Welcome to Heartbreak Homestead:

Heading home from a weekend of exploring various abandoned locations, Bumblebee and I spotted a tell tale sign of an abandonment: a long overgrown driveway. We exchanged words about it, but assumed it was nothing special and continued on our way. For months, we forgot about the house that we had seen that day. Weeks later, we were driving the backroads with no particular destination in mind when we crossed paths with the same abandoned driveway we had pointed out prior. With nothing to lose, we decided to take the chance and drove up the winding over grown driveway. As we reached the top end of the path, we were faced with a beautiful two toned brick farmhouse. We walked through the shin high grass cautiously before noticing that the front door was wide open. Bumblebee knocked hesitantly before yelling hello. His voice echoed through the house as we waited for any kind of response. After minutes of silence, we made our way inside.

To our surprise, the sad remnants of a husband, wife, and their children were scattered throughout this house that they once called home. Through the front door was the kitchen. Cupboards were open, papers were scattered across countertops, and important phone numbers and reminders were still stuck to the fridge with magnets. After walking from room to room, we discovered the usual signs of abandonment - some furniture had clearly been moved out, but other pieces still remained. Most telling though, was that everything left behind had been thrown every which way, creating a sea of papers and belongings. Bumblebee and I immediately knew that we had misjudged this place at first glance. As we made our way to the front of the house, we spotted a framed photo of the property on the wall by the staircase. The ceiling paint was peeling everywhere (forming puddles of paint chips from where they had fallen). As the house had been exposed to the harsh cold of a Canadian winter and the humidity of summer, early signs of Black mold were beginning to take form on ceilings and wallpaper.

As we searched for some evidence of what had happened here, we found a passport, an old driver’s license, family photos, and other personal items. Through our research, we were able to start putting the puzzle pieces together. The story we uncovered is nothing short of a heartbreaking tale of what unexpected events can do to a family who once lived a happy, normal life.

Simon Mellette* was born on July 28th, 1961 in Ontario, Canada. At a young age, he moved to the United States with his parents, where he was raised. In his late teen years, Simon served for the U.S. Coast Guard. Within the next few years, he moved back to Ontario, where he met Mary-Anne*. They were married, and moved to a farmhouse in the countryside; a place they could call home. These years were likely happy ones - Simon and Mary-Anne had two children, a boy and a girl. They made friends in the area, and held gatherings for friends and family frequently. Simon found a job working at LCBO so that he could support his family. Mary-Anne worked at a detention centre for youth offenders, but her real passion lay with animals. She took a course to become first-aid certified with animals in the late 90’s.

Then, one day while Mary-Anne was at work, her life (and her family’s) changed forever. A youth inmate lashed out at Mary-Anne and beat her badly, leaving her with permanent mental and physical injuries. After 6 weeks in the hospital and many appointments with doctors, Mary-Anne was left with constant pain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Unipolar Depression, suicidal ideations, severe headaches, short and long term memory loss, and mobility issues due to obesity caused by her new physical limitations. Despite all of this, Mary-Anne tried her best to get back on her feet. She took a job working with animals, as she had always wanted. She joined Curves, hoping to fight off the rapid weight gain she was experiencing. However, finances became an issue quickly, and eventually Mary-Anne lost hope. At this point, life began getting worse and worse for the family. Simon and Mary-Anne filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Mary-Anne soon became house-ridden, constantly fighting the urge to cause self harm. To add insult to injury, the family also had to euthanize their family dog, a particularly heartbreaking task for Mary-Anne. The process of bankruptcy went on for many years, adding stress and tension to an already defeated household. Bumblebee and I believe that the Mellette family left their home sometime in 2013, and that a squatter took residence afterward, leaving in 2014. Paperwork from the Mellette family ends long before 2014, but newspapers throughout the household show this date.

Today, the house sits abandoned, still full of sad memories of the Mellette’s time there. It is unknown where the family went after they left their now abandoned home, as further research has not provided any information.

