AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT STIMSON HOSPITAL
EATON RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
AUGUST 20, 2022 | 8:00 PM TO 2:00 AM
$64 PER PERSON
SOLD OUT!
Phantom footsteps.
Disembodied voices.
A crying woman who cannot be found.
An elevator that still operates – even after being removed many years ago.
Are you brave enough to join American Hauntings behind the doors of haunted Stimson Hospital – a former medical facility that saw the beginnings and ends of thousands of lives during its years of operation? You may have heard some of the stories, but do you have the nerve to experience it for yourself?
Built in the 1870s as a private residence for T. Sweezey, the massive Second Empire-style mansion has had many uses over the years – it’s most famous as a hospital. After the original owner suffered from a financial disaster after only one year, it was purchased by a local dentist and used as a residence until 1918, when plans were made by Nurse Harriet Chapman to renovate the house into a community hospital.
It opened six months later and eventually became known as Stimson Hospital, remaining in operation for the next 40 years. The hospital had one of the first X-ray machines in Michigan and pioneered cesarean sections in the maternity ward. Over the years, around 4,000 people were born in the hospital and at least half that number of people died there.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck in March 1919 when one of the primary physicians, Dr. Francis Blanchard, was killed in the elevator shaft. The door had opened but the car had malfunctioned. Not realizing it wasn’t there, Dr. Blanchard stepped into the darkness and plunged 12 feet to his death.
Dr. Blanchard had devoted his life to getting the hospital running and making it one of the premier medical facilities in the region. And perhaps for that reason, he has apparently never left – even in death.
There have been many reports of hearing his footsteps around the old elevator shaft – where the car is still heard to run, even though it was removed years ago – smelling his cologne, and even seeing an apparition that some have identified as the doctor.
In the 1950s, the hospital was closed down. It had fallen into disrepair and a new facility was built in Eaton Rapids. The old hospital was divided into rental apartments – and that’s when the stories began.
Tenants had a wide variety of strange stories to tell about the former hospital – disembodied voices, footsteps going up and down the hallways and stairs, shadowy figures, unexplained smells, objects moving about, appliances that behaved erratically for no reason, lights turning on and off, and more.
And those strange events continue today. A few years ago, the house was purchased and renovated by Pam and Christ Sturgill, who have since opened it up for ghost hunts like this one. They have had many of their own experiences in the house since they purchased it – stories that can send a shiver down the spine.
So, are you ready to explore this grand old building and search for the spirits that have never left? Will you encounter Dr. Blanchard and see if he is still on call, waiting for his patients to return? Join us and find out who might be waiting for you to arrive!