True Ghost Stories: Real Haunted Hospitals and Mental Asylums

By Zachery Knowles

The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):

As we move forward with our “non-fiction” journey things will continue to be a little different. Knowles appears to be less travel writer and more into the actual stories/experiences connected with the locations so this should be a fun read. There is a bit more history attached to this book. It seems that Knowles is passionate about haunted hospitals in particular. Do understand that some of the information is second hand from reports and are open to interpretation. He explores stories from haunted mental health and medical facilities from all over the world. We are venturing into new territory with these and it’s exciting. I will continue to talk on the chapters in a similar way to Terrance Zepke’s books and will add pictures with links to sites with additional information. I will only be doing brief overviews of what is said, to get the specific story you’ll have to read the book. Hopefully we learn more about the experiences that few of us ever get to experience and have a few good chills along the way. Shall we be on our way to visit some of the world’s most haunted asylums and hospitals? I’m feeling a bit peckish.

I enjoy the author’s introduction to the book. I think that it is well written and the style is complementary to subject matter.

Waverly Hills Sanitorium

Established in 1910 to treat those with TB, which at the time was spreading like wildfire across the US. Once the doors were open the hospital was overrun with patients. A bed opening up usually meant that someone had died. When it came to TB at the time there was no cure and most of those that contracted it died. With as many patients as were coming in the hospital needed to rebuild/expand. When this was done a children’s wing was included to take care of both sick children and the children of sick parents. The treatments for TB at the time were fresh air (this was the big one), rest and proper nutrition. They would move patients out onto the patio, even in the dead of winter, for this all important fresh air.

As things progressed more invasive treatments started to occur. Things like inserting balloons into patients lungs and removing ribs and muscle tissue. You can imagine that once this shit started to occur the survival rate dropped even further. To try and protect the patients from seeing all of the deaths the hospital developed what was deemed a death tunnel so that they could remove the bodies without walking them through the hospital. The 500 foot chute was used to lower the bodies out of the hospital.

In 1961 the hospital was closed as a wonderful discovery had come to light…antibiotics. The illness was pretty much eradicated and the hospital was no longer needed. Thousands of lives were lost to TB (and horrible medical procedures).

Then the hospital was opened once again but this time as a geriatric care facility called Woodhaven. Apparently this was the nightmare of nursing homes to end all nightmare nursing homes as in 1982 the state shut it down due to patient neglect. The hospital then lay vacant for 20 years. It was a hot spot for the homeless and vandals alike. This is when people started to report strange occurrences. You can read the details of these experiences in the chapter.

I will say that the fifth floor seems to be the place for the more tortured souls of the hospital. It’s rumored that this floor was where those that lost their sanity during their illness were kept. One room in particular seems to be hot…room 502. Two nurses met their demise in this room, one hanged herself (Mary Lee) and another went out the window. The “jumper” may not have been a suicide however, it’s possible that she was pushed out that window making her death a murder. The hospital was purchased around 2015 by a couple who were planning to renovate it and turn it into a hotel.

Taunton State Hospital

Taunton, Massachusetts

This location opened its doors in 1854 as overflow for the already overcrowded existing mental facilities in the state of Massachusetts. Right off they were sent 250 patients and in a little less than 20 years that number doubled to 500. Apparently this was the place they sent juvenile delinquents specifically, as they had enough space to separate wards out for sex, age and severity of illness. It’s amazing to me that there were sooooo many people who were “mentally ill” within this state that overcrowding was such a severe issue. Leads me to think that many of the people that were patients really didn’t have the need to be there. Frightening thought.

Of course they also had their fair share of very well and truly mentally ill people staying with them. One of these people was Jane Toppan aka Jolly Jane. Jane was an angel of death nurse. Jane was responsible for 31 deaths and sent to Taunton as she was determined to be insane by a jury of her peers. She was not the only criminally insane patient residing at the hospital.

This said, and far more frightening than the criminally insane folks staying there, was the extracurricular activity of the night time staff at the hospital. We all know that treatments such as hydrotherapy and electroshock therapy were not pleasant for the patients and truly were not helpful to most if not all of the ailments that afflicted them. In fact it probably cause more neuroses than what patients came in with. But these were the treatments/medical treatment experimentation of the times. These are not the “treatments” that the night time staff were engaged in. Some suspect everything from transplantation experimentation, which of course resulted in death, all the way to Satan worship, torture and human sacrifice. All of these things said to have happened in the basement of the facility. The basement was even a place that the criminally insane folks would not enter.

