A man who bought a ghost town has spent the past four years living there and has been documenting everything he does.
At its most populous the California mining town of Cerro Gordo was home to around 4,700 people.
The mines produced silver, lead, zinc and occasionally gold but these days the place is almost entirely abandoned after the mines were shut in 1957.
Eventually the place was bought by Brent Underwood and Jon Bier, with plans to turn the place into a tourist attraction.
He bought a ghost town and now he’s living in it. (YouTube/Ghost Town Living)
Since then he’s posted a plethora of videos chronicling his time spent living in Cerro Gordo as he’s been there for over four years now.
When he first got there he ended up getting snowed in for several days as he picked a house to live in.
Brent said he was looking for a ‘manageable’ project and started by trying to build a small cabin where people could ‘be peaceful’, though admitted he didn’t have much experience with what he was doing.
He also got spooked by the town’s bunkhouse, and said before he bought the town he was a ‘firm non-believer in ghosts’ before getting a strange sighting.
He’s currently trying to get water from the abandoned mines under his ghost town. (YouTube/Ghost Town Living)
The ghost town’s owner said he was walking past a house when he saw a face looking back at him from one of the windows, but thought little of it as he had contractors doing periodic work and they would stay in the house.
However, he was then told that there hadn’t been any contractors on site for two weeks and decided to conduct a bit of an experiment.
Locking the door to the building so nobody could get in and turning off the light, he later spotted that ‘the light was back on even though the door was locked’.
He’s not sure if it was a ghost or not, but it would be typical of a ghost town and Brent said the first thing people asked about when they learned he’d bought a ghost town was if he’d ever seen a ghost there.
That’s how things were going right at the beginning, and years later construction of a hotel is underway in the abandoned mining town.
Brent said the biggest challenge of living in the ghost town was ‘water, or lack thereof’ as he’d been without running water from the beginning.
Now he’s trying to pump up the water from the mines below the town, but it’s taking a lot of work.
Looking forward to what the next few years brings, Brent will be hoping that Cerro Gordo can end up like fellow ghost town Bodie which has successfully ended up as a tourist attraction.
If you’ve been feeling bamboozled by the story of a man who started living a strangely similar life to that of his heart transplant donor then there could be an explanation.
You might have heard about a man named Sonny Graham, who got a heart transplant in 1995 from Terry Cottle, a 33-year-old who sadly commited suicide.
After the transplant, Sonny went on to live a life that was strangely similar to that of his donor, with him developing a taste for Terry’s favourite food – and he even ending up marrying his wife.
Tragically, Sonny went on to also take his own life in 2008.
It’s a tad hard to explain, the idea that getting a new organ from someone might change your life significantly and have a major impact on who you are as a person.
Sonny Graham ended up living his heart donor’s life (Family Handout)
A theory which tries to figure this phenomenon out is ‘Epigenetics’, where certain experiences in life could be passed on through our genes.
The idea behind Epigenetics is that there are inheritable traits that someone has picked up over a lifetime which end up being passed down by their genes.
Or perhaps passed across if some part of them has been transplanted into another person.
There are a number of stories of people getting transplants who then became more like the person who had donated an organ to them.
Gaining a part of another person had not just brought in another organ to perform a bodily function but seemingly brought part of the person who donated it with them.
These twins separated at birth lived near identical lives without knowing it. What gives? (YouTube)
Some chap on TikTok who was trying to explain Epigenetics to his followers recounted stories of a man getting a heart transplant who seemed to pick up his donor’s love for classical music.
In another case of heart donation a woman was able to complete the lyrics to a song her donor had written, while a young girl who got the heart of another child who had been stabbed to death ended up having nightmares about it.
The BBC reports that studying the descendants of those who have been through traumatic experiences produced some strange results.
Scientific studies comparing children of veterans who had been prisoners of war to those who hadn’t found a higher rate of mortality among the former group.
It’s been theorised that living through war, famine and other traumatic experiences can have an epigenetic impact on future descendants, though proving such things for certain and how exactly they work still eludes us.
Some people who have such close biological connections can end up living strangely similar lives.
There are twins who were separated at birth but lived near identical lives and developed the same tastes in cigarettes, beer, cars, dog names and even the names of their wives and children.
Loren Schauers was 18 years old when he was involved in a horrific accident which changed his life forever.
He was working as a labourer in Montana in September 2019 when the forklift he’d been behind the wheel of veered off a bridge and plummeted 50ft to the ground.
The 18-year-old ended up pinned beneath the forklift and gave permission for everything below his waist to be amputated as it was a choice between that and dying.
He was ‘conscious throughout everything’ during the horrific accident where it crushed his pelvis and right arm, meaning he was well aware of the forklift falling on him and crushing his body and the agonising ’10, 15 minute’ wait while his co-workers tried to get the forklift off him.
In the end he had to have three of his limbs amputated.
When he was 18 Loren Schauers was cut in half by a forklift. (YouTube/SabiaandLoren)
Since then Loren has spoken out several times about the impact being cut in half by a forklift has had on his life, including finding it difficult to make friends and discovering that many of his former friends weren’t all that willing to stick with him.
In a YouTube channel he runs with his wife Sabia, Loren has provided a number of updates on his life and let people see what he gets up to.
His most recent video reflected on it being five years since he was cut in half by the forklift, and in it he explained that his pain was becoming more manageable.
Loren explained that the rehab techniques he’d been taught by doctors had helped ‘erase the phantom pain’ over the years.
