Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
St. Ignatius Hospital in Colfax, Washington.
COLFAX - St. Ignatius Hospital once again was featured as the subject of another acclaimed paranormal television show.
"Ghost Hunters" previously filmed the episode in October of 2022, and the episode aired Thursday, May 11.
"It was really exciting for them to come out," said the owner of St. Ignatius Hospital, Austin Storm. "At this point, people find the building because of its notoriety in the paranormal investigation world. They reached out to us and asked to film," he said.
The owners, Austin and Laura Storm, were interviewed at the beginning and end of the episode. The couple was also presented with a comprehensive deep dive into the history of the notorious hospital to provide context behind the paranormal happenings and hauntings.
"Everyone involved with it was sincere and passionate about it. It was interesting to see the process unfold. It brings people to the tours and our preservation efforts," he said.
Storm states that the arrival of the "Ghost Hunters" team was reminiscent of a circus.
"They have big buses full of people. They had craft services, a Covid Coordinator, and even a Hawaiian T-shirt day," he added.
Storm recalls that one of the show's Principals approached him and reported that St. Ignatius was one of the most haunted buildings they had investigated in the past few years. "One of the investigators said that he felt scratches on his head while he was investigating. Apparently, that is unusual to experience in person," said Storm.
A growing number of professionals are planning to investigate the hospital.
"We really enjoy having many of those folks out because they are professional, and everyone has a different take," said Storm.
Recently, St. Ignatius has taken an interest in Youtube content creators eager to explore the building. In addition to Youtubers, St. Ignatius plans to host more photographers throughout the building as the Palouse grows as a scenic place for photographers alike.
"Many people come out to get photos of the rolling hills, and we are excited to try to get in with the photography. We are hopeful to announce more events like lawn concerts and cleaning events soon," Storm said.
Although slow to plan events, St. Ignatius is eager to announce its completion of re-roofing the spooky building.
"I guess part of why is because we have fulfilled much of our initial push. There was a big hole in the roof, and we pushed to restore it under the hole and re-roof," Storm noted.
The project to complete the re-roofing was completed just before snowfall last fall.
"It was an incredible push, and when it was done, we breathed a big sigh of relief," he said. "I have been told that the ghosts are in favor of the restoration work and are interested in preserving the building as much as we are. The ghosts are not fighting us on this."
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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