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Barefoot Mysteries
Kick off your shoes, get comfortable and join us, barefoot Pat and Dave, your Barefoot Mystery Junkies, while we explore the Unsolved, the Unexplained, the Paranormal and the Weird World We Live In.
Barefoot Mysteries
The Seven Gates of Hell
Ready for a dose of spine-tingling tales? This time, we, your Barefoot Mystery Junkies, Pat and Dave, take you down the infamous Toad Road, right into the chilling heart of the seven gates of hell, located in the unassuming state of Pennsylvania. Unravel with us the enigma of a four-story asylum and a tragic fire that forever altered countless lives.
Weigh in on the discussion, share your thoughts, but remember, the gates of hell are not for the faint of heart. So, join us if you dare, let's uncover the secrets together. Stay safe, stay kind, and most importantly, stay curious.
Theme Music courtesy of Uppbeat
Artist: Alex Besss
Track Title: Threatened
Theme Music courtesy of Uppbeat
Artist: Alex Besss
Track Title: Threatened
Contact us at: barefootmysteries @gmail.com
Welcome to Barefoot Mysteries. For those of you joining us for the first time, we're so glad you're here. And for our friends who have been with us for a while, we're also very glad you're here. Welcome back. For those who don't know us, let me introduce ourselves. We are your Barefoot Mystery Junkies. I'm Pat and I'm Dave. Well, as always, i love the spooky, the unknown, the haunted, the unexplained, and I think I've got all of that in here.
Speaker 2:You've got kind of that in your blood system.
Speaker 1:Exactly. And for those of you who do as well, let's enjoy this together. Yeah, okay, dave's on board. According to legend, the gates of hell may be found in a mysterious location in Pennsylvania. It said that only those who successfully navigate through all seven of those gates and it must be done in the correct sequence will be granted access to a portal heading or actually leading straight to hell. Yeah, let me go through that. Yeah, i want to go through the seven gates.
Speaker 2:I was going to say why do you want to get through it?
Speaker 1:I'm going to get there soon enough. Thank you, geez. While many have heard of the infamous location, few have ever ventured to go out to it or even know about where it really is, at the exact location where you can find these seven gates.
Speaker 2:So you're saying that the Chamber of Commerce doesn't really advertise?
Speaker 1:it? No, apparently not Okay. Now, the tales of the misfortunes and paranormal occurrences on Toad Road may vary according to the storyteller. However, one thing is for sure The rumors of its dark history have persisted since the 1800s. So, as always, we invite you to join us on our journey to uncover the secrets of the gates of hell. Are you brave enough to take on this challenge and discover what lies beyond? I'm right behind you, yeah, behind me. Thanks, finally Ready. Then kick off your shoes and make yourself comfortable And let our journey begin.
Speaker 1:Rumor has it that sometime during the 1800s, a massive four-story asylum was built along a path named Toad Road, deep within a heavily wooded area in York County, pennsylvania. The nearest town to the asylum is Hellam Township, a small rural town named after the fiery depths of hell itself. The asylum housed the maddest of the mad, the craziest of the crazy and the most violent of the criminally insane. A very popular place, oh gosh. Yeah. No, i won't visit. It was purposely built in such an isolated location, far from the town, because they wanted to ensure the safety of the locals. Oh God, how bad were these people.
Speaker 2:I was going to say that's a pretty good idea to keep it out in the perimeter.
Speaker 1:This is how spooked the township was that in order to safeguard the public from this type of patient or patients, because there were more and there must have been hundreds of them when you think of this huge building Yeah. Well, York County officials took extra precautions by constructing seven gates along a concealed path that led to the asylum.
Speaker 2:We're going to keep those people in there, for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, keep them from reaching town. Unfortunately, it was because of its isolated location that was kept pretty secret from everyone, probably to keep mines at ease, and because of all those gates, that the fire department had a difficult time reaching the asylum when a devastating fire erupted. Can you imagine them trying to get there? Where is it? We're trying to find it, trying to get there to try to save lives Now were they were they carrying buckets of water?
Speaker 1:No, i don't think so. In the 1800s, i'm pretty sure they they had their They're act together. Okay, now it's not known how the fire started, but it spread very quickly. Mostly it must have started in either one of the probably the third floor, because that's where it spread the fastest through the third and fourth floors And, tragically, the patients in the two top floors were unable to escape and they met a very fiery and horrible demise. That's very sad. Seriously, although numerous patients perished in the inferno, hundreds of others were able to escape and they fled into the surrounding forest.
Speaker 2:Oh, I bet that made everybody feel good.
