"Zofiówka" - the terrifying history of the Institute for Nervously and Mentally Ill

Zofiówka Psychiatric Hospital, Otwock

The facility for the mentally ill was founded in 1908 when the first pavilion was built, and two years later the second one for women was added. When the third was built in 1926, the plant had nearly 300 beds. During World War II, Action T4 was carried out in Zofiówka, which involved the killing of mentally ill people, as a result of which, in August 1942, 110 people lost their lives. At the end of the 1950s, about 100 bodies were discovered in a mass grave next to the fence, near the buildings belonging to the secondary school. From 1956 there was an anti-tuberculosis sanatorium, but in 1985 the hospital was restored to its original form. It was abandoned in 1998. Currently, the hospital has a unique and, given its history, a bit scary atmosphere. In every room, even the clap of the mirror in the camera echoes, breaking the omnipresent silence.

"Zofiówka" is a complex of buildings in Otwock near Warsaw, the history of which is paid for by great tragedies - over a hundred people were murdered there during the war. At the end of the last century, there was a facility for the mentally ill. Currently, it has become a tourist attraction for people who like to visit abandoned, spooky places. The abandoned hospital in Otwock has over a hundred years of history. It was erected in 1907 and opened a year later as an  Institution for Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews. The thirty-morph building site was bought for jewelry donated by  Zofia Endelmanowa  - it was in honor of the founder that it received its common name - "Zofiówka".

Did you know that there are many places in Poland that even the best exorcists are afraid to visit? One of the most terrifying is "Zofiówka" - a complex of several buildings in Otwock near Warsaw. The history of this place, which used to be an Institution for Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews, gives you shivers. During the war, over 100 people were murdered there, whose ghosts still haunt the walls of "Zofiówka". Why are there shrill noises and groans in the building at night? Check what secrets are hidden in the abandoned plant "Zofiówka".

"Zofiówka" in Otwock - the most haunted place in Poland?

When "Zofiówka" was a patient-friendly place ...

The facility for the Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews in Otwock was first located at Wólczańska Street, and then at Jana Kochanowskiego Street. Interestingly, the huge area for its construction was bought thanks to the sale of jewelry. The construction of the facility was supervised by Samuel Goldflam, a famous Polish neurologist. It was he who later became the head of the hospital and managed it from 1908 until 1926. He was succeeded by Gotlib Kremer, and later by Rafał Becker (a Polish psychiatrist of Jewish origin). In 1932, the psychiatrist Jakub Frostig became the director of the hospital. The hospital owes its name ("Zofiówka") to a certain Zofia Endelmanowa - it was she who gave the founders of the hospital precious jewelry, thanks to which it was possible to build it.

In the beginning, the building was equipped with less than 100 beds. Then it started to be expanded with new pavilions, including those intended only for women. In 1935, the hospital was already a huge facility with almost 300 patient beds. More and more mentally ill Jews began to come to the building. Their treatment was financed in part by the patients' families and the provincial commune from which the patients came. It is worth adding that in those days the treatment of mental and nervous disorders was completely new. To help patients overcome mental illness, the facility used therapy in the form of… work. In the 1930s, "Zofiówka" was the largest sanatorium of this type in Otwock, where patients were happily "brought back" to the public. Unfortunately, everything was about to change drastically within a few years.

During the occupation, the Institution for Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews was located in the "Kuracyjny" ghetto in Otwock. Therefore, from the beginning of 1940, the place ceased to be friendly to Jewish patients. The sick began to starve. Their conditions deteriorated significantly. In the Gubernia, the building later became the only hospital in which mentally ill Jews were treated. The plant was taken over by Jost Walbaum - a Nazi doctor and head of the health department in the government of the General Government. A year later, there were already 350 patients in "Zofiówka".

During the liquidation of the ghetto in Otwock (1942), terrible events took place in the facility. According to the tourist website of the city of Otwock, a total of 108 patients and 3 doctors were shot in Zofiówka. Some were forced into the carriages. Others escaped or committed suicide. Why did the Nazis kill Zofiówka's patients? It was part of the program of the Third Reich, which was carried out in 1939-1944. This program consisted in "the elimination of life not worth living". As part of the entire action, people with schizophrenia were murdered, as well as the insane, staying in care institutions for more than 5 years of suffering from epilepsy. The Germans placed all the patients, along with the staff of the Zofiówka facility, in pavilion No. I. This is where the greatest number of victims perished. Or maybe you will also be interested in this article on Vito Corleone?

