her photogenic smile, cozied up to Zach and made a point to brush
her hand on his forearm as she began speaking.
“Aw. Thanks, Zach.” Her tone was seductive.
“Our story begins in 1879, just fourteen years after the conclusion of the
Civil War and just seven years after the Great Chicago Fire. Industrialist
George M. Pullman purchased 4,000 acres of land in this area, and the first
American model industrial town was born. In 1889, Hyde Park Township, which
included Pullman, was annexed into the City of Chicago through popular
election. Now, the majority of Pullman residents voted against
annexation. One of the major issues of the time was the City’s desire to build
an asylum here. Chicago wanted to have a place far enough away from Downtown to
send ‘undesirables’ before the upcoming World’s Fair Columbian Exposition.”
“Move it along, Wendy,” Sara called out.
As sensitive as Wendy often was in real
life, on-camera, she was unflappable. Over the course of the first season, Sara
had worked with her to eliminate reading, in favor of an extemporaneous speech
which could be later edited. Wendy responded by quickly learning to spit out
historical facts in sound byte fashion.
“Rosewood Psychiatric opened in 1892.”
“Good!” Sara said.
“In 1893, the World's Fair, nicknamed ‘The
White City,’ took place. There was a nationwide depression. Blah, Blah Blah. In
1894, during the Pullman Strike, the White City burns—”
“Wendy!” Sara’s tone had taken on the sting
of a jockey’s whip on a racehorse’s backside.
“Sorry. That info was for Zach. Okay…” Wendy
smiled for the cameras as if she’d just been awarded an Emmy. She held up a
sepia-toned photograph of a two-story building. “In 1898, Rosewood’s female
quarters burned to the ground. More than a dozen women were incinerated in the
fire, and patients first began to report seeing a ghastly female spirit.”
Wendy held up a badly faded, black and white
photograph of a homely looking woman and a cute little girl. “It wasn’t until
1900 that people began lending credence to the ghost stories. A widow, Abigail
Lovecroft, who was working as a nurse at Rosewood, and her daughter, Amelia,
reported a paranormal event. The daughter witnessed a boy consumed by a
powerful female ghost who then threatened her. There was no little boy known to
be on the premises that day, so it was assumed he was a ghost as well.”
“Good. Keep it moving,” Sara shouted.
Wendy took a deep breath. “Abigail Lovecroft
was the first Rosewood employee to resign her post because of the haunting, but
she certainly would not be the last.”
Sara flashed Wendy two thumbs up.
“In fact, by 1902, there had been so many
complaints that people began attempting to block relatives from being sent to
Rosewood. More patients were committing suicide than were being discharged!
Additionally, it became increasingly difficult and eventually impossible to
staff the hospital. Like Abigail Lovecroft, nurses often quit abruptly never to
return. In 1903, months after the mysterious death of the hospital’s
administrator, Dr. Louis Johansson, and just eleven years after opening, the
hospital shut its doors. Despite several attempts over the last century to open
it as a boarding school, hospital or museum, Rosewood has remained closed to
the public to this day.” She exhaled deeply.
“Thanks, Wendy,” Zach said.
“But Zach!” Her eyes widened and she clasped
his hand in both of hers. The softness of her skin and her perfume’s lilac
scent could make it easy to forget that she wasn’t his type of girl. “That’s
when our ghost story really begins.”
She pulled away and looked back at the
camera. She’d tricked him.
“After World War II, the vacant eastern
portion of the property was sold. Roads were put in and homes built. Over the
years, several of the homes, especially ones built on the site of the old
female quarters, burned down in mysterious
her hand on his forearm as she began speaking.
“Aw. Thanks, Zach.” Her tone was seductive.
“Our story begins in 1879, just fourteen years after the conclusion of the
Civil War and just seven years after the Great Chicago Fire. Industrialist
George M. Pullman purchased 4,000 acres of land in this area, and the first
American model industrial town was born. In 1889, Hyde Park Township, which
included Pullman, was annexed into the City of Chicago through popular
election. Now, the majority of Pullman residents voted against
annexation. One of the major issues of the time was the City’s desire to build
an asylum here. Chicago wanted to have a place far enough away from Downtown to
send ‘undesirables’ before the upcoming World’s Fair Columbian Exposition.”
“Move it along, Wendy,” Sara called out.
As sensitive as Wendy often was in real
life, on-camera, she was unflappable. Over the course of the first season, Sara
had worked with her to eliminate reading, in favor of an extemporaneous speech
which could be later edited. Wendy responded by quickly learning to spit out
historical facts in sound byte fashion.
“Rosewood Psychiatric opened in 1892.”
“Good!” Sara said.
“In 1893, the World's Fair, nicknamed ‘The
White City,’ took place. There was a nationwide depression. Blah, Blah Blah. In
1894, during the Pullman Strike, the White City burns—”
“Wendy!” Sara’s tone had taken on the sting
of a jockey’s whip on a racehorse’s backside.
“Sorry. That info was for Zach. Okay…” Wendy
smiled for the cameras as if she’d just been awarded an Emmy. She held up a
sepia-toned photograph of a two-story building. “In 1898, Rosewood’s female
quarters burned to the ground. More than a dozen women were incinerated in the
fire, and patients first began to report seeing a ghastly female spirit.”
Wendy held up a badly faded, black and white
photograph of a homely looking woman and a cute little girl. “It wasn’t until
1900 that people began lending credence to the ghost stories. A widow, Abigail
Lovecroft, who was working as a nurse at Rosewood, and her daughter, Amelia,
reported a paranormal event. The daughter witnessed a boy consumed by a
powerful female ghost who then threatened her. There was no little boy known to
be on the premises that day, so it was assumed he was a ghost as well.”
“Good. Keep it moving,” Sara shouted.
Wendy took a deep breath. “Abigail Lovecroft
was the first Rosewood employee to resign her post because of the haunting, but
she certainly would not be the last.”
Sara flashed Wendy two thumbs up.
“In fact, by 1902, there had been so many
complaints that people began attempting to block relatives from being sent to
Rosewood. More patients were committing suicide than were being discharged!
Additionally, it became increasingly difficult and eventually impossible to
staff the hospital. Like Abigail Lovecroft, nurses often quit abruptly never to
return. In 1903, months after the mysterious death of the hospital’s
administrator, Dr. Louis Johansson, and just eleven years after opening, the
hospital shut its doors. Despite several attempts over the last century to open
it as a boarding school, hospital or museum, Rosewood has remained closed to
the public to this day.” She exhaled deeply.
“Thanks, Wendy,” Zach said.
“But Zach!” Her eyes widened and she clasped
his hand in both of hers. The softness of her skin and her perfume’s lilac
scent could make it easy to forget that she wasn’t his type of girl. “That’s
when our ghost story really begins.”
She pulled away and looked back at the
camera. She’d tricked him.
“After World War II, the vacant eastern
portion of the property was sold. Roads were put in and homes built. Over the
years, several of the homes, especially ones built on the site of the old
female quarters, burned down in mysterious
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