Speaker 1:When you consider how inhumane the treatment of the patients, when you think about it in the 1800s and mental institutions, they were treated very badly. They were just uh, actually it was criminal the way they were treated. I'm sure it was. So it's not shocking back then to know that the search party that was tasked with finding the escape patients were exceedingly forceful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be their nature, i'm sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it might be ours if, if you know, in the 1800s we might think well, you know, these are, people are dangerous. there were numerous accounts of terrifying incidents of mentally ill patients assaulting those who ventured out to locate them.
Speaker 2:So their, their thought pattern was confirmed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and of course you know what what's going on here and all around the world is is we're noticing that the ones that need mental health do sometimes tend to be rather violent and attack for no reason at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, consequently, the search party went from a search party and was actually transformed from a searching party to a hunting. hunting party, Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:We're going to get those people.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So they pursued whoever had escaped, and they sometimes had to resort to violent measures to prevent the patients from reaching the town.
Speaker 2:Provoked or unprovoked.
Speaker 1:Um, we don't know, but who's to say? you know, as the police and search party closed in on each of the seven gates, they discovered more of the escaped individuals. While they managed to capture those who were more peaceful, they sometimes had no choice but to kill those who showed signs of violent aggression. Boy, i'll tell you what those. Those people were determined to complete their mission and protect the public from a potential danger or harm. Bye, let's just go on overboard, huh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's my job. I've got to do it Yeah.
Speaker 1:But what the police and the citizens couldn't imagine is that the construction of these iron gates was actually preventing the souls of the departed from crossing over to the other side. these spirits were doomed to be trapped in the remains of the asylum for all eternity. So much for getting rid of them Yeah. Well, they didn't get rid of them. They're keeping them from town, i guess, but they're, but they're still there, right?
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, there's horrible. You know reportings of things there, but I'm gonna move on to that, because here's where it gets a little weird. Hmm, This is where I go, but wait, there's more. There is more, believe it or not. When I was researching the history of the Gates of Hell, i discovered that there was not one, but two versions of the infamous Gates of Hell.
Speaker 2:How so.
Speaker 1:Well, there exists another intriguing legend that tells of a certain doctor who once resided in that area during the early 1900s. Although the exact nature of his medical practice is unknown, it is rumored and I say rumored that he gradually succumbed to madness and it transferred him into a menacing and dangerous individual. So he had a mad practice. Yeah, or his practice drove him mad. It kind of sounds like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Now, this alternate version of how the Gates got there suggests that the doctor took it upon himself to construct the seven iron gates, each one placed farther out than the last, ending with this massive one at the entrance of his property. But here's a question Did he build these gates to deter potential intruders, or did he built it to prevent himself from leaving, or from someone or something else from leaving? So it's like, okay, am I keeping people out or am I keeping something in Kind of scary huh, interesting premises? Yeah Well, no matter where the gates originated from and who put them there, there continues to be whispers of a mysterious series of gates that lie beyond the initial entrance along the winding road that's named Toad Road.
Speaker 1:Toad Road, what a great name, isn't that great? It leads to the very depths of the forest. Rumors are that there's a some sort of a malevolent force that's lurking at the end of this path, and it's a treacherous path, it's not a nice, smooth one. So if you can make it all the way to the seventh gate, you're going to meet something not too nice, or maybe it's before, who knows It's. It is claimed that if you're able to find number one, you have to find all the gates and pass through all the seven gates, you're going to find yourself in hell.
Speaker 2:So why do you want to do?
Speaker 1:that Seriously, and people do. It's crazy. According to the legend, only one gate remains visible during the day. You can't see the other ones. The other remaining six gates can only be witnessed at night, but during a short period. It's in a realm that exists between light and dark, so you have to get that right between light and dark, almost, i guess, kind of like dusk. It's only during this short little period of time that the remaining gates will reveal themselves.
Speaker 2:And then you can be a successful hell hunter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have fun. Now there's a lot of reports of individuals who have ventured out in search of the gates And they have reported witnessing eerie, shadowy figures wandering through the dense forest. They say there's a very strong burning smell in the air and that they can hear distant screams and the screams are so bad that it sends shivers down their spines.
Speaker 2:That's pretty gross.
Speaker 1:Now other stories of people that have gone out there and they've been successful in finding the first gate And then been able to make it to the second and the third and the fourth. But for some reason, if they are brave enough to venture past that fifth gate, they're never seen again. So do they?
