Ghost Asylum – Preston Castle – S03E07

Our next trip with the Ghost Asylum crew takes us to California and the former reform school of Preston Castle. The reform school was in operation for over 100 years and like so many facilities of the time lost many of it’s residents to tuberculosis and smallpox. However, since this was a reform school, we can certainly understand there were plenty of other problems such as the boys would be punished for not following the rules. And that punishment seemed pretty cruel since several of the boys tried to escape and one is said to have died in the attempt. You have to wonder though, who shoots a 12 year old boy in the back?

There is also the story of Jim, a teacher who was beaten over the head with a lead pipe by his students. We also have Anna, who was murdered by two teenage boys. The paranormal claims are the sound of boys laughing, a figure walking up the stairs and presence of Anna.

Now before we go too far, let’s deal with the history of this location. As before, these are “stories” as they each start with, “it is believed,” “the legend goes,” “it’s said”. Even Porter comes back with, “the legends says where Anna’s body was found.” I’m not saying these events or something similar didn’t take place, but yet again, there is nothing to prove these stories are real. We are so far removed from the actual events and nothing has been written down as fact, that we are going on assumptions. Further, a simple statement of, “it could have been that the boys were caught in a compromising position,” is almost immediately woven into a fact when Porter and the others are trying to communicate.

Maybe it’s being picky, but I have an issue with how these stories are being taken as facts and simple changes of wording completely change what’s going on. This is how rumors and legends get started and keep getting bigger and bigger with each telling. Considering it was an all male staff, it’s just as likely that “Anna” got pregnant by one of the teachers, was dealt with by throwing her down the stairs and the blame placed on some of the boys. It doesn’t necessarily change the outcome, but, it certainly changes who is guilty. It’s also this lack of detail that makes me suspicious of their methods and their other findings. Maybe there was no Anna. That, like so many of these others stories, could just be a rumor being spread around to make the place even more sinister. But then again, if there was no Anna, that makes all the “evidence” they captured a steaming pile of BS.

But anyway, as they start the investigation it should come as no surprise they hear words on the phonetic generator (which no one is sure how it works) such as “dragged,” and “race”. They set up shop next to what they call a delousing pit, which looks more like a pool, but giving it a sinister bend is much better for ratings. They hear things moving and even say a rock is thrown. Of course it’s much easier to throw things around in the dark.

In the upper part, we have the flashlight trick which comes on at a command. It then goes off as Chris counts down from three. In the dining room, we get the word, “head” and the claim of a shadow figure.

The reenactment for the night is someone getting flogged where they claim to capture the sound of laughter.

For Day 2, it’s time to break out the experiment, “Energy Feast”, which actually has some merit to it. If an entity does need energy to manifest and communicate, what type of energy would it be? They bring out Light, Heat, Kinetic and Electromagnetic. However, their method for calculating which is used seems dodgy.

The heat lamp temperature starts to go down as voices come through the device. Doogie feels he gets touched which is followed by words like, “Jim,” “help,” “Preston,” “Sam,” and even “devil”. To add to the excitement there is the sound of a scream. But there’s more, Brannon asks the entity to repeat his name, and it does.

As they tell the entities they’re packing up for the night the activity stops and the temperature of the heat lamp begins to go up again.

The team does capture a slew of voices that all relate to the names of people they were told about in the stories. Does this mean the stories are real and they have true evidence? Well, that’s for each person to decide – if you believe the stories in the first place.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Asylum – Castillo de San Marcos – S03E05
• Ghost Stalkers – Farrar School – S01E06
• Haunted Towns – Fall River MA – Lizzie Borden House – S01E07
• Ghost Adventures – Commanders House – S16E12
• Ghost Adventures – Idaho State Reform School – S17E01
• Haunted Towns – McDonough GA – S01E08
• Ghost Adventures – Heritage Junction – S09E06
• Haunted Towns – Savannah – S01E03
• Ghost Adventures – Bannack Ghost Town – S09E04
• Ghost Adventures – Sin City Exorcism – S15E15