I remember, as a kid and teenager, how creepy the ward buildings were after dark, when nobody was there. This was when I was TBM, and, even then, I wondered how a 'holy place' could feel so dark and evil. As a kid, I passed it off as just being afraid of a dark empty building, but as an adult, I noticed it had the same vibe, like something bad was there. Knowing what I know now about the church, I am not surprised. I'm not sure that I believe in demons, etc., but there is definitely some negative energy there. Maybe the bad juju from all the pain the church has caused people throughout the years. Anyone else have the same experiences?

'holy place' could feel so dark and evil. - Holy Place my rear end - it is dark and evil - always has been

I agree completely. I thought it was weird how I could pick up on that dark feeling even back then, when I believed in it. Wasnt just me either, it seems like everyone thought the places were creepy as hell when they were empty.

verilyverily Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 'holy place' could feel so dark and evil. - Holy
> Place my rear end - it is dark and evil - always
> has been


^^^ my sentiments exactly!

we would always try all the doors to see if someone left one unlocked so that we could sneak in and play basketball.

One summer my brother and I helped water the stake center lawns (too cheap for automatic controls...) We had to use a steel fork to turn on/off some sections.

The librarians stopped in their car one night. They asked us if we saw anything... They were freaked out because while in the church, every door slammed at once. The air wasn't on... No windows were open, the bldg was locked. It had to be air pressure, right? Right? =[

Thanks (adults who literally believed in the devil) for scaring young teens, who had to continue to work there, in the DARK! Sometimes one at a time, alone, all alone, me myself and I.

I agree about the creepy vibe, anytime you walked through the dark chapel to get to the other side of the bldg.

Oh, you boys! A little mouse runs across the room and you're all jumping onto tables, shrieking!

Honestly.

BcE

That's a funny show. I haven't watched it in years.

I don't like my own basement in the dark....by myself...

RB

They're scary in the light with people in them.

Seriously... Any testimony mtg., people claiming they talk to dead people, or dead Jesus talks to them...

Super scary: When a high councilman keeps talking, ten minutes after the mtg should have ended... People are screaming, well... babies, OK, babies are screaming from missing their naps...

Yup.^

I remember two bishops mentioning that.

They said they would try and beat each other to the doors whenever they had to work there at night because it felt so creepy there.

They thought evil spirits held their evaluation meetings in LDS chapels at night.

All big dark empty buildings are creepy. Nothing supernatural or new age about it.

I have vivid emotions about the dark side of a church house for any late night events. Firesides, ward parties anything held after dark. Half the church lights were not on because they were not needed. Alone, walking down those halls were scary, with a friend just a thrill..good memories from darkness. I can say I haven't been active in 20 yrs but had goosebumps wondering through an old church in Malad, Idaho.

Established in 1864, Malad is one of the oldest communities in the state of Idaho. The community received its name from Donald Mackenzie, a Scottish-Canadian trapper, who passed through the valley between 1818 and 1821 with a party of trappers.

Some of his men became sick while camped here and, believing that the illness was caused by drinking water from the valley's principal stream, he named it "Malade" meaning sick or bad in the French language.

I actually enjoy walking around empty buildings. I especially liked the old ward buildings with stairs, basements, and some with rooms built in the attic area. I loved wandering around the dark areas when I got bored with a wedding or funeral in a different building than my own. I really missed that when they started building new buildings that were nearly identical down to the paintings on the walls.

I grew up near downtown SLC with a wardhouse built in the 1800s. There were stairways never used, dead ends, nooks and crannies and closets in odd places. It was mostly dark wood inside, poorly lit, few windows. They tore it down finally.

Creepy barely starts to cover it.

I remember that too.
When my dad had to stay late as a bishop, I remember a few times meandering the halls or sitting in the foyers till everyone left. There was always a really, really weird feeling. Like a staleness. I picked up on it recently when we were decorating a building for a family friend's wedding. I always just chalked it up to a big, huge building being empty. I think my office feels that way when I've stayed later than most people.
It's always weird seeing a building empty when you're used to seeing with tons of people.