What happened to the facility for mentally ill Jews?

In the area of ​​"Zofiówka", as part of the German action Lebensborn, a care and charity center was later established. It was a special institution where German pure-blooded children were to be born. The Germans wanted to create conditions in the building for the "renewal of German blood", appropriately selecting potential men and women to reproduce. "Zofiówka" changed its name to "Lebensborn Ostland", merging with the "Brijus" sanatorium into one complex of buildings. The Nazis took it over after the liquidation of the Otwock ghetto.

The building was equipped with things that were stolen from the Warsaw ghetto. Inside the "new Zofiówka," there is a place for about 100 future mothers and 150 children. According to the General Government run by the SS, it was a model facility where only Aryan children were to be born. The plant, apart from "producing" German children, also Germanized children of Polish origin. Such children went through a process of Germanization before they ended up in German families who adopted them.

After the war, "Zofiówka" treated patients suffering from tuberculosis. The center changed its name to Sanatorium Im. Stefan Okrzei. From 1956, young patients were treated there, and from 1968, the facility also accepted adults. At the end of the 1980s, the original name of the hospital returned as well as its purpose. Again, it was used for treating mentally and neurotic patients, but mainly children themselves. With time, adult alcoholics, young drug addicts, and mentally ill people also became patients of Zofiówka.

Has "Zofiówka" in Otwock really been abandoned?

Paranormal stories in the Department for Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews

The center was closed at the end of the '90s. The building has been dark and empty ever since. Every day, it falls into more and more ruin. The only things that remain of the former "Zofiówka" are broken tiles or falling plaster. There is almost nothing inside - everything has been stolen or destroyed. However, there is something left in the dilapidated, cracked walls. Piercing coolness and dark legends still make themselves felt today by tourists visiting the place. Here are some of the most popular dark tales.

A nun who returned from a mission in Africa probably once came to a sanatorium in Otwock. She fell ill with schizophrenia, which was tried to be cured in Zofiówka. Unfortunately, the woman committed suicide after a few weeks of treatment.

"Zofiówka" is said to have been built on the site of the former cemetery. Records from 1958, which were kept by nurses working in the facility, indicated that paranormal phenomena occurred regularly in the building. Footsteps were heard frequently, and some items moved on their own. Patients often used duvets to move, and sometimes the sick had the impression that someone was… suffocating them. Only the intervention of the priest-exorcist made the supernatural powers disappear.

The researcher, Michał Stonawski, in his book " Paranormal. True Haunting Stories ” describes that Otwock's“ Zofiówka ”is the most haunted place in Poland. Stonawski concluded that this was responsible for the terrifying story of murdering Jews whose ghosts still seem to exist in an abandoned building.

One legend has it that a teacher committed suicide in the Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews Institution. Apparently, he fell in love with one of the students who did not reciprocate his feelings. To this day, the teacher's spirit is to wander between the shabby walls of "Zofiówka".

Is it worth visiting "Zofiówka"?

Today, an abandoned sanatorium in Otwock is one of the most haunted places on the map of Poland. Only tourists who are hungry for unusual entertainment and adrenaline come here. Let's make an appointment. "Zofiówka" is not a place specially adapted for sightseeing. Guided tours of the building cannot be viewed. There is also a risk that the structure will suddenly collapse one day. Inside, you can also find an unpleasant company in the form of homeless people and alcoholics. There are broken bottles and lots of rubbish everywhere, and the walls are full of bizarre paintings.

Is this place worth visiting? If you have the courage, it will definitely be worth going there. I suggest, however, not to bustle around the building alone. It will be much wiser to set out to explore "Zofiówka" with a larger group of people. Visiting the building during the day will also be a better idea than looking for excitement at night. In the few parts of the former hospital that you can get to, of course, your imagination can play many pranks. It is impossible to hide, the atmosphere of the place is terrifying. So let's prepare properly for such an unusual trip. And never visit such facilities alone.