It was not just the basement that was said to be used for occult practices. Apparently the surrounding wooded area is also a place said to be rife with the scars of questionable practices.

Interestingly enough the main hospital was closed down in 1975 but parts of the hospital were still utilized up until 2008 when fire claimed a good chunk of the facility. In 2009 the facility was demolished. Details of the experiences individuals have had are in this chapter. Demolition can’t keep this site down.

Old Changi Hospital

Changi, Singapore

Originally known as the Royal Air Force Hospital was built in 1935 to care for British soldiers and the local population who were located in Singapore. However in 1942 when the Japanese attacked Singapore they ended up taking control of the hospital and made it into a prison camp. We all understand what kind of shit goes down in a prison camp…torture and death. Thousands of people were killed before the war was over.

The hospital was once again under British control and subsequently the Japanese soldiers were executed there. It’s called Karma bitches! After that it was run as a regular hospital until the 1990’s when the hospital was abandoned.

Since there have been thousands of reports of paranormal activity and the hospital is considered to be the most haunted place in Singapore. You’ll have to read the chapter to get the haunting details.

Beechworth Lunatic Asylum

Originally known as the Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, opened in the mid 1800’s to address overcrowding in Victoria’s only metal hospital, Mayday Hill saw 128 years of good old fashioned torture that was known as treatment for the mentally unstable. It took the signature of two family/friends to get you committed, apparently getting out was next to impossible. In addition, these people were seen as a liability by the staff at the hospital and as such people who were perfectly healthy mentally and physically spent their lives in this hell hole. So not a great recovery/cure rate on this place and after reading this chapter I can see why. Shackles and strait jackets were all the rage in fashion there and in the Grevilla wing, electro-shock treatment was administered, cranked to an alarming degree (breaking bones and teeth at times). It’s thought that upwards of 9000 patients died in this facility during it’s time of operation. Knowing these things it’s not surprising that this place is haunted. I mean it’s almost commons sense that it would be. This is a long chapter describing details of both the experiences of the living and the dead.

After being decommissioned in 1995 it has become a satellite campus for La Trobe University, a hotel and a tour facility. Lots of visitors = lots of experiences.

Royal Hope Hospital

St Augustine, Florida

While the original wings of the hospital were destroyed, in two different fires spanning decades, but an exact replica of the hospital was built and it continued to serve in its capacity during the Seminole War. It was eventually turned it into a Spanish Military Hospital Museum. Apparently at some point there were plumbing issues and the workers were digging near the hospital to do their repairs and found piles of human bones. Yes piles, like mass grave piles. It is thought by some that the original hospital had been built over a Timucuan Indian burial ground. This has not been confirmed one way or the other but the thought is a plausible one considering the history.

There have been multiple reports of activity within the museum. But you’ll have to read the chapter to know what they are. FYI – apparently canine companions are allowed on the premise which is very cool. I found many pictures of folks with their furry family visiting the museum.

Metropolitan State Hospital

Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont, Massachusetts

Yes this hospital is located in three different towns, owned by three different towns. Opened in 1927 and huge! Interestingly enough it was built huge out of necessity and only two short years after opening its doors they were already at capacity which was just over 1000 patients. The hospital even had its own cemetery. Unfortunately the graves of the several hundred people buried there are barley marked or not marked at all.

In addition to the unmarked graves and the less than fantastic staff we also have a children’s wing where difficult kids were essentially poisoned via medication that was mixed with their milk. So we also have the bodies of children in the hospital cemetery. Let’s just say we are dealing with less than ethical medical practices and let face it if they are willing to do this with children then what were they willing to subject the adults too?

The best story in all of this is the murder of Anne Marie Davee who was a patient at the hospital. Her murderer was also a patient at the hospital and his name was Melvin Wilson. This occurred in 1978. Devee went missing and it was two months before they found the hatchet and piece of Devee’s clothing in the possession of Wilson. My question is why did it take two MONTHS for a hatchet to be found in the possession of a mental hospital patient? What the hell. Incompetence does not even cover it. Oh yeah and he also had some of her teeth too. Sigh.

