Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Haunting in Old Corbin

Do you like tales of old haunted houses? I say this because you can turn on your TV anytime day or night and you will find stories of old haunted houses, usually old abandoned mansions in New England or creepy images wandering through homes that have a history of a tragedy having taken place from another era. I don’t watch them. They scare me.
I say this because while researching another subject on the Internet, I ran across an article on the haunting of an old hospital that was in Corbin years before my time. The article states that it was located at 201 Kentucky Avenue and was torn down eons ago. I doubt anyone reading this has a memory of it but may have heard of it from someone who was around at that time.
In my hazy memory, I can only recall the old Smith Hospital which was located on Center Street during the 1940’s. It was run by Dr. F.S. Smith and his son Keith, whom we referred to as “Old Dr. Smith and Young Dr. Smith.” They delivered most of the Estep babies which kept them quite busy owing to our large numbers, and later delivered the children of those babies. These baby pictures could easilly have covered one wall of the doctor’s office.
In addition to delivering the Estep babies, we relied upon them for tonsillectomies, broken limbs, sore throats and all kinds of childhood diseases. We placed our lives in their hands and they are still beloved by our family to this day. But I digress.
Corbin people probably have several tales of haunted houses and sightings they might remember, either from their own personal observation or from stories that have been passed down to them. But this artical intrigued me. It doesn’t give credit to the writers of the stories but they’re pretty graphic in nature. Enter with caution.
One anonymous writer wrote: “My grandmother died in that hospital and myself along with 9 kids went into this old spooky place and for sure something or someone lingers there. I do believe that is is lost souls of people that died or were killed by neglect. Many people when they pass and they don’t want to let go for for some reason will linger in the place that they died. These people are hoping to find or see someone they know or a loved one. So if you do go visit this place before it’s destroyed, BEWARE, YOU ARE BEING WATCHED BY ONE OR BY MANY!”
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“A few weeks ago, a few of my friends and I decided to visit the old hospital because it was going to be torn down in a few days. It was about 1 a.m. and we bought flashlights and went inside. It was downright creepy. We were making our way upstairs when a cop pulled up so we stopped and froze and watched out of the window. While we were doing this we heard pots and pans clanging behind us. We freaked out, then about this time we heard a fan kick out and we were jolted out of there,
Not caring if the cop saw us or not. We ran and somehow got by the cop. We turned around and got one last look at the hospital when we noticed a small ghost-like little girl standing in one of the upstairs windows and it looked like she was floating out of the window. It was creepy! We ran to our car and got outta there!”
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“My dad went up there. He said he saw a ghost child crying for her mommy and then she was gone. And saw lights flickering off and on and that night he had the worst nightmare you could ever have.”
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Personally folks, I don’t believe in ghosts because I’ve never seen one. But……………….Sometimes I do hear weird noises in the night.

It’s time to start collecting recipes for the holidays that lie ahead. This spiced fruit over pound cake recipe satisfies a number of cravings. Sautéed fruit, either apples or pears, comes together quickly and tastes just like a handmade tart with a touch of spice. Add rich, buttery pound cake and a generous finish of lightly sweetened whipped cream to make the ultimate dessert: a not-too-sweet study in textures, flavors, and aromas sure to please all your guests.

Spiced Fruit Over Pound Cake

2 tablespoons butter
2 pears or apples, cored and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon pear or apple brandy (optional)
6 slices vanilla pound cake (toasted, if desired)
Whipped cream

In a large skillet set over medium heat, sauté the fruit, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in the butter for 5 to 7 minutes, until they just begin to caramelize. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the brandy, if using. Allow the fruit to cool slightly and then arrange it atop slices of pound cake and garnish it with whipped cream.
This spiced fruit recuoe serves six.