After breakfast, the women were lined up against the wall of the canteen. Officers, in a bubbly mood, began the inspection. They touched their breasts, wombs, looked in the teeth, and slapped their asses. Young, mostly virgins, were initially chased away from the ubiquitous hands of men. The most senior officer made a sound quite vulgar and firm enough for the women to stand meek. So they stood and sobbed, not realizing what lay ahead. And when a dozen or so officers finished their merry fun, the same senior in a gentle voice explained that women had the great honor of being the source of life for new citizens of the Third Reich. His officers immediately took these sources (each one of his girlfriends) to specially prepared rooms and, despite resistance and objections, began to fill them. They did it every day after breakfast, lunch, and before supper, because after it they had fun among themselves, feasting and drinking Polish vodka, and often moonshine, which was supplied to them by a certain Volksdeutsch. It lasted as long as the lousy German boys had a vacation. After them came the next and the next. The rape ended when the gynecologist found her pregnant. Then the woman was taken to Germany, where she waited for a solution in a special center. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to enjoy the child, as it was immediately taken away and given to deserving German families for upbringing. The woman, as useless and sterile, was taken to the camp, where she most often ended her young life. After them came the next and the next. The rape ended when the gynecologist found her pregnant. Then the woman was taken to Germany, where she waited for a solution in a special center. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to enjoy the child, as it was immediately taken away and given to deserving German families for upbringing. The woman, as useless and sterile, was taken to the camp, where she most often ended her young life. After them came the next and the next. The rape ended when the gynecologist found her pregnant. Then the woman was taken to Germany, where she waited for a solution in a special center. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to enjoy the child, as it was immediately taken away and given to deserving German families for upbringing. The woman, as useless and sterile, was taken to the camp, where she most often ended her young life. where she most often ended her young life. where she most often ended her young life.

Not only did the "Lebensborn" centers supplied the Reich with the young generation. Small children, torn from their mothers' arms, were also taken away from occupied countries. On December 18, 1943, German citizen Karol Muller receives a notification that two boys have been found for him and his wife: Serpa Piehl and Eugen Bartel. The boy mentioned in the letter, Eugen Bartel, is a Polish child, who was assigned to Germanization by the SS Main Office of Race and Settlement in Łódź, and "Lebensborn" forged his birth certificate - rewriting the original name of Eugeniusz Bartczak.

During the Nazi occupation in Poland, there were five "Lebensborn" centers: in Poznań, Kraków, Bydgoszcz, Helenów near Łódź and in Otwock. And not only in Poland, but also in the conquered countries: Austria, Belgium, France, and Norway.

All Lebensborn centers, apart from their current activities, were also obliged to plunder the property of the occupied country. The most valuable items were transported to the Reich, while the furnishings of flats and villas were used to arrange their own centers, for example in Krakow "Markwald" - "Nursing Home", where Polish children were Germanized and adapted for adoption in German families.

A showcase of Otwock

“Over 100 years ago, this place was one of the showpieces of the developing spa in Otwock. Today, after the glory of "Zofiówka", only empty walls remain - you can read the historical outline of Maciej Gągała on the Internet website - The history of the Institute for Nervously and Mentally Ill Jews began at the beginning of the 20th century. Back then, the treatment of mental disorders in similar facilities was in its infancy. The first steps in this field were taken by the Germans in Zehlendorf near Berlin, who, paradoxically forty years later, contributed to the destruction of the Otwock plant. But let's not get ahead of the facts. In 1906, on the initiative of Adam Wizel, a psychiatrist from Warsaw, a neurologist and social activist, Samuel Goldflam, the author of the textbook "Diagnostics of nervous diseases" by Ludwik Bregman and the engineer Adolf Weisblat, the Society for the Care of the Poor, Nervous and Mentally Ill Jews was established. A year later, a donation from Zofia Endelmanowa made it possible to purchase 17 ha of land, and in 1908 the first two-story pavilion of the new sanatorium was erected on the grounds owned by the Society. The staff of the facility, in addition to the innovative profile of activity, focused on equally pioneering methods of therapy. In "Zofiówka" (in the colloquial name, the memory of the founder of the facility was commemorated), the focus was on bringing patients back to society, and work was an important element of their treatment. Soon the sanatorium expanded to include more buildings. In the mid-1930s, Under the rule of Dr. Jakub Frostig - the inventor of the insulin method of treating schizophrenia and one of the later discoverers of electroconvulsive therapy, the hospital had 275 beds. In this "isolation camp" of distorted souls, as the Otwock monographer, Cezary Jellenta wrote about "Zofiówka," Julian Tuwim's mother, placed here after her suicide attempt.

