photo, which I still have, of all of us who were there in the school spelling out like 150 of people. You know when you had to like stand, you like make a picture of a number and it's just the bodies. Yeah. That sounded really morbid. But you know what I mean? We're all alive in it.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

Maybe. Um sesqui centennial.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Sesqui Centennial.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

So fun fact, maybe fun? I don't know. You'd be like, mmm, interesting, I wonder why. Kind of fact. Um the building, the facility itself actually went by many names after its first stint from 1876 to 1907.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

It was the same building. It just had different names. Same things inside.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Everything about it say the same with the exception of the names. So 1907, it changed from the Hamilton Asylum to the Hamilton Hospital for the Insane. Okay. Not really much of an improvement. Like why?

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

1919, the Ontario Hospital. Hamilton.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

1966, the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

And is that where it stayed? That was the name for a while.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I mean, like, yeah. Yeah. But I think people just always called it the Insane Asylum.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

The Insane Asylum.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Uh so under Dr. R. M. Buke. I think it's Buck. Buck. Uh, it was designed to house 240 individuals until the hallways started to fill and fill and fill. Lots of people in there. Lots of people. Uh, in 1877, just one year after opening, it planned to grow to 460 from the original 240.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

One year.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

One year. Uh, with two new wings being created. Uh, it had its own farm and it was largely self-sufficient. Love that. With livestock, fruits, and veggies being tended to and grown. Love that, actually.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Uh by 19.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

By 1914, this place was a literal city of the mad housing 1,300 souls from across 11 different counties.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Yeah. Uh between 1917 and 1921, they even started importing the criminally insane from Guelph. I mean, hey. Which we'd been we would have been to that prison. That would have been that prison.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

I just made that connection now.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

We'll talk about okay, okay. We've been there. We have been there. There is a video. That's kind that video kind of kicked all this off, if I'm being honest.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

You know what? It did. Do we have that saved somewhere? Um there were Instagram stories.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

We must. We must. So should we just dive into it right now, really quickly?

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Why not?

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Okay, so what's the actual building call?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Guelph Prison? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Perfect. It's shut down. Yeah. But this this criminally insane from Guelph kind of tidbit. Um, yeah, we've been to that building and we went there first of all at night, and we were like, let's take a video. We took a video, we did Instagram, yeah, live Instagram stories.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

Um scared of our own shadow, which we talked about.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Yeah, didn't make it far. Yeah. We have to like walk up this really long driveway.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

It's a creepy.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Really, really scary. And then it kind of dawned on us like there's one portion that's over a bridge that's well before the actual facility. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

You can't even see it, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

You can't even see it. And there are no lights, okay? It's not like everything, this is a safe lit, you know, public come over here kind of moment. It was like we shouldn't be there.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

Yeah. At night. It's honestly not that we were afraid of ghosts at that point. No. Because we clicked and we're like uh humans.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

There could be people homeless people living under the bridge. Unhoused, unhoused individuals living under the bridge who might be not of sound mind who potentially want to cause harm. Yeah. So that scared us more than anything.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Um, and there was one moment where a light from behind us cast our shadows onto a tree.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

And we lost our minds. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Um, so ghost hunters we are, but also scaredy cats more so.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

A thousand percent.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

So that was really fun. Good times. Um, hopefully we're gonna try and find that footage. Yeah. We'll try.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

We have to. Yeah. Also, going back in in the spring and summer, that whole thing is lined with lilac bushes.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Well, we did that. Remember the next day? We did. Yes. And we took beautiful photoshops. And then we reenacted um Aladdin's give us the lamp.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Oh my god, yes. We did. We have fun.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

If you ever wonder what it's like to hang out with us. And then we did, we took more videos because I brought in the daylight, in the safety of daytime. Yeah. I did bring my voice recorder and we like went up to the building and tried to like see if we could get in. We couldn't, but also security is on you.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

On you at this place. Anyway. Back to the that kicked all of this off. Kicked it all off. Because everyone's like, you should be doing this all the time. Yeah. So there you go. Yeah. Sorry, Steven. Back to you.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Love it. Uh so this incredibly creepy place treated quote unquote individuals who were considered severely mentally ill, forensic psychiatry patients, and also those who suffered from severe alcoholism.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

