Founded by Reverend Johann Sprunger and his wife Katharina in 1902, the place was a nightmare even before being supposedly engulfed in flames. The couple shared a depressing, unfortunate history, which included the destruction of their previous orphanage and two other businesses in Indiana, as well as the death of their two children. However, nothing could compare to the atrocities inflicted upon the children they were currently made to take care of at Light and Hope.

The orphanage held up to one hundred twenty children, with two separate farms for the boys and girls, a schoolhouse (which included a chapel), and a small printing press. Although the Reverend must have been a religious man, rumors surrounding the orphanage suggested that the children there were being subjected to a hell beyond belief. In fact, a few even waded through the deep Vermilion River in effort to escape. Tales were told of bedrooms filled with rats and other vermin, large welts that developed on one’s skin after being beaten, and a diet consisting of animal innards, and diseased meat and corn. The inmates received hardly any schooling, and any illness was treated only by prayer.

However, further research has concluded that the eventual burning of the Gore orphanage is simply a legend created by the accidental entwining of another morbid occasion into the story. In 1908, an elementary school in the town of Collinwood had mysteriously caught fire, killing well over a hundred children. Some were burned or trampled to death, while others were trapped by the walls and flames. Still others tried to escape, but found the back door locked. When rescuers tried to open it, they found it was the kind of door that swings inside, and therefore wouldn’t budge because of the desperate crowd pressing against it. The blaze spread quickly, drawing screams and shrieks from the trapped children. Although the heartbroken town investigated, the cause of the fire was never found. The legend states that a little boy dropped an oil lamp outside, but many people suspected it was started by the school’s own janitor, a German-American named Herter.

The Light and Hope orphanage finally closed down in 1916 due to ongoing financial problems. It might have been closed down sooner, after an investigation was conducted in 1909, but the state of Ohio had no formal laws concerning the operation and conditions of such institutions. Strangely enough, this happened exactly 13 years after the orphanage first opened. The children were then dispersed among relatives and guardians throughout the town, with the exception of those who had nowhere to go. Now widowed, Mrs. Sprunger took them with her back to Indiana, where she eventually died in 1953.

The areas around the ruins of both the school and the orphanage are said to be very haunted. There are often reports of shrill screaming, balls of light, visions of fire, and strange apparitions. Visitors who have taken pictures of the nearby forest and bridge are surprised to find that, after developing the film, mysterious white smudges and smoke wisps have shown up in the photo. There have even been some ghost sightings, including the discovery of a little ragged boy named Jacob. But perhaps the most disturbing of all are the small, dusty fingerprints found all over many a visitor’s possessions…

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