Unofficial club in full swing
Michael Peterson
Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: The Verge
Every window on the outside of Ashmore Estates is shattered. The walls look corroded. The grass surrounding the building rises to one's knees from lack of upkeep. On the side of the building, a window is bricked up making people wonder 'why?'
The creepy appearance of the property makes the estates an ideal study subject for the unofficial "EIU Ghost Club" in its second season of activity.
Michael Kleen, founder of the club, tried to keep it going year-round, but was disappointed in the drop-off of members after Halloween last year. He wasn't planning on continuing the club until he received an e-mail from a former member expressing interest in the club's seasonal activities. So the Ghost Club entered its second year, this time in a more laid-back fashion.
Last year's field trips involved investigations of haunted places using various equipment, including sound recorders, digital cameras and electromagnetic field detectors, all things which Kleen sold on eBay this summer. Still, the club continues to take trips to check out haunted places using the naked eye and whatever club members have on hand.
At a meeting on Oct. 23, he educated a group of about 10 students about a place in Coles County, which is rumored to be a haunted, Ashmore Estates.
In reality, Ashmore Estates was most likely never an insane asylum. Instead, it was a "poor farm." The estates served as a haven for people who could not afford to live anywhere else. Often times, the people who lived on poor farms were known to be mentally unstable, which could explain how the insane asylum rumor came about, Kleen explained.
"(Ashmore Estates) is kind of spooky and eerie by itself," said Patrick Veach, freshman industrial technology major and member of the Ghost Club. "There probably isn't (ghosts there), but there could be."
Kleen, senior philosophy major, started the Ghost Club last year to meet other people who are interested in the paranormal.
"I've always been interested (in the paranormal) my whole life," Kleen said. "Ever since I could read, I would read books about ghosts."
The creepy appearance of the property makes the estates an ideal study subject for the unofficial "EIU Ghost Club" in its second season of activity.
Michael Kleen, founder of the club, tried to keep it going year-round, but was disappointed in the drop-off of members after Halloween last year. He wasn't planning on continuing the club until he received an e-mail from a former member expressing interest in the club's seasonal activities. So the Ghost Club entered its second year, this time in a more laid-back fashion.
Last year's field trips involved investigations of haunted places using various equipment, including sound recorders, digital cameras and electromagnetic field detectors, all things which Kleen sold on eBay this summer. Still, the club continues to take trips to check out haunted places using the naked eye and whatever club members have on hand.
At a meeting on Oct. 23, he educated a group of about 10 students about a place in Coles County, which is rumored to be a haunted, Ashmore Estates.
In reality, Ashmore Estates was most likely never an insane asylum. Instead, it was a "poor farm." The estates served as a haven for people who could not afford to live anywhere else. Often times, the people who lived on poor farms were known to be mentally unstable, which could explain how the insane asylum rumor came about, Kleen explained.
"(Ashmore Estates) is kind of spooky and eerie by itself," said Patrick Veach, freshman industrial technology major and member of the Ghost Club. "There probably isn't (ghosts there), but there could be."
Kleen, senior philosophy major, started the Ghost Club last year to meet other people who are interested in the paranormal.
"I've always been interested (in the paranormal) my whole life," Kleen said. "Ever since I could read, I would read books about ghosts."
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