1939 came and with it the tragic end of the splendor of "Zofiówka". During the occupation, the plant was within the so-called curative part of the Otwock Jewish district established at the end of 1940 by the Germans. By order of the occupation authorities, the facility continued to function as the only facility for mentally ill Jews in the General Government. However, the conditions within its walls worsened with each passing day. 350 patients were sentenced to a slow death by starvation as part of the T4 Nazi action, which they euphemistically described as "the liquidation of a life not worth living". The liquidation of the Otwock ghetto ended the systematic "euthanasia" of the charges of "Zofiówka". On the morning of August 19, 1942, the Ukrainians, supervised by the Germans, drove the sick and the staff of the hospital to pavilion I. Some of them (around 110-140) were killed on the spot, the rest were taken to Treblinka. Only a few doctors who managed to escape to Warsaw by a paramedic survived the liquidation of the hospital. The night before these events, the remaining staff, including the then manager of the center, Dr. Włodzimierz Kaufaman, took his own life by taking potassium cyanide.

In mid-1943, in "Zofiówka" and in the nearby "Brijus" sanatorium, the center of the German care and charity institution "Lebensborn" ("Source of Life") was established, serving the purpose of "renewing German blood" and "breeding the Nordic race of superhumans". The facility, called 'Lebensborn Ostland', had a capacity of around 100 mothers and 150 children, making it a 'benchmark facility in the General Government run by the SS'. The facility also dealt with the Germanization of Polish children and their adaptation for adoption in German families.

Ghosts in the ruins

After the war, "Zofiówka" returned to its original medical purpose. Until the mid-1980s, tuberculosis was treated there. In 1985, neuropsychiatric conditions were treated again, but the patients were mainly children and adolescents addicted to drugs. This structure of the plant survived until the mid-1990s when a decision was made to finally liquidate it ”.

Today, the ruins of this historic plant are scary because, as residents claim, especially those living nearby, various phantoms appear in and nearby, and those who were murdered within these walls or who took their own lives, unable to bear the suffering or humiliation - ends the history of the plant Maciej Gągała.

Many "paranormal", more or less probable legends and plans have arisen around "Zofiówka". After murdering the patients and hospital staff, the Nazis decided to use the center for their own terrifying purposes.

The sanatorium in Otwock is also shrouded in ghost legends. One of the most famous tells about a nun who, after returning from a mission in Africa, fell ill with schizophrenia and committed suicide after a few weeks in hospital.  

"After her death, her ghost, as the hospital staff claimed," was able to enter his old room and pull the pictures he had painted from the walls. The employees were afraid to stay on night shifts in the hospital, and the problem was to be resolved only after the intervention of an exorcist priest " - says "Super Express". 

Another legend tells about the spirit of a teacher who committed suicide because of his unrequited love for his student. Many people also believe that "Zofiówka" is haunted by the ghosts of the people murdered there. One of the killed was the actor Michał Znicz .

Julian Tuwim's mother, Adela Tuwim, also received treatment at the facility. One version of the circumstances of her death says that she was shot together with other patients. In another, more likely, as a private patient, she was transferred outside the ghetto to a house at  Ceglana street, and then, after the liquidation of the ghetto, was hidden in the house of her guardian, Apolonia Rybak, at ul. Reymont. She was killed in it and her body buried on the property. After the war, the poet moved her body to the family grave in Łódź. He described this tragedy in the poem "Matka" :

"She was shot by a fascist,

When she thought about me

A fascist shot her,

When she missed me

(...)

He shot the material world:

Two caressing lips,

He threw the corpse out of the window

On the holy pavement of Otwock."

The center was closed at the very end of the 90s. Since then, it has been empty and falling into ruin. There are practically walls, tiles, and window frames left after it. Everything inside has been dismantled or stolen. If it goes on like this, it will collapse. Abandoned, decaying buildings, combined with a sad and bloody history, acquire a unique, terrible character. 

"Zofiówka" has become one of the flagship points of dark tourism in Poland. Being there, I passed several groups of "hikers".  It is also visited by homeless people and groups who just want to drink - the mountains of all kinds of rubbish they left behind. You have to be careful where you tread so as not to step into a broken bottle.

Numerous paintings on the walls create a specific atmosphere. I would divide them into two categories - silly jokes and those that fuel the atmosphere of madness even more. As if the mere fact of being in an abandoned psychiatric hospital where a monstrous murder was committed was not enough. 

All this translates into a constant feeling of terror - if you've ever read about "Zofiówka" in the context of creepy spots, nothing is "overrated" about it. I would not go there alone at night, even if someone paid me for it. Even entering a dark basement during the day gives you the right thrill. The imagination in the middle of the buildings located nearby works at an increased speed - each murmur increases the pressure. But isn't that what people visit such places for?

