Haunted Howell

Howell is homes to a few haunts such as the historic Oprah House in the beautiful downtown area. But the first story were going to focus on here is the old Michigan State Sanatorium.

Tuberculosis, also known as consumption and the “white plague” was a major illness at one time and still is in parts of the world. Millions of deaths were caused by TB during the 20 th century in the United States. TB was hard to control and deadly. Many hospitals were specifically built to house those stricken with TB such as the now famous, Waverly Hill Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. Michigan had its fair share of hospitals to deal with the sickness as well. In 1890, the state was urged to create a sanatorium to care for TB patients. TB hospitals called for high ground to be built on as any low, swamp lands were considerable breeding grounds for the tuberculosis bacteria.

In 1906, construction began in Howell, Michigan for the Michigan State Sanatorium, located on an area of land 1,100 feet above sea level. On September 7 th, 1907, the hospital opened its doors to patients. It originally started out with 16 beds and grew to 500 beds from the years 1909 to 1930. After antibiotics were created that severely reduced the death rate of TB, the hospital started to accept people with mental disabilities and changed its name to the Howell State Hospital and was renamed once more in 1978 as Hillcrest Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled. The 1980’s saw the closing of many mental hospital doors such as the Traverse City State Hospital in Michigan and Hillcrest closed its doors in 1982. Healthcare reform and the advent of new prescription drugs for mental problems started to change the way people with disabilities lived. The Hillcrest buildings were demolished and many years later, a subdivision was put in for upscale, large homes. For years before the subdivision went in, the area was rumored to be haunted. People had experiences there that they believed were directly linked to the former hospital and its patients who died there.

If you have stories to share about this former piece of Michigan history, please write us and share!

Visit our True Tales Section to learn about first hand accounts of ghostly activity at this former location.

 
Jeff Danies at the Howell Opera House

Tom | MySpace Video

 

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