About This Location
According to local legend, an asylum once stood on this desolate stretch of land in York County. When it burned down, firefighters could not reach the remote location in time, and most patients perished. Seven gates were supposedly erected around the perimeter to contain any survivors who escaped.
The Ghost Story
The Seven Gates of Hell in Hellam Township, York County, is one of Pennsylvania's most infamous urban legends. Two competing versions of the story circulate, but both agree that there are seven gates in a wooded area along Toad Road—and that anyone who passes through all seven goes straight to Hell.
The first legend describes a large mental asylum built along Toad Road during the 1800s, far from towns where residents felt safe from the dangerous inmates within: murderers, rapists, and other deranged individuals. Toward the end of the century, disaster struck when a fire broke out. Dangerous inmates escaped into the surrounding woods. Many were recaptured, beaten, or killed, while others were trapped inside a series of gates where their tormented souls remain to this day.
The second legend tells of a doctor who lived in the area during the 1900s and eventually went insane, becoming psychotic and dangerous. Whether to ward off intruders or in moments of clarity trying to contain his own madness, he constructed a series of gates, each further out than the last, to prevent anyone from entering his property.
Both versions agree that only the first gate can be seen during daylight—the other six only become visible at night. Anyone who passes through the fifth gate will never be seen again. Those who reach all seven gates descend directly to Hell.
The reality is more mundane but still intriguing. Historians have found that Dr. Harold Belknap, a practitioner at West Side Sanitarium, did live along Toad Road and was known for posting threatening signs with toad-related humor—allegedly how the road got its name. The sanitarium building still exists and never burned down. Belknap only ever built one gate on his property. The dense woods of Trout Run contain the ruins of a flint mill that may have been mistaken for a burned asylum.
The legend has caused such frustration for Hellam Township residents that the official township website denounces the stories as nonsense. The property is privately owned, and trespassers can be arrested.
Researched from 6 verified sources including historical records, local archives, and paranormal research organizations. Learn about our research process.
