Ohio’s Gore Orphanage

When aficionados of ghost stories in Ohio get together there is one story that is always mentioned--the legend of Gore’s Orphanage. This story takes place in Vermillion, Ohio. It is often listed in the top ten most popular ghost stories in Ohio.

As mentioned the story of Gore’s Orphanage is only a “legend” but at the end of this post I will share the true story of why this area might possibly be haunted.

This legend starts with a tragic fire. It is stated that a man by the name of Gore ran an orphanage in the 1800s. He didn’t particularly like children and it is stated he often abused the chargers that were entrusted to his care.

In one version of this tale Gore wanting to collect “insurance money” decides to set the orphanage on fire. He callously stands by and watches all the orphans perish in the fire.

Other tales state that it was a “disgruntled employee” of Gores who actually set the fire in order to exact revenge on his former boss. Or it is stated that the culprit was a “crazy neighbor” who was tired of all the children’s noise.

Yet another reason sometimes told is more benign in nature. It is stated that an orphan actually knocked a lantern over which set the barn on fire. Then the flames quickly spread to the orphanage’s main building.

All these versions mention that all the orphans perished in this fire.

It is stated that the neighboring townsfolk not wanting a reminder of this terrible tragedy razed the remaining burnt shells of the buildings leaving only the corner foundations.

But this tragedy was not so easily forgotten for soon after the fire the locals started whispering that at night strange activity occurred near the site where the fire occurred.

Some reported seeing the ghostly shapes of the dead children playing in the woods.

Other tales included more dramatic sightings. Witnesses stated they saw these poor orphans still on fire running and screaming for help.

Yet other sightings included tales of bright lights that were seen bobbing and weaving through the trees. Many felt these lights must be these children’s spirits.

One darker tale started to be circulated. A tall dark ominous figure was seen standing near one of the corner foundations. It was believed this figure was probably the person that was responsible for setting the orphanage on fire.

Many witnesses over the years have seen activity in this area but not for the reasons listed above.

The Gore Orphanage never existed. A road in the area is called “Gore Orphanage Road” because of two other reasons. Early surveyors named the road after a “gore” which is a word they use to denote a wedge-shaped piece of land.

Later the word “Orphanage” was added when the Orphanage of Light and Hope took ownership of the property in 1903.

Gatepost at Old Swift Mansion

A man by the name of Joseph Swift purchased the land in 1817 and over the next 20 years he built a mansion named after him. He sold this beloved mansion for financial reasons in 1874 to Nicolas and Harriet Kellogg Wilbur. Tragically, four of their great-grandchildren died in the home from diphtheria.

It was at the height of the Spiritualism movement and the Wilburs overcome with grief tried to communicate with their deceased great-grandchildren by holding a series of séances at the mansion.

In 1895 the Wilbur family sold the mansion to the Sutton family, 7 years later they sold the property to the Rev. John Sprunger in 1903 to be used as part of the Orphanage of Light and Hope that he and his wife founded.

Location of Swift Mansion
Photo: JoshH21

This orphanage closed down in 1916 and the old Swift Mansion left abandoned burnt to the ground in 1923.

It was at this time that the rumors about the hauntings started to be reported.

So children did die on the property but from diphtheria not a fire. Are the more benign ghost sighting that are seen in the area near where the Swift Mansion once stood --actually these four great-grandchildren instead?

In 1992 the old Swift mansion site and 1500 acres of the Vermillion River Valley were purchased by the Lorain County Metro Parks.

Swift Mansion

The Cooking Ghost

Ellicott City Historic District

In 2010, Ellicott City, a small town in Maryland, was noted as one of the best places in America to live by MONEY magazine. 

This city is a part of the Baltimore-Washington metro area in Howard County. Ellicott City is also considered one of the most haunted small towns on the East Coast.

Edward Parson Hayden, the first county clerk in Ellicott City, built what is known as Hayden House or Oak Lawn in the 1800s. He lived in this home with his wife and six children. He died in 1850.

