If you live near Portland, and have never taken the walk up Balch Creek in Lower Macleay Park you are missing out on one of the advantages the city has to offer. There is a strange stone ruin about a mile in that some people call a pioneer era trading post. It’s also been called a stone fort, a pioneer cabin, and many have referred to it as the Old Balch Place. If you sit there for more than a few minutes, invariably some kid will walk by and tip you off to its nickname. “Hey Dad, look! It’s the Witch’s Castle!”

On October 1, 1850, Danford Balch and his family took a donated land claim near the settlement of Portland (population 2,500) of almost 350 acres- everything along 22nd Avenue from Lovejoy to Vaughn, and up the West Hills to the top. He built a cabin on his land and proceeded to do well for himself- with the exception of occasionally drinking too much. By 1858, Mr. Balch and his wife, Mary Jane, had nine children- five boys and four girls. The oldest, Anna, was 15 years old.

Mr. Balch hired a young man named Mortimer Stump to help clear the land, and since the Stump family lived in Vancouver, Balch let him stay with them. Mortimer and Anna fell in love with each other while he lived with the Balch Family, and one day Mortimer asked Danford for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Danford Balch vehemently refused.

On November 4th, 1858, Mortimer and Anna eloped. Since Anna’s family would not allow the marriage, they ran off to the Stump clan’s homestead in Vancouver where they began a new life together.

Over the next two weeks, Danford Balch’s mental state deteriorated. He drank heavily and was constantly nagged by his wife that he had earlier promised to kill Mortimer Stump if the young man eloped with their daughter. There is some question as to how much psychological influence Mary Jane had over her husband in this period of time. She apparently offered him legal advice that he would be justified in shooting Mortimer since he had eloped with his daughter; and used various tactics to antagonize him into a state of confused, drunken rage. Although no one at the time pointed the finger straight at her, Danford hinted later that Mary Jane drove him over the edge.

On November 18, 1858, Mortimer Stump came to Portland for supplies with his brother, father, and new bride, Anna. In a random encounter outside Starr’s tin shop, Danford Balch exchanged words with Old Man Stump and followed him to the Stark Street Ferry where the family had begun their return home. Balch, armed and drunk, intended to retrieve his daughter then and there from the Stumps, but proceeded instead to “accidentally” shoot Mortimer Stump in the neck and face with a shotgun, killing him.

Danford Balch was “used pretty roughly” as he put it, by several bystanders who disarmed him and turned him over to the Sheriff. He promptly escaped from imprisonment and disappeared, but didn’t go far. After eluding the Marshalls for almost a year, he was captured in his home on July 23, 1859.

During his trial, many people testified against Danford Balch. While there was no evidence of prior wrongdoing, it was hypothesized that he was involved with the murder of a person found in Balch Creek Gulch three years earlier. It was also rumored that he had been involved in a plot to throw off the search for him by faking his own death and having his wife identify a drowned corpse as being his. It almost worked, but ended up lulling Danford into a false sense of security right at the moment the Marshalls were moving in. Many people appeared at the trial and testified that they had heard Mr. Balch threatening to kill Mortimer Stump in the weeks leading to his murder. In his confession after the trial, Danford denied ever meeting these people; but during the court proceedings, he seemed to be taking advice not to put up any defense in order to appear less threatening. He was genuinely surprised at the sentence handed down… death by hanging.

On October 17, 1859, Danford Balch was hung for the murder of Mortimer Stump. His was the first execution in the state of Oregon. To the outrage of many, his daughter, Anna, sat with the Stump family and watched the public execution. Two witnesses also saw Mary Jane Balch watching the execution with the Stumps- although a third witness denies she was present.

Knowing that the court would break up the family and send the children off to live with court appointed guardians, it was the wish of Danford Balch that his wife give half of the land claim to their children. She did, technically. She portioned off the land according to whether it was considered valuable or useless, and gave the useless portions to the children and their guardians.

