Creep City, the Pictures

This is the thing I saw before I saw the cave, when I could smell the torch but didn't see it yet. This looked really cool in real life, but there was no way to get far enough away from it to really get the brick arch all in the frame without having too many trees in the way. (This is a bit overexposed too, so it needs a little work. Hard to see anything anyway. That's a brick wall inside that dark hole area.) It's not really a cave, just a hollowed-out area.




This one also needs some exposure adjustment if I ever get un-lazy enough. Anyway, this is the cave opening I came upon with the smoldering torch. After the boy and girl walked down the hill and only the boy came back up... It really was an eerie feeling place, but that couldn't be because the sky clouded over and the caves have so much lore... ;) Oh, for scale, I'd say the opening is roughly waist-to-shoulder height? Although in the blowup you can see a cigarette pack that looks really big... I remember wondering if one could squeeze between the boards/i-beams to get into the cave, though.




When you turn around (and walk downhill a little bit?), this is the view. Bear in mind, this is just across the river from almost-downtown St. Paul. I love urban hiking! And it helps with the creepy ambience when you suddenly find yourself in the middle of nowhere when you know you're right in the city.




This is the creeeeepy-ass road I came to when I continued down the trail. I actually did follow it until I saw a truck parked at the other end, which was what finally scared me enough to go back the way I came (maybe real people do scare me more than ghost ones...). I don't know what part of Lillydale park is supposed to be haunted, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is it. It's so quiet and solitary...




Creepy sky too. I love it when the sun can't decide if it's out or not -- way creepier than just overcast, because it feels like it should be sunny, but things still look dark and grey.




Anyway, no ghosts in the pictures as far as I can tell. Of course, these are probably too small for you to find anything, but trust me -- no ghosts. The internet hates me, I think that's been firmly established, so these pictures are the best I can do for now.