His home in more recent years has been used to house the Howard County Board of Education and then the District Court. In the 1980s a county law library was added.

Early on, strange stories about Oak Lawn started to circulate. These stories reached a fever pitch in the 1970s when the home housed the district court and the Howard County Office of Parole and Probation.

Oak Lawn

Clerks and secretaries reported that the lights in the building would turn on and off by themselves. A coffee pot would often heat up by itself even when it was not plugged in. These witnesses also reported they heard footsteps in the part of the home that was not in use.

Several workers saw a rocking chair move without cause, and one staff member who arrived early to work one morning reported seeing a man through a glass pane at the front door. When she entered the home, she searched thoroughly, but no one but herself was inside.

The oddest experiences surround phantom food smells. Besides the coffee pot acting strange, many workers smelled the aroma of soup or bacon and eggs at all hours of the day and night. What confused them was that there were no cooking appliances in the building at this time.

Because of these persistent smells, the workers dubbed this active ghost at Oak Lawn “The Cooking Ghost.”

One employee who often stayed late to work noted that this ghost made its presence known in a variety of other ways. He saw cloth napkins fold and unfold on their own right in front of him.

He reported that one night as he worked on the second floor, he saw a “white haze” out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to get a better look, he saw a dense misty ball of vapor floating in mid-air. He stated it wasn't too dense for he saw what was behind it. He watched as it then vanished into thin air.

One witness who currently works at the Court House states he sees “weird things” all the time. A hot plate turns on by itself--again even when the dial is turned to off and the unit is unplugged.

One of his female co-workers saw the ghost of a female walk by her and then walk right through the wall that leads to the law library.

The Ghost of Sonja Henie

“I want to do with skates what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing (in the movies).”

                                                           --Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie was born in Kistiania--now known as Oslo, Norway. She skated in her first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 at the young age of eleven. She went on to receive gold medals for figure skating in 1928, 1932, and 1936.

Sonja Henie was the world’s first figure skating superstar.

Retiring from competition in 1936 Henie moved to the United States where she became a film star. Most of the films she performed in were tailor-made to highlight her skating ability. 

Sonja also toured in her own ice show called, Hollywood Ice Revue. By the 1940s she had hung up her skates and stopped touring. Sonja officially retired in 1960.

She was married three times. Her one regret in life was she not able to have children. In 1969, Henie died from complications due to leukemia at the age of fifty-seven. Her third husband, Niels Onstad at her request left their considerable art collection in a public trust. *

Sonja Henie and Neils Onstad

At the height of her fame, Henie had her dream home designed by Paul Williams and built in 1937. 

This old-style 3-story elegant Hollywood mansion is located across the street from Sunset Boulevard. It sits on 5 acres and has a sweeping circular drive, grand staircase, swimming pool, and tennis courts.

One unique item Henie had built in the home was an ice rink upstairs in the home’s attic.

In the early 1970s, singer-actress Connie Stevens bought this home from Onstad. He stated at the time that the house was built for children. 

She paid only $250,000, which was a low-price for this elegant Hollywood mansion. She moved in with her two daughters that she had with her ex-husband Eddie Fisher.

Connie Stevens lived in the home for many years. ** 

She has occasionally rented it out, and it was used in the Mike Nichols’ film, Postcards From the Edge. 

Over the years, both Stevens and her daughters' experienced encounters with what they feel is Sonja Henie’s ghost.

Connie's story was highlighted in one season finale on Biography’s Celebrity Ghost Stories.

Most of the strange activity that occurs is centered in the attic room, where Henie’s rink was. The Stevens' family often hears loud footsteps and music coming from this area, as well as Windows being slammed shut.

Items on a dressing table, in one bedroom in the home, were found missing or moved. Stevens awoke one night to see Henie’s ghost standing near her bed. The activity has continued to this day.

