October Haunting

The leaves are turning colors, it’s Friday and rain is cascading against the windows. It’s as cold outside as the chocolate bars in the fridge, saved for hot cocoa this evening and the house smells like fall with wood is waiting next to the fireplace…looks like the setting is right to scare the little ones by telling ghost stories by a fire tonight.

My son doesn’t scare that easily though, as demonstrated by our visit to Bunny Man Bridge, the boy is the adventuresome sort. Always willing to risk life and limb (so long as they’re mine, it’s daylight and there’s an easy escape route) exploring abandoned ghost towns, sites of macabre occurrences or any other multitude of bizarre places…like Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Not too terribly long ago, we heard of a place called “Hell House” off of Bonny Branch Road in Maryland. The rumor of this place typifies the mayhem that surrounds larger abandoned building; stories of young children, satanic worship and murder. The “house”, not visible from the road, is a short hike through underbrush and a long climb up a set of ancient stairs.

Built in the 1800’s, the story goes, the house was built as a religious reformatory for teenage girls. The head priest and nuns began dabbling in the occult and girls began disappearing, murdered for satanic sacrifices with the events culminating in the ritual execution of five girls in the entrance hall and the suicide of the head priest. It’s said the screams of the young victims can still be heard.

During the day it’s a grand building, neglected and falling into ruin. In spite of how close it is to the road, it’s eerily quiet and rather peaceful, interesting architecturally and historically even without the campfire rumors

The area is interesting as well and the nearby town is purported to be extremely haunted.