Case file · Haunting
Witch's Castle, Forest Park
A roofless stone house in Portland's Forest Park stands on land once owned by Danford Balch, who shot his son-in-law in 1858 and was hanged in 1859.
1858 CE · 45.53, -122.72 · status: legend
The account
The stone house was built in the 1930s as a restroom for the park; teenagers later nicknamed it the Witch's Castle, and stories of a curse on Balch's land grew up around it.
The sceptical view
The murder is documented; the 'witch' is pure nickname, and the building has no link to Balch.