He said: “My pain is definitely more under control now, my health is a little wild and out of control.”
Continuing his update, he told his viewers: “Five years later pain’s under control, life is finally managed in a way that we can control it now.
“I don’t know how to explain it, it’s not as epic, things aren’t like bombs dropping on us any more. We kind of know what to expect with certain things, and can kind of tell what’s gonna happen.
“Me and Sabia are doing great. We don’t get out much. We went to Lollapalooza in Chicago and had a great time obviously.”
Loren said that when at home ‘she’s reading her books, I’m watching my TV shows’ and that ‘we’re just existing’.
Sabia joined him for much of the rest of the episode as they answered a plethora of popular questions on their life together.
The owner of a haunted painting, which is said to have been heard ‘crying and moaning’, has explained the reason why he refuses to sell it.
Now, you may be confused by the idea of a portrait which is able to cry and moan, which is fair enough, but this isn’t any ordinary painting.
Take a look at it below:
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The painting isn’t something you’d hang in your living room (YouTube/TheAnguishedManOfficial)
Titled ‘The Anguished Man’, the creepy picture features the face of a man in extreme distress. Mouth wide open, eyes which appear to be black holes threatening to swallow you whole, an uneasy feeling from looking at the image.
While the painting itself may not be the most disturbing thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on, the story behind it certainly is.
The creator of the ‘The Anguished Man’ is unknown, however, its current owner Sean Robinson claims that he inherited the piece from his grandmother – who in turn told him the original painter had mixed his own blood into the portrait before taking his own life.
Which definitely increases its creepy factor.
Cumbria native Robinson would later go on to share videos of the painting on his YouTube channel, explaining that he had encountered paranormal activity after the artwork came into his possession.
“I am a believer now, there is definitely something wrong with that painting. The fact that he used his own blood,” he explained.
“It might be that it was some sort of ritual, I believe it may be a self-portrait.”
He then went into further detail about the painting, explaining that he’d heard crying and moaning in his house as well as seeing the ‘figure of a man’ lurking in the shadows.
However Sean Robinson has no intention of parting with the piece (YouTube/TheAnguishedManOfficial)
“I have witnessed a lot. Noises are the first thing. At first, we didn’t relate them to the painting, but it became obvious they only started when we brought the painting in the house,” he added.
Now, if you are wondering why on earth Robinson hasn’t tried to get rid of the unsettling heirloom, it turns out he’s not interested in parting with the object.
Back in 2015, the painting was erroneously believed to be available to purchase on eBay for a tidy £1,500, however, Robinson would soon set the record straight.
Confirming to Dread Central that he had no desire to sell the object, Robinson said: “Unfortunately and to disappoint all the collectors of haunted items and all the horror fans looking for the best Christmas present ever, we have to let you down by telling you that the painting is locked away in a secure place and it is not for sale.
He continued: “All other paintings appearing for sale online which claim to be ‘The Anguished Man’ are frauds and no one should buy those. I can guarantee you that the original haunted painting is locked away in a secure location, and I have no intentions of selling it. That could be dangerous, and it would not be wise for anyone to lay their hands on the painting ’cause it is really active and really strange things happen for people who are in the same room, or even in the same house with the painting.”
This may not be the last we see of ‘The Anguished Man’ as it was rumoured in 2016 that the rights to the painting’s story had been sold to a film company, however, there are yet to be any further updates on the project.
But when the side effects of being left in silence for hours on end start to kick in, you might change your mind.
That’s what happened to YouTuber Callux, who became the person to spend the longest amount of time in a completely sound-proof room – also in complete darkness.
South Bank University’s ‘Anechoic Chamber’ is said to be the quietest place in the whole world; a room soundproofed to be so silent that sound is measured in negative decibels and visitors are advised to stay inside no longer than 45 minutes lest they start to lose their minds.
(YouTube/Callux)
“We challenge people to sit in the chamber in the dark,” said the chamber’s designer, Steven Orfield.
“When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear.
“You’ll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.”
But ever since the previous World Record for time spent inside the room was crushed by a UNILAD reporter in 2016, who spent over 67 minutes inside, there’s been an increase in thrill-seekers and challengers looking to test their limits inside the infamous chamber.
In a video showcasing the challenge, Callux provided a brief description of the room and outlined the rules he had to abide by in order for his attempt to count towards the official Guinness World Records, which were as follows:
1. The challenger must be alone in the chamber.
2. No sleeping/fainting is allowed.
3. The challenger must be monitored and remain under constant supervision at all times.
4. Sound must stay below 25DBa.
5. The challenger is permitted to speak for up to one minute every five minutes.
6. The challenger is permitted to leave at any time.
7. Optional – the challenge must be completed in the dark.
After a brief tour of the facilities, courtesy of staff at SBU who outlined the risks involved, Callux was then sealed inside the chamber… and it didn’t take long before things started getting weird.
(YouTube/Callux)
After just five minutes spent in isolation, he immediately reported feeling disoriented, following an intense burst of tinnitus in both ears.
At the 15-minute mark, he claimed to be seeing lights dancing around him in the room, and after 30 minutes inside he claimed to be able to hear the sound of his own bloodstream.
After closing in on an hour and getting within spitting distance of the World Record, Callux almost gave in as he reported becoming disturbed by hallucinations in the room, but not only did he persevere, he went on to smash the previous record, setting a new one of one hour and 26 minutes.
When asked to comment on how he found his time inside the room, Callux needed just one sentence to sum up the experience: “That was f***ing weird.”
