A healing place in the woods....

This past Saturday we visited Nopeming Sanatorium, a place I have wanted to visit, explore, and investigate for years.  Now I am sure you are saying, in January?  In Duluth?  Yep, and it was cold.  Very.   By the time we left I could no longer feel my toes, and this was in new SOREL boots.  I thought they were the best?  Guess not, at least not any more.

I have been intrigued by this old tuberculosis hospital for a long time, and I intend to poke around in the historical records and research the property thoroughly; and most importantly?  I want to talk to people who worked and visited there.  Over the years I have had people tell me about their experiences there when it was functioning as a nursing home; their stories are amazing to say the least.  Along the way, I will be writing additional blog posts, as I discover what it is about Nopeming that has gotten under my skin.

Nopeming is situated in a beautiful spot on a hill, back in the woods.  Nopeming is the Ojibwa word, loosely meaning a place in the woods which is just what it is.  Honestly?  If I was to be admitted to a hospital due to a contagious incurable disease, this would be the place I would want to be.  Serene, peaceful, beautiful.  Some people who came here were lucky enough to leave; but many more suffered terribly from this debilitating and painful long disease before their death.

Our foray into Nopeming began late Saturday morning and continued until late afternoon.  This property is enormous, and it seemed that every time we opened a door another hallway appeared.  It was easy to lose your way in this rambling old hospital; I can only imagine what it was like filled to the brim with sick and dying patients.

There is lots of space, lots of rooms, and the grim feeling of death.  It remains there, trapped within the decaying walls of this stately and proud old hospital, but so too is the feeling of life.  After the cure for tuberculosis was found, Nopeming was converted into a nursing home.  Walking throughout the complex I could feel the elderly in the common areas, and one can almost hear their chatter and laughter, gathered together.  I think they probably had a good life there, on the hill.

Winter has not been good to Nopeming.  Ice covers many floors in several areas of the massive building; the roof leaks badly and many of the stairwells were slick with ice, making for a treacherous journey up and down between the floors.

I sensed spirits throughout the property; but there were several spots where there seemed to be more.  There were some areas where my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest it was beating so hard and so fast; in others, the sense of dread was almost touchable.  There is a lot of energy in this place, the spirits who are at home here are either trapped or want to remain in this peaceful place.

We had a phenomenal day of exploring.  We investigated a little, but in all honesty it turned into a preliminary investigation for a big overnight investigation that will happen in a few months, when the temperatures are just a little warmer than a balmy 25 degrees.

We are beginning to go through our video footage from the afternoon, and of course any evidence we may have captured will be shared here in my blog.  But for now?  Enjoy the photos, they tell quite a tale.  When we return to Nopeming in the coming months, I will once again ask the question:  "Why do you stay here where you suffered so much?" Maybe this time, in this place, I will get an answer.

SJA

 

 

 

 

#nopeming #supernatural #paranormal #ghosts