The Legendary Hauntings of Stimson Hospital, Eaton Rapids
Many Mid-Michiganders know about the old hospital in Eaton Rapids, and the ramblings about it being haunted.
Well, believe it or not – it really is.
There have been almost countless instances of paranormal activity within these walls.
For example, according to Haunted US:
1) Ghosts of the hospital’s founders have been encountered
2) People report being touched by an unseen force in the boiler room
3) Strange EMF anomalies have been reported in the former morgue
4) An apparition of a pregnant woman has been seen in a patient room
5) EVPs have reportedly been captured throughout the house
6) The specter of a ghost cat has been encountered
7) A 400 year old mirror kept in the home reportedly has strange shadows appear in it
8) Sounds of laughter and crying have been heard throughout the house
9) The building is now home to a supposedly haunted doll
10) Radio-controlled cars left in certain rooms reportedly move on their own
Stimson Hospital sits on the corner of Plain and Main Streets in Eaton Rapids. When it was an actual hospital, over 3,000 babies were brought into the world.....and many more people were taken out of it.
The structure was built in the 1870s intentionally as a house for a Mr. Sweezey. After 1910, the house was purchased by Dr. William Puffenberger, a dentist. In 1917, Puffenberger decided to move and sold the home to Harriet Chapman. Harriet, Charles Stimson and Francis Blanchard set forth to make the structure into a hospital.
In 1919, after being opened for a few months, Dr. Blanchard mistakenly stepped into the empty elevator shaft. Falling all the way down to the basement, he was discovered by staff members who tried in vain to save him. After he passed away, Chapman and Stimson attempted to keep the hospital running.
Fast-forward to the 1950s. Dr. Chapman became a patient in her own hospital and died in a second-floor room. Dr. Stimson was working at his desk when he suffered a heart attack and died. By the late 1950s, other medical facilities – more modern and with updated equipment – were luring prospective customers away, forcing Stimson Hospital to close for good in 1957.
In 2017, new owners began renovating the building, which apparently stirred up some paranormal activity. It’s believed most of the activity comes from the spirits of all three doctors, who ironically all passed away in their own hospital.....along with countless patients...