So, really, broad spectrum of people.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Very much so. Again, lots of suffering. Lots of suffering. And like the times weren't exactly friendly.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

No.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

So a lot of the locals, the Hammertown locals know that the building that is still standing is known as Century Manor. And it is a chillingly beautiful example of high Victorian Gothic architecture.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Again, they don't make them like they used to.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

They truthfully don't. Um, it remains one of the most talked-about haunted sites in Ontario. Um, it is the last standing structure of this sprawling Hamilton Asylum for the insane as well, the Barton Building, she gone.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

This is actually one of Hamilton's oldest buildings, which is why it's still standing, um, meaning they can't tear it down.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Or can they? We'll get there. Uh, which was constructed in 1884 and was originally known as the East House. Why you might ask? Why? Because it was east of the Barton building.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

So it served as a secure facility for the criminally insane. It was meant to be imposing, featured red brick, steep gables, and narrow windows, elements that have contributed to its eerie reputation today.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

I'd live there.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Same.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Right? Uh love it. Uh, the history of the criminally insane at Century Manor is particularly interesting because the building's purpose shifted so many times. Uh, it wasn't just a prison or just a hospital, it was a forensic catch-all for people society didn't know how to handle.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Right. And so here's something that I spent days being angry about.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

I can see that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

In the late teent. Okay. Just just say it, Jacqueline. Breathing through it. Breathe soothing words. In the late 19th century, women could be committed for what they called female trouble. Yeah. A catch-all term that included anything from postpartum depression to simply being unruly or having menstrual disorders.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Literally just being a woman. For having your period.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

I can't Stephen. I I oof. I had to walk away when I wrote that.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

Can I say something? Yes, you sure can. I fucking hate men.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yes, men suck.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

I mean, I have nails now, so I can do this.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Um, yeah, I I I was furious when I read that.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

I am getting furious.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

I hate it.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

But that's what happened. So we'll never know. If I may, for one quick moment.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Let I'm having it.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

We will never know what sort of excellent great minds those women, or what contributions to society at the time they could have made.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Because of that.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah. Think of what the world would be like now if anyway. To a to an extent. To an extent, do you know? To an extent. To an extent.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

But like, oh come on.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

I'm having menstrual pain. I'm in I'm in, you know, I'm in an insane asylum, really?

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Send her to the to the God Crack House?

SPEAKER_01 22:07

What am I trying to say?

SPEAKER_00 22:09

What's the what's the what's the term they would say? Send them to the Looney Band. And I thought crackhouse.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Yikes.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

Yikes.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

I hope we don't lose followers. They actually used to say when so while I was researching this, um send them to the looney bin was often what they said. But um because oh, I'm screwing it up, but there was a term that because of where it was situated, it'd be like, careful, you'll be sent up the hill.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Because it was above the city of Hamilton.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

And if it you would be threatened with that, like, don't want to be sent up the hill.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

While the main Barton building handled general admissions, the Century Manor became the primary hub for fire uh forensic psychiatry. Yes. Until 1921, Sentry Manor was the specific designated area for the safekeeping of criminally insane patients. This included individuals who had committed violent crimes, murders, serial killers, and rapists.

unknown 23:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

But they were found not not guilty by reasons of insanity. Right. Scary stuff. Scary stuff. And the fact that these people are in with a woman having her period.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Yes, Steven. I mean, I hope they were separate.

SPEAKER_00 23:22

I hope so.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Um, so let's talk about the forensic programs. Yes. From 1972 to 1992, so like modern day. Um I mean, yeah. Yeah. In its later years, it returned to its dark roots, housing the official forensic program. So this was a high security era where patients were often under constant surveillance, a sharp contrast to the open farm philosophy of the 1800s. So like there was no wandering around, right? There was no helping out. Um, without being able to access books within any Hamilton-based library or museums, I was limited in what I could find on a factual level about what this program entailed. Okay. Uh, although, you know, I'm sure we can all imagine what likely happened here given the time, the severe lack of knowledge and understanding of mental health issues, and just, you know, the general sort of sense of that's not great. Yeah. People were not treated well. Yeah. Um, one thing I did find was the Utica crib. Utica? Utica? Utica? Utica. Um The Hamilton Museum of Mental Health Care actually holds one of the few remaining Utica cribs.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