Apparently after this discovery the hospital staff felt that it was common sense as to what happened and didn’t bother to investigate any further…um WHAT? It wasn’t until TWO YEARS LATER the hospital was brought up on 19 charges of negligence that the authorities were able to get involved and Wilson was forced to lead investigators to her THREE graves. Yes he chopped her up into three pieces and disposed of the pieces in three different locations around the hospital. Now how in the hell does a mental patient have enough unsupervised time to chop a body up into three pieces and then transport those pieces all over the hospital. Hell it’s still not known if all of her was found as the decomposition of the body was so advanced.

Also an interesting structural element to the hospital are the tunnels that are underground to allow the staff to travel between buildings in in climate weather. Apparently these tunnels were not used very often as not only were they maze like but also not well lit. When the hospital closed in 1992 patient belongings were abandoned in these tunnels. This includes the belongings of some of the children. The hospital remained abandoned for the next 15 years until in 2007 the Lexington side of the property was transformed into a 387-unit apartment complex. The Waltham side of the property is still home to the original Administration building.

The amount of paranormal activity in this location is second to none! Details regarding this activity is in this chapter. It’s very interesting. Wonder if the apartments are clear of the activity or if it’s still occurring? 

 Pripyat Hospital

Pripyat, Czech Republic

Built in the 1970’s to serve the workers and community surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The hospital was state of the art at the time and was the only medical facility in the area serving a population of 50,000. In April 26th of 1986 the hospital would become the most important place in the town as this was the date that marked the nuclear disaster that would change the lives of the entire community.

The workers that were part of the accident and the firefighters that went rushing in had no idea how truly horrific the radiation leak was. As it turns out the week preceding the accident many reported seeing a large winged creature with red eyes, deemed the Black Bird of Chernobyl. Those that witnessed the beast had horrible nightmares and received strange phone calls. It is said that it was also seen during the accident flying through the smoke. Now I don’t know the story of the Mothman of Point Pleasant WV but from what our author says this creature showed up a sort time before the Silver Bridge collapsed in Dec of 1968. The people who saw it also experienced nightmares and strange phone calls. Is this creature a harbinger of death? Were they the same creature? It’s definitely something to consider.

After the accident the citizens were evacuated thinking that they were going to be able to return home eventually. This was not the case. No one was ever allowed back into the city. Everyone left everything they ever had behind. Because of this, the term “ghost town” really hits the mark. Many of the buildings still contain all of these belongings. Even the hospital was left with everything in place. And it remained that way for 28 years.

The radiation has dissipated enough over time to make short visits to the location safe. Only don’t touch the firefighters suits in the basement of the hospital, they are still “glow in the dark contaminated.” Apparently tourists are eating this shit up. While I believe that it would be completely unnerving to visit I’m not sure I want to expose myself…I mean I’m pretty sure my lungs are full of dog hair and mold as it is. There are however several account from individuals that have visited and what they have experienced in the chapter.  

Kuhn Memorial State Hospital

Vicksburg, Mississippi

This hospital saw some good times while it was in operation but unfortunately like so many hospitals that were around during times of war (this one was built in 1832 and was part of the civil war) and illness the tragedy out weights the victory’s. This hospital saw small pox at its start then in 1878 it was ravaged by yellow fever killing 16 doctors and six nuns. There was a fire in 1918 and while the annex was gone the hospital was able to rebuild and continue to offer medical services to the community.

Something interesting…the fourth floor was home to a minimum-security prison. Other areas of the hospital was the Confederate Veterans annex where they had patients with mental disabilities and the Pest House which housed patients with infectious diseases. It had a good run until 1989 the hospital was closed due to funding issues and political read tape.

Combine all the strife involving war, epidemics, and the less than perfect medical care that the hospital served its patients with for many years it’s no wonder that this location is a hot bed of paranormal activity. There have been many investigations at this location with decent results.

