Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

A Horror Yarn

Abandoned Correctional in Fort Erie, Ontario

Dec 10 2012

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These are the remains of the home of Astrid Kronin on the outskirts of Ridgeway, a rural suburb of Fort Erie. Astrid was a frail and reclusive woman who was never seen outside of her residence.
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When she died in the early 80s, a local realtor bought her home and sold it to numerous families in succession. Each of them stayed for only a short duration and left, indicating that they did not feel alone in the house.
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They did not say that the house felt haunted, but instead quite seriously felt that Astrid was alive and somehow hiding. The realtor of course suspected it a convenient excuse and that the poor condition of the dwelling was the cause.
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He set about attempting to renovate. It was during the roofing job that one contractor nonchalantly photographed his two buddies and captured a chilling image of Astrid Kronin surveying their work from an upstairs window.
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Rumours spread like wildfire and the house sat vacant for two decades, crumbing. When several children disappeared in the area, nobody suspected the decrepit Kronin home. To this day, nobody is quite sure who discovered the missing children chained and caged inside the home.
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The cause for discovery notwithstanding, the local response was immediate - there was no time for law enforcement. Townspeople took matters into their own hands and descended upon the Kronin home.
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They discovered a very much alive Astrid Kronin with a property full of scores of cages, no doubt waiting for an endless string of soon-to-be captured victims.
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In the end, the entire dwelling was burned and collapsed, the ruins remaining to this day. Astrid was presumed dead, though nobody would come forward admitting to actually completing the act, nor where they disposed of her body.
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Thus should end the story, but the childrens' tales suggest a darker demise. Well cared for while captive, they spoke of arcane rituals where Astrid tried to surround herself with their youthful life-force. Rumors were that through witchcraft she had succeeded in achieving some kind of immortality.
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On his recent deathbed, a resident who was there on the dreadful night admitted more: he spoke of an inability to destroy her, that her black magic was not just a legend. Death by decapitation, burning, and impalement only lasted for a short time before she repeatedly rose again alive and intact.
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According to the resident, a farmer sharing a relation to her was entrusted to "make her disappear". Legend has it that he converted the remains of his old silo into her personal prison, with wood construction of multiple levels leading to the top via a crudely constructed stairway.
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In effect, a silo was converted into a sort of dungeon. Windows were cut into the brickwork and covered over with metal shielding to provide light but no escape. A lower hole was left open but partially bricked to allow enough room for the occasional insertion of food... not that it was necessary.
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For a brief time, night after night, a few local farmers built temporary shelters near the base of the tower and took turns guarding it against her escape.
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In time, confidence was established. Permanently sealed inside the tower, Astrid would live out eternity in solitude, as long as she remained undisturbed.
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To this day, residents do not speak of the location of this secret tower.... ... but Ridgeway is a small place.

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