This is a coffin-like wooden cage used to restrain patients. While the first superintendent, Dr. Bach, was known for being more humane and non-resistant, the presence of the device shows the constant looming threat of physical confinement. It's creepy looking. Look it up if you get a chance. It is not nice.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Not nice. No. The stuff they had.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Uh oh, let's talk about the underground labyrinth. While many urban legends suggest the tunnels were for hiding patients, their primary purpose was actually pragmatic. Moving coal, laundry, and food between buildings during brutal Canadian winters. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Could have used that this year.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Maybe we need underground labyrinths on our condoms. Instead of brilliant. Done. Um however, the atmosphere down there has birthed decades of stories. I mean, as a visitors have reported hearing anguished cries that echo through the buildings while exploring the grounds at night, as well as dark shadows moving throughout the vacant rooms, or even orbs of light being caught on camera or seen with their own eyes. Not surprisingly, people often describe the atmosphere there as an overwhelming sense of sadness, dread, hopelessness, or the feeling of being watched. Makes sense. Oh. A lot of negative energy would be there. Man. Residual residual energy. So what are some other stories that come from this listless place?

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Tell me some, Steve.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

Listless with this little list. Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Tough to say with an invisal line.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

She just likes to fuck with me. She gives me all the all the words.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

All the super hard Irish words.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

All did I have to say sesquintennial? You actually. I didn't, it wasn't that bad, actually.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

I just nailed it.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

So we have the Arnie connect for us. Yes. The Arnie connection.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Local lore, especially among Mohawk college students, claims the tunnels once connected to the basement of the Arnie, which is the campus pub. Right. Students have reported hearing muffled yells coming from behind specific walls in the basement that supposedly sit right against sealed tunnel entrances.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

That's creepy. I mean, listen, have you been to the Arnie? Did you ever go to the Arnie? I have been a couple times. And while scary things happened there, I can imagine. This because this was this was um 2008 to 9 to 10.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Um, I didn't hear any of that. I wish. I wish I had seen some haunted stuff. Instead, I saw like very inappropriate Halloween costumes and fat boys that were just, you know, that was scary.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

That was the era.

unknown 27:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

All right. Let's talk about phantom nurses. Ooh. All right. So one of the most famous tunnel stories that I heard, and is definitely the most prevalent when trying to find more stories in my research, involves a security guard who years ago heard voices behind a heavy door in the maintenance tunnels themselves. Thinking he'd caught intruders, he burst into a room only to find two women in crisp vintage nursing uniforms.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Very silent hill.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Very silent hill. Um they were just sitting at a table. Allegedly, one says to the other, C, I told you he would find us. That's creepy. That's creepy. The next thing he knew, they were gone and the room was completely empty. So like in front of his eyes, just vanished. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Also the fact that they were aware of him.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Right. And like, see told you he'd find us. So like were you messing with him? Yeah. Also love that they were in like crisp white linen uniform. Or I shouldn't say linen, but um, the crisp white vintage nursing uniform.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

That's cool. Very cool.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

I would like to see that a lot.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

I would too. Uh so we have the oh, the cackle of the vent. It was it was her. She's good at cackling.

SPEAKER_03 28:41

I almost let one out now. I almost cackle now.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

Uh so there are modern reports from urban explorers who have entered the structure and heard a distinct feminine cackle coming from the floor vents. Fent vents that connect directly to the tunnel system below. Imagine hearing that.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

I mean, again, I hear it every day of my life.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

From your floor vents. Poor Kyle. Poor Kyle. You're cackling in the basement.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

He's like, who's that? It's so true. Are we are we in the tunnels?

SPEAKER_00 29:15

Uh we also have the towel apparition.

SPEAKER_03 29:18

Sounds kind of sexy, right? What are you? Don't forget your towel. Vocal Sims.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Always. We say that one all the time. Uh there are modern accounts of a figure seen near the manor wearing clean gray clothing and a white towel over his head to hide his face.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Not sexy. Michael Jackson.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

Maybe. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

Unlike typical disheveled ghost tropes, witnesses describe this figure as looking unsettlingly pristine, but very angry. Unsettlingly pristine in gray clothing. I'm picturing sweats, but maybe not.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

No, I think I I think it's like the Michael Myers like gray suit. You know what I mean? Like he's an inmate situation. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

With a towel over his unsettlingly pristine but very angry is me.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

There you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:19

Also not at all. Um, but yeah, that's kind of with a towel over his head. With a towel over his head. Yeah. Creep show. Yeah. I okay. Would you rather see that or the nurses?

