Mount Pisgah's Haunted House
With Halloween coming up this weekend it’s time for an adventure with a real horror movie feel. This hike is not for the faint of heart, or easily spooked. We mentioned Mount Pisgah’s haunted house in our Halloween activities post, but now it’s time to actually take you there!
Our journey begins on a crisp, (but not too cold) night in early October. We arrived at Mount Pisgah’s North parking lot about an hour before sunset. Exploring a haunted house in the daylight just wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, so we decided to kill some time with a hike first.
We headed up trail #7 (a trail map can be found here), past a field that had been blackened by a planned burn. The charred grass gave off a subtle smoky odor that added to the atmosphere nicely. As we climbed up the gravel path, we heard the unmistakable clip clop of horses behind us. Two gorgeous black horses passed by us on an evening trail ride. Naturally, Tessa had a moment watching them go by (horses are kind of her thing), while I couldn’t help but imagine them with red eyes and headless riders to fit the spooky nature of our hike.
Mount Pisgah really is best enjoyed around sunset, and the area only got prettier as we hiked. Eventually we reached my favorite spot in the park, a viewpoint on top of a small hill, complete with a bench and a swing attached to an old oak tree. For a moment the “scary” nature of the hike slipped away completely; this was just lovely. Tessa and I took turns pushing each other on the swing as we watched the sun go down over an idyllic farming valley. After having our fill of that, we made it our mission to climb the old tree. It was a rather amusing experience (the bark was quite slick) and took some team work, but the reward was totally worth it. We got to watch the sunset, sitting side by side on a massive branch.
With darkness rapidly approaching, and an eerie dog barking in the distance, we were reminded that this was supposed to be a spooky trip. Getting down to the haunted house from the hilltop required a jaunt through a nearly lightless section of woods. Normally jumpy, Tessa did quite well through here, I have to say it has been very cool to watch her become comfortable with the forest at night. The next bit of our journey really tested her though…
I took this picture on another visit, last time we were in too much of a hurry to grab a shot on our way out.
The haunted house is on a paved road that is gated off to traffic, but still sits within public park lands. During the day it is an eyesore, but at night it is downright terrifying. There is very little information online about this building, my best estimate from the looks of the place is that it was built sometime in the early 1900s, and abandoned in the 70s or 80s when the state acquired the land for the park.
Access to the inside is through the backdoor. In the past the door has always been open, but on my visit with Tessa the door was closed, to our brief dismay. Nothing that a firm push couldn’t solve though! The good news was that the door wasn’t locked… the bad news was that termites were eating away at the door frame, and rained down on me after the door opened... Good times… With the bug shower over we climbed up into the house (the door is a few feet off of the ground, and the stairway to it is long gone so you can’t just walk in.
Random pile of old tires in the living room.
TV room?
This would be a good place to mention that flashlights are really a must for this adventure. I was quite glad to have my overpowered headlamp, and an additional light in my hand. Most of the windows in the house are boarded up, so very little light gets through.
"I mean it does need a little work, but at least it's in a great neighborhood!"
Can anyone figure out what this says? My best guess is that a child was writing about moving out as the family abandoned the house.
Once inside, I immediately went to work exploring and clearing (making sure there was no one inside) the first floor. There is some evidence in the place that transients occasionally take up residence, and I wasn’t really interested in having a surprise confrontation. Tessa was a little more trepidatious, and stuck to the living room where we had entered, until I beckoned her into the tiny kitchen. One of the creepiest parts of the house is a chalk board in the kitchen with writing and drawings from children, likely done just before the owners moved out.
I dare you to use this bathroom!
I moved on from the kitchen to head up to the second floor. The smell of dust and animal feces was rather overpowering at that point, and Tessa was still at the bottom of the stairs quietly waiting for me to come down. At that point I think we simultaneously felt a chill (a common theme for us on trips like this) and decided that it was time to go. I had seen the rest of the house before, and didn’t need to push her comfort level any more. Having had our fun we headed back to my house to make dinner, and relax with a couple bomb Old Fashioned cocktails.
Don't let their fruity appearance fool you, these drinks are mostly 100 proof Knob Creek Bourbon
A note on the house
If you do plan on visiting, please be mindful of a few things:
- Leave the place the way you found it: time and the elements are already taking their toll, we don’t need to accelerate its decay.
- Keep a low profile going in: as far as I know there is nothing illegal about entering the house (it is on public land, not locked, and there is no signage to the contrary), but if officials get wind that there is a lot of traffic to the place, that might change.
- Stay away from exposed wiring while inside: the place is still connected to the power grid.
- If you plan on venturing upstairs, or into the basement: bring a painters mask or some sort of protection from potentially harmful particles in the air.
- Step lightly on the floor boards: many of them are rotting.
- Be mindful of bats in the basement.
Getting There
The abandoned house is best accessed from Mount Pisgah's North parking lot (you will need to pay the Lane County Parks use fee at the South parking lot first). I won't tell you exactly where the house is, since there should still be some adventure in finding it, but I will say that it is on a paved, but gated, road in the Northwest part of the park. It should be easy to find on Google earth, or by simply exploring the area around the North parking lot.