Portland's witch castle and its dark secrets (16 photos)

Ancient ruins in the Oregon wilderness were once a popular bathhouse. Now these ruins have become a place of close attention for lovers of mysticism, as they are associated with dark legends about murders.





The remains of the building in Portland known today as the Witch's Castle actually lived through several lives during its existence. And none of them were pleasant.



In the mid-1800s, long before the construction of this structure, a certain Danford Balch acquired a large plot of land in these parts. At that time, Portland was just beginning to be built up. It was a fairly large area. And the owner had to hire workers to put it in order.

Among them was a guy named Mortimer Stump, who lived in a cabin on the property with Balch's extended family. Gradually, Stump and Balch's daughter Anna fell in love with each other. And as a result, Stump asked Balch for his daughter’s hand in marriage. He refused. Stump and Anna said they would run away together. Balch became furious and told the worker he would kill him if they did this. The young couple considered the threats empty and decided to run away in November 1858.





When Balch found out about the escape, he fell into a deep depression: he stopped sleeping and drowned his grief in alcohol. After the young couple returned to Portland, Balch quickly corrected the situation on his own. The man shot Stump in the face with a double-barreled shotgun after tracking him down on the ferry.



The killer was arrested, but he managed to escape from prison. However, this did not save Balch. And in mid-October 1859 the man was executed. And his death became the first official execution in Oregon.

After Balch's death, the house changed owners several times over the next hundred years. As a result, the estate became the property of the city.

In the 1930s, a stone building was erected next to it, which has survived to this day. It was operated by the Portland Parks and Recreation Service and was used as a ranger station and restrooms for tourists. In 1962, it was severely damaged by a hurricane, and the once solid structure gradually collapsed and fell into disrepair.



The stone walls were overgrown with moss, the roof had collapsed, and lovers of abandoned buildings had graffitied the walls. The house was forgotten until the 1980s. Until students from a local school discovered this wonderful place and staked it out for get-togethers and parties. The schoolchildren called it the Witch's Castle, finding the name appropriate despite the complete lack of connection with any witches. And they started a tradition of holding meetings on Friday evenings, which has survived to this day.



The colorful place would be quite suitable for filming another film about the spirit of an ominous witch returning from the other world for revenge, but for now the idea is just in the air and awaiting implementation.