SPEAKER_00 30:33

I don't know. Because I think the nurses, I would just go full, like think of Silent Hill.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

Yeah. And that's creepy as fun. So you want to see the guy with a towel over his head and a pristine button.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Because we don't know why he has a towel over his head. Sure. Maybe he just had a weird little shower orgy or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

I was gonna say bad skin. Bad skin. That too. Or potentially a shower orgy. You know? But like, wouldn't he be proud?

SPEAKER_00 30:58

That is uh indicator of our minds right there.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

It's sad but true. Who is the most exciting person of this duo? Not me.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Is it me? Totally. Am I the drama?

SPEAKER_01 31:12

Not drama, you're just exciting and haunting me sexy. Um all right, and now we have to talk about something terrible.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

Oh, great.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

So terrible segue. So the tragedy of 1911.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

So a massive fire broke out in one of the wings of the main complex in 1911. Unfortunately, eight inmates died because they were locked in their rooms and could not be reached in time. The screams were heard as far away as the downtown core. That's far. That's all the way down the mountain.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Mohawk College, basically. Yes. Oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Cementing the mountain. I don't know why I did that. Cementing the mountain as a place of tragedy in the minds of Hamiltonians. Yeah. Awful. There's actually a newspaper article about this. Actually, a few, really. Um, not only from the Hamilton Spectator, but also New York, the New York Times, and even a paper in Colorado covered it. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

So that's big. Yeah. Also thinking about it, 1911. Yes. I feel I this is me not really knowing a whole lot, but it probably would have been quieter because there wouldn't have been like the crazy modern day.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Definitely a lot more quiet. Yes. I mean, factories are still going, but for sure, not as much hustle and bustle.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

Would 1911 would is it DeFasco that's down there?

SPEAKER_01 32:29

I so for sure a steel company was running. Because that's what Hamilton's known for. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

So that would have started it.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

I'm I'm sure of it.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I did not double check, but.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

Fair. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

So um, speaking of the papers that covered it.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:43

Go ahead, Steven.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

I'll just read the headline and sub-headlines of the New York Times article. This is wild. Strap. Wild. Strap in. Uh so here we go. Eight maniacs die in blazing asylum. Building on Hilltop outside Hamilton, Ontario catches fire as its 800 inmates slept. Some leap into flames. Firemen struggle with frenzied men who are all who are only saved by being knocked senseless.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

I mean, I read this article and it went on to say that some of the men actually ran back into the burning building because they were like not of sound mind. I mean, yeah. And the firefighters had to like fight their way through the fires to find them. Um it said that every time someone was found, they would in fact punch them out and carry them out because they were just like, I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

I mean, it's also these people's homes that they've only ever known. Yeah. You know what I mean? So they would throw their unconscious bodies out of a window to a waiting fire net below. Remember, we used to see that in cartoons.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Wow, I have aged myself there. Um, so unfortunately, those who perished were either patients who were in fact locked in cells, as we mentioned, paralyzed and couldn't get away, or were in fact some of those who ran back into the building while suffering from their mental health illness. Isn't that awful?

SPEAKER_00 34:06

That's awful.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

I can't even, I don't even want to picture that.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Yeah, sad.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Uh so here's something else terrible.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Great.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

Great, let's just keep it going. Yep. Uh so in the late 1800s, the asylum was one of the only manicured green spaces in Hamilton.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

Gotta have a manicured green space.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

It's true. Uh wealthy families would pack baskets, sit on the lawn of the semi uh century manor, and watch the patients work in the fields. That's horrible. Yeah, that's horrible. Rich people.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Rich people.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

Burn the rich. I'm telling you. Uh they would sometimes taunt them or throw objects to get a reaction, treating a mental health crisis as a Sunday afternoon zoo visit. Horrible. It's a haunting reminder of how potentially posh Victorian society could be while being simultaneously cruel.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Yeah. Like here are these elevated individuals. They think that right. And then they're like, let's go watch the civilians. I don't know why they have an accent all of a sudden. Because they're posh. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. Terrible. Like that actually happened. That was in almost every article I read about this. Is it was like, you want to hear something? Yeah. People would go and watch them. And also, how are you allowed to interact with people like that? Yeah. Like what?