**All names changed to protect the location & individuals involved


Decaying by Storytrail, on Flickr


Garage Sale by Storytrail, on Flickr


Bedroom Storage by Storytrail, on Flickr


Target Practice by Storytrail, on Flickr


Feeling Uneasy by Storytrail, on Flickr


Teenaged Boy's Room by Storytrail, on Flickr


Leaning by Storytrail, on Flickr


I Love You by Storytrail, on Flickr


Gone Elsewhere by Storytrail, on Flickr


Lost Childhood by Storytrail, on Flickr

Amazing work on this one guys and what a great job on your research, Ground State will be proud.

You and Bumblebee are both a breath of fresh air in this forum and i look forward to your contributions!

I'd have to agree with everything Freak just wrote. Well done! First time in awhile that I read the whole story and enjoyed the pictures.

What a sad sad story, and aptly names post. Thanks for taking the time to do this research and share it with us here!

Awesome find! Welcome to UER

That was a great backstory and you must have had quite a time fitting the details together. Seeing all these pics together in one gallery (instead of here and there on Flickr) now brings so much more cumulative life to the location. I mistakenly thought the place was much newer from earlier pics, but that main foyer speaks otherwise, giving it the addition of some nice decay.

Hey wait a minute, now I know what you and Bumblebee were talking about when you commented on that one house yesterday being ruined having carpet in every room. This must have been the place you were comparing it to. These floors here would be my wife's dream!

Bed Ridden by Bumblebee, on Flickr


Hitting Home by Bumblebee, on Flickr


Deadly Affection by Bumblebee, on Flickr


Stranger Danger by Bumblebee, on Flickr


House Of Horrors by Bumblebee, on Flickr


Stand On Guard For Thee by Bumblebee, on Flickr


A Case Of the Mondays.. by Bumblebee, on Flickr

Just adding some photos from here, great write up

I haven't done much with my shots, but this place was truly heartbreaking and while it was a pleasure to explore and shoot I found myself getting more and more bummed out with each room I was in, as I said to you both - it was pretty overwhelming.

Thanks for sharing this one guys, this pic below - I can't say I have ever come across anything quite so sad, you can really sense the desperation.


Could You Please Help Me by Freaktography, on Flickr

Posted by Freaktography Amazing work on this one guys and what a great job on your research, Ground State will be proud. You and Bumblebee are both a breath of fresh air in this forum and i look forward to your contributions!

Thanks again! Just noticed you had paperwork for the 'adult grave' behind that essay.. makes the photo even more somber.

Posted by L'Ali I'd have to agree with everything Freak just wrote. Well done! First time in awhile that I read the whole story and enjoyed the pictures.

Thank you very much! We visited quite a few times attempting to put the story together, I really wanted to do it justice.

Posted by fortress What a sad sad story, and aptly names post. Thanks for taking the time to do this research and share it with us here!

Thank you! Bumblebee gets credit for the title

Posted by shadowedsmile Awesome find! Welcome to UER

Thanks! I'm glad to be here.

Posted by Ground State Hey wait a minute, now I know what you and Bumblebee were talking about when you commented on that one house yesterday being ruined having carpet in every room. This must have been the place you were comparing it to. These floors here would be my wife's dream!

Haha, yes! This is the house I was comparing that place to. Every room reminded me of this place - mostly empty, but enough left behind that if you spent some time, you could probably figure out what happened there.

A couple of updates-

We returned to this location today with Finz. As we were finishing up, a car pulled up the driveway. Other explorers have found this place (including one from OAP), so it's only a matter of time now before it gets around. If anyone here wants the coordinates to visit before that happens, let me know!

Second, we found some more information through research. This family really had a rough time - back in the early 2000's, they were having issues with local children coming to and from school harassing their dogs (throwing sandwiches into their yard, yelling and pestering them, etc.). One incident even left one of their dogs crippled for life. This was the last straw for the family, and they soon moved to the home that you see here, now abandoned.

Sleeping Sickness by Bumblebee, on Flickr


Mass A-Peel by Bumblebee, on Flickr


WAR! What Is It Good For? by Bumblebee, on Flickr

A Chance Of Meeting by Bumblebee, on Flickr

A Few More Photos From Today's Visit, Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Posted by Storytrail A couple of updates- We returned to this location today with Finz. As we were finishing up, a car pulled up the driveway. Other explorers have found this place (including one from OAP), so it's only a matter of time now before it gets around. If anyone here wants the coordinates to visit before that happens, let me know!