Stevens stated that the lights turn on in the attic whenever someone new is in the home.

Neils Onstad never told his wife about her leukemia diagnosis, he instead told her that her “tiredness” was from anemia. 

Some state this is a possible reason why Sonja Henie haunts her beloved home. Others point out that it was the presence of Stevens’ daughters that kept her in the house.

* Sonja Henie had an estate worth over a hundred million dollars at her death, part of this fortune she inherited from her Norwegian father’s fur trade business, part of it she earned. Neils Onstad was a Billionaire shipping magnate when they married.

** In 1992 Stevens put the home on the market to sell.

Here is a link to the Biography Channel video, The Haunting of Connie Stevens. This is the best picture quality one I could find. The "Long Island Medium" does a reading of the house.

Ghost Trains

There are many stories of sightings of ghost or phantom trains. They are not unique to just one country or region. These sightings all have taken on folklore status. Here are just a few well-known ghost train stories.

Stockholm, Sweden has a phantom subway train that is called the Silverpilen or Silver Arrow. So many stories are told that it has become an Urban Legend.

This phantom train is said to stop at random stations. It is seen either completely empty or with ghostly passengers inside. A warning is given never to board it or you will end up at “Kymilinge”--the station of the dead. This is a real subway station that is abandoned.

Actually, Silverpilen was a “real” experimental subway train. It was used in test runs during rush hour. People considered it an eerie sight for it had no graffiti or advertisements displayed. It was rarely used and was retired in 1996.

It has gained a frightening reputation and to this day it is said it haunts subway workers in abandoned tunnels.

The Canadian St. Louis Ghost Train better known as the St. Louis Light is seen along an old abandoned rail line that runs between Prince Albert and the small village community of St. Louis, Saskatchewan. Today all that remains of the tracks is a gravel road.

This phantom train has been seen for many generations. Its light appears at twilight or at night. It is always seen at a distance.

Two legends for the reason this light appears are:

It is actually the ghost of a man holding a lamp that was struck by a train and killed or…

The light seen is a phantom train.

In more recent years two students were able to duplicate this phenomenon. Their efforts discounted the sightings of this phantom train.They stated it was just a “diffraction of distant vehicle lights.” They won an award for their efforts. 

But if this light was seen before the invention of cars--one has to wonder if this is the real reason. Here is a link to an article that mentions sightings of this ghost train.

Engine that pulled Lincoln's
funeral train.

In America, the most famous phantom train is seen on a regular basis. This ghost steam engine travels between Washington, D.C. and Springfield, Illinois--passing 180 cities each April. It is seen around the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death.

Lincoln is not seen but his flag draped coffin is seen guarded by ghostly Union soldiers.

This phantom train is seen emerging from a thick black fog towing several dark cars. It supposedly stops watches and clocks in the surrounding areas it passes. It is said that as it arrives people feel the air become heavier and colder.

This train it appears never reaches it final destination--Springfield.

In Ireland a famous phantom train sighting occurred along the line from Clones in the north to Armagh in the west. This line no longer runs.

In the summer of 1924, two men were sitting alone on a platform bench waiting for a train. When suddenly they heard several voices in the train station behind them. Besides hushed voices they heard a series of moans and groans.

Curious, one arose to peak into the station window. He was surprised to see a deserted room that held benches and a long table but no people.

As this man returned to the bench where his companion sat they both heard the sound of a train approaching the station. They moved to the tracks to look down the line in anticipation.

The sound of this approaching train became louder and louder. As it passed where they stood they heard a loud scream. They jumped back startled. They then heard a defeating train whistle blow.

Despite these sounds they never actually saw a train.

Minutes later when the signalman came out on the platform the two men questioned him. He had not heard the train go by.

He then told them that just the year before a man had jumped in front of a train. He had been brought into the station’s waiting room but he was seriously injured and nothing could be done for him. The signalman pointed to the long table inside and stated, “He died right there on that table.”