My Experience in Finding a Real Haunted House

It's officially the start of the spooky season and everyone is looking to find that festive holiday spirit within themselves. This is the time of year that most teens and thrill seekers trek out to look for spooky places and abandoned old buildings to get their chills on.

Every fall season around this time Commercial facilities are set up to that provide good scares for a few bucks! Even so called haunted corn mazes at the local fairgrounds are gaining popularity. When I decided to write an article on haunted houses my daughter who is sixteen told me there are a few right here near where we live and they are not your average pay per look places they have been documented and researched to be actual haunted houses.

The property I decided to go check out first hand is located on Staup Rd in Southeast Michigan near the Ohio border. The story behind this creepy place was that many years ago a family lived there and the father went crazy one night and killed his wife and four children, then mutilated their bodies and buried them in the basement. He then left a basement light lit so that the slaves escaping in the underground Railroad would think his house was a "safe house" when indeed it wasn't. He then proceeded to kill each slave one by one in the same horrific fashion as he did his family. At a later date he hung himself and according to legend, the home and property to this day is haunted. Some say you can hear ghoulish screams and somebody yelling at you to leave and get out!

So I decided to venture over to find the property and check out if there was anything creepy about it or not. To reach the location I had to travel down three desolate dirt roads, which isn't unusual here in rural southeast Michigan, but As I drove by to my surprise the house was fallen down, so I was disappointed I couldn't get a first hand look at what it looked like when it was still standing. Yes every abandoned house can look creepy or haunted, but even the property surrounding the home on Staup Rd, looked scary.

Overcome by corn fields, and with the nearest home about a mile away, this place tried very hard to be desolate on its own. There obviously was a reason why no one lived or built a home near the property.

As I walked out of my van to get a closer look, I could sense an uneasiness that made me not want to venture onto the actual property itself. So I strolled up and down the road, staying close to my vehicle. (Yah, I'm a big Chicken!) I don't know if it was the wind whistling through the huge abandoned barn and empty chicken coops, but honestly the feeling of loneliness and fear overwhelmed me. I didn't stay long, I snapped some pics and left.

Maybe all the hype behind this property is what made me so nervous. Or maybe the creepy psycho killer that owned the place was still there in spirit protecting his property.

I didn't hear any creepy screams or ghoulish noises except for the whistling wind.

But isn't that what haunted houses are meant for? Just to scare us? Why not visit a real haunted house and you be the judge.