Eloise: An Essay On A Haunted Attraction
By Raven Pederson

Eloise actually began under the name of Wayne County Poorhouse in 1832. The poorhouse itself underwent many renovations, and eventually was torn down to make way for a newer, larger poorhouse. Soon a sanitarium was added, and Eloise was often referred to as Eloise Sanitarium, or Eloise Hospital. The name "Eloise" itself came from Freeman B. Dickerson's daughter. He was President of the Board when the new county poorhouse was erected, and nicknamed it after his only child. The name stuck.

Through time Eloise was many things. A poorhouse, a sanitarium, housing for the criminally insane; and ultimately was it's own, self-sufficient city, and at one time named Nankin Township. On the grounds they had their own farms, livestock, water supply, power plants, fire departments, bakeries, and clothing makers. Tuberculosis patients were also a big part of the complex, as well as poor men, women and children who couldn't afford health care anywhere else.


To my understanding on books I've read about the hospital, and here-say of others, Eloise was also one of the main testing sites for shock therapy. It was that, and the above-mentioned city-like atmosphere of the grounds that first drew my friends and I to go exploring in the last remaining building, the "N" building. What also drew us was the repeated whisperings of people claiming to have seen ghosts, demons, and other strange things while "visiting" the grounds at night.

The "N" building was extremely large, and confusing to navigate due to all the wings added on over time. The best way to describe it would be like the shape of a bat, with its wings extended, and whole wards extended off of each wing. The building itself was three stories high and had a basement, a sub-basement, and a network of tunnels leading to other buildings on the grounds.


You can imagine the fun and confusion we had in navigating around in pitch darkness through the maze-like hallways. At first, nothing significant ever happened to us there. Though a few of my friends did comment on being able to feel energy there and the feeling that we were being watched, even when no-one else was there. These feelings only increased over the two-year period we spent going there, sometimes up to three times a week. Then, to our horror, we found out the city was planning on tearing down our precious 'home away from home', in order to make way for a golf course, and condominiums.

This is when the activity in the building became very apparent to us. Especially on, what would turn out to be our last night there. Four of us went out to Eloise to pick up the base of a hospital bed we had found near the mortuary. One of my friends was dead set on refinishing it to use as a tattooing bed. We ventured inside and down to the morgue. For the first time ever, we felt uneasy being there. We all kept that to ourselves until we exited the building and a six-inch thick, solid steel door began banging open and closed. After regaining our composure and finding some bravery we carefully approached the door. We went back inside looking for someone who might have been there just playing a prank. We found no one.


Unnerved, we worked quickly to get the fifty-pound base under a fence so we could leave. Several times in doing this, I, or one of my friends would suddenly stop and spin around looking up to a specific window. Finally we all did this at the same time, and instantly asked each other if they had just seen a figure staring at us. We all answered yes, we had, and that in the blink of an eye it vanished. This happened a few more times, from different locations of the building.

I have since been back to what remains of the ruins on the grounds and the feeling is again peaceful, to me anyway. Others say that they sense anger and hostility in the land. Some make claims that the golf course is haunted. I don't know. Perhaps if you have the time, and live in the area, you can make the journey to Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road in Westland, MI yourself, and see what awaits you. +end+


An Interview With Witness Don by Raven Pederson:
RP: What feeling comes to mind when you think about Eloise?
Don: Creepy in a cool way; gives me tingles just like King lyrics.
RP: What experiences have you had when exploring the buildings/grounds?
Don: Feeling I'm not alone; some times safe; some times not. Like when you're there; there are eyes all upon you.
RP: Have you had any paranormal experiences there, and if so, will you explain them?
Don: Like the picture we took in the Cannery; all smoke, hearing voices in the room just ahead and there would be no one in the room. Too many to list.
RP: If Eloise were still there, how often do you think you would visit the grounds?
Don: Once or twice a week. I just loved that place and so did my friends. We had a sense of belonging there; its hard to explain, guess you would have to have been there.
RP: Is there anything special about Eloise you'd like to share with the readers?
Don: ELOISE is a place I will never forget. I will tell my children about it, and my grand children. I had so many good times there with Crystal, Dawne, Rob, and Tracey; it's hard for me to list every thing. There's just so much I would be writing all day; so I give Crystal permission to tell my story as well tell them how it was for us.

An Interview With Witness Dawne by Raven Pederson:
RP: What feeling comes to mind when you think about Eloise?
Dawne: A mixture of feelings come to the front of my mind when I think of Eloise. Anger, Sadness, Fear, Confusion, but the biggest one I have to say is kinship.
RP: What experiences have you had when exploring the buildings/grounds?
Dawne: Oh Jesus do I HAVE TO? You know how many times I have told these stories through out the years.
RP: If Eloise were still there, how often do you think you would visit the grounds?
Dawne: I would visit Eloise every chance I got. Absolutely. I don't think I could ever get tired of the endless dark halls.
RP: Is there anything special about Eloise you'd like to share with the readers?
Dawne: Eloise in and of itself is special. Eloise in a way made me who I am today. I mean, oh so hard to explain. The dark looming buildings fed my teenage imagination, and along with the things I felt while there and the things I KNOW are true...it made me a more open minded and spiritual and even caring person.

Link to Eloise pictures taken by Raven:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v435/Ravenwolfe79/Eloise/

Links to Eloise Sites:
http://www.talesofeloise.com/main.html
http://www.geocities.com/histmich/eloise.html
http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=106&category=locations
http://www.detnews.com/2000/wayne/0011/30/d03-155314.htm