Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

Sainte-Clothilde-de-Horton Asylum

Demolished Educational in Sainte-Clotilde-De-Horton, Quebec, Canada

Jan 17 2015

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Recent status Demolished
Location # 11600

This building’s history began in 1939 in the small town of Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Quebec. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart settled on the parcel of land that once belonged to a Mr. Alexandre Martel and built The Monastery of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart.

In 1953 the monastery property was sold to the Brothers of the Christian Instruction who opened the “Frères de l'Instruction Chrétienne”. In the main hall the slogan can still be seen inscribed in the floor - “Ad Sinite parvulos venire Me” which translates to “Let the children come to me.”

It's said that on December 25, 1959 three boys were caught smoking and were locked inside a closet. The boys then re-lit their cigarettes causing a fire that rapidly grew out of control, resulting in the deaths of the three boys.

There’s little documentation as to what became of the property between 1959 and 1969 but it’s believed that the fire led to the closure of the educational institution. In 1969 the Quebec provincial government purchased the property for use as a rehabilitation center for people with intellectual disabilities. Various research states that medical procedures such as lobotomies and electroshock therapy took place during this time.

The center operated for 19 years until 1988 when nine adults died during a fire caused by patients smoking under their bed sheets.

Some stories say that patients committed suicide by jumping out of windows or by hanging themselves, while other versions are that during the fire people jumped from the fourth floor windows. Obviously over the years the stories have changed.

The property was eventually sold to the Seventh Day Adventist Church to be converted into a camp named Val-Espoir. The project was never completed possibly due to a lack of funding.

Today the property is known as the Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton Asylum. The owner lives across the street and owns several hundred hectares of land. Permission to explore the building is as easy as phoning him and meeting him on the property. A person lives in a trailer on the property and serves as a security guard, chasing out uninvited people.

The building has been used for several functions including paint ball, overnight sleeping and Halloween parties. The owner removed all of the furniture in the summer of 2015 leaving much of the building bare.

To reach the owner phone Roger at (819) 433-3334. Admission is $10 per person.

Several paranormal investigations have taken place here including one for the History Channel.

[u]PatThomas Writes[/u]:

Cet édifice fut construit en 1939 par les missionnaires du Sacré-Cœur et devint le monastère des pères du Sacré-Cœur. Il aurait abrité une ferme ayant appartenu � un certains Alexandre Martel. En 1953, il a été vendu aux frères de l'institution chrétienne. Ce lieu a donc été transformé en une institution ou un centre d'enseignements � la vie religieuse. Il fut rebaptisé Maison Notre Dame de la Chesnaie. Il est possible encore aujourd'hui d'y retrouver ce nom sur un mur de pierre � l'entrée de ce bâtiment ainsi que sur le plancher du hall principal.

Un premier événement tragique est survenu le 25 décembre 1958. Il fut incendié par des jeunes ayant été surpris entrain de fumer. Les pères les auraient enfermés dans une petite pièce servant de débarras ou de lieu de rangement de literie. Dans cette pièce, les jeunes auraient rallumé leur cigarette et aurait accidentellement mis le feu � l'édifice. Dans cet incendie, 3 jeunes garçons âgés de 8 � 10 ans auraient décédés. Certains affirment qu'ils auraient été brûlé vif et que leurs corps n'auraient jamais été retrouvé. Par contre, ces décès ne figureraient pas dans les registres de l'institution chrétienne.

En 1969, le gouvernement est devenu propriétaire du bâtiment. Son rôle a été modifié et il devient un centre de réadaptation pour des gens ayant des déficiences intellectuelles. Son appellation d'asile provient de cette époque. Le centre avait une capacité de 90 personnes et il fut actif jusqu'� 1988.

Durant cette période, un deuxième incendie s'est déclaré en janvier 1988. Le site de cet incendie se situerait au quatrième étage. La cause est inconnue encore � ce jour. Il y aurait eu encore une fois des décès lors de cet accident. Certaines sources parlent de 9 décès de gens âgés de 32 � 50 ans. D'autres affirment qu'il y aurait eu décès de 6 � 8 jeunes. Ce seraient des personnes ayant des handicapes mentaux. Ils seraient décédés par asphyxie. En lien avec cet incendie, il y aurait une personne qui aurait sauté par une fenêtre du quatrième étage afin de fuir l'incendie. Certaines sources affirment que c'est un frère âgé de 60 ans et d'autres parle d'un enfant.

Comments

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2 weeks ago

Elle a été démolie été 2023, elle été mis en vente avec son terrain, avec l'obligation de démolir le bâtiment.

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8 years ago

I explored this location last year, it was delightful. Make sure you bring $20 with you, the owner WILL catch you. When he catches you, he WILL scare you (you're in the asylum alone or with a friend and you will hear him go "WOOOHOOOO!" He is a bulldog breeder and can speak English pretty well. Not many remnants left, just nice architecture. I'd highly recommend visitidue to the history behind i

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9 years ago

The girlfriend of the owner next door is deaf, we had to make at least ten phone calls between the number posted and a local gas station before we got a pick up on the line. Storytrail and I didn't think we were going to make it in. Here's the phone number for the owner (819) 433 3334 make sure you call in advance.

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9 years ago

We drove by but didn't find a number...we knew of the 'fee'. We knocked across the road.

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9 years ago

Excellent photography, well done.

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9 years ago

He had no idea there was an abandoned building on the property? Lucky it wasn't a PCB dump site building. Nice pictures.

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9 years ago

Great write up.

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9 years ago

Nice.