In 1897, Donald Macleay, a real estate developer, had possession of the upper portion of the Balch property. He became frustrated about the property tax burden imposed on him by this piece of undeveloped land, and insisted that he would rather give his land to the city for use as a park than to pay so much, an invitation taken up by the assessor, L.S. Maxwell. Macleay left the courthouse and returned later with his deed, turning the steep gulch of Balch Creek into Macleay Park.

The Witch’s Castle itself was built during The Depression by the Works Progress Administration- as a restroom- alongside what had been Balch Creek Road. It was maintained until heavy vandalism persuaded park officials to abandon it.

Since then, stories have been told about activities around the ruin contributing to its nickname, the Witch’s Castle. It is said that on certain nights- exactly at midnight, a horde of ghosts rise up and take possession of the ruin. Shortly thereafter, another group of spirits, arrive from the forest and a spectacular ghost battle ensues. Voices have been heard uttering the names of both Danford Balch and Mortimer Stump, along with a cacophony of other chatter.

None of the witnesses to this battle stayed to watch the outcome, so we’re left to speculate on the nature of the battle. Is Mortimer Stump coming back from the grave to heap vengeance upon the spirit of Danford Balch? Is Danford Balch cursed to kill Mortimer Stump over and over? Is there a third party, tugging at both their strings?

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The sign at the trailhead in Macleay Park declared the park closed after 10pm. It was 11pm and no one else was in sight. Everyone who had been offered the chance to join this adventure had joked about the Blair Witch Project, laughed for a moment, then stopped abruptly and decided to skip this one. The mission was clear: take pictures of the Witch’s Castle at night- at Midnight, when the ghost wars were supposed to begin.

The short hike began with a bag full of camera equipment and an uneasyness over thoughts being accosted by police patrolling the park. In the eerie green light from a couple of glowsticks, the path wound its way through the dark woods leading right up to the stones of The Witch’s Castle. A jacket hung on a post outside the storeroom on the lower level, a warning that someone was sleeping inside. A quick flash with a light verified the presence of someone curled up in a sleeping bag. He didn’t stir… he was probably used to hearing noises outside.

To account for the dimness of flashlights and glowsticks, the shutter of the camera had to be left open for four minutes in each photo. Hours stretched by in the darkness- the night sky looked uncannily bright through gaps in the branches overhead. Every sound was magnified enormously, every rustle of the bushes signaled the approach of something huge coming through the trees. Crack. Rustle. Crack. Something gigantic fought its way down through the brush, nearer and nearer until a gentle nudge on my foot signalled that it had reached me. The temptation to illuminate the area became overwhelming, and with the flick of a switch, a brazen mouse little larger than a walunt revealed itself to the flashlight.

One o’clock, the end of the witching hour. Glowing watch hands ticked off the seconds until the camera shutter would be closed. Pointed into the upstairs through a doorway, the lens was perfectly placed to record a mysterious flash of light. There was no sound- nothing had come near the Witch’s Castle since the mouse fled earlier. The sleeper in the storeroom had not stirred. There was nothing in the structure that would have been able to emit light on its own. Dim green lightsticks lit the edges of the arched doorway, and a tiny point of white light was recorded where the flash originated.

I really believe in the supernatral I like the story I live in Oregon.

A couple years ago me and my friends little brothers and my brother noticed this house that was empty for some time and there was these white curtins that you could see up stairs and it had like a dark red stain. So i decided to try and “scare” my brother nd friends little brothers and told them it was blood. So they belived me and said the gate was unloced to we walked around to the back yard and looked through the the windows and it looked like some1 was living there but everything was spotless and the grass was always cut short and there was flowers in the yard. But it was getting late so we had to go home. BUt then a couple years later a sherif moved in and you never saw him only his car….its so weird because you NEVER see a light on even when its dark u NEVER see one on.

Please someone reply and let me know where forest park is. Reply at pw5d@aol.com

So I actually read on and on to find that this really is an old historic “bathroom”!!! Maybe some strange things have happened in the area, but the structure it’s self is not even 100 years old. I would like to visit this place myself, the only thing I won’t be looking forward to, is the horrifying sight of vandalism! We have got to respect the history of our ancestors!

