If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™ – Episode 8: “Leave Only Footprints” 

Urban Explorer (n) – someone who explores abandoned or hidden man-made ruins; commonly referred to as UrbEx or UE

Episode 8: “Leave Only Footprints” introduces you to many of the Urban Explorers responsible for the hundreds of haunting photos and videos you’ll find online.

Edgewater Hospital closed its doors in 2001, but it continued to see dozens of people come and go. Scrappers, vandals and Urban Explorers managed to bypass security that guarded the hospital during the 15-plus years it sat idle. The internet is loaded with pictures and videos from Urban Explorers who broke in — this episode introduces many of those explorers.

These Urban Explorers share the extreme lengths they went to gain access into the abandoned Edgewater Hospital buildings — including scaling chain link fences and crawling along thick ice in the hospital’s basement — and how they felt once they were inside. Hear why photographing Edgewater was so special to them — reasons that will completely catch you off guard.

Urban exploration is considered trespassing and it comes with extreme dangers. One person describes how he tripped an alarm, injured himself and wound up swimming in sewage. Nearly a decade later, he still cannot shake the smell and sound he encountered.

You’ll also hear the touching story of another person who doesn’t even consider himself an Urban Explorer. He is said to have made over 150 trips inside the abandoned Edgewater Hospital. He described why the buildings haunted him and even crept into his dreams. Along with taking pictures, painting over graffiti and creating art inside those walls, he went there to seek treatment for his substance abuse and mental health issues. This continued for years after the hospital had closed and provided him an escape from reality. He’s responsible for spray painting the haunting “No No No” wall that’s pictured above. Come along as he shares his troubling yet inspiring story.

Episode 8 “Leave Only Footprints” could not be possible without the many Urban Explorers who contributed their photos, videos and stories. Check out Ken Fager’s website, American Ubex, for stories and photos of his illustrious work. Long before this podcast, Ken had a page and episode of his former podcast dedicated to the legacy of Edgewater Hospital. His Flickr gallery is loaded with chilling photos while his Instagram page features his latest project: #MiniWi. 

Urban Explorer and photographer Eric Holubow wrote a book called Abandoned: America’s Vanishing Landscape. See more on Flickr and Instagram. His work has been featured in Chicago Magazine and at the Chicago Cultural Center.

See spectacular drone videos of Edgewater Hospital demolition from Bradley French on YouTube. Bradley is an architect by trade, but also a legendary producer of drone videos. He’s also the one who heard the mysterious “hissing” sound that we played in our Bonus Episode about whether or not the hospital was haunted.  

The “No No No“ wall that many found and photographed in the abandoned hospital isn’t at all what you might think. Many believe it was a wall located in the hospital’s psych ward, but it actually is an homage to this Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. 

Follow these Instagram accounts for Chicago and Northwest Indiana UrbEx photos. They also are loaded with photos of the abandoned Edgewater Hospital:

• @nitram242
• @jordan-nicolette
• @cityeyes
• @bradley_frenchy
• @mikeman902
• @joshuatinoco

If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™

Support If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™ on PATREON and hear this week’s Second Opinion episode. We’ll share more conversations with the Urban Explorers from Episode 8: “Leave Only Footprints” — including the story of someone who thought we were the cops. Hear what happened when one Urban Explorer planned a date at the abandoned Edgewater Hospital. One of them walked away with a scar. 

If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™ co-creator, Stephani Young, wrote and produced Episode 8 “Leave Only Footprints” and shares why this chapter of the tangled Edgewater Hospital legacy struck a chord with her and brought her to tears.

Unlock bonus stories, interviews and behind-the-scenes content by supporting us on Patreon. You’ll also get access to hours of our weekly “Second Opinion” episodes.

The entire series of If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™ is now available. You can also support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.