Ghost Adventures Recap: “Brookdale Lodge”

by Kimmie Chameleon:

Ghost Adventures Recap: “Brookdale Lodge”
Original Air Date (Travel Channel): Friday November 9, 2012
Season 7 Episode 9

Location

Brookdale Lodge is located within the giant redwood trees in Brookdale, California.

History

Surrounded by the massive redwood trees in Northern California in the city of Brookdale, the Brookdale Lodge is currently shut down. Site of the Grover Hill Lumber Company in 1900, the land was sold to Judge J.H. Logan who transformed it into a campground and lodge in 1918. Tragedy would soon fall on the Logan family when his niece, Sarah, drowned in a nearby creek. In 1922, F.K. Camp took over the lodge and built the “Brookroom”, a massive restaurant that surrounds the creek where Sarah Logan died.

Co-owner of the lodge, Skeeter Marazzo, agrees with Zak that perhaps there is so much paranormal activity and sightings of a little girl apparition because of the creek that runs through the restaurant. A main paranormal theory states that a continuous flow of water creates electromagnetic energy which acts as a source of power for spirits. Skeeter shares his first encounter with the ghostly apparition with the crew. He was sitting in a chair near the fireplace and saw a blond woman walk across the lobby and into the phone booth where she disappeared. The crew is also informed that in 1972, a 13 year old girl drowned in the lodge’s glass-walled swimming pool. Guests have claimed to see the apparition of a girl in a bathing suit dripping wet in the bar.

Jeff Dwyer, author and paranormal investigator, tells Zak that when he was 13 years old and visited this lodge, he saw the apparition of who he believes to be Sarah. He remembers standing on the edge of the creek and feeling somebody press on his shoulder. He thought it was his sister, but his mother called for him at a distance and when he looked up, his sister was with her. When he looked to see who had touched him, he saw a blond girl near him who then quickly vanished into thin air.

While Zak and Aaron investigate an adjoining building that is rumored to be built on an ancient Native American burial site, Nick interviews former head of housekeeping, Denise. Nick is so shocked by her story that he calls Zak and Aaron over to listen. She tells them that one time when she was in the restroom at the lodge she heard somebody enter the stall next to her, but there was nobody physically there. She tried opening the stall door, but it wouldn’t budge. Suddenly the door flew open, and as she jetted out of the bathroom, she heard a little girl laughing.

Her next story is truly terrifying. Denise recalls a horrible event that has literally scarred her for life. One time as she was walking near the bar area of the lodge, she was thrown straight to the ground face first. The impact was so sudden and fierce that her nose bone broke through her skin. A Hispanic lady in the bar started screaming, “Phantasma!” because she saw a dark entity hover above Denise’s body. When Denise arrived at the hospital, a domestic violence specialist was called in to interview her because she has a mysterious hand print on her back that left a huge bruise. Denise has no explanation for what happened, other than it is unexplainable.

Lastly, Zak interviews a boy, Keenan Zech, who shares a similar story to Denise. He was sweeping the outside staircase one day and was suddenly pushed into the stairs, nose first. He was badly injured and assures Zak that nobody was near him when it happened.

The Lockdown

We start this lockdown with a special investigator…Zak’s recently adopted shelter dog, Gracie. The crew decides to do an I.T.C. experiment, (Instrumental Trans Communication) where they will film the water to see if they can pick up any figures that may appear through the water in the creek. Zak explains out loud to Sarah what they are doing. Just then, Nick pick’s up on his camera’s microphone a little girl’s disembodied voice of what sounds like singing. The crew picks up nothing else and move on into the lodge area.

Nick is about to begin some provocation and expresses that he feels weird. Just then they all hear a loud banging noise. They believe that the noise could have been from a bell cart that looks to have been mysteriously pushed over.

Digital voice recorder: “I don’t want that to even haaaapen.”

The guys make their way over to the bathroom where Denise earlier told them about her experience there.

Zak: “If you like to push people, push us!”

Just then they all hear a loud bang.

The crew now decides to do a thermal imaging sweep near the creek. Zak alerts Aaron and Nick that he has captured a strange anomaly near where Nick was standing. It indeed looks to be a figure of a head, arms, and torso. They all hear the REM pod alarm for some strange reason. As they go to investigate the area, Zak uses his spirit box:

Zak: “Sarah, do you wanna say something to my dog?”

Spirit Box: “…(whistling)”

Zak notices Gracie reacting to something in the balcony area above them.

Quotable Quotes:

Zak: “Just like a surfer in the ocean, we’re waiting for that big wave to roll in.”

DarkMedia contributing writer Kimmie Chameleon was born and raised with a healthy appreciation for horror and science fiction. She currently covers Supernatural, Ghost Adventures, BBC’s Being Human, Syfy’s Being Human, and Sherlock. When she’s not out ghost hunting with her kids, you can find her stealing a moment to add to her own pieces of fiction. Follow her on Twitter @dvsduo and “friend” her on Facebook.