Sometimes dreams turn into nightmares. At least, that seems to be the moral of the story behind a home on Brownsville Road in the Brentwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. What started as a young boy's dream decades later became a terrifying nightmare for that boy, now an adult, and his family. Here's the story of what could be the most evil place in Pittsburgh.
The house at 3406 Brownsville Road has a long and storied history, especially if you believe the terrifying tales shared by perhaps its most famous resident, Bob Cranmer. But, before Cranmer ever entered the picture, the land on which the home now sits had a story of its own to tell, according to local legend, as the burial site of a mother and her three children, murdered at the hands of Native Americans in 1792.
As a young boy, Cranmer grew up near that Brownsville Road home and felt drawn to it, determined to one day call it his own. Time passed. Cranmer served in the United States Army, became the Chairman of the Republican Party of Allegheny County, and, in 1995, won the role of Allegheny County Commissioner. In the meantime, he fulfilled his dream when he and his family moved into 3406 Brownsville Road in 1988.
Before even moving in to the home, the Cranmer family claimed the odd occurrences had already started. Cranmer's young son, in tears, talked of seeing a ghost. The ghost began to wreak havoc on the household. Strange smells - often of sulfur - lingered in the air. The family would discover objects had mysteriously moved. The ghost most commonly presented itself in the form of a black cloud.
Soon, the house at 3406 Brownsville Road went from a dream home to a virtual house of horrors. The ghost began to attack, according to Cranmer. Families members suffered scratches and bites on their bodies. And, the odd occurrences continued.
Rosary beads, for example, often inexplicably stuck together, making it impossible to properly pray.
Blood would, out of the blue, run down the walls, terrifying the family and leaving them desperate for help. By this point, they believed their home wasn't possessed by a normal ghost. Rather, they felt a demon had taken up residence in the unassuming home on Brownsville Road.
Increasingly desperate to find a way to rid the home of the evil spirit that possessed it, Cranmer turned to Bishop Donald Wuerl for help in removing the ghost from his home. Religious experts concluded that the home was possessed by a demon. Several priests spent nearly two years attempting to cleanse the home of its demonic spirit.
By 2006, the family could breathe much easier as the paranormal incidents began to decrease. While the Cranmers no longer live at 3406 Brownsville Road, Cranmer shared his experiences about the possessed house in a 2014 book called "The Demon of Brownsville Road."
What do you think of the home on Brownsville Road? Do you believe it was or is the most evil place in Pittsburgh? Click here to read the haunted tale of another Pittsburgh home and click here to learn more about the Demon of Brownsville Road.
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