SPEAKER_00 35:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

This is, I mean, it's the common theme now, too. Rich people fucking suck and they need to be taught a lesson.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

I'm telling you. So, what's happening with the building now? Um, after the closure in 1995, which again, wild that it was not that long ago, it's that empty. It does hold a heritage designation. Um, but for a long time, the future of this landmark building was bleak. It's absolutely in disrepair. Um, as you can see from any YouTube video that documents Urban Explorers tours, um, there are a lot of them. There are a lot of people who know how to break into this, and there are a lot of people who don't know how to break into it. Those videos are really funny. I need to watch them. Let's bring it. Um, I did find, I found an August 2025 article from the Hamilton Spectator. Woo! Woo! That says a company called Indwell, which is a not-for-profit that builds incredibly affordable housing, um, has purchased it. Oh. So they plan to restore the building and make it an apartment building of about 40 or so units. Okay. Um, it also says this project has a few different partners on board. I hope they're all nice and good and have good intentions. Yeah. Uh, it goes on to say that they want to build a nursing home, seniors housing, and another Mohawk College expansion within that area.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Okay. I support those.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

I do too. Yeah. Apparently, cleanup was supposed to start at the end of 2025, and perhaps renovations might begin this spring.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Okay. I guess we'll see. There we go.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

Add it to the list of places we need to go by and see.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

A hundred percent. Um, and so we talked about this.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

There is a doors open Hamilton. Yes. Yeah. Doors open Hamilton is coming soon. It's going to be the first weekend of May. We're going to try and be.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

We're going to try to be. I wanna go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wanna go.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

It is a registration uh list. I every time I try and get on it, it crashes and tells me that I can't do anything. Um, but we're trying.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Well, if it did a doors open and uh you could go into the prison we talked about in Guao.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

That would have been so cool. We should check if they're doing one too.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

We should.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

I the last time I did a doors open Hamilton was I think like 10 years ago. I've never done one. It's so awesome. I love it. And we went to the Tregano seed building.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

That's cool. Yeah, it was really neat.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

It was like it's completely different now, obviously. Um they made it into like offices and like an event space and stuff. Cool. Um, but I was walking by and there was like one of the OG Tregano seeds signs, and I'm like, that's my family. And someone's like, oh, you all missed? And I'm like, yep. Just fully yes, yep. I had to buy tickets to get in here, but yeah.

unknown 38:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Um, so that that was cool. That's cool. Yeah. Um, so I won't divulge who, but I know someone, we knew someone who maybe worked um in close proximity to this particular building that we're talking about. And perhaps one long and long and long ago, um, maybe like let us peep inside it a little bit. Not like major because we didn't want to get anyone in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

But um, I may have been there and may have seen inside and may have hung out on the grounds more than a few times back in the day. So thank you to that person.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Can we talk about how far in you got?

SPEAKER_01 38:53

Uh yeah. So my recollect. So first of all, this person was um like I'm a rule follower. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

No. You shocked and uh you narc over here.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

I know, right? So I was very like, we don't have to do this, we don't have to do this. So like I mixed with their, I won't even out, you know. Anyways, their reaction of like not being super comfy about it either, yeah, was just like, no problem, it's cool. Like I I peeked inside and that was it.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

I can I can guarantee you, if I was there, I would have been like, no, we have to go in. I would have gone. I would have been I would have been whining about it. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:33

You would have bullied us into being like, nope, let's all go to jail. We're here, let's do this. But now, like it's way this was also it was more than 10 years ago. God, what am I saying? It was like 15 to 17 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

Um, that this happened. And yeah, I just have a very vivid memory of like the two of us panicking while my boyfriend at the time was like, You're pathetic. Like this is a non-issue. So um, thanks so much. It was cool to at least be there. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:07

But now maybe we can get in for like legitimate reasons and see it at Doors Open Hamilton.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

That'd be so cool. Yeah. I want to do it. Yeah. Would you ever? I mean, I feel like you just answered it, but would you ever do like a a little urban exploration at a place where not really supposed to go?

