Eerie And Disturbing Ghost Stories From Orphanages
There's something inherently chilling about old orphanages. Maybe it's the fact that scary orphanage stories abound - after all, the buildings are associated with heartbroken and lonely children. And not all of these tales concern the living. Plenty of real life ghost stories feature orphanages filled with restless and vengeful spirits.
These scary orphanage ghost stories all take place at actual haunted orphanages or abandoned orphanage sites around the world. These creepy stories aren't just campfire fodder, but are based off of real life tragedies that actually occurred at these places. You can even visit these locations, if you're in the mood for a firsthand ghostly encounter. Just be warned - you never know what might come home with you.
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The Smell Of Smoke Still Lingers At Crybaby Lane
Photo: NC Paranormal Research / FacebookRaleigh's Crybaby Lane was once the spot of a Roman Catholic orphanage. When a fire broke out in the dormitory in 1958, it gutted the building and slayed many of the orphans. All that remains is a patch of grass and the cornerstone of the original building.
Months after the fire, neighbors continued to complain to the city about the strong smell of smoke. People walking through the field felt as though they were being suffocated. And, creepiest of all, they heard the cries and screams of the orphan children. Because of this, the surrounding houses have now been abandoned.
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An Evil Headmaster Haunts The Fairmount Children's Home
Photo: honeybbanne / InstagramA privately owned orphanage known as The Fairmount Children's Home opened in Alliance, OH, in the 1870s. Unfortunately, the headmaster of the orphanage was said to be a cruel man who tortured and even slayed the children who lived there. That is, until one night in 1944. According to legend, the children rose up against the headmaster and hanged him from a pipe in the basement.
The headmaster supposedly began to haunt the orphanage, looming over children's beds and appearing as a shadowy figure in the back of class photos. The orphanage eventually shut down and was abandoned in the 1990s before it mysteriously burned down.
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Children Are Buried At The Montana Children's Center
Photo: ghostadventures / TwitterThe Montana Children's Center, also known as the Twin Bridges Orphanage, was established by the state in the 1890s, as the mining boom of the area declined. While some of the children there were orphans, many were simply abandoned by parents who couldn't afford to care for them. Tales of abuse at the orphanage were numerous; children were whipped for wetting the bed or hung on coat hooks and locked in dark rooms as punishment. Many children also perished on the property from disease. One former employee said there were 30 headstones in the yard for children, but they've since disappeared.
The orphanage closed in 1976, and the current owner claims to hear children singing when alone on the property. It was investigated by the TV show Ghost Adventures, who communicated with the spirit of an orphan girl and found flashing lights dancing from room to room.
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Punished Orphan Boys Roam St. John's Orphanage
Photo: Goehm1 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Opened by Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church in 1905, St. John's Orphanage in Goulburn, Australia, housed 200 boys at its peak. By many accounts the boys were treated as slaves and cruelly punished. They were given one set of clothing upon arrival, and they were beaten and caned regularly. Neglect was common, and most of the orphans were not educated beyond fifth grade.
As it wasn't the happiest of places, it's no surprise that it is now known as one of the most haunted locations in Australia. Disturbing messages are written on the walls, seemingly by someone who once lived there, and the spirits of little boys supposedly still roam the premises.
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Children Who Fatally Burned Linger At Gore Orphanage
Photo: JoshH21 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0According to Ohio legend, Gore Orphanage in Vermillion burned down in the 1800s. Rumor has it that the fire was started by a disgruntled employee, or by the owner himself to collect insurance money. None of the children survived the fire.
The site has since been razed and abandoned. But visitors to the area claim that you can see ghosts of the orphan children frolicking about the woods. Others report smelling burning flesh and hearing the screams of children, and even finding tiny hand prints on their parked cars.
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Abused Native American Children Haunt The Holy Family Orphanage
Photo: p.Gordon / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0The Holy Family Orphanage in Marquette, MI, opened in 1915. While it was initially meant to be a whites-only orphanage, the first occupants were 60 Native American children. These children weren't all orphans - some had been taken from their mothers in an effort to assimilate them into white culture. Rumors of abuse were common. One story says that a young girl who had disobeyed orders and stayed out in the cold perished of pneumonia. Her body was put on display as a warning to the other children that they had better behave.
The Holy Family Orphanage closed in 1965, and visitors report hearing moaning children and sighting ghosts on the property.
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Children Were Tortured At A Gettysburg Orphanage
Photo: Charles J. Tyson / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainDuring the Civil War, orphans of Union soldiers were often taken to The National Soldiers Orphan's Homestead. The orphanage ran without problems for years, until Rosa Carmichael was appointed the orphanage's matron. Said to be an abusive disciplinarian, Carmichael reportedly tortured children in the cellar of the orphanage. Eventually a runaway outed her abuse, and she was fined for her transgressions.
Apparently, the spirits of the children she tormented don't believe justice was served. The building is now a tourist attraction, and said to be highly haunted. Some visitors claim to have sighted Rosa Carmichael herself, trapped and angry in the cellar.
