Talking Sweet About Nothing

One project that has been in the back of my mind for a while is to create a small website dedicated to Hell House. Over the last couple of years I have pieced together bits of information and pictures and I thought it would be cool to share it. Well, I can scratch that one off the list because someone has beaten me to it, and has done a much better job.

www.acurse.com offers a pretty great "tour" that covers the entire grounds at Hell House.

stubbornlights.org has a more historical/myth debunking approach and collects several links to new articles and interviews.

Most of you who know me have heard me talk about these ruins near Ellicott City. A few summers ago I was mildly obsessed with exploring all of the creepy places near Catonsville and Hell House was like the holy grail. I found several awesome cemeteries, jumped the fence at the Patapsco Female Institute (which has since been cleaned up and is open to the public), taken most of the local ghost tours, read tons of material, and trolled message boards dedicated to such topics. Hell House was one place that was consistently mentioned, but very little was known about its history, it had several conflicting rumors surrounding it, and directions were vague at best. I had gone out a few weekends in a row, driving around the general area where I believed it was located, but came up empty every time. It turns out that I had been within sight of it a couple of times and had completely missed it.

I was living with my friend Scott at the time and he knew what I was up to and was kind of getting into it, as well. He asked a co-worker who had grown up in the area what he knew and came back with some directions, still very obscure, but worth trying. "Drive to the end of Seven Hills Road." Here we encountered the first problem, Seven Hills Road is no longer called Seven Hills Road. Luckily, Scott had a general idea of where it was and after a quick internet search we locked in the exact road. So I drove Seven Hills Road until it ends and I realized that I didn't know what to do next. I could turn left or right, a 50/50 chance of finding or missing this place. I turned right and after about a half mile I'm out of the Patapsco River valley and in the middle of pastures and corn fields. I had read that Hell House was perched over the river and I realized that I needed to go the other way. So I turned around and after about a mile, the road ended at another cross-street that ran parallel to the river. I had driven past here before and so I knew I had to be close. I parked along the river, and got out to walk. I scanned the surrounding hill tops but couldn't see anything. It was the middle of summer and everything was lush green. In the river there were some sweet ruins from a bridge that no longer existed and up ahead I could see a pretty awesome railroad bridge and tunnel that led away from the paper mill. I decided that since I hadn't found Hell House, I could at least go walk over a rail road bride and check out a cool tunnel. I walked down the road and up to the railroad bridge. I walked across the bridge, checked out the river below me and went to the edge of the tunnel. It's long, dark, and creepy, just like you'd expect it to be, but it's only about 200 yards long, so you can totally see the exit. There were some high school aged kids hanging out on the hill above the tunnel and I could tell that I was interrupting them, so I decided to leave. As I exited the railroad bridge and turned to walk back to the road I was absolutely floored to see the huge concrete stair case that leads up the side of the hill. It's overgrown with vines and moss, and it's not suprising that I missed it on my way in. My heart immediately started beating very fast and I could hear blood rushing in my ears. The stair case was very tall, and there were no signs of Hell House, but come on...big stone staircases in the forest HAVE to lead to places called Hell House. Back then I had a cell phone and I considered calling Scott to tell him I found it, but also mostly to tell him where I was in case I never came back. Unfortunately, I didn't have service. I was at the bottom of a river valley in the middle of a state park, so it's understandable. I slowly started up the stairs and carefully ignored the 'No Trespassing" signs. I was more excited than scared, but I was being very cautious, as I was by myself there. When I got to the top I was disappointed to find only a thick forest. I follow a dirt path to some smaller staircases and finally after twisting up two smaller hills I emerge right next to Hell House. I mean, it's less than 15 feet away and I couldn't see it until I was directly upon it. It's totally massive and I was kind of pissed at the graffiti and litter, but it's pretty amazing nonetheless. I follow a path that circles around the building constantly checking over my shoulder. Keep in mind, at this point in time, I had heard all of the rumors of a caretaker with dogs who would shoot rock salt or rubber bullets (depending on which legend you heard). I was more scared of this guy than any potential hauntings. Luckily, I was completely alone and after my initial anxiety and excitement wore down, it was really not a scary place at all. I lived with a ghost in Lubbock and I've been in many places that have that bad energy, and while I felt a general uneasiness in being there, I never felt any bad vibes at Hell House, at least around the main building. I found the garage and the greenhouse. I have never seen the pool, the graveyard or the well that this site mentions, though. To be honest, as you go further up the hill past the greenhouse, where those are located, I have felt a little bad mojo and decided that I probably shouldn't go any further.

That first day that I visited I kind of freaked myself out when I was thinking about going further up the hill past the greenhouse. I quickly left, half walking/half running down the hill and back to my car. On my way back home I was driving out on Seven Hill Road and I passed Scott and his friend Angela, who were apparently out on the same quest. We pulled over and talked for a while, I told them where they could park and where the staircase is located. Scott and I have been back several times and have explored a lot of the grounds. I still haven't gone any further up the hill, though. Maybe next time.

Here are some pictures:











*All photographs by Mark Robinson