Reader Story Submission - June 2010
My story is from my hometown, Howell. A long time ago, there was Hillcrest Sanitarium. It was built for TB patients, as far as I know. Rumors have been circulating about this place forever, about possible hauntings. A very good friend of my mother worked there as a teenager. She recalled seeing children with water-on-the-brain, and she called them 'watermelon heads'. (I read about the Melon Heads on your site). The sanitarium had tunnels for wheeling out the dead and tons of outbuildings for whatever procedures and housing for staff. All of them are gone now, except for the opening of one tunnel. Now, there is a subdivision of humungous homes all over the property (I know, Poltergeist, right?!). I don't know what would possess people to want to live on a property that housed so many deaths, but whatever. I've tried investigating by driving through the subdivision, but as it turns out, you can follow the old power lines up to the actual ruins, which aren't exactly where the subdivision is. There's a trail down a narrow dirt road with a couple houses that will lead you to the highest point in Howell. That's where the sanitarium actually was. If you go down the trail, there is a man who will come after you and kick you off the premises. My friend (the same one with the mother who worked there) drove back there and got lost. They got out of the car, and walked around, and were lost for hours. Mind you, he's pretty good with directions. Last winter, my friend and I drove up there and honest to God, I immediately felt sick when he drove around the entrance to the ruins. I felt like vomiting and the second he drove away, I was fine. I don't know if I'm a sensitive or not, but I will say that this has never happened to me before. About two years ago, my mom's friend went out to the ruins on her lunch break with some friends. She sat on the steps that lead deeper into the tunnels (before they were all filled in) and she got spooked so she ran out. When they got back to work, they noticed that she had scratches under her clothes. I've heard about things like this, people getting scratched by unseen entities. I thought I would share this with someone who is interested in the paranormal. I have more ghost stories, but I have to remember them all, Haha! Thanks for the great work on the site! It's a blast to read!
Read more about the history of this former place in our Haunted Places section.
Picture Credit - http://www.livgenmi.com/sanatorium.htm