Step into the eerie world of the paranormal as we embark on a chilling ghost hunt at Hill View Manor. This mysterious building, in the heart of western Pennsylvania, is the most haunted in the region!
Built in 1926, Hill View Manor housed the elderly or destitute throughout its 88-year history. It shut down for good in 2004. But the building has stood the test of time, preserving the echoes of countless lost souls who once inhabited its halls.
What to Expect at Hill View Manor
Our investigation began with an extensive tour of the almost 90 thousand-foot building, including details about the building’s hot spots. After that, we were released to go investigate, either individually or in small groups. At the beginning of the tour, there were almost 20 of us. By the time we ended our ghost hunt — after midnight — only a couple vehicles remained in the parking lot.
Among the hotspots are the third floor of the north wing, where two prank-loving ghosts are believed to hang out. There’s also Mary Virginia’s room, adorned with plastic necklaces and dolls. There’s the stairwell where a 101-year-old woman in a wheelchair fell to her death. We also stopped at the new and old boiler rooms.
Our Ghost Hunt
We began our investigation on the third floor of the building, where Jimmy and Julius are the most active. While alive, these two residents shared a room and, apparently, were legendary for pulling pranks. They were well known for wandering over to a nearby country club golf course, stealing the golf balls and then shamelessly selling them back. Jimmy, whose nickname was “Jimmy Snaps,” also would offer to take your photo with his Polaroid camera, in exchange for a cigarette. Of course, he had no film, he would discover, after he began smoking the cigarette. On our SLS camera, we saw what looked to be one — and sometimes two — figures moving or dancing around, kicking up their heals. We garnered quite a few responses to our catballs — an essential piece of ghost hunting equipment. But they weren’t much interested in our dowsing rods. After an hour exploring that floor, we decided to move on.
In the dining room, we kept getting the names “Jerry,” “Aaron,” and “Anna” on the spirit box. In response to some knock-knock jokes we were telling, the spirit box spit out: “funny.” (The cat balls remained resolutely dark.)
We also visited Mary Virginia’s room, an elderly entity who maintained a child-like demeanor her whole life. Her room is decorated by hundreds, if not thousands, of pretty necklaces and dolls — her favorite things in life. Although these are supposed to sway and toys move around, nothing really occurred in that room. It just wasn’t our night for that.
Our Favorite Part
At one point, we visited the new boiler room, inhabited by a cranky entity named George. George is a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I learned the hard way NOT to mention that I didn’t care for football. He was having none of that, and pinched me until I left the room. He pinched hard enough I had a bruise the next day. Since we were already in the basement, we moved on to the storage room, where over the years, the facility stored unclaimed chairs and belongings from residents who had died. We captured an image of a stick figure, looking child-sized, on one of the recliners with our SLS camera.
Most eerie, and of course I didn’t get it on video, we were in — I can’t remember the name, but I want to say “Grace” (Elizabeth?) — room. This woman was blind and like Jimmy and Julious, quite the devious prankster when she was alive. Whenever a new attendant showed up, she would ask for help for something, and then somehow toss one of her false eyes down the room, totally freaking out the new attendant. Supposedly in death, she has the same wicked sense of humor. We were sitting on the floor with the cat balls and dowsing rods out, and then one of the others pointed to the corner: the rocking chair — totally empty — was rocking by itself.
Still, in addition to the ghost hunt itself, I enjoy wandering around these now-abandoned places. I think that’s what draws me out, over and over again, no matter how much activity we may experience.
Know Before You Go
Haunted Hill View Manor is open to public investigations, overnight investigations, paranormal conventions, tours, and more. If you attend a public investigation run by Hill View Manor, be sure to bring some ghost hunting equipment of your own. Events are open to age 16 or older. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
If you go in September or October, don’t expect to capture any good EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). Hill View Manor also runs a Halloween-style haunted house, with lots of scares and screams. Although not in the same building as the paranormal investigations, there’s a lot of noise from all the excitement.
Getting there: 2801 Hill View Manor Drive, New Castle, PA
Hours: Check the website below for dates and times of ghost hunts.
Website: Haunted Hillview
Can’t get enough ghost hunts? Check out the ghost hunts and paranormal investigations we’ve participated in!