WESTLAND, Michigan, October 27, 2026 | Halloween enthusiasts seeking a different kind of fright can explore a former psychiatric hospital in Michigan and a historic funeral home in Ohio, where guided tours and paranormal investigations offer visitors a combination of history, eerie surroundings and unusual overnight experiences.
Eloise Asylum in Westland, a suburb of Detroit, offers historical tours and paranormal investigations inside the surviving Kay Beard Building, part of a once-sprawling public health complex. In Toledo, the former Urbanski Funeral Home, now known as Mortuary Manor, has been transformed into a funeral museum and paranormal attraction where visitors can explore embalming rooms, an autopsy room and a morgue.
According to Detroit PBS, the Eloise institution began as a poorhouse in the 1830s and expanded into a major medical and psychiatric facility. At its height during the 1920s and 1930s, the complex occupied more than 900 acres and included dozens of buildings. The institution eventually closed in the 1980s, leaving only some structures standing.
The site has a complex history that extends beyond its reputation for reported paranormal activity. Historical accounts document the treatment of impoverished people and patients with mental illnesses during an era when psychiatric care was markedly different from modern practice. Detroit PBS has reported that thousands of people were buried in unmarked graves in the institution’s cemetery. The site’s conversion into a commercial Halloween attraction has also raised concerns among some people connected to former patients, who object to turning a place associated with suffering into entertainment.
At Eloise, visitors can explore former treatment areas, including a room containing a bathtub once used for hydrotherapy. Paranormal investigators use equipment such as electromagnetic field meters and spirit boxes in attempts to detect what they believe may be unexplained activity. These experiences are presented as paranormal investigations, although claims of supernatural activity have not been scientifically established.
About 80 kilometers south, Mortuary Manor preserves another part of local history. Toledo City Paper reported in March 2026 that the former Urbanski Funeral Home, which operated from 1889 until 2025, had been converted into a museum and event venue. Visitors can explore funeral-related rooms and equipment, attend paranormal investigations and watch horror films inside the historic building. Overnight stays are also offered.
The attractions reflect a growing interest in experiences that combine Halloween entertainment with historical exploration. Their appeal, however, also highlights the need to recognize the real people whose lives and deaths are part of these sites’ histories, rather than viewing the locations solely through the lens of horror.
Both venues offer visitors a chance to encounter preserved buildings and historical spaces while participating in Halloween activities. For those drawn to the unusual, the experience combines the atmosphere of a haunted attraction with a closer look at the institutions that once served their communities.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
