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31 Days of Spook – Martha Washington Boarding School

Hello friends.  Are you spooked yet?  Well today I continue with my guest submission by Angie Deptula.  Wasn’t her submission earlier today just chilling?  Well, your in for a extra treat with her final submission.  Happy reading my spooks.

There once was a boarding school for delinquent girls, named Martha Washington Institute or Martha Washington School for Girls. It was located at Brighton Beach on Lake Washington in Seattle. It functioned from 1900-1971, and at one point became known as “Martha Washington School for the Insane Girls.” Prior to this, Judge Smith had owned the house. Smith built the home with a nursery and a boathouse, with a hollow stairway to a madrone tree on the property, a location that plays a role in today’s hauntings. Rumors of violence, murder and suicide are associated with the school while it was opened.  It is thought that a janitor of the school had raped and killed a girl by hanging her on the tree. Whether this hanging was done on the madrone tree or not, I’m not aware of that.

In 1971, after the school closed, a satanic group utilized the building for rituals and sacrificed animals on the property. Because this is within a residential location, the general community became uneasy with the building so the city council decided to have the building demolished and turned into a park. Today, without knowing the history of the location, one would think nothing of it.

The park is a popular spot for people to walk their dogs at, or relax and picnic on a nice sunny day. However when nighttime comes, the empty park has an ominous atmosphere. Paranormal activities occur frequently. The old madrone tree is still present and is thought to have ghostly energies attached to it. And the area where the stairway Judge Smith once built is still there and is thought to be a portal. Visitors often feel a presence or become uneasy in that area like they’re being watched. Disembodied footsteps and screaming have also been reported in the park. Teenagers who visit in odd numbers have had a spirit follow them home. A mom who was once visiting the park one evening took a picture of her son and noticed behind him an apparition of a girl looking right at her. Sightings of a girl have been reported multiple times by different sources as well.

One in particular is from a good friend of mine, Pam. One day Pam and her two friends visited the park early in the morning. The girls walked around the empty park. Pam was walking with one of her friend, while the other was off somewhere else. Pam caught movement from her peripheral and turned, noticing a female apparition of a girl in a white nightgown walking, coming up side-by- side to her and her friend. She choked up, froze, the blood rushed out of her face as she realized this girl was translucent. Pam’s friend quickly realized why: Her friend acknowledged the ghostly girl too. They ran and called for their other friend, hurrying to the car. Inside the car, the new car would not start. The girls panicked, feeling ice cold, squealing and squirming in their seats. After a few minutes, the car finally started and they sped away. Pam and the girls have never returned since.

I have been to the park too, with friends, but have never experienced anything like that. I never explored the park long enough, probably because I was too chicken from all the spooky stories I’ve heard of. However, I did feel uneasy, overcome with chills as I felt like invisible eyes were on me the whole time. It’s indescribable, but the place really does feel ominous at night. I wonder if this girl in the white dress or nightgown is the same girl who was killed or murdered at the school, and if she’s the same apparition seen over and over by others? I can imagine there being other spirits on site as well if the place was once used as a satanic gathering. The mysteries of this place are left unknown, but the uneasiness it provokes onto visitors still remains.

 

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