SPEAKER_01 40:23

Um, I'd be way too scared of getting caught.

SPEAKER_00 40:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

I think I'd be way, way because like I'm not like quick or agile or, you know, people, a lot of people could just like talk their way out of things with cops. I can't, I freeze.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

I I wouldn't be able to talk my way.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

No. So if anyone were like, what are you doing? I'd be like, I'm sorry, let's go. Like, cuff me down.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

You wouldn't run though? You wouldn't try to run. I would be sorry.

SPEAKER_01 40:46

I would I would be paralyzed with fear and be like, I'm really sorry, I'm over here. Like, for sure. I know.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

Remind me not to go with you.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

No, I I do think I would run. Yeah, I would run, but I would like if the if if they were within like this close, I'd I just give up. I'd like to see you later. Um, but yeah, we can put that to the test.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

We can I want to try it. We'll we'll do we'll like ease into it and do a place that's like not really illegal to go to.

SPEAKER_01 41:14

So I have done it. We used so in Flamborough, um, we lived in a super rural spot where there were like heritage homes all around us. Okay, yes. And the I mean, they're all gone. Isn't that such a shame?

SPEAKER_00 41:29

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

One is still standing, but it's abandoned now. Um, the quarry is just decimating that whole entire road, which is very, very sad. Yeah. Anyway, so there was one um in the house that I grew up on in uh in Flamborough, my bedroom was like the back corner and it overlooked the cornfield and it was like kitty corner to this specific house. And I was obsessed with this house. I was drawn to this house. I don't know why. People were living there when we lived there. Like it was um apartments or something, and super creepily, like there was this guy. Never I had never seen his face. I just knew him as truck guy, and his license plate was Waxman.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

So if you lived in Flamborough on Moxley and your last name was Waxman and you drove a black truck, get in touch with me. Because I thought, like, I for whatever reason, you know you like makeup stories in your head. Yeah. Yeah. I just like put this guy as like someone dangerous or scary in my head. No reason.

SPEAKER_00 42:23

No reason.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Zero reason. Just drove a dark truck, never saw his face, only like it was tinted windows.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

I mean, that's creepy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

And I'm like 13, 14, 15 years old. And I remember one day, so when we were at Spencer Valley, which was like a stone's throw from where I that house was, um, it was a really bad snowstorm. I don't know how we got away with this. Um, different times. The school sent us all home. And my bus was like, I'm not coming. Like our bus driver was like, We're not coming. Okay. So certain people just like jumped on other buses or went to friends' places or like waited for the parents. I'm like, I'm just gonna walk home across Highway Fair to Moxley. Um, and my my then best friend joined me and we're in like snow drifts. It's bad. We are not equipped because much like the middle schoolers of today, we didn't believe in coats or boots or bits. So we're like in our, you know, jeans and little jackets, um, snow drifts up to our knees, and we get to my street, wouldn't you know? Truck guy drives by. And I was like, oh my god, it's a truck guy. And my friend was like, Oh my god, because like clearly she was in on it with me. And he drove past us, stopped, reversed, stopped, rolls down the window. And I remember being like, Don't look at him. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_00 43:42

I just like you still didn't look at him?

SPEAKER_01 43:44

I built up this lore of him being terrifying. Yeah. I I eventually did. Like he was like, hey, hey, hey, and I'm like, hi. He's like, hey, you girls okay? And I'm like, yeah, we're totally fine. Meanwhile, the wind is like, like, we are not fine.

SPEAKER_00 43:59

Were you close to

SPEAKER_01 44:00

Home though? About two kilometers away. Okay. So we had made it that far, but we were freezing. Yeah. Like our faces were beet red. Yeah. We were not okay. And he was like, why don't I remember him so clearly like moving stuff from the passenger seat and was like, Why why don't you just both get in? Like you live on my street, right? And I'm like, Why do you, a grown ass man, know a 14-year-old girl where I live? Again, I'm being wild. Wild. Yeah, neighbors know. Neighbors, of course. Neighbors know. But in my head, I build up this bar. And so I was, I we fully were like, no, thank you, no, thank you. And he's like, Well, I have a hat. Take a hat. Gives me his hat. So he's a sweetheart. Nicest man.

