There was an orphanage there. The building that did burn down was not in use. The story used for the legend is actually about an girls orphanage on the other side of Cleveland. That actually happened. The place is called Collingwood, Ohio, but you won’t find it on a map.

My friend said that when she was going to a competition (cheerleading) her car broke down right by the ruins. They got out of the car to see if they had service on their phones. They didn’t and when they looked at their car, there were kid hand prints glowing on their car! I don’t know if she was telling the truth but it creeped me out!

Just was there today been going there for 20 some odd years since I waa 16 years old . . . back then it was our partying spot we use to take a keg out there to see how many of could get drunk & get lost but did any of us venture to the the actual site . . . NO! As I grew older and more into the freakier side was I part of the october scarefest and rituals wellll I watched . . . it brought people from everywhere people claiming they had all sorts of powers who knows what kind of things could happen you know all forces are there you have earth water sky and fire it does have the most perfect clearing and moon can be very deceiving out there at night. Every time I go out there the mansion is set up in a new formation a new pentagram of some sort new graffiti on the original entry way (and yes I did engrave my name once ~ along time ago, but you can still see clear as day) All I can say it does have a strange feeling to it. . . and it does drive you back . . . has anything really stranged ever happened to me once really did lose someone out there until morning . . . and the last few times I always run into somebody going out there but when I leave there not there anymore they’re just gone . . . I don’t question it . . like today some man was chopping wood on the other side of the bridge my grandmother and great aunt were baptisted in that river right there in that river in that spot where that bridge was built, my daughter was with my today and we did our usual walk to the sight looked how people have set up the monument now took pictures went back to the car went to drive out and the man was gone chopped wood was there his truck was there no man strange he was even cutting wood considering it does belong to the county now and they do make random checks down there but once again I don’t question it anymore. It’s just gore and it’s our strange lil place and always has been and always will be . . . has been for generations and generations to come . . . .

i tried going there but we couldnt find it
we were on gore orphanage road but had no idea
were it was at. we got out to walk at a closed
road and walked down a path and there was like a cliff
next to it. does anyone kno if thats the right way
we were going. it led us to a park and there was a house
back in the woods. were going again today
so if anyone knows how to get there can you please
give me good directions?

I lived 10 minutes from Gore. It was known more as a place to party by us locals. My friend lived on Gore Orphanage Rd. right by the site. The only “strange” occurences I witnessed were the 2 car accidents I got into on the road, which were due to me being a hot-rodding teenager, not because of some supernatural force! The site itself is unremarkable and the “screams” people claim to hear are actually the sound of traffic going over the turnpike bridge, which is not far from the site. It’s nothing more than an urban legend, albeit a fun one that I grew up with.

I was just at site of the “Gore Orphanage” today (5/6/09) and got the low-down from locals and park rangers. According to one ranger, the Swift Mansion was not the same as the orphanage. The site of the orphanage is half mile from where the mansion stood. The orphanage closed due to lack of money to run it. Some years later, a vagrant took up shelter in the abandoned building and accidentally burned it down when he built a fire to stay warm. Sadly, no children were killed in a terrible fire and so the only tortured screams you will hear while visiting the area is from your freaked-out friends when you play a cool…or ummm…cruel joke on them. And as far as a crazy guy who shoots at people…that’s just a slight exaggeration. In reality world, the man who lives in the house where the orphanage once stood was described to me by a ranger as “grumpy.” One night while trying to evict intruders who were partying and causing a disturbance, the man was hit in the head by a flying beer bottle that some a-hole threw at him. I’d be a little grumpy too.

The area is worth a visit for its natural beauty but don’t expect any kind of paranormal experience. Randy W.

DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ….

is this story true? and if so , was the movie the Orpahage inspired by this building…

ok out of all the comments here and people who have lived in vermilion all the stories are different. I have lived in Vermilion or V~Town all my life. I was raised on south street 2 blocks from south street elementary school. I grad. from Vermilion high and have been to Gore Orphanage quite a few times. you will have to do some digging but here is what I found out yes there was a mansion and an orphanage at two separate times. the four children who died of dyptheria are not berried on site there are berried at maple grove cemetery (go down rt 60 just b4 smokin joes turn right) you can see the cemetery as soon as you turn its on the right side of the road. *back at gore* the orphanage that was there did burn down (I was told by an older boy who was picked on for not being adopted he was 12) children did die but not that many.when I went as a teen I herd nothing but saw blurbs “children running through the woods”? smell of burning wood never flesh I now have to drive down gore orphanage rd to take my son to soccer. I hear children laughing now and see nothing Jordan Im not sure the movie had anything to do with gore.

