Haunted Holy Cross Orphanage

Holy Cross Orphanage

Holy Cross, located in Marquette, Michigan, opened its doors in 1915.

Many of its residents over the years were not actually orphans.

In fact, one of the first groups to use the building was 80 Native American children and 8 nuns. The Catholic Church had ruthlessly removed these children from their families intending to “assimilate them.”

Other children sent to Holy Cross over the years lived with single parents who could not care for them.

In 1963, this orphanage accepted a group of refugee children from Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

At its peak, this orphanage housed over 200 residents. The nuns kept a strict schedule for their charges.

Up for breakfast, always cereal, at 9:00 a.m., classes promptly at 9:00 a.m. and playtime in the afternoons, always outside, even in bad weather.

Now adults, former residents of Holy Cross, have reported experiencing extreme mental and physical abuse at the Orphanage--meter out by the “holy sisters.”

One story shared involves a little girl who stayed outside after the rest of the children had been called in—by a horn used to announce playtime was over.

It was winter, and a blizzard hit. She like most of the residents did not have a warm coat. The result was she caught pneumonia and died.

The nuns callously displayed this little girl’s body for everyone to see. They used it as a warning to listen. Former residents state it shocked and horrified them.

The nuns regularly used cruel punishments to keep the orphans under control. One method used, actually by many orphanages at the time, was small closets.

The children were placed in these and kept in complete darkness. Food would be shoved in through a small hole, and a pot was used for waste.

Another punishment involved making children stand for hours with their arms outstretched, often holding a heavy object.

One stark example of the extreme abuse at Holy Cross mentions some children who misbehaved were beaten to death.

Abandoned Holy Cross

This orphanage was shut down in 1965. The building by 1982 stood deserted and boarded up.

Marquette Residents’ state feeling uneasy when they are near this building, even during the day.

Neighbors have seen ghostly children playing outside the building and at night, people report hearing the moans and cries of young children coming from various rooms.

In recent years, this building has been renovated and turned into apartments. Some state that a fresh coat of paint will not be enough to stop this haunting.