Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/top-10-most-haunted-places

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Allegheny_Lunatic_Asylum

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, subsequently the Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride[3]psychiatric hospital that operated from 1864 until 1994 by the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia, in the city of Weston. Built by architect Richard Andrews, it was constructed from 1858-1881. Originally designed to hold 250 people, it became overcrowded in the 1950s with 2,400 patients.

The hospital's main building is one of the largest hand-cut stone masonry buildings in the United States, and, is the second largest hand-cut sandstone building in the World, with the only bigger one being The Kremlin. As Weston Hospital Main Building, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990.[2][5]

Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880; 1,661 in 1938; over 1,800 in 1949; and, at its peak, 2,600 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions. A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed "epileptics, alcoholics, drug addicts and non-educable mental defectives" among its population. A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting, and heating in much of the complex, while one wing, which had been rebuilt using Works Progress Administration funds following a 1935 fire started by a patient, was comparatively luxurious

This asylum was home to thousands of people with mental illness, starting in 1864. Hundreds of people died here before the facility closed in 1994. The spirits that are said to haunt the site today date back to the Civil War era, when the asylum's grounds served as a military post

 

 

 

  • In 2008, the ghost-hunting group TAPS was called to the hospital to conduct a paranormal investigation at the request of Joe Jordan due to purported claims of paranormal activity on the grounds. The investigation is featured on Season 4, Episode 9 of the Syfy reality TV series Ghost Hunters.
  • On October 30, 2009, the Travel Channel aired a special seven-hour live broadcast of the reality TV show Ghost Adventures from the asylum. Through a Ghost Adventures section of the Travel Channel website, viewers were able to text message, monitor, and review evidence via webcams for the live special. There was plenty of activity, including pressure, voices, and something showing up on the heat seeking camera. The reception of the "lockdown" was met with critical success; however, viewers criticized guest Robert Bess for throwing an EMF detector out of his hand and claiming it was removed from his hand.[14][15] In their "Post-Mortem" special, which aired a week later, Zak Bagans and Nick Groff addressed the viewers' belief that the incident was not paranormal. Bess responded by claiming that the incident was authentic paranormal activity.[16]
  • In 2011, the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was featured in a show called "Forgotten Planet" [17] by 3net Studios for Discovery. The Asylum appears in S1EP4, titled "Salton Sea/Weston". [18]
  • In 2014, the Transatlantic Paranormal Society [TAPS] team from Syfy's series 'Ghost Hunters' filmed their special 200th episode, returning to one of the teams favourite haunted locations. The episode welcomed back past team members (and fan favourites) Grant Wilson, Dustin Pari and Joe Chin, and included flash backs from their first investigation. The episode, 'Grant Is Back', is the third of the series tenth season3206779619?profile=original

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  • Been There and the place creeped me out; don't think I will be going back anytime soon

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