History
This hospital – first known as the Vicksburg City Hospital – was founded in 1832 after an outbreak of Smallpox.
The hospital quickly grew to treat both physical and mental health issues. During the Civil War it housed wounded soldiers; especially during the siege of Vicksburg. Soon after the war a pandemic of Yellow Fever put the hospital to work gain.
With little options many of the State’s criminally insane were sent to the hospital where they were housed with the mentally ill. In 1901 a new wing was built to provide a residence for aging Confederate soldiers. In 1918 the hospital caught fire although there is no record of any fatalities related to the fire.
In 1956 the hospital’s name was changed to the Vicksburg Charity Hospital and put under control of the State; records are unclear the transfer of ownership of the State could have happened much earlier.
In 1959 the name was changed to the Kuhn Memorial when Mr Kuhn left enough in his will for the hospital to build the large rear wing.
In 1989 the hospital shut and locked its doors when the State cut off funding.
The immediate plan for the campus was to create a veteran’s home but that plan fell through for financial reasons. Next it was decided it was to be an adolescent psychiatric hospital – then an assisted living facility – neither of these plans came to any fruition.
In 2000 it was donated to a homeless campus for a city close by.
In June of 2015 a group of ghost hunters found the body of Sharon Wilson and reported it to the police. It was quickly discovered that 2 local men had raped and murdered the 69-year-old woman and they were easily caught. In karmic justice one of the men – who had escaped prison – was shot and killed while trying to breaking into another home.
This incident became a focal point in the plan to demolish the hospital which was on hold due to the costs of remediating all asbestos on site. In 2018 the city provided the money to take care of the demolishment of the campus.
In February of 2019 the demolishment began and now only the water tower remains.
Paranormal Activity
A famous EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) was captured here of a little girl saying “want ti come and play me?” Also, the word Help was written backwards in the embalming room in dust by an unseen presence.
Other Activity: apparitions of former patients and staff; disembodied voices; light anomalies; electrical disturbances and feelings of not being alone and being watched.
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History
In 1797 Andrew Glass built part of what would become McRaven House; this is before Mississippi was a State. At the time the structure functioned as a way station for pioneers on their way up the Natchez Trace to Nashville, Tennessee.
Glass was a known highwayman who robbed people on the Natchez Trace.
This part of the house is now known as the ‘Pioneer Section’.
In 1836 Sheriff Stephen Howard bought the house and added the middle dining room and the bedroom above it. His wife, Mary Elizabeth, died in childbirth the middle bedroom in August of that same year.
In 1849 John H Bobb bought the house and finished it’s construction in the Greek Revival style. In 1863 the house was used as a Confederate field hospital during the siege of Vicksburg. It’s proximity to the battle and the railroad led to it being hit by cannon fire from both the Union and Confederate forces.
On May 18, 1864 – with Vicksburg in Union hands – Bobb noticed drunk Union soldiers picking his flowers. He yelled at them and then threw a brick knocking down a sergeant. After complaining to the Federal Commander of Vicksburg – who said he’d punish the soldiers responsible – Bob returned home to find 25 Union soldiers at his house. They took him to a nearby bayou and shot him in the face and back.
John’s widow, Selina, sold the house shortly afterwards.
In 1882 William and Ellen Murray bought the house and raised a family there. Both of them died in the house as did one of their daughters and their son. The remaining 2 daughters lived in the house with little to no contact with the outside world.
When the house was sold in 1960 it could no longer even be seen from the street due to the overgrowth. The upper story had vines growing through it and the sisters had destroyed most of the unique furniture to burn as firewood.
From 1961 to 1984 the house was open for historical tours while massive renovations were being done. It then changed hands again as Leyland French bought it. He did further renovations but closed the house to the public.
In 2015 Steven and Kendra Reed bought the house and reopened it to the public for historical and ghost tours. Both tours or a paranormal investigation can be booked at the website link or by calling the phone number; both of which are above.
Paranormal Activity
This house is known as the most haunted house in Mississippi and is said to be the third most haunted house in all of the United States.
There are 3 famous ghosts haunting this property.
Andrew Glass: the builder of the first structure on the property was a notorious highway who robbed people on the Natchez Trace and brought his stolen property back to the house. His ghost is still active in one of the rooms he built that hasn’t been changed much in over 200 years.
Mary Elizabeth Howard: she died at the young age of 15 in childbirth in the house. Her apparition is seen in the house.
John Bobb: who was murdered by Union soldiers. His apparition still walks the balcony of the house he completed.
Other Reported Activity: shadow figures; objects moving on their own; touches, tugs and pulls by unseen entities; disembodied voices and whispers; unexplained sounds; doors opening and closing on their own; lights turning on and off on their own; phantom footsteps; light anomalies and feelings of being watched and not being alone.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Dsdugan&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Dsdugan (page does not exist)">Dsdugan</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC0, Link
History
During the Civil War Vicksburg was an important Confederate stronghold. High cliffs formed the banks for the Mississippi River allowing the Confederates to easily mount guns and completely cut the river and access to the Gulf of Mexico from the Union troops. President Abraham Lincoln himself stated that Vicksburg was the key to a Union victory. The taking of the town would split the Confederacy in half and open an important trade route for the Union.
Multiple attempts were made by the Union forces to take Vicksburg; but all failed.
In the fall of 1862 General Ulysses Grant was ordered to the take the town and open the river up for trade. By mid-May of 1863 Grant had forced the Confederate forces into many small battles by luring them away from the town; these battles would result in Union victories and the town being surrounded. Thinking the Confederates would be demoralized Grant attacked the town but was unable to take it and the battle resulted in 30,000 Union casualties; the attack became a siege.
The Confederates held despite massive holes in their defenses and awaited help that was never to come. General Robert E Lee decided to push north into Union territory rather than turn south to help Vicksburg.
his decision would result in his first defeat at Gettysburg, PA.
On July 4, 1863 Vicksburg surrendered after being under constant bombardment by both the river and surrounding lands and with most of the Confederate soldiers either starving or deathly ill.
The Confederate defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg were thought to be the turning point of the Civil War and make a Union victory inevitable. The Confederacy would not fall so easily; it took two more years of intense fighting before the war would end.
This battlefield is now a Military Park managed by the National Park Service and is open to the public during the day.
Paranormal Activity
Inside the park there is a monument to the Pennsylvanian forces called the Five Faces because of 5 bronze medallions with the faces of the Pennsylvanian Commanders. It is said that on rainy days these faces cry drops of blood.
Smoke has been seen coming out of the cannon at the Texas monument.
Apparitions of soldiers are seen still walking the open fields and the forests.
Phantom sounds of battle are often heard including cannon and gun fire, screams and shouted orders. Light anomalies and unexplained mists (including ones that form on sunny days seemingly out of now where) are often reported. The phantom smells of gunpowder and smoke is often reported.