Clear back to my childhood I've had an intense fascination with huge old homes and buildings, particularly those with ornate architectural structures and features that capture the imagination with all their intricacies. So when I discovered the amazing Reading Public Library I was entranced with both the structure and the treasures held within. This was also the time I developed a fascination with the magnificent but abandoned mansion across the street. Who built it? Who lived there? What was the lifestyle like? My interest never waned from my childhood and so I was excited to hear that this 27,000 square-foot building sparely situated on a spare lot of only 13,939 square-foot that had sat vacant for 50 years until a generous benefactor, Alan Shuman, finally saved her from the wrecking ball. Better still, the new owner magnanimously opened it for tours pre-renovation and I jumped at the opportunity of a lifetime.
The feeling is opening and welcoming, and one can easily get a glimpse into the past. If you close your eyes for a few minutes you can almost capture an image of its glory days. The architecture entering the second floor was intriguing with the intricacies of painstaking details such as a split case stairway designed to separate rooms and wings and a Juliet balcony on the final landing that lends itself to a peek at guests arriving through the grand first floor entrance. Now I was beginning to get the feel of more, but I don't know what. Slowly I moved through one dusty room to the other, imaging what might have been and what it now could be. I decided to snap a few photos. Entering doors at the back end of the building i was surprised to find another balcony, one designed much like those found in churches made for organs and/or choirs and/or overflow, which overlooked a large auditorium complete with multiple stages. The seating had long been removed. In almost every room, the home/lodge still had the original hardwood flooring hidden under decades of dust just waiting for someone to restore them to their original sheen. There were more floors above, another dance hall and other amenities. The icing on the cake is the rooftop garden, which is multi-functional as it serves to entertain, potentially feed, and certainly insulate the lower floors. When i returned to the first floor I received an advisement to visit the basement so after catching my breath I pushed onto my last unexplored territory. This is where I started to experience a different feel. Downstairs was host to the barroom, a bowling alley, washrooms, multiple cubby areas and a rathskeller. In the rathskeller was where I really got the sense I was not alone and did not linger there too long so I moved onto the next room that was uncommonly cold and a wee bit damp compared to the rest of the home. I was drawn to a dark corner and felt compelled to speak out that this seemed like a good place to hang out. Enough with the provoking, I turned and started walking towards the opposite end of the room when all of the sudden the pamphlet that I received upstairs jumped up and out of my handbag and landed on the floor! I responded to the room, "Oh I guess I was right about that," before moving out of that room. Next to that room was a small very pitch black room which set below the rest of the floor level. Extremely curious I flashed my camera and dozens of orbs flew upwards from the floor, a few even escaping out over the lip of the doorway. I took some photos, most of which were pitch black but a few actually captured some movement. Moving on I entered another room with a feel and started taking photos which was when I captured this image. What it is I cannot say for I was shooting into a wall in a building with no electricity. I will say that none of the energy in the building had a malevolent feel and if anything it seemed to be more of a playful feel, almost welcoming at times as if the inhabitants were as relieved as the rest of us that this magnificent Grand Dame was saved and would now finally be restored to her former glory. #elkshome #ghostadventures #paranormalcaughtoncamera #zakbagans #ghosts
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