Supernatural Writing Contest - The Haunting of Castle Nightclub
I spent the majority of my 20’s going out to nightclubs for electronic music events, techno and trance and everything in between. My favorite spot was definitely Vision/Excalibur whose name later got changed to Castle. For those not from Chicago, this is a giant castle structure plopped in the middle of downtown, it’s quite the sight. It was like our version of “Studio 54”, a lot of the same people always went, we knew all the staff, and we went religiously just about every weekend. We actually moved into an apartment near there for the specific reason of being a block away and being able to throw the pre-party and afterparty with our friends. The club is humongous inside with many floors - A subfloor, basement, main floor, upper floor, 2 balcony levels, a mezzanine level, and a penthouse level with elevated offices in back. It was freaky how you could even get lost in there just because there were many ways around and so many levels, I got lost my first few times there and even occasionally later as the years went on.
This building has a long history in Chicago and is even regarded as haunted. The original building on the site burned down in the famous Chicago Fire of 1871. Many people were rumored to be trapped inside and burned alive or died from the fumes. The Excalibur was rebuilt in 1892 but it is believed that ghosts of the original remnants remain on the site. The Castle building has even been featured on Travel Channel’s haunted places. It is the main feature of Neil Tobin’s weekly “Supernatural Chicago” tour as well as stops on many other ghost tours. I was generally skeptical about ghosts, the only scary ghouls I ever saw there were the wide-eyed drunks stumbling around at last call. I had never seen or heard anything that could even barely be considered a spirit from the ‘other side”.Every show or retelling of a ghost story was quickly rebuffed by rationalizing and poking holes in the story. I was pretty much the least ghost-believing person you could imagine...until one night where that all changed.
We had gone out to Castle on a Saturday night in regular fashion, meeting a group of friends first at our place and then headed into the giant music-complex that we all came to love. We began the night with plenty of shots and meeting some more close friends. I was expecting another friend to be there as he told me he was going the night before. I asked some friends but they haven't seen him. I figured for awhile he may be occupied at the monet with something else, maybe a lady. As night went on, I decided I would go look for him after several unanswered texts and phone calls. I looked around some of the usual spots until I decided to go check for him in one of the offices near the penthouse level. Sometimes we would all go up there to hang out and get away from the crowds for a couple minutes.
I went up a couple flights of stairs though the penthouse and through a door that lead to a long hallway. At the end was the office. I opened the door, it was unlocked. As I entered the office,I took a seat near the window. Surprisingly no one was up there at this time, as there was usually at least a couple people chatting. I figured I would wait a couple minutes incase someone came. Suddenly I felt an eerie feeling in the room. It was not just that feeling of being alone, but a feeling that just “something” was off. Despite having a few shots before and being generally relaxed and numbed, I was feeling a strong presence in the room. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but I was not alone. The air in the room felt a bit cooler. I wanted to chalk it up as just something weird going on, and not necessarily anything supernatural. At that point I decided I wanted to leave and go look for my friends downstairs. I didn’t want to be alone in the office any longer.
I attempted to leave, but the door was closed and appeared locked. The knob would not turn! I am a big guy and attempted to wrestle with the knob to get out but it wouldn't give. I did not want to break the door down as I would later have to pay for it and might get banned. I shouted but knowing how loud the music was downstairs in the main room I knew no one was going to hear me. I started to text and call my friends so one of them would come up and unlock the door and release me. Minutes passed but it felt like hours.
Despite the loud music that I heard thumping in the distance coming from the main room, I began to hear sounds coming from above my head. It sounded like there were people pacing back and forth, I could hear the footsteps and creaking boards. There was no upper floor above this. It was impossible for noises to be coming from any floor above.Directly above me was the roof of the building. Yet I continued hearing footsteps and commotion. I was freaked out. What was going on? How long would I be stuck here? I needed to get out! Why was no one answering my texts?
I tried the door again, still locked. I pounded on the door, and once again screamed that I was trapped inside the office. No answer.
I began to hear noises...whispers. Quiet murmurs, but could definitely hear them despite the loud music vibrating through the club. They were not clear and coherent words, and even now I have no idea how to describe them. They sounded like children’s whispers, and even some giggling.
I heard the door to the long hallway open. I ran to the door, finally someone was going to let me out of here, I thought. No one came. I fell to my knees and peered under the crack at the bottom of the door frame. There was no one in the hallway.
At this point I was extremely frustrated, and while its hard to admit now, I was getting more scared by the second. Every time I would try to listen so I could hear the “whispers” I heard nothing, when I stopped trying to listen, I would hear them again.
I wasn't even sure how long I had been locked in the office, but it felt something like 45 minutes to an hour. I really was frustrated that no one was answering their phones.
Some of the club dancers came up stairs eventually, I was relieved when I heard them coming. They opened the door and before they could say anything to me I ran past them and went back downstairs. I ran up to my friends and asked why they never answered their phones for the last hour. They weren’t paying attention to their phones and another friends phone’s battery died.
The night was effectively ruined at that point. I felt too creeped out to stay. I decided to find my girlfriend and go home. I told her about it that night but she gets scared easily and didn’t want to hear the whole thing. This is the first time I have written about it. Castle closed a couple months later. The building is currently to be remodeled so another club can open. The project has been delayed for almost 3 years. All kinds of issues have arisen with the structure and other problems. I can’t help but wonder if the thing I experienced that night has something to do with it.
Thank you very much @bradlovesbeer for writing this story and submitting it to SWC. This must have been scary and ghosts like nightclubs too! I sent 12 STEEM directly to your account for your participation in the contest.
Thank you so much!