Staup house

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Staup House (pronouced "Stop") is a old, run down house along Staup Road in Fairfield Township, MI. The property consists of a delapidated house, several old sheds, rusty/aged farming equipment a large barn with an old trailer inside. It is a local site for legend tripping, as many teens from around the Lenawee County area make visits to the "haunted house" at night. Often they will carry flashlights and visit in large numbers, but it is said to be much more eerie to visit in a small group. Many stories have spread about the old and convincingly creepy house, sheds, and giant barn. Claims have been made that teenagers have gone to the old house with baseball bats, and smashed many of the fragile parts of the house. The actual house has several holes in the floor and walls, including one room in which the entire floor is gone. Also, the stairs to the upper level and basement are both in severely bad shape. All of this could be the result of vandalizing teens, or possibly just decades of aging. One certainty that makes the house so mysterious and spookish is that in order to get to the house from any urban area the traveler must turn on and off of two dirt roads. Staup Rd. is off of Arnold Hwy., both of which are dirt roads lined with tall corn fields and desolate storehouses. Recently, Arnold Hwy. comes to a dead end and its bridge is out, with Staup Rd. being at the immediate left.

[edit] Myths

It is commonly claimed that the Staup House is in fact an actual haunted house. Numerous stories have been proclaimed over sights of ghosts and horrid images. Also many stories involve guests hearing sounds of screaming voices and loud, ghoulish breathing. Most stories are very far-fetched and mostly fabrications passed around among teenagers in order to make the experience more frightening.

• One widely spread tale is that the original and only owner of the house, the farmer, went crazy one night and killed off his entire family. It is said that he shot his family members with a shotgun, chopped them to pieces in his basement, buried them, and then hung himself.

• Another legend is that the owner of the farm during the 19th century disguised his farm house as a "safe house" or a "station" of the Underground Railroad, leaving a light on in his basement at night. When escaped slaves would wander into his house for shelter, he would slaughter them one by one. This myth has also been told with the farmer committing suicide after he finished the killings.