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.

Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital, Part l

Almost every old psychiatric hospital in the U.S. has ghost stories that surround them. Most often it is said-- because of all the negative energy connected to these facilities that they must be haunted.

Marlboro Hospital

Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital located in Marlboro Township in New Jersey is no exception to this rule.

The hospitals history did produce quite a bit of negative energy. It opened its doors in 1931. It first treated adult, adolescent and children but by the 1980s it was being used for just male and female adult patients.

The facility had a long list of problems.

Early on, rumors started to spread that this facility abused it patients. Local residents often complained that the patients were seen unsupervised outside the hospital’s fences.

One female patient disappeared for 48 hours and was later found outside frozen to death.

In 1979, one hundred and thirty one patients became ill with food poisoning--4 of them died.

Another female patient who was on a liquid diet because of an eating disorder was forced to eat a peanut butter sandwich and choked to death.

A male patient was restrained for 80 hours over the course of 5 days. These restraints should have been loosened every 2 hours. This was not done. He died as a result of blood clots that were caused by these restraints.

Marlboro Cemetery

Over the hospitals sixty-plus years in service there were over 1,500 patients who died while being cared for here. The hospital’s cemetery located across the road from the hospital has over 900 graves--those buried here had no relatives to claim them.

This cemetery is off County Route 520 and is open to the public. Recent paranormal investigators claim this area is haunted. Several interesting EVP’s have been recorded.

In 1993, Senator Richard Codey established a fake background for himself--which reflected he was a known sex offender. Despite this he was hired to be an orderly at the hospital. During his undercover investigation he observed all kinds of abuse in the hospital.

He found rampant patient abuse, wasteful spending and other illegal practices. As a result the hospital was closed down several years later.

After it closed rumors ran rampant that the old buildings on the property were haunted.

Claims of shadow people being seen in the old slaughterhouse on the property as well as other buildings resulted in many people trespassing in hopes of encountering a ghost or two. Because of this security had to be tightened on the property.

The state of New Jersey solved this problem by having the buildings torn down in 2013. Today this rural site is managed by the Monmouth County Park system. The area is now Big Bear Park.

In Part ll of Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital, I share a scary ghost legend that was told for years about this hospital.

My Christmas Angel

Roger in 1952 and the
Orphanage

The young man in this story receives a unique Christmas gift.

My parents abandoned me at the age of 4 and my grandparents placed me in an orphanage. By my eleventh birthday I was seen as a chronic runaway.

It was Christmas Eve and my school let out early. As I exited the gate instead of getting on the bus I just kept walking. By the time it became dark I was tired, cold and afraid.

I had not eaten all day but my first concern was the police. If they found me and returned me to the orphanage I would be beaten.

With no alternative I just kept walking. I entered a park and sat on a wooden bench that was in the shadows hoping not to be seen.

It was now very cold and I started to shiver. 

“Well, hello young man.” A voice came out of the quiet that surrounded me.

I jumped almost falling off the bench. My heart was racing. I could feel its beat against my neck.

I looked up and saw an old woman standing behind me. She watched me with piercing brown eyes.

“You look cold.”

“I am cold, real cold.”

She approached and wrapped her shawl around my shoulders.

I asked, “But ain’t you gonna be cold now?”

“I’ll be okay. Is there anything else you need?”

“I sure could use some food.”

She started down the sidewalk. “Follow me.”

As she stopped under a streetlamp she held out her hand to me.

“Here, you take this letter and give it to a store owner.”

I looked at her outstretched hand but didn’t see anything. I looked up her. “There is nothing in your hand.”

She shrugged and firmly stated, “Roger reach out and take what is in my hand.”

Slowly I reached out and pretended to take something. She nodded her approval.

“Now close your finger and thumb and hold on tightly.”

I did as she instructed as if I was grasping the letter.

“Take it to any store owner.”

“What do I say to them?”

“Nothing.”

“But what store do I go to?”

She smiled, “It doesn’t matter.”

I walked out of the park. I came to a store where a woman stood behind the counter. I entered the shop and stopped directly in front of her.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I looked down at my shoes.

She reached out and touched my hand. I opened my tightly closed fingers. She drew back and smiled as she looked down at her own hand.

She then walked to the back of the store. I slowly inched toward the front of the store afraid she was calling the police.

As I reached the door she called out my name. I whirled around and saw a paper plate in her hand.

“Roger here is something for you to eat.”

“How did you know my name?”

“It was on the paper.”

“But there is no paper.”

She just smiled and indicated with her hand that I should eat. I cleaned that plate quickly and I drank two Coca Colas.

“Are you full?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Then it is time for you to go.”

As I turned to leave she touched my shoulder. She held out her hand. “Here, you almost forgot your letter.”

Again, saying nothing, I closed my finger and thumb tightly as if taking something from her.

I walked back to the park. When I arrived the old woman was sitting on the park bench.

“Did you eat?’

“Yes Ma’am, I drank two Coca Colas.”

“Good.”

I looked at her and asked, “How do you get the magic?”

“Its not magic.”

“But how does everyone know my name?”

“It was written in the letter.”

“Can I keep the letter so I can be magic too?”

She reached out and opened my firmly closed fingers. She took whatever it was I was holding and tucked it in her apron pocket.

She looked at me steadily. “Would you help someone if they were hungry?”

Yes, Ma’am.”

“Would you help someone if they were hurt, cold or scared?”

“Yes, Ma’am, I would be their friend.”

She smiled at me. “Roger, you are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the letter.”

She stood up, kissed me on the forehead removed her shawl from my shoulders and walked down the sidewalk.

I watched as she disappeared into the darkness.

Roger is an author and storyteller today.

More stories from this author American Orphan, The Life and Times of Roger Dean Kiser.