That is real crazy talk if you want to see a real haunted house go on line to Organ.com and look up the “Rock House” you will piss your pants. Dont get scared, haaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S You will find out what haunted houses are
really about!!!!

man that is some really spooky stuff and it is really freaky…….

That is so cool… I have been looking for some things in our area. That is cool. Wow! I would love to be a ghost hunter and these things just WOW! It is Awsome!

im really interested in haunted houses, there is a house called the flavel house in astoria, oregon (where i live) and its so beautiful, its not haunted but just the history behind it is awesome, Fort Stevens is really cool too. tell me where the witches house is at please youthalive21@yahoo.com. where can i find good pictures of haunted houses?

destiny on the top your true. someone didn’t pay attention in English class. Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG its true there r some ignorant c***s in the world .

i really dont belive this im 14 and i do alot of ghost huntings an paranormal stuff and me an my step mom are going to check this out!

I actually went to check this site out with a ghost hunting friend a few months ago. went were there after 10pm and didn’t see a thing..took quite a few pictures with no luck..The trail head is approx. 1/2 mile from the castle and is VERY wooded. during the hike I did hear a very deep, wild sounding growl pretty close to the trail that freaked me out. It could have been almost any wild animal since we do encounter coyotes, cougars, raccoons, etc..

It was a fun if nothing else

Umm, sorry it’s not that exciting. The Witch’s Castle is in Forest Park, Portland and is an old restroom facility (!) that flooded.

During the late 80s and early 90s that place was a skinhead and trancient mecca. Lots of kids drinking and whatnot. I have to admit, although I’ve never seen anything spectral there, it’s a great short night hike — complete with glow worms and a creepy old roofless structure. Guaraneed to freak your girlfriend out, whether it’s ghosts or bums.

I tend to do a bit of paranormal studying, am a history major (focusing on the 1100 – 1700 time period) and have been known to ‘feel’ things. Having lived in the area for a very long time I am shocked and appalled that anyone would publish “Witches Castle” as a structure from 1600’s or a trading post of any kind. Have you ever been to or even seen the place? Apparently not. Though it is ‘haunted’ (but the whole ghost wars thing? please)it cannot even remotely be ascribed to earlier than twentieth century. It is, as others have said, an abandoned bathroom. PLEASE do even a little bit of research or just look at the place before posting such incredulous attempts at looking cool. You really just look like ignorant, lazy fools who have no reliability whatsoever. On that note, it is a GREAT place to go if looking for TRUE supernatural, though not necessarily spectacular, experiences.

First of all the story said this building was erected in the 1600’s, then we find out it’s a g***amed bathroom built in the 1800’s!!! What?! Were there that many people that had a heart attck and croaked on the crapper and now haunt the holy s**t out of the woods? What are these “ghosts” fighting about? **** territory? If your going to tell a story then get YOUR s**t straight!

Where is Forest Park located

Try Oaks Park went there last night no bullshit

This is not an old building, there were NO whites in Oregon in the 1600’s nor was this the site of the first hanging in Oregon, that actually took place in Oregon city which was the territorial capital of Oregon. Let me tell you the REAL story. I researched this structure for an architecture class at PSU and what I found out that this building was constructed in the 1930’s under the Public Works Project under FDR’s first administration. This was constructed for the use of a rest stop and bathroom for the middle of the trail that ran from near Thurman St. to Cornell Rd and the autobahn society which was at the time a new road that helped to connect Washington County with downtown. Most of these public works projects were done in teh Gothic Style such as the bridge at Newport or the old gorge highway. The building was destroyed by a massive storm in the 1960’s called the Columbus day storm. This site is not haunted because no one EVER lived in a bathroom. WOW tourists are funny I dont know why people feel the need to attach fables to this building other than the fact whenever people see architecture that appears old they assume it must be old and then they create a whole mythos around it.. If you want to go to a really haunted place go to lafeyette Or north of McMinnville, go to the old masonic cemetary there, its over 150 years old and the town is the 3rd oldest in the state.