Yeah..it's true. In my YBU days, I was a janitor for a stake building, where many YBU prof's attended, and including Ladell. It was always scary...always felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up when I would clean at night. Sometimes after their lavish stake parties, I would be there until the early a.m. hours by myself. Felt like someone was staring at me always...dark and evil presence. It has always been that way...in the Bishopric, staying late at night - in every building I've been in - same feeling. It was always so confusing because the church is suppose to promote good feelings. Not so with he Mormon church. If Stan was real, this would be the church he created.

BFP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If Stan was real, this
> would be the church he created.

I agree.

I was often the first one to open the building on sunday and quite often the last one to leave during the week. I never really found the building creepy after dark or when empty. The sudden silence was nice in a building normally overstuffed with people.

“There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.” Rod Serling

I think Frank Burns said that also.

Recently I went hiking up in the mountains in Draper. I parked in the parking lot of the Draper temple and walked to the trailhead. I felt a very dark, creepy vibe coming from the temple itself. It didn't feel like a beacon of hope or goodness at all.

rubi123 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Recently I went hiking up in the mountains in
> Draper. I parked in the parking lot of the Draper
> temple and walked to the trailhead. I felt a very
> dark, creepy vibe coming from the temple itself.
> It didn't feel like a beacon of hope or goodness
> at all.


It's probably because you know what the church really is now, a fraud.

I haven't noticed that about the church houses. Used to love running around the buildings as a child. Exploring the hallways and rooms and corridors.

Though not at night, alone, or in the dark lol.

My youngest and very TBM brother used to want to be a funeral home director fresh out of the Navy. He worked in funeral homes at night, and would be the last one to leave and lock up.

He said that creeped him out, as he walked around the morgue among the dead bodies being prepared for funerals and wakes. Also that it was the "only time in his life he remembered having a captive audience."

That's a ham for you.

He didn't get his wish fulfillment for his "dream" job. As his TBM wife announced to me "No husband of mine is going to be a funeral home director," and she boasted of ripping up every single one of his brochures and information on the subject.

She wore the pants in the family at least for the early part of their marriage. Dominant b*tch that she is.

When I knew I had to work in the clerk's office alone, I would take my Siberian husky with me. I never ventured over to the building at night unless I knew there were people in there.

Mormons think about and believe in evil and it gives their buildings a creepy foreboding atmosphere.

When your whole worldview is demons/angels, battles in heaven, etc of course you are going to interpret and "feel" scary thoughts when its dark and you are alone.

I'm betting once out of the morg, if you were to go back it wouldn't hold any of those same connotations. Buildings don't produce any feelings at all. Any feelings you think you are picking up on are ones your mind brought with you.

ten years. The meeting will probably be the only creepy situation occurring. :-)

My recollections of the building include the smell of uncleaned jute walls, stained carpets, and pee on the walls and floors in the men's bathrooms. With exterior plumbing, why can't guys ring the urinals?

I disagree. I think places have certain energies, based on what has happened there. I'm not talking about ghosts or Satan or anything mystical. I just think some places have a peaceful history and a peaceful vibe and others have a tragic history and a dark vibe. Both my kids have gone to Europe with different school programs and both talk about the overwhelming sadness they felt at Dachau. Not just an intellectual knowledge of what happened there but a feeling of sadness that came over them upon arrival. My son said "I used to think you were crazy when you talked about places having a 'feel' to them but now I believe you." Think about it. The vibe you get in downtown Manhattan is different than in Kauai which would be different than at Auschwitz which feels different than Seattle. Some of it may come from knowing the history of the place but I think experiences are imprinted on certain areas, drawing more people to them who are attracted to that vibe, increasing the feel of the place.

Mormon churches, for years, have been home to people who believe in evil, are being used by the corporation, overworked, frightened into obedience, not allowed real free agency. Eventually, the sameness of that non-positive experience would leave a mark on the place. At least, that's been my experience.