Restless Patients

Submitted by Randy Larison

When I was a junior at the University of Arkansas (around 1991), I worked in a building out on the UA farm (it was called the corn and cotton lab). The building had originally been the University's hospital and had been moved from campus (it has since been torn down). This was a 3 story building. The corn lab was on the bottom, cotton lab on the second floor and the attic was used for storage. It was a creepy place to start with and the way it was designed just made it creepier.

The professor in charge of our department was in his 70's, very staunch and very conservative, but one late summer day he felt the need to convey to the lab techs this story.

Sometime in the early 1900’s the UA had an outbreak of the flu and the only treatment that was tried was to remove the people dying from the flu, from anyone who might catch it. The idea was to leave them up on the top floor of the infirmary and avoid their possible exposure to others. This meant long hours alone with the windows of the room closed. The professor then related that the patients would get so hot from fever that they would use a crutch or broom or anything and move their beds over to the windows.

They would push up in the air, and then back down on the floor the bed would come crashing, scooting the bed across the floor. He said that from time to time people have heard the sound of a thumping coming from upstairs. We all thought to ourselves, “sure”. This is just a story to spook the newbies. I gave it no more thought.

One late October day, I was working with just Dr. Jersey (the storyteller) and myself. The time had already changed and it was getting dark earlier in the day. It was cold outside and the trees were in full fall array. I was busy counting seeds. All of a sudden, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, broke the silence of the building. Dr. Jersey stopped what he was doing and looked at me and asked, “Did you hear that?”. I replied, “Yes I did,” and went back to counting. The story was long gone from my mind. Again across the stillness of the room, “THUMP, THUMP, THUMP”. Dr. Jersey looked at me and said , “Boy, tell me whose cars are outside.” I replied, “Dr. Jersey everyone else has left, we are the only people still here,” and I got up to go see whose cars were outside. I then said, “Dr. Jersey the only cars outside are your car, my car and the lab truck”. THUMP,THUMP, THUMP,

Dr. Jersey said, "Boy, go upstairs and tell me who is up there.” Up to the second floor I go (getting really hacked off), the trip is up a set of straight stairs to an old wooden door, I open the door to find ... nothing, no people no noise nothing. So, back down I go. I tell Dr, Jersey , “Just like I told you, we are the only people left in the building.” I go back to work. In few minutes, again THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. This time Dr. Jersey say, “Go up to the attic and tell me what you see.” Up I go past the first floor, up to the third. I open the door to find all of the windows open and the wind blowing everything around in the room. Everything skipping across the floor. Down I go. I tell Dr. Jersey, "What you are hearing is the wind blowing stuff around up there. All of the windows are open.”

Dr. Jersey stands up, puts on his coat and says, “Boy, those attic windows have been nailed shut for over 25 years.” And out the door he goes to leave me alone in the building.