Haunted Hospitals and Prisons

Forget the white sheets this Halloween and go on a hunt for some real ghosts. And what better places than abandoned prisons and hospitals? The following include some of the most haunted asylums and penitentiaries in the country. Many of them offer tours... are you brave enough?

Waverly Hills Sanatorium - Louisville, Kentucky

Opened in 1910, this treated tuberculosis patients during the TB epidemic of the early 1900s. Fresh air and bed rest were the main treatments during this time - patients were kept outside on porches for most of the day, even during the winter (this led to the invention of electric blankets). Heliotherapy, or "sun treatment", was also used, as it was believed the sun helped kill the bacteria that cause TB. Other treatments included ways to temporarily restrict a portion of the lung in order to "let it rest". One of these treatments, the "shot bag" method, included placing a one pound bag of shot on both collarbones of the patient. The amount was increased by four or five ounces each week until the patient would carry 5 pounds on the upper part of each lung. More permanent treatments involved various methods of collapsing one of the patient's lungs.

Visitors to the Sanatorium can take a 2-hour guided historical tour or spend a half-night (4 hours) or a full night (8 hours) hunting ghosts. One common spot to have paranormal encounters is in the Body Chute, or Death Tunnel, which was once used to transport the bodies of deceased TB patients down the hill to waiting hearses or trains. Many patients died each day during the epidemic and the staff preferred to use the Body Chute rather than carry them through the main hall in an effort to keep morale up. Unusual experiences at the Sanatorium include seeing shadows, smelling food from the abandoned kitchen and hearing voices screaming and moaning. During the month of October, visitors can brave the Terror on the Hill, a haunted house at Waverly Hills.

The Ridges (Athens Asylum for the Insane) - Athens, Ohio

Now known as the Ridges, this popular spook spot for nearby Ohio University students first opened on January 9, 1874. Built using the Kirkbride Plan, which emphasized the program of Moral Treatment, the Athens Asylum was meant to be a respite from the cruel treatment the mentally ill usually received in prisons and poorhouses. However, between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, the population of the asylum shot up from 200 to nearly 2,000, without an increase in staff or rooms. This overcrowding led to mistreatment of the patients. Some extreme methods used at the Athens Asylum included water treatment where patients were submerged in ice-cold water for extended periods, shock therapy, and original and trans-orbital lobotomies (left).

During this time, it was not uncommon for families to drop elderly relatives off at the asylum if they could no longer afford to care for them or for parents to commit teenagers if they became too rebellious. After the Civil War, many soldiers were committed to insane asylums for what we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder. These circumstances have led to rumors of patients at the Ridges who were not in fact mentally ill. Written on one of the windowsills is the eerie message: "I was never crazy".

Now owned by Ohio University, the Ridges complex does not offer tours, but many locals visit on their own. Another spooky option is to take a cemetery walk organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness through the grounds of the former insane asylum.

Alcatraz - Alcatraz Island, California

Looking for more dangerous ghosts? Look no further than Alcatraz, the most infamous jail in U.S. history. In 29 years, 36 men tried to escape "The Rock", but none succeeded. This highly secure and innovative prison was built to house the most notorious criminals, including Al Capone (who was also housed in Philly's Eastern State Penitentiary) and George "Machine Gun" Kelly.

Many visitors have reported frightening experiences while visiting this ominous island, including hearing prisoners yelling for help or pleading for release, chains rattling, experiencing a terrible smell or extreme cold, or hearing phantom gunshots. Many have also reported seeing unexplained apparitions. Visits to the prison are free, but the ferry to the island charges a fee.

West Virginia State Penitentiary - Moundsville, West Virginia

This haunted prison was on the U.S. Department of Justice's Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list while it was in use between 1899-1949. During that time, eighty-five men were hung and nine were electrocuted before West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1959. The earliest ghost sightings, reported in the early 1930s, occurred when the guards noticed an inmate walking near the wall, but when they sounded the alarm and went to investigate, no one was there. These occurrences are what first gave the penitentiary its reputation for being haunted.

Visitors to the penitentiary, former home of the nefarious Charles Manson, have the option of a 90-minute historical Day or Night Tour, an all-night Ghost Hunt, or the annual October "Dungeon of Horrors" where you can experience the fright of being locked behind bars. Don't miss the "Sugar Shack" - an indoor recreation yard in the basement where many paranormal discoveries have been reported.

What other haunted hospitals and prisons offer Halloween terror?

Photos: top, Waverly Hills Sanitorium; second, Dr. Walter Freeman performs a trans-orbital lobotomy with an ice pick; third, Aerial view of Alcatraz Island

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