Raleigh, NC Part III - Cry Baby Lane Part I

Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Orphanage, Raleigh NC - 1905

You wake up in the middle of night, the strong smell of fire overwhelms the air. You try to breathe but you choke on the smoky haze that obscures your view. You look around desperately, trying to find the source. Your once all-too-familiar room is now nothing but a blanket of thick gray and you know that you need to get out. You jump out of bed and without thinking start putting on your shoes and jacket but stop yourself - you hear yelling in the room next to you and recognize the voices instantly. The other boys - they won't know what to do. You have to go and help. You feel your way to your bedroom door and touch the handle carefully. You were always told to check the handle for heat, it was the best way to tell if the fire was close. You feel the warm metal of the knob but don't get burned. Deciding that it was safe enough, you twist the handle and fling the door open to reveal your smoke covered hallway. "How long has this been burning?", you think to yourself as you make your way out and to the room next door where the boys are crying out. They sound scared but not hurt. You make your way to their door, calling the name of the oldest boy in the room.

"John! It's Timothy! I'm coming to get you! John! Open the door!" John had locked the door, probably in attempt to protect himself and the other children. Upon hearing your voice he opened the door, the other boys were right behind him, coughing and crying.

"We have to get out! Follow me! Stay together!" You grab John's hand and instinctively the boys form a human chain, holding tightly onto one another as you make your way slowly through the thick air.

Although there was an escape ladder, none of the children were prepared for an actual fire. The younger ones were never even told what to do in the event of one. You remember clearly, it was only you and a few more of the older ones that were pulled aside and given the responsibility of helping the younger children, just as you do with everything else.

"You must always help the little ones." they say, "You're the oldest now." You didn't think it would ever mean anything more than breaking up fights and calming the smallest ones on lonely nights.

You make your way to the room with the window ladder, hearing the horrified screams of other children and the priests that cared for them. As you near the end of the hall the smoke begins to clear and you are able to pick up speed, sprinting towards safety. You burst into the empty room and straight to the window, flinging it open. Looking down below you see your salvation; priests had managed to escape and were dragging mattresses outside for the children to jump onto.

"We have to jump!" the boys began shaking their heads and crying louder, "It's the only way! Look, I'll go first and show you that it will be okay but you have to PROMISE ME THAT YOU WILL JUMP!!" The nodded reluctantly but hope began to show in their tiny faces.

You grab another boys hand and nod, "Jump with me! That way they see!" and slowly climb over the windowsill. Making eye contact with him and nod,"One, two, three!"and leap, using your legs to push away from the burning building. You tighten your grip on his hand and hit the mattress with a loud THUD. Every bit of you instantly aches but you jump up, making room for the others to land. Hobbling away, you glance over to see the boy that jumped with you doing the same. "Thank God he's safe", you think to yourself. You hear the priests yelling for another to jump and see 16 year-old John Gladish, the boy next door that worked hard to protect the young ones in his room, sitting on the window ledge. He leaps, yelling all the way to the ground. Your eyes widen and you let out a blood-curdling scream as you see that he is going to miss the mattresses. "Move them!!", you cry out but it's too late. You see young John Gladish's body drop the ground and lie there, not moving, not breathing.

Cry Baby Lane November 2018

This is the kind of story that creates legends. A tragic fire that destroyed an orphanage, taking the lives of the children within it. This particular tale of Cry Baby Lane is one that is known throughout our modern history. Legend tells us that if you visit this stretch of road that once led hundreds of children to sanctuary, you will now hear the screams of the children's painful deaths, giving it the name Cry Baby Lane. Reports of the ghostly smell of fire lingers in the air.

The story has several variations, including that of the deaths of several priests, including its founder, on the orphanage grounds. Some versions telling of 4 children killed, others claim that all the children burned to death.

We, The Senders, decided that as one of the most mysteriously haunted spots in Raleigh, this was an opportunity we just couldn't pass up.

Finding Cry Baby Lane is now virtually impossible. At the time of our visit, we found ourselves on the scene of a major construction sight. The city of Raleigh is quickly growing and so is the need for quicker commutes and more accessible roads. The dead end that was once believed to be the main access point to Cry Baby Lane is now a paved, 4-lane road complete with roundabout and new landscaping. It is completely unrecognizable to the countless ghost hunters and spook seekers that used to visit every day.

This made finding what remained of the orphanage quite a difficult task, leaving us wondering if we were in right spot at all. After about an hour of walking around and searching, I was almost ready to give up. I found no markings that would indicate any previous structures even stood in that field, nothing but an old broken road surrounded by towering trees. I decided to just sit down and take in my surroundings. It's rarely about what I see, after all, but what I feel.

The arrow indicates where I was sitting, Bilyeu Road was to my back. Photo credit: Google Maps

I sat in the middle of the broken road, in the middle of a field with an old tree just to the left of me. I turned my audio recorder on, closed my eyes and put my hands flat on the pavement.

I felt the warmth rising from earth, the sounds of the gentle Carolina breeze filled my ears, the sun kissed my face. The thoughts started rushing to me...

This is my home, my final place

I'm happy here

I don't ever want to leave

I'm proud of the work I've done here

(a vision of a garden or yard came to me, I know it meant working outdoors)

Speaking into my recorder, I began to explain my surroundings. Then, I heard the crunching of dried leaves on the ground to the left of me. I open my eyes and look over, expecting to see one of our hunting party - no one was there. I looked down to where I heard the sound - there weren't any leaves.

I closed my eyes again and before I could pull my concentration, I heard the crunching again! Opened my eyes, perhaps it was a rabbit or other small creature? Nothing again except that old tree. I attempted another go at closing me eyes, trying to pick up where I left off and CRUNCH! It sounded like a footstep.This time, I was unnerved. I could find no rational explanation for the sound but I knew it had gotten closer. I stopped my recording, picked myself up and set out to rejoin the group. I wasn't wanting to know how close that sound could get and I felt as if whatever it was had wanted to reach out to me, touch me. That's the feeling that made me hightail it out of there!

After finding my group and recollecting my thoughts, we decided to head back to our vehicle to listen to the audio recording. As we began to play it back all sounds seemed normal. The wind in the trees, birds calling, my voice talking. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and then BOOM! A loud thudding sound seemed to come out of nowhere, we jumped at hearing it. Then came another BOOM followed by yet another one. It sounded almost industrial, like the sound of a bulldozer hitting the ground. Only there was no active construction going on, no machines, no crews. Surely I would have heard it if there was - the noise would have been so much that I wouldn't have heard leaves crunching! We played it over and over again, every time convincing me that the boom was not natural but supernatural.

To be continued...

FOLLOW ME TO PART II OF CRY BABY LANE TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS ORPHANAGE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TODAY!