Ghost Hunters - Sixteenth Season

Are there any nuns here with us?

Uh-oh.

What was that?

Oh. - Oh!

An abandoned hospital...

How many people do you think passed away here?

I would guess, thousands.

Holding deadly secrets.

Her doctor gave her too many drugs and she dies.

A hand came out and then a shadow person leaned out.

I've never been that scared before.

As TAPS and MythBusters's Tory Belleci...

It sounded like somebody breathed in my ear.

It sounded like somebody breathed in my ear.

I just heard two screams.

Dude, it's him again.

Uncovering forgotten traumas.

I just felt like something scratched me on the side of the head.

Oh, my God.

So, Colfax, Washington.

So, Colfax, Washington.

St. Ignatius Hospital.

I love old hospitals. The history there is so fascinating.

It's a huge place.

So, Dustin, thanks for making the time for this investigation.

Yeah, man, always happy to help out the team whenever I can.

TAPS has been called to Colfax, Washington

to investigate St. Ignatius Hospital.

Built in 1893,

it was once the only hospital in this rural county in southeast Washington.

Over the course of its history hundreds of tragic deaths occurred there.

It's had its share of

people who have passed there, right down to the Spanish influenza.

I know the hospital ended up changing hands in the '60s

and then was abandoned for years and fell into disrepair.

Then in 2021, Austin Storm and his wife Laura ended up buying it.

Now I know they were renovating.

And they were noticing that the renovation has been stirring up activity.

They can't keep construction crews there.

So, that must be a concern.

They're scared, they're seeing apparitions.

They're scared, they're seeing apparitions.

One is of a nun.

Which makes sense 'cause it was built and run by Catholic nuns.

They're seeing, uh, a male apparition with...

oversized hands. - Weird.

And some things that seem aggressive.

Like being pushed.

Is that in one location...

or is that around the whole building?

The whole property, it seems.

Hmm. - Wow.

Now, we have our friend Tory Belleci from MythBusters...

joining us on this investigation.

We've known him for years and we've always talked about working together.

We've known him for years and we've always talked about working together.

He's gonna be an asset for this case, for sure.

So, uh, we'll get over there and see how we can help.

We got this.

Here we are.

Wow.

It looks creepy, for sure.

TAPS case, St. Ignatius Hospital, Colfax, Washington.

Hi, Austin. - Hi.

Jason. It's nice to meet you.

Hey! Laura. - Hi, Laura.

Pleasure to meet you both. - Hey.

Hey, good to meet you. - Thanks for coming.

Well, thanks for having us out.

So, we know some of the history of St. Ignatius Hospital

but why don't you guys tell us what you know.

St. Ignatius was built in 1893,

by an order of nuns called the Sisters of Providence.

And it served as the county's only hospital for 60 years.

People were born here, people died here.

Okay.

Have you ever done any research into the property

in terms of the people who may have passed?

in terms of the people who may have passed?

Uh, E.F. Martin, I believe was the first gentleman,

I believe he was crushed between train cars.

Jeez, okay, that's a hell of a way to go.

Yeah. - So, how many people do you think passed away here

throughout its time?

Hundreds, for sure, I would guess thousands. - Yeah.

Many tragically died here

when their lives were cut short from gruesome accidents, diseases

and the horrific 1918 influenza pandemic,

also known as the Spanish flu.

Around 5,000 people died from the pandemic in the state of Washington,

Around 5,000 people died from the pandemic in the state of Washington,

including two nurses, Irene Ellwart and Gertrude Fuchs,

who died at St. Ignatius Hospital.

The building continued to serve as the county hospital until 1968,

when it was converted into an assisted living facility

for the developmentally disabled and mentally insane, called St. Ignatius Manor.

Tragedies continued, with some residents dying horrific deaths.

One was rumored to have fallen out the third floor window.

While another fell down an elevator shaft

when he wandered back to the Manor after it had closed.

Due to the high cost to maintain this deteriorating building,

and large institutions shutting down,

it was closed in 2003.

Over the years, the building fell into disrepair,

leaving restless and forgotten souls to roam the hallways.

Austin and Laura bought the building in 2021.

So, what is your intentions with the building?

We would love for it to be, like, a historic hotel

We would love for it to be, like, a historic hotel

preserving what's already here.

So, how long after you took over the property did the claim start?

When we started construction...

And we have a number of people who've worked in the building

who have reached the point where they feel uncomfortable working alone.

Now, we've heard there's a lot of weird, different claims.

People have claimed to be touched, shoved, kicked. - Yes.

Activity has been reported throughout St. Ignatius Hospital,

Activity has been reported throughout St. Ignatius Hospital,

including people seeing shadow figures...

hearing footsteps...

...and a little girl's voice.

I've never actually seen her but she giggles a lot.

And you definitely can hear her walking in the halls.

It sounds innocent.

But it's scary.

On the fifth floor, where the Sisters of Providence lived,

people have reported hearing strange voices...

people have reported hearing strange voices...

...seeing shadow figures

and apparitions of nuns.

On the fourth floor,

witnesses have heard

what sounds like people running up and down the stairs.

And on the third floor,

the apparition of an angry woman has been encountered,

along with other chilling phenomena.

My friend and I had made it up to about the third floor

My friend and I had made it up to about the third floor

and at the end of the hallway a hand came out.

And it was extremely large.

And then a very tall shadow person leaned out looking out the door at us.

I've never been that scared before.

We were on a tour on the third floor

and we were on one of the sun rooms

and on the left side a hand smacked the glass.

And what was left was just the outline of a hand print.

We tried to explain it, but there was just nobody there.

We tried to explain it, but there was just nobody there.

Terrifying things have happened in here.

In the basement that once housed the hospital's morgue,

people have reported feeling burned or scratched

as well as an ominous presence.

The morgue is the one place in this building that I do not feel safe in.

You feel like you're not supposed to be there.

Like, something's over the top of you, watching you.

And it just had a very...

Evil feel to it.

Evil feel to it.

So what are you guys hoping that we're able to accomplish here?

Well, we'd love to figure out which of the claims have merit and which don't.

if we're able to document any of this activity,

how's your construction guys gonna take that?

I think there's always comfort in some level of knowledge.

It won't make it less uncanny,

but it will help people understand.

We love the building and we look forward to giving it new life.

Well, we'll check it out for your future guests as well.

Super, guys.

All right, thank you so much for taking out time. - Thank you much.

All right, thank you so much for taking out time. - Thank you much.

Really good to meet you, I appreciate you guys doing this, yeah.

Joining us for this investigation is Tory Belleci of MythBusters.

What could possibly go wrong?

He's known as a daredevil.

Often performing dangerous stunts to test myths.

Come on, sharks! Come get your dinner!

Tory is a long-time friend of the TAPS team.

We are building a plane.

And this will be his first paranormal investigation.

Whoa, jeez.

Whoa, jeez.

Wow! -

You scared us all on that one.

How you doing, man? - Hey, man.

Steve Gonsalves and the rest of the guys,

we have been friends for 15 years.

So he called me up and he said,

"Hey, do you wanna come and do some ghost-hunting?"

And I was like, "I would love to."

I've never actually gone on an investigation,

so I'm trying to keep an open mind.

My background being very science-based, uh,

you know, a lot of things can be explained away.

But if I see something that I can't explain, prove me wrong.

Make me a believer.

This place looks terrifying.

This place looks terrifying.

There's a lot of weird reports from this place.

Why did you guys get called out here?

They wanna turn it into, like, a historic hotel.