Speaker 1:make it to hell or did they not make it to the sixth gate? Who knows, maybe that's purgatory, oh, oh yeah. Maybe huh Could be. Well, i would think The holding gate, oh my God, oh yeah, the parting gate, or I don't know. So I would think that you know, this kind of stuff would make even the bravest of souls sink twice. Before going on such a deadly quest, you won't find me going. Let's go find the gates.
Speaker 2:You wouldn't even follow me. You'd push me in front of you again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good luck, send me a postcard. That's right, okay, so what do you think? Do you think the story about the seven gates is true Or do you think it's myth? Last chance to guess, or tell me what you think before I tell you if you're right or wrong.
Speaker 2:I think I think there's that in between after the fifth gate since they weren't able to make it to hell which is strange, that they were trying to make it Were the other people able to come back before that, so they were able to go to gate four. If they didn't go to gate five, they turn around and head back to the beyond back home.
Speaker 1:I would imagine so, because if they did, if they made it and they knew, then they went. Okay, charlie went in and we've been waiting a couple of days, he hasn't come back. They probably, you know, would say, yeah, i'm not, i'm not going to go, at least Well, And why?
Speaker 2:why are they wanting to escape to hell? It must be pretty bad way they are, I guess they just want to see the gates for themselves.
Speaker 1:I don't know, i don't know. Explorers Yeah, into the great unknown. Yeah, let's go. Let's go see hell. Yeah, i'm living in hell, okay. Okay, so you're saying it's true or it's a myth?
Speaker 2:I think it's a myth. All right Well.
Speaker 1:What do you think I'm going to tell you? I already know, because I did the research. That's that's what I asked you for. Okay, let me tell you what I found.
Speaker 1:The legend that the township was named after the fiery depths of hell has been debunked. It was actually named after a town called Hallamshire in England, and its real name is Hallam, and it was incorporated and became a township. It was a very small township. I think there are like 6,000 people that live there now in like the 1700s. Now, more research Boy. Talk about going down into the rabbit hole on this one. Good for you. Yeah, it can be confirmed that the legends surrounding the existence of multiple gates built by a doctor in the 1900s holds a little bit of truth. Hmm, the crazy doctor? Yeah, there was a doctor who did reside in the area during that time, but he only built one gate around his property, not seven, so that's partially true. There was a gate as far as the asylum that tragically burned down and claimed so many lives. That appears to be nothing but a mere legend. According to city records, there has never been an asylum on Toad Road. In fact, the actual name of the road is Trout Run Road, not Toad Road, trout.
Speaker 2:Run Road, trout Run Road, let's go fishing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for toads, hmm, trout, oh trout, that's right Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or the trout run, because that's where the trout run, yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my God. Well, okay, now what about the location of the supposed asylum?
Speaker 2:I don't think the city wants to talk about it.
Speaker 1:Hmm, well, guess what? That location does exist, the location where it was supposed to have been built. There really is that, a location that's remote and secluded And it is now privately owned. Now, now that people know, hey, there was no asylum, but there is a location where, where the asylum was supposedly built And there is at least one gate because there was a doctor there, people will come from all over and travel to that site trying to discover the gates. They're going to be the ones that are, you know, going to debunk the debunking.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't mind going to look, whoa.
Speaker 1:Well, it wasn't until just recently that if they did and they managed to find something, it would be well hidden. They'd have to be dig through shrubbery and greenery and they would find a gate, just one gate, with plenty of private property and no trespassing signs on it. There were so many people that were trespassing on the property trying to find the gates, trying to find the asylum that the owners of the property property had to finally Remove that one gate, Sealing off access to hell once and for all.
Speaker 2:Wow, how could they do something like that? Yeah?
Speaker 1:How about you, dear listeners? Do you think the seven gates of hell really existed? And if they did, would you have been brave and adventurous enough to try to find them? Just a bit of final advice. Should you ever dare to embark on the treacherous journey of passing through all seven gates, be warned. The end result will be nothing short of eternal damnation. Once you find yourself in the fiery depths of hell, there will be no escape from the torment that awaits you. You will be trapped for all eternity, with no hope of reprieve or salvation. Please, do you know what you're getting into. Proceed with caution, or the consequences of your actions will be dire and everlasting. Spooky, all right. Well, that was fun, not.
Speaker 2:I'm looking for another route.
Speaker 1:All right, Well, listeners, as always, we'd love to hear what you think. Shoot us an email barefoot mysteries at gmailcom. Barefoot mysteries at gmailcom. Let us know. Do you think it's true? Do you know anyone that tried to go and find those gates in Pennsylvania? Man, until we hear from you and until our next episode, as always, we ask you please Be kind to each other and be safe. Be safe.