SPEAKER_00 44:40

Yeah. But you're not nicest man.

SPEAKER_01 44:43

I just, for some no other reason than nicest man ever. I still, I think I literally, until I moved up here, I had that hat. I kept that hat. So funny. Never got his hat back. Wow, what a tangent. Sorry, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

That's I had I'm here for it. That's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Anyways, all that to say, when they eventually moved out of that house, I went in it. My brother and I went in.

SPEAKER_00 45:06

Okay. I was like, wait, what does this have to do with urban exploration? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Undiagnosed ADHD. But yeah, my brother and I totally explored that.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

It was fucking cool. I don't was it there when I would have visited? I don't remember seeing honestly many houses along that street.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

So um it was hidden by a they had a massive orchard. It was just the coolest fucking property ever. It was way, way, way back. It had a ton of willow trees, a ton of oak trees, and a ton of um apple trees, like an orchard all in the front. So you wouldn't have been able to really see it unless you were like really looking.

SPEAKER_02 45:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 45:44

I am confident that you did see it, and you probably asked, can we go? And they had installed security cameras, tripwire, like all the shit.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

Tripwire.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

Yeah, whatever. That's a lot. But like legit alarms go off because we kept breaking in. I think look at you, you rebel. I know. I don't want out anyone, but I think my brother like took stuff from the house. I'm pretty sure. Matt, did you take stuff from the house?

SPEAKER_00 46:06

He might have did people just like leave and leave all their stuff there? So the like what stuff could have been taken?

SPEAKER_01 46:11

Yeah, so the quarry like bought it. So these people were like renting it and there was like several roommates. So there was like that we're still living in there. No, no, not anymore.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

There was like old farm furniture that they just bought.

SPEAKER_00 46:22

Okay. Yeah, yeah. Cool.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

It was really cool. It was really cool.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

I feel like it's so hard to do shit like that now. Oh. Or I'm just an adult and I don't really know.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

No, it's hard because like you're you have your security camera. Yeah. We at least, if an alarm went off, we had enough time to get the hell out of there. Yes. As soon as you step foot in anything today, it goes on your phone and they can see you and take photos and be like, got you, sucker.

SPEAKER_00 46:46

It's true.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Right?

SPEAKER_00 46:47

So we really grew up in the best time. Oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

The best ever.

SPEAKER_00 46:52

And I did not utilize my youth to the best possible way I could have. Oh man, I think I'm I was a shy introverted kid.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Not me, man. I digress. I talked a lot, so I'm gonna save all remaining stories. All right. Well, anything else to add about Century Manor or Barton building?

SPEAKER_00 47:13

I can't wait to go.

SPEAKER_01 47:14

Can't wait to go. We're gonna go. If we can't get in, we're at least still gonna go.

SPEAKER_00 47:17

Yes, 100%. Yeah. Uh what did you say? It was the May 2nd weekend.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Is the open second and third.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

Actually, no one listened to that because we want tickets.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

So don't buy up tickets. Don't buy tickets because it'll be boring.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

But how cool would that be if a bunch of people did and we all met up and back would be like a Weird as a Whimsy meetup. Guys, let's do it. Buy some tickets, but buy some extra so we make sure we're there.

SPEAKER_01 47:40

Yeah. Please also, if you get a ticket and you're not super serious about it, just give it to us. Just give it to us. I would love that. All right. Well, I think we'll just wrap this little baby up. Yeah. So thank you so much for listening to Weird as a Whimsy. We will be back again soon with another episode that guides you through the weird and whimsical journey that is our brains. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube and TikTok. TikTok. TikTok. TikTok. Wow. Cheerio. And TikTok at Weirdos of Whimsy Pod. Watch that space for updates and release dates and other treats and delectable morsels. Say goodbye, Stevie. Goodbye, everybody. Ooh. And as always, big gulps, eh?

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Well, see you later.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

Show it to me, Rachel.

SPEAKER_03 48:35

Is it on TikTok? Is it on the tic tap one?