Haunted Place: Rolling Hills Asylum

October 3, 2016

Hello Everyone,

Once again thanks for reading and taking a look at another haunted place. In fact another haunted Asylum. This time the name rings a bell to me that drives me to take my research a little deeper I this one. Simply put, there is a neighboring area by me that is called Rolling Hills and I am curious if there is any relation to this asylum. Much like New York is named after York in England I wonder if this is perhaps set the same way in places across the United States from east to West coast. Depending on where the original was established first I guess.

The Story Behind the Haunted Place:

Located in Bethany, New York the haunted place known as Rolling Hills Asylum was opened in 1827 and closed in 1972. Actually in the mid-50s it was primarily a nursing home for the elderly and was no longer an asylum but yet the doors remained open to capture anymore possible hauntings that it was capable of. There was an original building on the property, and to my knowledge still a part of the property, which was a tavern/carriage house that opened its doors in 1790 and closed in 1826 when the property was sold to the local county. When Genesee County purchased it, because of a legislation passing making counties responsible, it came a home for people who were disabled, insane, orphans, or people who could just not take care of themselves.

Why is it a Haunted Place?

There are reportedly around 1700 bodies buried throughout the property from the century and a half of using it for a hospital of some sort or orphanage. To this day it is one of the most visited places for paranormal studies and was even once a headquarters for a paranormal studies organization. There are certain rooms where living people still pay their respects for certain active spirits that they sense in the hospital. They even have birthday parties and other types of celebrations for the spirits that still make it a haunted place. With all the previous visitors and patients and the hospital, some who left and some who didn’t, I can only imagine the paranormal activity that could exist at a place like this.

Why do I find it eerie?

Okay, besides the obvious nature of it already being considered a haunted place there is a particular story or phenomenon in a certain area of the building. This particular spot is called known to those who study the paranormal activity as the “Shadow Hallway.” This is an area of the building gin the East Wing on the Second Floor that was part of the old men’s dormitory. This area is haunted by spirits that reveal themselves to the observers as shadows that creep around or walk around the corridor. I have a particular “eerie vibe” from this part of the asylum because it is something that has always irked me. “What’s in the shadows?” It also reminds me of stuff I wrote about in Desert Shadows.

Anybody with a real interest in these haunted places such as this asylum should really look it up and do more research on it. It has a lot of information in books as well as the Internet.

Thanks for Reading,

Joshua Crane Dowidat

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