Then on June 28th 2015 a paranormal group was there to do an investigation and had the unfortunate luck to find the body of Sharon Wilson. Her death was ruled a homicide and a man by the name of Rafael McCloud was charged with her murder, rape and kidnapping. It’s my understanding that he broke into her home Saturday June 27, kidnaped, raped and murdered her. I suspect that she was taken to the abandoned hospital where she was raped and then murdered. There is evidence that she was dragged from the second floor, down the stairs and then outside where she was dumped in the long grass.

Rafael McCloud managed to escape prison in March of 2016 by attacking one of the guards and putting on his uniform. A week after his escape he broke into the home of a young family taking them hostage. At some point the husband was able to get his hands on a weapon and was able to shoot and kill McCloud.

I went down a rabbit hole with this one a bit. And I just want to say to McCloud – I give you the one finger salute sir!   

There was a push for the hospital to be demolished after part of the roof collapsed in. The murder in 2015 was not helpful either. In February of 2019 demolition began. No more paranormal investigations at this location.

The Old Mental Hospital

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong, a modern city full of sky scrapers and innovative architecture. And then you have the Old Mental Hospital that sits smack dab in the middle of the city. It’s a Victorian-style structure that was originally built in1892 to house European nursing staff of Civil Hospital. Then WWII happened and the Japanese took control of the building. It is not officially known what they did with the building but it is suspected that they did what they did with so many other hospitals and that was to make it into a POW camp, torture chamber and execution platform.

Once the war was over and the Japanese ousted the hospital became the psychiatric facility it’s now named for (1947-1961). Starting as the only one in the city at first and then eventually being demoted to an out-patient facility (1961-1971). After that it was abandoned and became a favorite place of rebellious teenagers and drug addicts. This is also when the paranormal activity started.

Eventually because it was effecting the community located around it they decided to gut the building and turn it into a community center. This was in 2001.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Weston, West Virginia

Construction started in 1858 by prison labor. Needless to say, as building was not done by a professional construction crew, it took a whole lot longer to complete. Construction even had to stop because of the Civil War and then resume again in 1862. Built on 666 acres of land, completely self-sufficient (well for the most part), and known to be the second largest hand-cut stone building in the world. That very well could have been the reason for it taking so long. Just a thought. In its infancy (1864 the doors opened) it served a mere 250 patients but by the time 1950 rolled around it was serving 2400 patients (this was the max count it saw).

In 1949 news media wrote several exposes siting the poor conditions that patients were living in. And despite the decline in patient numbers the 70’s and 80’s saw the darkest time in the hospitals history when patients were running amok. They were killing one another, assaulting the staff and even killing the staff. A nurse disappeared and it turns out that she had been murdered by one of the patients in an unused stairwell. Her body was found at the bottom two month after her disappearance. After that they decided to imprison there more violent patients (duh). With all this, I high mortality rate and many unmarked and poorly marked graves in the asylum cemetery we have the makings of the perfect storm for a haunting.

In the end there were several plans to repurpose the hospital after it closed its doors in 1994 but they never seemed to work out and the asylum sat empty for almost a decade until it was auctioned off and sold to a private individual in 2007. They renovated the building and made it into an event venue and haunted hospital tour site.

Details about the experiences of visitors can be sound in this chapter. There have been several paranormal investigative teams that have been to the site.

Beelitz-Heilstatten

Berlin, Germany

Built in 1898 this hospital started out as a place to house TB patients. It eventually expanded into a full functioning hospital. In 1914 it was made into a military hospital for the German Imperial Army during WWI. One of the most famous patients during this time was Adolph Hitler, they a young soldier, in for a leg injury sustained in battle.

While it did go back to being a regular hospital in 1920 it was not long before WWII happened and again the military took over the facility. Apparently it was bombed many times. After the war was over the Russians took it over and made it into a Soviet military hospital.

Even in 1990 when Germany was unified as one country the Soviets would not relinquish control of the hospital. It was during this time 1989-1991 that the Beast of Beelitz had his run. His real name was Wolfgang Schmidt and he was a serial killer who terrorized the area around the hospital, dumping his victims close by. His victim count is 6, five women and one infant. One of the women and the child were the family of one of the hospitals doctors. The wife was strangled and raped (yes in that order) and the child was slammed into a tree stump. Apparently he was caught by joggers masturbating in the woods while dressed in woman’s clothing. He had a thing for pink underwear.