Bibliography:

Kidger Rebecca E .: Ghosts. Stories about haunted places and people, Rea Publishing House, Konstancin-Jeziorna 2012

Robert David Chase: The Visitation. True Stories , Replika Publishing House, Poznań 2019

Stonawski Michał: Paranormal. True Haunting Stories, Znak Publishing House, Warsaw 2020

10 Scary Paranormal Stories from Poland

Today I have prepared for you a list of 10 terrible paranormal stories. Are they real? I cannot personally verify them, but this is not what this letter is about. Do you like to be scared? So feel the thrill of anxiety and think how you would behave if you were in the center of the described events.

1. ALONE AT HOME

Michał waited a long time for this evening. His parents were going to his friend's wedding and wedding, and he was going to be home alone all night for the first time. Michał's plans were mainly to watch Netflix and play on PlayStation, sipping a beer and eating salty snacks. Time passed quickly but pleasantly. Before Michał looked back, it was already 2 o'clock in the morning. Then he also stated that he would come downstairs for a moment and let the dog outside, which would be his last duty that night. His dog was running around the yard for a few minutes while Michał watched him from the terrace. After returning home, Michał entered the kitchen for a while to get a bottle of water and went to his room. Entering instinctively he closed the door with the handle. As soon as he had gone a few steps he heard a loud and clear knock on the door of his room. Three blunt taps at regular intervals. Michał stopped short. He was terrified, after all, the second before that he was in the big hall, and besides, he's all alone in the house. It couldn't have been the parents, for he would have seen their presence. The dog, which was usually alert to the slightest rustle in the house, didn't even whimper. Michał did not dare to go out the door that night and check who was knocking. He fell asleep from exhaustion when it was already dawn. The next day, he told his parents about the whole situation. The parents exchanged only knowing glances and said that it was not time for Michał to find out everything.

2. THE OUIJA BOARD

Ania and Magda were 15 years old when their lives changed forever. Magda has been interested in ghosts for a long time. Her dream was to get in touch with any ghost, mainly so that she could prove to herself that her hobby is not chasing a rabbit. On her 15th birthday, Magda received an Ouija board from her friend Ania. The excited girls said they were going to have their first screening on the same day. It was 23.00 when my friends lit the candles and unfolded the sign. At the moment when they put their hands on the indicator, one of the candles started to flicker in a strange way, as if it was standing in a draft. This chilled Magda a bit, but not enough to stop the session. The next moment Magda began to say the words to summon the spirits, but in the first sentence she suddenly broke off her sentence. With strange, absent eyes, she began to stare at Ania. Ania thought that Magda was joking, but when the next seconds passed without any reaction from Magda, Ania panicked. 

She asked Magda to stop. When she wanted to grab Magda and shake her, it turned out that she couldn't take her hands off the pointer. At the same moment, she heard a rustle behind her, followed by three heavy footsteps. Ania was convinced that someone was standing behind her, but at the same time, she was too scared to turn around. Magda was still sitting motionless, but now her eyes were staring exactly at the place from which footsteps could be heard.  

The situation seemed impossible to comprehend. Ania found the strength to start begging and to assure them that they would never touch the plaque again, but just let this thing leave them alone. After about twenty seconds, all the candles in the room suddenly went out and the books on the shelf fell to the ground with a bang. Magda was pulled out of a trance, and Ania was able to take her hands off the pointer. The girls, in a gigantic shock, ran out of the house and ran to their neighbors. They promised themselves that they would never invoke that night and would abandon the ghost topics once and for all. That night they got their ID and how they assumed a warning that not all topics are for people.

3. HIJACKING BY UFOS?

Zbyszek was returning from Zakopane to Warsaw. He was on a delegation. He had a few hours' drives in a business Opel ahead of him, but the day was exceptionally warm and clear. When Zbyszek was passing Jędrzejów, he saw on a signpost with distances that he still had 205 kilometers to drive. He called his wife, said he was downhill and that he would be home in about 3 hours. To make the road pass faster, Zbyszek turned on an audiobook. He liked learning or novels in this way. Dan Brown's 'Lost Symbol', he said. Kilometers fled from under the wheels, and the reader ended chapter after chapter. After about two, maybe two and a half hours of driving, Zbyszek was horrified to say that a signpost with the words 'Warszawa 195' had just passed. He stopped the car, looked at his watch. He looked at the phone to see what time he was calling his wife. According to the phone call, he spoke to his wife 5 minutes ago. Confused, he called his wife. He asked her when was the last time they spoke. Zbyszek's wife informed that about 5, maybe 10 minutes ago. Zbyszek was completely smashed. He could not understand how he could cover the route for over two hours, driving well over 100 km / h and still be in the same place as before. Nay. How come he listened to several chapters of the audiobook and remembered them. How miraculously the meter in his car showed that he had actually traveled over 200 kilometers, just like the fuel gauge clearly proved that the car burned the right amount of fuel. Zbyszek could not and cannot understand this phenomenon until today. Has it fallen into a time hole?

