Ohio's Most Haunted: The Knox County Poorhouse

Haunted places exist around the world, but in the United States, haunted schools, hospitals, and county institutions are among the most popular buildings to be labeled as haunted. In some cases it may be as simple as the building being abandoned, and stories being attributed to why the building was abandoned. In some cases the story becomes a little convoluted over time. Such is the case with the Knox County Poorhouse in Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

The Knox County Poorhouse opened is 1857 as a place to house the poor and indigent in that area of Ohio. County homes during this time were a last choice for many. The mentally insane were sometimes left there by families who could not afford proper treatment. Many of the other residents were elderly people who had no other place to go. The county homes were overpopulated with not enough resources or employees to go around.

During its use as the Knox County Poorhouse, the first rumors that something wasn't right began appearing. Rumors swirled that the horrible conditions those inside faced led to more than a few deaths over the years. To cover up those deaths, the bodies were buried around the adjacent land, and anywhere else employees could find space.

Once the Knox County Poorhouse closed, the building became part of the Mt. Vernon Bible College. What happened during those days only added to the rumors surrounding the building. A tragic elevator accident took the lives of several students at the college.

What is it than that people experience at the former Knox County Poorhouse that leads some to believe it might be haunted? First there are the voices that have been heard. Some have claimed to hear what sounded like someone directly behind them, but when they turned around there was no one there. Others have taken photographs on the property, and found weird things in the images. Another story says that the girls who were killed in the elevator wander through the halls, as if still on their way to class.

Then there is the space outside the building. Remember those bodies supposedly buried on the property? It has been said that during a massive construction project, dozens of bodies were found without any markers, or ways to identify the bodies. Those poor souls are now rumored to haunt the building, or at least the outside of the building.

What then is the true story of the Knox County Poorhouse? It did once serve the county, but it was later used as the Mount Vernon Bible College, from 1957-1988. For a short period of time following that it was used by the Chapel Hill Golf Course. More recently it housed a haunted attraction known as the House of Nightmares. At no time during its history was there an elevator accident, and in fact the building did not have an elevator. There is also no evidence to support the idea that bodies were discovered on the property. Some attribute this to the former haunted house owners spreading the stories to increase their customers. Oddly enough, none of the former students ever claimed to see a ghost, or experience anything unusual during their time living there.

Still, the ghost story of the Knox County Poorhouse is an interesting one. Just because some people say it isn't haunted doesn't mean that it isn't. Visit for yourself, and see if you can find any ghosts for yourself. The former Knox County Poorhouse is located in Bangs, Ohio.