Finally in 1995 the Soviets vacated the hospital. Only a small part of 60 building complex is utilized today. There is only a neurological rehab center and a facility used for Parkinson’s patient care and research. The rest of the complex was abandoned in 2000. I’d imagine up keep on a 60-building facility would be very costly. It’s not surprising that it’s falling apart.

In 2008 a model named Anja was murdered by photographer Michael F. He bludgeoned her on the head, strangled her and then proceeded to have relations with her recently deceased body. Remind you of anyone? Wonder if he like women’s clothing too?

Honestly, how could this place not be haunted? It’s seen epidemics, two world wars, two demented killers and more than its fair share of troublemakers utilizing its grounds for less than pure intensions.

Wolfe Manor

Clovis, California

First built in 1922 as a private residence (known as Anderiotti Mansion after its owner) that the owner could apparently not afford. The house was lost by the owner and became a treatment center for the terminally ill in 1935. The regulations attached to these places was not really a thing during this time and so while they were only really equip to house 100-150 patients at a time they squeezed them in like sardines forcing patients to sleep in the halls and some even chained to beds and toilets (20 patients per nurse, I wonder what their turnover rate was). We have these facilities now, they are called hospices but I have a feeling this place was nothing like our current modern facilities. Can you imagine going someplace to spend your final days, possibly painful final days and going into a hell hole like the one described in this chapter?

So then in 1954 a wing was added to the facility to house those with mental disorders. No sure why the authorities thought this would help with the overcrowding situation but hey who am I. Apparently the death rate was incredibly high for any facility let alone one this small in stature, we are talking thousands of patients over time. So much so that there were times where 8 bodies would be stacked up in the basement before they could be taken away. Finally in 1992 the shithole was shut down as it was determined that is would never be a suitable medical treatment facility…duh!  

Bought in 1997 by a local business man named Todd Wolfe the house became haunted attraction and renamed Wolfe Manor. In 2004 the haunted attraction was closed due to noise violations and the house sat empty until it was deemed unsafe and condemned by the town of Clovis. The building has since been demolished but the stories of those that had experienced the unrest of the patients of old are still well and many within this chapter.

Whittingham Mental Hospital

Whittingham, England

This facility opened its doors in 1873 as that other three asylums in the area were overflowing. Originally the capacity was 1100 but soon several annexes were built and the capacity went up to 3,533 patients and it became that larges mental hospital in Britain. This hospital saw two world wars on top of its questionable practices. As we know so many people that were committed to these facilities were not mentally ill. In fact many of them were women who had “hysterics” (hysterics meant that she refused her husband, talked back or was having “women’s issues” ie menstruation) and the undesirable poor population (those that the affluent in society didn’t want to have to look at). These people were subject to horrific treatment at this facility and once they were investigated by the proper authorities the best they could seem to do was require “early retirement” for the administrators (head nurse and head matron), two nurses were brought up on charges of theft, and one nurse was convicted of manslaughter when a patient he assaulted died as a result of his injuries. This was not justice, most of the abusers got away scot free which in my opinion is bullshit! Details of the abuse and some of the reported haunting incidents are in the chapter for your reading pleasure.

Closing thoughts:

Mental illness and its treatment have had a social stigma attached to it since it became a thing. The mentally ill were locked away and forgotten. Treatment for these ailments were barbaric and torturous for many years in the facilities above and many others all around the world. Today we have gotten better about recognizing mental illness but there is still a stigma attached to it and the treatments for these issues are not covered under insurance plans. Many companies have what’s called an EAP program or Employee Assistance Program where employees and their dependents are given between three to six fully covered sessions of talk therapy. I don’t know about all you all but I’m not gonna resolve my issues in six sessions. The lack of true support for these ailments is astounding and shameful (this is the US, hopefully other countries have better support systems in place). For the most part meds are thrown our way and that’s the end of it. My opinion is that this practice is utterly pathetic!

It’s no wonder that these facilities are the location of unrest for those that were subjected to their walls. The horror of these places being one’s home would be terrifying and more than likely would exacerbate the psychiatric condition they were there for in the first place.

Happy Devouring!

The Sexton