Above, l-to-r: Here is a
strange pit in the foundation of the site; looks like some sort of subterranean entrance
or hiding place... leads to tunnels under the property. Another inside
shot. And this is actually the back of the place.
...for some reason, correct historical information is very hard
to obtain about this place, and maybe that is one of the reasons it fascinates so many.
Enjoy! --Betsy"
Betsy continues to do more research on Hell House- there are
hundreds of urban legends surrounding it. To find out more about Hell House (and other
Maryland haunts) in the meantime, check out the forum on the following website: Maryland Ghost &
Spirit Association
And a very SPECIAL THANKS from us to Betsy & Thomas
for the fantastically creepy tale & pix !!
UPDATE JULY 2003
Thomas, who shot the great pics above, sent
me the following update...
"According to my sister who was recently there and took
a bunch of pictures of it-the spooky looking factory-just below hell house-across from the
train tracks-recently, mysteriously burned to the ground" --Thomas H.
All Rights Reserved by the Author. Reprinted here with
permission.
*V I S I T O R C O M M E N
TS
I received this interesting email about the urban legends and
stories surrounding Hell House from another visitor... thanks Lady Frosta...
"Merry Meet, My name is Lady Frosta and I live in
Baltimore, Maryland. Hell House as you call it was one of my favorite places and still is
because of the lore. I would like to share what I know about it, if I may. Us locals refer
to it as Creepy College. St. Mary's College was a school for high society debutantes at
the height of the period, it was built as a charm school for Southern girls. When the
original owner built it, he was forwarned about the land being drenched in blood. From the
civil war. The owner wanted nothing to do with it and waved the warning away. He wanted to
build the school for his new bride who was a school teacher. The years quickly passed with
out incident and the man and his wife furnished with love a beautiful daughter, named
Agatha, also today known as Black Aggie. As Aggie grew with in the school, she was the
owners prized possession and with her charm and poise at an early age the wealthy
Southerners threw money at the owner to make their daughters as diplomatic. Aggie grew to
be a beautiful young woman and at the age of 16, she was about to have her coming out. It
was around this time she started to hear voices of malice and malevolence and was startled
by what they were saying to her. The owner and his wife were distraught and called the
local doctor for fear that she was not sound or had come down with dimensia. The doctor
gave her a clean bill of health. But the voices didn't stop. The night of the party had
finally arrived and the owner's wife went to help Aggie get ready. She was said to have
screamed so loud that the local quarry had stopped work. The owner quickly ran up the
stairs to Aggie's room only to find that his only daughter was dead. A vanity mirror had
crushed her skull. Months dragged on the school was closed and resumed as soon as the
owner felt his wife was able to teach again. The owner's wife was said to roam the halls
in her sleep looking for her daughter Aggie. The owner was worried and again called for
the local doctor. He said that she was suffering from depression and that it would pass as
soon as she would stop grieving. The rumors from the girl students were saying that they
saw Aggie's ghost. Some were that when the owner's wife was sleep walking they could see
Aggie's silhouette walking beside her. The father's of the girl students quickly pulled
their daughters and funding. The owner was starting to panic. One night when he noticed
his wife wasn't in bed he searched for her. He finally found her in the bell tower, she
had hung herself from the rope used to ring the bell. The locals stated that she couldn't
had done it herself she needed help. He closed the doors to the school and died shortly of
tuberculoses, in his will it was said that he wanted to repent for his sins of not
adhering to the warning he was given so many years ago, so he left it to a convent. The
convent/seminary was said to have blessed the place thoroughly. Years passed and the
Cardinal of the convent/seminary was said to have had lustful desires. He repented,
confessed his fantasies, until he was said to have given into them. He molested 5 nuns.
This went on for about a decade and his desires had grown more and more erotic and
abundant. He too gave into them. One of the molested nuns came forth and confronted the
archbishop. The archbishop barred the cardinal, but not with out words. Something like I
will be back, no one is safe in this building. God will forsake you all. Something to that
effect was said. On halloween night at midnight, it is said that screams were heard
through out the building. The nuns and priests came startled out of their beds to find the
five molested nuns were hung above an inverted pentagram. A nun for each point. This
legend, has made it so that the local satanist are said to occupy the grounds and have
their ceremonies there. By satanist, I mean anti-christian, the reverse of the bible, not
Luciferians, or those who believe in the self. It was after the nuns were killed a man
hunt for the barred cardinal was launched. He was never found. It is said that his soul
even now doesn't rest, but resides with the grounds. He traded his soul to torment those
who opposed him. It is said that someone is murdered on Halloween night each year there.
Some say the ghost of the cardinal or by the satanists. The bridge is called "Cry
Baby Bridge" it is said that infant sacrifices were made there and the bodies were
buried in shallow graves either in the cemetary or with in the woods themselves. At
midnight you can hear the infant ghost cries, then shortly after you can hear a ghost
train, although neither are there. Orbs and spiritual remnants are often sighted there. I
have been to the college, and I was in all. I had goose bumps and the hair on my neck
stood on end. In the woods farther back there is a swimming pool. There it looks like time
stood still. Water still is in the pool, even though it is algae covered. A new diving
board is still completely in tact. The brass railings may have ivy grown over them, but
the brass itself is not weathered or has a batina finish to it, rather it looks as if it
has been recently polished. The most amazing thing are the angel statues. It is said that
if you sleep under them them will crush you in your sleep. Also there is a granite cross
there, but it is odd be cause it is completely black. Which is unusual for a Catholic
facility to have it. Some say that it was spray painted or weathered, I have seen it for
my own eyes, it is just black. I hope this helps. Brightest Blessings, Lady Frosta"
...an interesting tale, however, our visitor Thomas- who is
responsible for shooting the fantastic pix you see here on this page, and in addition has
done a lot of research into the place's history- offers the following clarifications about
the somewhat confusing and unclear stories surrounding Hell House... thanks so much
for sharing this with us, Thomas...
"Here are some corrections: (1)Hellhouse itself was
never a debutantes school. She is confusing it with Potapsco Institute for Girls located
near Hellhouse and often confused with it (2) I have never seen a pool nor have I read any
other account of there being one. (3)There are no angel statues at hellhouse.If they had
managed to survive looters and vandals all these years, believe me I would have taken
photos.(4)Cry baby bridge is in another county. There is a bridge nearby, but its not the
famous "Cry baby bridge" (5)Black aggie was a statue in another town. Its no
longer there. The nuns story is pretty spooky and actually is associated with hell house,
although in the version I heard its was five teen girls who were killed. Few take the
story seriously, though. I never heard any story of everything happening on Halloween, or
people being murdered there every Halloween."
Do you have a creepy tale and/or
some interesting pix to share?
+NO PLACE LIKE HOME+
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