The Arveson Shrine today

I've written about the Rose Arveson Shrine here before, and later updated that post to include the grim news of its residents' sad fates. Last weekend Pat and I thought we'd check out the now abandoned property to see if anything has changed. It looked more forlorn and eerie than ever.

In short, this was the site of alleged miracles witnessed by and/or directly caused by Rose Arveson, who died in 1963. Principally, the roses that were laid upon her casket miraculously came back to life and bloomed 10 days after the funeral; a petal from one of the roses purportedly cured a family friend of severe arthritis. Upon witnessing these phenomena, Rose's daughters, Pauline and Dorothy, built a shrine to their mother and distributed "miracle" rosebuds to anyone who asked. For a long time people came from all over the world to visit the shrine and receive roses, but for the past many years it's fallen into a state of almost complete decrepitude. (For a more in depth and well-researched history of Rose Arveson, please read Bill Vogrin's excellent February 2010 piece on her HERE; at the time it was published, Dorothy Arveson was still alive.)

Sadly, the sisters seemed to have met a bleak, lonely end. The house ended up occupied by an apparent hoarder, William Schwartz, who kept the surviving sister, Dorothy, hidden inside the filthy abode with a multitude of neglected animals. She passed away in 2011 at age 81, following her sister Pauline, who died in 2008, aged 82. Last January, the authorities removed Mr. Schwartz from the home and rescued the surviving animals, who were by all accounts in terrible condition; he was soon met with 11 charges of animal cruelty. Bill Vogrin wrote an excellent follow-up piece when that incident made the news -- you can read it HERE.

I do not know what will become of the property, or who owns it now. The now condemned house is still standing and the various shrines on the property continue to succumb to nature's wear and tear. While Pat and I were there, a handful of deer browsed through the bare foliage, looking for something to eat. An empty gin bottle lay on the ground, a sight that Rose and her daughters surely would have disapproved of! There is a strongly ominous, oppressive vibe to the place, and an acute sense of sorrow. Bad juju, if you will. No, it's not a happy place at all.