4. SMS FROM THIS WORLD

Paweł and Darek are two of the best buddies. Unfortunately, at the age of 39, Darek was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. Despite the treatment, Darek did not survive. Before Darek's death, friends agreed that as soon as Darek was on the other side and had an opportunity to contact Paweł, he would do so. Two years have passed since Darek's death. During this time, Paweł managed to make his own life. He didn't think so much about the old days anymore, but he visited Darek's grave whenever he had the chance. One night, while Paweł and his wife were sitting at home watching a movie, a notification came on Paweł's phone. He said he would look at the phone after the movie. In the meantime, a few more notifications came on the phone. When Paweł read the notifications, he said that someone had simply made a mistake, because the phone only saw empty text messages sent by a strangely familiar number, which, however, was not entered in Paweł's telephone book. So Paul passed on to the agenda. The next day, when he was standing in a traffic jam, he suddenly remembered about the contract they had with Darek. At the same time, he associated that the number from which the future texts were familiar because it belonged to Darek. Paweł was shocked. He felt alternately terror and excitement. To rule out any mistake, Pawel found the courage to call Darek's old number back. The only thing he heard was that there was no such number. That situation gave Paweł proof that we still exist after death.

5. PARANORMAL URBEX

For Adam, Urbex was a dream come true. He loved discovering new-old places. He loved to feel their atmosphere and the thrill of emotions when in a place that had been abandoned for decades, it was not known what could be found in the next room. Adam liked to set himself more and more interesting challenges related to Urbex. He has come a long way in the last two years. He started in safe places, mostly during the day. Now he was risking his nights. Adam, wondering what else he can bring to his hobby, came up with the idea that he would visit dark places, shrouded in notoriety and bad legends, and that he would spend nights in them. Adam chose the grounds of the former German hospital for his next seat. Only single barracks have survived there. After visiting the whole area, Adam unfolded his sleeping bag, properly secured all the equipment, and when he decided that there was nothing better to do, he went to sleep. He fell asleep quickly. It was 02:21 in the morning when Adam was awakened by the crackling of the plaster cracking on the floor, which was lying in the adjacent barracks. Adam was dismayed that he was not alone in the area. His instincts told him at first that they were wild animals, but the way the plaster crackled clearly indicated that they were human steps. Adam said he would wait until the footsteps stopped, but he prepared a flashlight and a pistol, a scarecrow he had just in case. 

Adam was terrified, but he wasn't ready for what started to happen in the next seconds. When the echo of footsteps from the neighboring barrack seemed to intensify, someone suddenly spoke up in the room he was in. Adam lit the flashlight, his heart down his throat, and aimed it at the point where the voice was coming from. There was no one there, but the voice was still audible. In a panic, Adam scoured the entire room with his flashlight. He was clearly not alone there. Now he heard two voices as if someone was in a dialogue behind him. The room grew extremely cold, so cold that Adam's hands went limp. 

In a panic, Adam began to collect his things to escape as quickly as possible. Then his flashlight also went out. The spare flashlight failed. Now in the room, apart from clearly audible voices, you could also hear the crackling of debris cracking under someone's heavy footsteps. Adam stated that his only chance was to escape. He dropped all his equipment and practically fumbled out of the room.

He ran until he reached the nearest buildings. Inhabitants of one of the houses sheltered him. There, Adam learned that he had spent the night in a very active and haunted place and that even local residents avoided it. From that night on, Adam never went to Urbex at night again.

6. CAMERA IN A HIDDEN ROOM

Nobody in the family believed Agnieszka that something strange was happening in her room at night. For several weeks, every night, something systematically woke Agnieszka from sleep. With each awakening, Agnieszka had the impression that she was falling from a great height. As she leaped to her feet, her heart was pounding like a hammer, accompanied by a sense of someone's presence in the room.