Correction - it's already been on the site since July of 2014. Entry #10683 friend only. I didn't realize until it was pointed out to me by the creator.

I'm somewhat confused by your logic though - other explorers have found a location so message me for the coordinates so that even more people can visit it before other people visit it. It makes sense to me.

There's a really good track record of places being kept intact, no thefts and no vandalism, when created as Friend Only. There's also a reason why the DB on here isn't used as much, because of the taggers and thefts that occur. This isn't to say that OAP is 100% safe, but for the last 11 months anyway that entry and many others have remained intact (nothing missing, nothing damaged).

Now I have to ask, how is it that a place can remain quiet for almost one year less a month but less than two weeks after being posted to social media by yourself it's becoming known? I'll give you a hint - you should be looking in the mirror before pointing fingers. Particularly when the people you're pointing at, have been nothing but generous to you in terms of giving you places to explore and well as information.

You made it a habit of sucking the DB dry (as per the GPS request logs), and should probably keep that in mind as you sling mud. Many people were willing to share with you, and in return your holier than thou attitude is a little much.

That's all I'm going to say on this - I'll get popcorn.

Derp.

Posted by Intrinsic Correction - it's already been on the site since July of 2014. Entry #10683 friend only. I didn't realize until it was pointed out to me by the creator. I'm somewhat confused by your logic though - other explorers have found a location so message me for the coordinates so that even more people can visit it before other people visit it. It makes sense to me. There's a really good track record of places being kept intact, no thefts and no vandalism, when created as Friend Only. There's also a reason why the DB on here isn't used as much, because of the taggers and thefts that occur. This isn't to say that OAP is 100% safe, but for the last 11 months anyway that entry and many others have remained intact (nothing missing, nothing damaged). Now I have to ask, how is it that a place can remain quiet for almost one year less a month but less than two weeks after being posted to social media by yourself it's becoming known? I'll give you a hint - you should be looking in the mirror before pointing fingers. Particularly when the people you're pointing at, have been nothing but generous to you in terms of giving you places to explore and well as information. Derp.

Nice try "intrinsic" , it's a shame the locations only been vacated since January of 2015 (straight from people who know the owners) but I applaud your efforts for trying to derail a great thread otherwise....

Posted by Freaktography Amazing work on this one guys and what a great job on your research, Ground State will be proud. You and Bumblebee are both a breath of fresh air in this forum and i look forward to your contributions!

+1

Way to go! Wonderful (yet terribly sad) write up and fantastic photos. Thank you so much for sharing.

Posted by Finz519 +1

Posted by Match Girl Way to go! Wonderful (yet terribly sad) write up and fantastic photos. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thanks for the support!

Wow... sounds to me like they needed a better tax attorney!!! Cause the one they had must have really sucked!

Just an opinion from a professional.

I've read and re-read this story a couple times now, and each time I'm reminded of the lyrics from Avril Lavinge's song I'm With You:

Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?

It's a **** cold night
Tryna figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I, I'm with you.

Thank you for posting this story and these pictures.

Posted by tax_mouse Wow... sounds to me like they needed a better tax attorney!!! Cause the one they had must have really sucked! Just an opinion from a professional.

You make a good point.

Posted by Kirito I've read and re-read this story a couple times now, and each time I'm reminded of the lyrics from Avril Lavinge's song I'm With You: Isn't anyone tryin' to find me? Won't somebody come take me home? It's a **** cold night Tryna figure out this life Won't you, take me by the hand Take me somewhere new I don't know who you are But I, I'm with you. Thank you for posting this story and these pictures.

Thank you for your comment! I can certainly see how that song might relate, haha!

On our last visit to the house, we actually ran into two explorers who know the family personally. Turns out they still own the place, and were basically hoarders. So... the bank didn't actually take possession of their home. These explorers also hinted that while we made a compelling story out of the evidence we found left behind (in my write up) the family seems the type to play the sympathy card, and may have exaggerated a lot. Food for thought... interesting to come up with what you think is the real story and then hear how it differs in reality.