Living in a haunted house is a unique experience, and I’ve had the extraordinary opportunity to reside in the Bellaire House, a place with a history steeped in the paranormal. The legend of the Bellaire House is not recent; its haunted history dates back to the early 20th century. At first glance, the house appears to be an unassuming structure perched above a coal mine—a mundane portal, as there are also spiritual portals. However, once inside, it becomes clear that the house is unpredictable. It can take you back in time or feel like you’re in a horror movie, riding the spiritual surf of metaphysical overload. This isn’t just the opinion of paranormal investigators; even the locals have dubbed it the most haunted house on the planet. The Bellaire House ranks alongside infamous haunted locations such as the Amityville House, the LaLaurie House, and the Rampart Street Murder House. Even during its years of abandonment, neighbors reported seeing figures inside the house or peering from its windows despite the house being locked and unoccupied.

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Jacob Heatherington, Eliza Armstrong, and the Bellaire House

The Bellaire House, located near the Ohio River, is steeped in history and paranormal activity. Situated on a ley line, the house is a focal point of spiritual and earthly energy. Its haunted reputation is linked to a coal mine explosion in 1893 that claimed 42 lives. The home sits atop Coal Mine #1, where the disaster occurred, adding to its eerie atmosphere.

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Jacob Heatherington, a respected coal mining tycoon, built the Bellaire House in 1847 near sacred Shawnee Native American burial caves. These caves and the Ohio River's magnetic pull create a powerful portal for spiritual activity. The land, once the site of Native American rituals, still holds residual energy from past events, including the French and Indian Wars, which left a lasting imprint on the area.

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The Bellaire House also played a role in the Underground Railroad, with Jacob Heatherington and his associates aiding runaway slaves. While this noble history doesn't directly connect to the house's hauntings, it adds to the depth of its story. Today, the Bellaire House remains active despite numerous cleansing attempts. Its unique location, under a planetary alignment and on ancient ley lines, continues to draw interest from those fascinated by the paranormal. The house's reputation is built on a combination of ley lines, the Ohio River's energy, Native American rituals, the coal mine fire, and the constellations above, making it one of the most haunted locations in the world.

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Edwin’s attempts to contact his sister Lyde are believed to have opened multiple spiritual portals within the Bellaire House. While the exact number of these portals is unknown, it is suspected that many remain active today. During ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication) sessions, Edwin's spirit suggested that he unintentionally created these portals, allowing entities to cross into the physical world.

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The Bellaire House also has a history of servants, many of whom were named Mary. According to local lore, one particular Mary had a child within the house, and it was rumored that this child's bloodline was crucial in strengthening an entity residing there. Documented evidence suggests that a servant's child was lured to the attic window and tragically fell to his death. This tragic event repeated with another child, and disturbingly, an adult male investigator was later similarly compelled toward the window.

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In collaboration with my colleague Rebecca Gardner, we discovered handwritten commitment papers that shed light on Alex Heatherington's decline into madness. The documents reveal that the collapse of his business precipitated his mental breakdown, leading to his diagnosis of "Non-Compos Mentis," meaning he was not of sound mind. Historical records describe how Alex would wander along the Ohio River convinced he was on a boat headed to Wellsburg, West Virginia, often disoriented and unable to identify himself.

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Further research uncovered a psychologist’s recommendation to commit Alex to a mental asylum due to his deteriorating condition. The commitment papers indicate that his business-related anxieties severely affected his domestic life. Additionally, Alex had partial paralysis, which impacted his speech, and as these physical symptoms eased, his mental instability grew worse. Ultimately, Probate Judge Isaac Gaston ordered Alex to be committed to the Athens Asylum for the Insane in Athens, Ohio.