of what she knows as “Hell House” in Old Ellicott City, Maryland. She told me that it was off of River Road and is currently abandoned and rundown. She had heard that it was a female institute or an asylum for crazy women. She gave me two important details about the history during the time that it was a “female institute.” According to legend, one of the girls staying there committed suicide by jumping off the top of the building. It is said that her ghost has haunted the grounds ever since.
Ghost stories and urban legends have a power over people that other types of stories lack. These stories can deeply scare people and lead them to question certain things in life. The fashion in which the story teller delivers the story can greatly affect how haunting the story is and how long it lingers in the listeners’ heads. Urban legends pertaining to a certain region have even more of an effect on people’s beliefs. That scary house on the corner may never be the same to somebody after they