Agnieszka decided to record herself while sleeping and check what and if anything was going on. The night was the same. Agnieszka woke up suddenly with a strange feeling of falling but was too tired to check on the camera if anything disturbing was happening. She had left it for the morning. After breakfast, she looked at the movie in Quickview. What she saw made her throw the phone on the bed and run crying out of the room. She was afraid to pick up the phone again. She called her mother to watch the video with her. Mom didn't know what to expect. She thought that her daughter would show her some videos from the Internet. At that time, Agnieszka explained to her mother that she had recorded herself sleeping tonight, and this was a recording from that very night.

The time on the camera was 2:15 in the morning. It was then that the girls saw that some invisible force was pulling Agnieszka's sheets off. It was not possible for the duvet to slide off by itself, as it was clearly visible that it was being pulled in one direction by force. Then, maybe after another 5 seconds, you can see Agnieszka's body beginning to float upwards. Her hair and arms fell freely on the bed while her legs were stiff. Agnieszka's body rose about a meter above the bed and hung in the air for about two hours. After this time, it fell on the bed with great force. It was just the moment Agnieszka woke up.

Mom and daughter were terrified. Agnieszka almost lost her mind. We do not know exactly what happened to Agnieszka, but we do know that her parents decided to sell the house and move to another city.

7. DEMON

Mr. Wiesław was 71 years old. He was already retired. His way of killing time was by tinkering around the garage. That afternoon, Mr. Wiesław stated that he would build a new bird feeder. He eagerly set to work. He was doing remarkably well and efficiently. Nothing foreshadowed the trauma that would befall him in a moment.

Mr. Wiesław suddenly felt uncomfortable. Something in his head told him there was someone else in the garage. In an instant, his body began to feel someone's presence near him, as if by the touch of a wand. Mr. Wiesław began to feel enormous fear, which on the one hand paralyzed him, on the other hand, it was a primal fear that ordered him to escape as quickly as possible. In a split second, Mr. Wiesław felt that the source of his fear was in the passage door to the second room. His gaze was literally glued to an invisible point in that door. Mr. Wiesław did not understand his behavior. It was like a dance of the invisible forces slumbering in his garage, intertwined with his thoughts that he had no control over.

It is not known how long it took to stare at something invisible. It was a moment that seemed to stretch forever. At one point, Mr. Wiesław found the courage and mobilized his body to escape. He ran out of the garage in a panic. He told his wife what happened to him. It took a full day to re-enter the garage. This time, however, nothing happened. Nothing at all that bears the hallmarks of something supernatural.

8. THE SPIRIT IN THE CEMETERY

There is a cemetery in Słomczyn near Konstancin. At this cemetery, at its very end, there is the Potulicki Chapel. The building looks more like a small Gothic church than a chapel. The surroundings of the facility are atmospheric, mainly because the forest is slowly beginning to grow over it, and among some trees, you can see very old and forgotten tombstones. You can walk around the chapel. On each of the walls, there are tombstones with the names of people who were buried in the said chapel. One day, Monika and her mother, Ewa, went for a walk in the vicinity of the cemetery and decided to see the chapel closely.

Ewa decided to wait for her daughter from the front, and Monika would walk quickly around the building. Monika passed the sidewall and when she stepped back to see a woman standing on the path, seeming to be reading information from the tombstones. Monika said good morning to the woman, she looked at her with a slight smile and nodded her head in response. When Monika returned to her mother, she said about the meeting. Eve was surprised because they had been standing in the vicinity of the chapel for several minutes and neither was seen nor heard anything that could reveal someone's presence. Mom and daughter decided to walk around the chapel once more. However, they did not meet anyone. Neither where the woman stood, nor anywhere else.

9. SOMETHING HAS AFFECTED ME

Zosia was 46 years old. She and her family lived in a detached house in a normal, quiet neighborhood. From childhood, Zosia was familiar with ghost topics, mainly thanks to her mother, who experienced many inexplicable events. You could say that the night before the night was routine. The children were put to sleep, the duties were fulfilled. Just a movie in Polsat and you could go straight to bed.

Zosia slept on a large bed with her husband. At some point, Zosia suddenly woke up. It wasn't just a wake-up call like when you get up to go to the toilet. She woke up and was automatically listening for something as if her sixth sense were telling her to arm herself for attention. After about two or three seconds, Zosia heard someone entering her room. She was lying with her back to the door so she couldn't see anyone, but she could hear the carpet sagging under the weight of the footsteps. She quickly realized that it wasn't her husband because he was lying next to her. She realized just as quickly that they were not children because the gait heard was different from that of a child's one, and besides, when her children get up, they always turn on the light in the corridor. It was a stranger.