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A Ghostly Little Girl Appears In An Orphanage-Turned-Mental Asylum
Photo: PeterMLiverpoolLad5 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0This abandoned Victorian building was first an orphanage, then a mental institution is just asking to be haunted. Originally the Liverpool Seaman's Orphan Institution, it operated as a medical hospital and a mental asylum before it was closed down by the city council in 1997. It once housed 400 orphans, who risked being locked in unlit "naughty cupboards" in an attic corridor if they misbehaved.
There have been many ghost sightings at the location, on the building roof and in Ward G. Visitors have also reported hearing dragging noises in the dining room and have feelings of uneasiness in the basement. One popular photo supposedly shows a small ghost girl crying in the window.
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A Ghost Can Be Heard Taking Its Own Life At An Old Boy's Home
Photo: MARELBU / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0The Guthrie Boy's Home in Oklahoma opened its doors sometime in the early 1920s. According to legend, one employee of the orphanage took his own life in the bell tower. Another employee, a nurse maid, abused many of the boys and slayed several.
The building was closed in 1978 with the emergence of the foster care system. Today, visitors to the Guthrie Boy's Home claim to hear footsteps in the bell tower, bells ringing, and even gasping. The ghosts of the boys can be heard screaming late at night and the spirit of the nurse maid supposedly lurks in the main entryway.
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Spirits Of Little Girls Roam This Former Savannah Orphanage
Photo: Folktales / Zombie Media & Crypto Crew ProductionsThe Old Orphanage in Savannah, GA, was built in 1810. The stone mansion was once an all-girls orphanage, until a fire trapped slayed 11 of the 17 girls who resided there.
Today the owners claim to hear young girls singing and playing, and say they often move items around the rooms.
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Phantom Laughter Echoes Where St. Mary's Orphanage Once Stood
St. Mary's Orphanage housed children in Galveston Island, TX. That is, until a hurricane wiped out nearly all of the orphans. In 1900, the "Great Storm" descended upon the island. As the orphanage began to flood, the Sisters working there tied the children to them with rope as they sought higher and higher ground. Eventually, the roof collapsed, trapping them inside and slaying 90 orphans and 10 Sisters. Their bodies were discovered still tied together by the rope.
Today, the site is home to a Wal-Mart. Employees report toys going missing and hearing kids' phantom laughter missing toys. One employee was certain they heard a child calling for her mother, but upon a store-wide search, no one was found.
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A Secret Society Used Orphan Bones For Rituals
Photo: Adam Jones / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0The Odd Fellows Home was constructed in 1900 in Liberty, MO, as a place for unfortunate souls. It included a hospital, a home for the elderly, and an orphanage. It was run by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.), a fraternal order meant to help others.
But the order may have had a more sinister purpose. Many residents at the Odd Fellows Home passed - 600 bodies are buried in the cemetery. That's a lot of spirits. There's also suspicion that the I.O.O.F. had some creepy secret practices, which included using human remains of their residents in their societal rituals. This supposedly upset the spirits, who are said to haunt the location, now a winery, to this day.
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Spirits From A Mysterious Orphanage Haunt A Housing Development
There's little factual evidence to be found on the Good Servant (later known as Good Serpent) Orphanage in Vallejo, CA. There was an orphanage built in rural Vallejo in the 1800s that closed amid investigations of child abuse and passings. Less substantiated rumors claim the orphanage housed mentally unsound children who were experimented on and lobotomized.
Whatever the real story, the orphanage was eventually destroyed. A golf course was built in its place, and later a housing development. Many residents of the housing development claim their houses, despite being new, are haunted. They hear footsteps and moaning and see the ghosts of children.
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This New Jersey Orphanage Is Said To Be Satanic
Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0The Elizabeth Orphan Asylum opened as an orphanage for girls in Elizabeth, NJ, in 1858. It closed in 1962 and was eventually razed in 1996, but during its years of abandonment, it was the site of a lot of creepy folklore.
The basement was rumored to be used for satanic rituals. The house became considered a sort of magnet for evil, as it was hit by a small airplane in the 1970s, and partially burned a few years later. People often claimed to see demons or satanic nuns in the area. Visitors also reported noticing glowing green orbs, almost like eyes, in various sections of the house.
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An Undead Nun Visits This New Orleans Guest House
Photo: thelizlambert / InstagramThere are many haunted buildings in New Orleans, and St. Vincent's Guest House is no exception. It was originally built as an orphanage in the 1860s, a time when many children would have died from yellow fever.
Today, the orphanage has been turned into a hotel. Guests constantly report hauntings, specifically that children laugh inside the walls, the apparition of a nun stalks the top floor, and spirits move their possessions and wake them up at night.
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Bouncing Balls And Laughing Children Haunt The Wise County Orphanage
Video: YouTube
This Wise County Orphanage in Wise, VA, was abandoned in the 1920s. Not much is known about the orphanage itself, but those daring enough to venture into the area have reported hearing bouncing balls and laughing children, and seeing orbs of lights.
