'the creepy blair witch house'

I've been to the house a few times before taking EvolvingFucker along, but it still gives me the creeps. The possibility of squatters or criminal repugnance in the house always makes me a bit nervous when going here as it would be the perfect safe haven for those requiring a crack house or a crazy old derelict that was seeking a home. Both of whom I can imagine would be rather territorial and a bit cranky if they were disturbed. So I'll take this opportunity to remind you of the dangers of exploring abandoned buildings as they might play host to a lot of crazy and dangerous people so beware before you go in and never infiltrate alone.

Enough of my introduction/public service announcement, on with the story.

With all of the wealth and beauty associated with Oakville, it's strange to find an abandoned, run down house in the downtown area. The house is situated right between a shop and real-estate agency, the latter only adding to the irony. As Oakville goes, anything devaluing the area has to be covered up or removed, so the lot that the house is sitting on is nicely boarded up with typical construction-site style wooden walls, masking this eye sore from the happy shoppers who walk just ten feet from it's front door. This separated environment effect really gets to you when you're walking through the overgrown plants and trees while entering the house. A real spooky atmosphere.

So with the boards up and about a front way entrance is out of the question, leaving you with two options: entering from the east side of the property from the ally behind the commercial shops mentioned earlier and climbing the ladder like fence, (ie, the copout, easier, EvolvingFucker way) or entering from the west side of the property from the Real Estate Agency parking lot. Either way will take you into the creepy blair witch house backyard. If you enter from the west there's a fence around the parking lot that you can climb up like a staircase of sorts, then with the nearby telephone pole, you can use the handles/steps and lower yourself accordingly. Providing you didn't fall off the fence (its not the sturdiest
of things mind you) you should be in the property.

Something I should mention to those that are aspiring to explore this place: it backs onto an apartment building, who's tenants don't much like people exploring this place. I know a couple of guys that got into a bit of trouble because one of them was seen by a resident going in...so try to be quiet and keep your flashlights off when you're making your entrance. Also, when in the place, some of the windows look out into the afore mentioned residences, so
when exploring certain rooms, keep your flashlights dimmed.

Moving right along, you should be in the backyard of the place, it's a really nice backyard, spacious and what not, and I imagine the fences ensured privacy for the people that lived there at one point. As you approach the front of the house, its enclosed in a lot of plant life and wooden rubble so you'll have to navigate a bit carefully. Oh, and watch out for Raccoon's...Assuming you've beaten the wrath of the front porch, you'll discover a nearly full bottle of liquor, its been there since I first explored there and hasn't been touched...I look at it like a "rain gauge" as in if there's a little less than before, that means people have been there. Anyway, keep along that path and you'll discover the mighty entrance which is nothing more than a window that's glass has been knocked out for a makeshift door, the real door being very boarded up...I'd advise you to be extremely careful at this part because the glass is everywhere and hanging from the window in a insecure fashion and could result in some nasty injuries. Glass cuts.

Before you go in you may notice a ladder leading to the roof and you may be tempted to climb it. I'm not going to tell you what to do or anything, but I'm advising you DON'T go to the roof. The ladder's nice and secure, but the roof is a REALLY steep climb and the shingles are slippery with mildew, and you'll no doubt fall off the roof either ascending or descending it. Take it from personal experience, had a friend not thrusted himself onto the ladder to keep it in place and I came slipping down the roof, I wouldn't be here to write this...well, I would but I would have limped to the computer. The roof's nothing special anyway and the fall you'd take wouldn't be worth the bounty.
Going through the entrance, you'll discover from that one room what you can assume of every other room in the place - its filthy. Of course, the house not being in use for the past years would result in this, but it's a gross, rundown place and I INSIST you wear gloves. In most areas the ceiling plaster has fallen off and makes for a sticky floor. You'll thank me later I'm sure.

The Creepy Blair Witch House is so named because, well, if you've seen "The Blair Witch Project" you'll notice that it has the same atmosphere and design in some spots like the one in the movie. I can imagine at one point in time that this house was a really nice place and if you can imagine it not being encrusted in filth, you can probably picture a really nice suburban household.

You will most certainly need a flashlight by the way as without one, its really, really dark.

The first floor offers nothing too special, just a few dirty rooms that were once the living room, family room, kitchen (?), bathroom, study, etc. However, it does have the stairs leading to the basement which I'll get to later.
Going upstairs into the house, you will notice that there is much defecation from some neighborhood raccoon, so tread lightly my friends and watch where you step. The upstairs offers pretty much what the first floor does, a few dirty rooms which were once bedrooms...but the graffiti on the walls is rather exceptional. Some of its just stupid stuff, but other things looks like some encrypted code of sorts. Or perhaps it's a different language that in my ignoramus state I can't read...anyways,its art whatever it is. Also, there's a room with a coke bottle that's full, and a few empty beer cans. I pointed out to EvolvingFucker that those were NOT there the last time I had been there, so I assume that the town punks are finding places other than bridges to drink, or a squatter is getting lushed. At any rate, there are signs of life. On one wall upstairs adding to the creepyness of the place, you'll see "Help Me" written in what looks like blood. It was probably written by someone trying to scare other people...well it made me shiver so they got me...

On the 2nd floor, there's the entrance to the attic as well. There was a ladder there last time I went, but this time it was gone (which we later found elsewhere) so it was off limits to us. I can't say I'm disappointed about that because I guess whoever lives there, well its their bathroom and its just defecation, defecation, and more defecation. Its not worth going up to but if you're that hell-bent on it so be it...just trying to help out. The rooms there are spacious and just resurfaces how it was a really nice house. Other than that, its just good to explore for exploring sakes.

Going back downstairs you'll most likely want to go in the basement. It's a bit of an adventure as whoever was there exploring last time, put the attic's ladder in the stairwell and it blocks it off rather nicely. You can climb over it, then under it, but its just a pain in the ass and I hate it when people that infiltrate mess up the place for others. The basement is kinda creepy. First time going down there I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd seen someone standing against the wall like in The Blair Witch Project... The basement doesn't house anything too special once again, but its good to explore every nook and cranny of the place just to feel like you conquered it I guess. There are fuse boxes (minus fuse), paint cans, old Christmas decorations, a bird that I thought was dead but EvolvingFucker pointed out that it's a styrofoam decoration from a wreath nearby. Just a lot of stuff in general. Going up the stairs you'll have to climb around the ladder again which is harder going back up for some reason. So now you've explored all that needs to be and you're pretty much done.

Leaving the place, if you're like me, you'll forget that the house is in downtown Oakville. The effect of the Creepy Blair Witch House is that you feel like you're out in the woods somewhere and you hear a lot of noises in there...and the flashlight you're using lights the walls up in such a way that its just very "Blair Witch".

Concluding this rambling note, all I can say is that the house is pretty fun to explore regardless of how gross or worthless the rooms are. There's a unmistakable thrill exploring this place. Probably because its abandoned, but also because I never know if anyone is going to be in the house either living there or infiltrating it as well. Its another conquest under our belts no matter what the reason is and if you're ever in downtown Oakville give the place a look. Oh, and in the spirit of signing guestbooks, look for the wall with both EvolvingFucker and Shame of All Nations on it and sign your names.

- Shame of All Nations