Haunted Place: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Hospital

October 10, 2016

Hello Everyone,

So here it is. Another haunted place and what do you know? It’s a hospital. A hospital for the insane but also other people as well. For some reason the fact that it held the mentally insane, just like the previous posts, makes you move a little more into the eerie realm. I think, and I am sure many agree, that the tortured souls of this world seem to have a better grasp on inheriting a place in the afterlife amongst us. At least that’s what it seems like most people believe.

The Haunted Place, the Hospital:

It took almost thirty years to construct and was originally started in 1864 and completed, at least for the most part, in 1881. It was in operation in 1864 and was originally designed to house 250 patients. The hospital did not close its doors until 1994. I know, it seems very recent compared to the others. Overcrowding became an issue at the hospital and new treatments became an issue with the 2,400 patients who were housed there.

The impact of the closing on the neighboring community was devastating and it still is trying to recover.

The building is one of the largest, if not the largest, hand-cut stone masonry buildings in the United States. It started by being built by prison labor. So right off the bat the angry souls have their part in the building.

A little History:

So the construction was started in the mid-1800s and was postponed at one point due to the American Civil War. The hospital which resides in West Virginia was part of the secession from the United States. Although this does not directly relate to the hospital itself one can only imagine the impact that war had on places like this. I am sure it received its share of injured or dead soldiers over the years of the war.

The wings of the hospital were set in staggering formations so that the most possible fresh air and sunlight could reach through the halls. Like most of the asylums/hospitals built in those time, it had its own dairy, farm, and yes…a graveyard. Of course it would be less sanitary to move the dead further distances in those days without the access to freezers and embalming like we have today. So all of this sat on the property’s acreage which, and here is the eerie but, is 666 acres making up the entire hospital grounds.

Nowadays:

Now the hospital gives tours for the supernatural and ghost enthusiasts. It is reported to have a substantial amount of paranormal activity and sightings. Individuals can take tours that are not part of any paranormal research and these are available by reservations and seem to have limited spaces. Would be very interesting to see the building alone if not to happen to bump into something that goes bump in the night. I think this hospital has all the makings to be a pretty haunted place.

Thanks for Reading,

Joshua Crane Dowidat

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