Zosia suddenly felt paralyzed with fear. Strong enough that she was unable to shout to her husband, and all she could do was listen for the footsteps that were heading towards her. At one point, the steps literally stopped behind her back. It was then that Zosia felt a touch of a hand on her shoulder, and then the weight of that hand, which seemed to start turning her over. Out of fear, Sophie was unable to look the other way. The handheld her for a few more seconds then released it. Then you could hear someone turning around and starting to leave the room. That night was a real nightmare for Zosia. The next day, she and her husband searched the entire house for any signs of burglary, broken locks, or windows. They found nothing.

10. THE AUTHENTIC GHOST STORY

I've read a lot about ghosts, I've been interested in them a lot, and I'm still really interested. The older and wiser have always told me that you should not be afraid of the dead, but of the living, so whenever there was any topic about ghosts on the table, on the one hand, I felt thrills, and on the other, a logical part of me was trying to explain everything to myself. And while man is able to misinterpret any phenomena surrounding us, animals that are guided by instincts do not wonder whether the knocking on the wall was a randomly falling object that had the right to fall, or it was some higher force that the item touched.

For example, a dog hears a knock and interprets it as something normal or a threat. This, of course, is very simplified. And I mention it because I've always been most terrified of situations with ghosts and animals that react to these ghosts. I myself had the dubious pleasure of being in the middle of a situation like this one day.

When I was in my twenties, my dog ​​was always with me at night. He slept in bed with me. One night I woke up, but it was not a natural awakening, but rather a wake-up. Slightly confused, I began to wonder what might have happened. At the same moment, I felt with my feet that there was no dog with me on the bed. It was so strange that it contradicted the pattern. My dog ​​always slept on the bed with me and the door to my room was locked so there was no way he would go into another room. Instinctively, I reached for the bedside lamp. When I lit it, my eyes turned out to be my dog ​​sitting in the room's account.

WHEN SOMEONE IS STANDING FOR YOU

Believe me, I will remember this view for the rest of my life. He was sitting curled up. He was clearly scared and stiffened. He looked more like a stuffed animal than a living dog. He was totally unresponsive to my attempts to make contact with him. As if he was hypnotized. This alone scared me so much that I felt the adrenaline rush in me. I remember the moment when I realized that my dog ​​was looking at one point. His eyes were fixed fixedly on one place, and nothing seemed to be able to change that direction. Moments after that, I realized that someone was standing behind me in the room, right where my dog ​​was looking.

I felt it so clearly with my whole myself that probably all my senses were working at that time. I was afraid to turn around. this fear felt as if I was about to perish as if someone or something was trying to hurt me. I was afraid that if I looked there, it would be as if I looked into some dark and invisible eyes of evil itself. I found the courage to move and leave the room. I quickly ran out calling the dog, but he didn't react. All I knew was that I couldn't leave him there alone, so I ran in the rush, grabbed his armpit, and ran down the stairs where the rest of the household slept. My dog ​​was as stiff as if it had died and lain for several hours in the freezing cold. I left all my things and the light on in my room.

The next day I was left alone at home. I had to go into my room. I had a computer and a remote workplace there. My dog ​​was now behaving normally, but as soon as he approached the door of the room, he lowered his head and backed away. He didn't want to go inside for anything. When I took it in my arms to carry it, it is really painful and started to jump off my hands. So I decided to work and let the dog wait outside the room. I didn't last more than a minute. The atmosphere in the room was so dense that I was sitting in the pliers all the way. I still felt the stares and the threat just from where I was before. I was scared and so was my dog.

IT DOESN'T WANT TO GO!

This thing was in my room for 3 days. For three days I was unable to stay emotionally and physically in my own room for more than a minute. I was sleeping in a different room then. On the fourth day, when I entered the room for fresh clothes, it turned out that I did not feel this bad atmosphere anymore and I felt good. My dog ​​walked into the room with me, and he didn't show even a fraction of what had happened in the previous days. He was calm. I also.

Until now, I do not know what was in my room in those days, but I know that it was something bad enough to be even dangerous. It felt as if my sixth sense was warning me of danger and was doing everything it could to protect me. On the other hand, I felt as if the greatest evil of this world wanted to do something extremely bad to me. My dog ​​showed exactly the same, which makes me even more convinced that we were experiencing something then. Then my mother and my friend who visited me had similar feelings and left my room as quickly as he entered it. Since then, such a situation has never happened, but it stays in my memory forever.