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On April 12, 2003 I finally made it to the abandoned Lakin State Hospital/West Virginia Industrial Home for Colored Boys in Lakin, West Virginia. My friends Mark and John W. went with me.

With the help of Jeremy Lloyd's FANTASTIC directions we found the hospital/industrial school. Not only is it easy to find, but it's also easy to get into! We parked behind one of the farm buildings and walked right into the hospital/school.

The building is scary enough during the day, I can't imagine what it must be like at night...sometime I'll have to find out! :) Anyway, I had a really funny feeling while in the basement and while I was in the hallway leading to the side door on the first floor. I felt like I could get sick, I even had stomach/chest pains. I wasn't sick before or after visiting those two spots. Also, while we were in that hallway I just mentioned, all three of us heard a strange noise. It was very muted, but it sounded like sobbing or moaning (like the type of depressing moaning you'd hear at a nursing home). There was no one else at the hospital/industrial school while we were in that hallway, we looked everywhere and couldn't find anyone. Pretty weird.

Of course, I guess I'd have to say that the scariest thing that happened to me was in the basement. I was walking a yard or two in front of Mark and John. Even though we had our flashlights on it was still really dark. All of a sudden I heard Mark yell "What the hell is that!". I had no idea what he was talking about, and his little outburst made me jump about five feet in the air! Turns out he was just talking about one of those tank things attached to the ceiling. I personally think he was just getting revenge for me laughing at the snake incident we experienced while exploring the TNT Area.

The flash on my camera is really bright and it lit up the staircases and the basement. However, the stairs and basement were extremely dark, so I really didn't see the things in those pictures until I had them developed!

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