Halloween Haunts - Abandoned

As the season of Halloween approaches, it is time to explore the annals of my favored derelict structures and allegedly haunted locales.

Hillside Nursing Home

The Hillside Nursing Home was composed of two entities: Parkside and Oakside Nursing Home, the former residing in a dilapidated cinder block edifice, the latter in a remarkably aged former residence. Perched upon a hillside in Cincinnati, one can scarcely avoid imagining the myriad deaths and horrors that must have transpired within these decrepit and neglected nursing facilities during their operational years.

Hayswood Hospital

The industrious efforts of preservation societies in this historic riverside town may yet transform the long-abandoned Hayswood Hospital into a vibrant residential community.

Of course, the former Hayswood Hospital has been the host of numerous ghostly tales since its closure, hosting paranormal group gatherings where the spiritually inclined seek out the specters of the institution. According to several accounts, a woman carrying a newborn infant was witnessed traversing the nursery area of the hospital. The woman, having perished during labor, was soon followed by the deceased newborn. Others have reported sighting doctors in the hallways and hearing the anguished cries of its former patients, along with observing illuminated windows. And a few have observed strange markings in the basement that bestow a threatening hostility upon whoever passes by, whether on foot or by vehicle.

“You can see her walking through halls with a dead baby in her hands. It causes me great unease.”
Rebecca Insko

Hayswood Hospital Bracket for Television Inquiry Sign

Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Hospital

Waverly Hills was constructed in 1926 as a hospital dedicated to treating tuberculosis. However, modern advances in medicine rendered the center obsolete by 1961. Two years later, it reopened as the Woodhaven Geriatrics Center, an elderly home, but it was ultimately closed in 1981. Today, it is undergoing renovation through charitable donations.

The goal is to create a haunted bed and breakfast establishment. To help offset the cost and continue general renovations, guided tours are offered that commence in the renovated Laundry room and conclude with a tour of the entire complex, including the famed ‘Death Tunnel.’ A night-time ‘ghost hunting’ tour is also provided.

Weston State Hospital

It appears that Weston State Hospital is finally glimpsing daylight at the end of its dark and rather tumultuous past. From a Civil War that delayed its construction to fires and extreme overcrowding, the once ‘remote’ asylum for the mentally ill in West Virginia now stands essentially frozen in suspended animation. Recent renovations have stabilized the roof, and improvements are being considered to restore the large hospital into a ‘National Museum of the Civil War’, among other potential uses.

Daily heritage tours are available for both small and large groups. They also offer ghost tours and a witches ball.