Old Photos of an Abandoned Crack House

Abandoned Crackhouse Headlands Ohio 2009
This is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken in an abandoned place, and one of my favorite memories. I took this photo in 2009, before this home eventually fell to pieces and the rest was demolished.
Abandoned Crackhouse Headlands Ohio 2009
We visited this home on a cold, windy day in December of 2009. The home sat at the edge of a tall cliff, leaning towards the lake. At this point, the house was falling apart at the back from years of erosion. This left us just enough space to climb up beneath the back porch, which hung out over the cliff’s edge. Balancing on some rocks, and bracing ourselves on areas of the house, we were able to make our way beneath the crumbling porch. As we climbed up, I could hear water crashing to the shore of the beach below, while winds howled through the mangled remains of wall on the porch, where we had climbed in. The floor was askew, leaning towards a steep incline, which lead to the beach below. We began our climb into the home, grabbing onto the broken floorboards. The wood had become rather weak with water damage, crumbling as we climbed. Once we had climbed enough, the floor had leveled out. Thankfully we were then able to grab ahold of some furniture to pull ourselves up slowly, careful not to slip and go sliding down the cliffside. Once inside, we found a plethora of discarded, forgotten items. Books, photos, furniture, food, and so much more just left behind. The home was dark and quiet, and all we could do was talk back and forth about the local legends we knew of the home.
Abandoned Crackhouse Headlands Ohio 2009
Locals had always told stories of this home. One story being that the family who had previously lived here was killed by their father, who later shot himself in the garage. Many other stories of it being that it was simply a dark and deserted crack house. Whether or not any of these stories were true didn’t matter; it made our adventure that much more worthwhile for the pure “creep value.”
Abandoned Crackhouse Headlands Ohio 2009
The only light that made its way inside was through this one window in the kitchen. Every other window on the home was covered by boards. Without flashlights, we used only the very dim light from cell phone screens, and continued to flash each room with the flash of cameras to see where we were walking. We could hear the wind slamming the back of the house, thinking that at any moment, the porch would finally break off and tumble down the cliffside into the lake.
Abandoned Crackhouse Headlands Ohio 2009
One of the rooms that was pitch black, illuminated by one on camera flash

This home is one of the older explorations I will be sharing within my upcoming book, alongside even more from explorations around the Headlands. This will include the infamous green hallway that has somehow become known as an old aquarium across the Internet. It was a pickle jarring factory for Paisley Farms. I hope to re-edit a whole bunch of these photos.

abandoned overgrown hallway green
An abandoned, overgrown hallway inside the Paisley Farms pickle jarring factory

It’s unfortunate that I lost so many photos from here when my hard drive crashed years back. I only have a handful remaining. I hope to one day try and recover the files from that drive, because I think it’s still possible. There are just some places you will never forget in your lifetime. For me, this is one of those.

0 comments on “Old Photos of an Abandoned Crack House

  1. The photograph of the abandoned glass hallway is one of those memorable ones. The colours are stunningly beautiful to me. I can imagine myself walking down to the doorway at the far end, wondering with trepidation what awaits me behind the door…
    I’m a long time admirer of your work. Another evocative photograph for me is the staircase with the large newel post , one you included in your first book Empty Spaces.

    1. Well if I am able to revive the files from that hard drive, you will be able to see even more of that green hallway, plus many more from that place! I lost so many photos it sucks 🙁

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