I always love exploring historic and abandoned places, so I was very excited when I got to take a tour of Haunted Hill View Manor in New Castle, PA. (If you love the paranormal, you’ll definitely want to keep reading.)
Note: While I use the word abandoned to describe the state, this property is owned and managed. There are plethora of security cameras, and they do not take trespassing lightly. Read on to find out how you can legally visit.
Hill View Manor began as the Lawrence County Home for the Aged in 1926, though it also served a variety of other functions including a poor farm, home for the indignant, and even the Lawrence County morgue.
It later became Hill View Manor in 1977 after an expansion that added modern nursing care to the facility. Hill View Manor finally closed in 2004.
The current owner’s mother purchased the property at auction with the idea of turning the building into condos. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), plans fell through when she passed away.
However, the owner and others who visited the property became convinced that it was haunted by the spirits of many who had once lived and worked at the property, so they soon opened it for those interested in the properties history and hauntings.
Today, the property is known as Haunted Hill View Manor, and tours are offered daily throughout much of the year for those interested in the paranormal. This is definitely one of the creepiest places in PA.
Personally, I’m not overly interested in ghosts, but I was still excited to explore this building to see its historic beauty and learn about its history.
I’ll say right up front that the owners and workers at the property deeply feel that it is haunted by specific spirits. In fact, they have rooms decorated for each of these spirits and refer to them by name. This is a major focus of the tour. So, if this makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s best to not visit.
That being said, I’ve visited this building four times over the last few years, and once even spent an hour or so inside it by myself (with permission), and I’ve experienced nothing unusual during my time there, though I wasn’t seeking anything out and was just taking photos. So ghostly activity isn’t a certainty whether you want it or not.
Tours of the property last about 90 minutes, and take you into almost every room in the building from the original poor farm and to the 1970s additions. Along the way, guides mix in the site’s actual history, though the focus is very much on the building’s paranormal stories.
During the tour, you’ll hear the stories of various people who once lived and worked here and are said to haunt the facility. I found it very interesting that each ghost has their own room that is dedicated to them (usually where they lived or most commonly worked).
These rooms are set up as shrines to the individual and decorated with many of the things they enjoyed during their lifetimes (such as trinkets in Mary Virginia’s room and Pittsburgh Steelers’ memorabilia for George in the boiler room). Sometimes, you’ll also find photos of the deceased or some of their personal belongings mixed in as well.
Return visitors will often bring gifts along for the spirits.
Depending on which tour option you choose, you may have the chance to stay longer and explore the building at your own pace after the 90-minute tour. These visits typically focus on the paranormal and visitors are encouraged to walk around with a variety of equipment to do their own ghost hunting.
For those really into ghost hunting, Hill View Manor also offers nighttime ghost hunts lasting up to eight hours that let you spend the evening in the building after dark to really explore the space.
As I said before, I’m personally not into the paranormal stuff, but I still found my visit quite interesting and fun. There is a lot of history here, and the variety of architecture lends itself to a lot of great photographs.
While many of the rooms not set up for paranormal encounters are largely empty, there are still some great photo spots including the historic boiler room, several pianos, and both historic hallways and one that looks more like a modern hospital. I found a lot of fun shots here during my time exploring and photography the place.
Surprisingly, there isn’t much decay here, so those that enjoy photographing spaces that are decaying might want to check out somewhere like Yellow Dog Village an hour to the east.
Overall, I would say that Haunted Hill View Manor is a must-visit spot for anyone that enjoys exploring the paranormal as there are a lot of supposed spirits within the rooms and halls of this historic property. For those less interested in this aspect, it’s still an interesting spot, but the tours might get a little long, so it might be best to wait for a non-paranormal event that offers a shorter tour and more time to explore on your own.
Still, I think anyone that appreciates history, architecture, and the paranormal will find this a fascinating spot to explore.
Find out more about touring Haunted Hill View Manor on their website.
Looking for more to do in the area? Check out Quaker Falls, Cascade Falls, and the best things to do in McConnells Mill State Park.
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