Ghosts of Eloise, Michigan: The Asylum that Started It All

“Eloise: The Asylum That Started The Whole Mess” (above) is not a ghost video, it’s a tribute, and a downright chilling one.  The really creepy part..? It’s not hyperbole.  The information in that video can be confirmed.

Watch it before the videos about ghosts at Eloise, Michigan.

This site was first a stagecoach stop, the Black Horse Tavern. Then it was purchased and turned into a poorhouse, and then became a medical facility.  In its various incarnations it was a sanitorium for victims of tuberculosis, and a mental hospital.  Its names included the Eloise Infirmary for the Sick and Elderly, and the Eloise Hospital for the Insane.

Several locations associated with Eloise sound as if they should be haunted.  In fact, I’d expect this to be one of the creepiest haunted hospital sites in America.

More history of Eloise:

“Eloise: Mostly a memory” (This video is no longer available at YouTube. I’m keeping this note here, in case it returns. It was a great history.)

Next, “Spirit Caught on Camera In Haunted Eloise Asylum” includes highlights of a brief investigation inside Eloise – Visual anomalies, some clear Ghost Box responses, and lots of NSFW language from the investigators.  It’s a good balance of evidence.

Next, a daytime tour by the Dearborn Paranormal Research Society of Michigan.  Sound quality is challenging to listen to, dialing the levels up and down, but the information is excellent.

“Eloise Mental Hospital – Ghost Hunters” isn’t the Ghost Hunters’ TV show; it’s a news report by a startled reporter who — apparently — didn’t really expect to encounter anything at Eloise.

Parody? The next video includes a daytime tour by Michigan Paranormal Investigators, interviews about (fictional) Patient 626, and a night-time investigation with impossibly clear EVP.  This is how many “ghost stories” are created.  In five years, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about genuine phenomena related to the invented patient’s ghosts.

And now, only to better understand what you’ll find at Eloise, the next video series looked like a Ghost Hunters parody. Mostly, it showed foolhardy investigating, with some inaccurate history thrown in.

These 12-year-old kids may have encountered some paranormal activity. But, they made such serious research blunders, it’s impossible to sort fact from fantasy.

The worst part is: They’re clearly breaking the law. This kind of prank is unacceptable and it gives serious ghost hunters a bad name. (Two words: No trespassing. How smart does anyone have to be, to understand what that means? Yes, it’s a rhetorical question borne of frustration.)

[Update: These YouTube videos seem to be online, but can be viewed “by permission only.” I’m leaving the descriptions here in case that changes.]

• Part One – Stylish introduction, and a quick daytime tour of the key locations at the Eloise site.

• Part Two – More criminal trespassing. The smokestack building doesn’t seem especially haunted to me, but the visual imagery is impressive. It’s ideal for photographers who like abandoned sites. I’m not convinced that this part of the complex is worth paranormal research.

• Part Three is more of the same. It shows more criminal activity no 12-year-old should try… or anyone of any other age, either. Mostly, the video shows a bunch of kids scaring themselves. The “reveal” (or summary) starts at 4:41 in the video, and some of the evidence is worth a second look. Unfortunately, this silliness erodes any credibility. That’s just one of many unfortunate aspects of what we see in these videos.

Resources for investigators

• Eloise (psychiatric hospital), at Wikipedia.
• Eloise Asylum, at Asylum Projects.
• History of Eloise, at the WebCite archive for GeoCities.

ties.