The name of this place was Gore Orphanage and it was on Gore Orphanage Rd. in Vermillion OH

The Light and Hope Orphanage went bankrupt so the children were reocated and the property sold and the Swift Mansion built on it. The ghosts of the later owners grandchildren are probably what haunts it since their grandparents conducted seances and disturbed there slumber. in 1923 is when the mansion burnt down, nobody was in it.
check these out.
http://www.forgottenoh.com/gore.html
and this.
http://www.ghostsofohio.org/lore/ohio_lore_27.html

Wow. Well I guess since they let anyone on the internet this is the kind of results you’ll get. Do some real research folks. I know, the library is a frightening place, but, thats where the real info lies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Orphanage

I live in the neighborhood and this site sums it up pretty good. It was 2 stories blended together.
I have been here many times. It now is open to the public during day hours. Yes, I have been there at night! It is a very spooky place. You can see where the mansion was by the foundation. There are pillars at the beginning of the drive where a gate must have been. There are photos of the mansion. Do a google search on Swift Mansion.
Last year around Halloween I took my kids on our annual Halloween walk through Gore Orphanage. We live close enough so we don’t need to drive. We can walk. Being that you are not suppose to be in the park after dark, we feel this to be our advantage of trespassing. Last year was spooky. The naming of gore comes from how the land is laid out. It down in a galley carved from the vermilion river. The wind can get to blowing down through the gore pretty steady. Once that happens the trees start squeaking. It does sound very much like screaming kids. You know where the noise is coming from but the sound is so real!!!! Really, like screaming children. I have never heard slamming doors or the black cat. There are many strays in the area or farms that have cats in the area that roam around. Cats are kinda strange. In my opinion.
If you want a good scare and the wind is right, you will definitely get a fright.

gore orphanges story will never be clear to some but i know 100% what happend becuse im a direct relitive to the owner he was an evil man and didnt care for eny one even his childeren so one day while in the area he decided to kill every one in both orphanges and paid people to say he was inisint the virmilion meny childern were killed but in cleavland its said none where but thats not true meny kids where loked in a room and tied up this is true cuz later they found bones but this info was never let out to the public and i know this for a fact

The children screaming, Coughing for air, Help us they scream as they pairish in the burning flames, as they let out there last yelp for help they dissaper not to be seen the young girls running around trying to get the flames off there night gowns, trying to excape this soon to be tragidy the babies laying in there cribs help less burning and screaming , soft utters are held cast while the others smell the burnt flesh of there room mates later its all over years have past now,

Ok…i live in like a good drive away from the orphanage and i was wondering ((after battling my parents on it)) if it’s worth going out there? Would anybody be willing to explain if it’s worth it and directions..like EXACT location directions…and what is there to find?? is anything left standing of is it just a bunch of stones? PLEASE HELP!! we’re considering going tomorrow night..here is my e-mail dance_acting_chick@yahoo.com

P.S: for everyone’s information hell town in ohio was demolished..my friends and i spent hours looking for the town, but it was knocked down and the only think left is the boarded up barn and the “road closed” before the highway to hell. I just don’t want anyone to waste time trying to find it! thankssss

I’m originally from that area, and I found through researching the local papers that the Orphanage was at a different site, did burn down, but with no fatalities. However, strange things do occur there, and the surrounding countryside; we used to camp on the Vermillion River, and experienced paranormal activity there, at the bridge, the foundation site, and along the nearby roads. Speaking of which, has anyone seen a large black old-style car that follows people’s cars down there? Some friends and I were chased by it back in ‘79.

I remember making the long trek across a large corn field on a moonlight
night. The field laid just beyond the guard rails of the old closed road
that was basically falling off a cliff. I remember approaching the rather
ominous large dark woods that lay beyond the corn field. Loud crackeling
and the sound of flames could be heard emanating from the woods. If that
were not creepy enough. Me being a stupid teen, we had to enter the woods to investigate. What we found was a waterfall, The water was falling and
pounding the rocks at the bottom creating the fire sound. Not really supernatural, but it was alot of fun! Fond teenage memories.co

Old stomping Ground for alot of us back in the late 60s early 70..Alot of wierd **** happened there and The headlight flash comes at You like for a second there is a car coming right at you.My Old friend Howard Hillen and I David Scaff we hunted all over in there but I had a A5 browning and a side arm and Howard Had a favorite old Pump and a side arm..We werent SKEERD but we were ready.We did hear some children noises and you had to pay attention there was a spot that would kind of get Twisted around.