| The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum has been | | | | high disregard. It was her belief that the people plagued |
| deemed as the most haunted hospital in America. This | | | | with psychiatric illnesses should have rights, and the |
| particular hospital has also been referred to as | | | | ability to receive proper care. However, during the |
| "Weston State Hospital" in the past. Located in the | | | | 1800's, most people who suffered from diseases of |
| vast country area of Weston, West Virginia this | | | | the mind were treated like nothing more than wild |
| structure housed individuals who experienced mental | | | | animals. In later years, an individual by the name of |
| illnesses of several different types in the middle of the | | | | Thomas Kirkbride would come to agree with the ideas |
| 1800's. In addition to being noted for the role it played in | | | | that Dorothea Dix presented, and the approval of the |
| the lives of several individuals who required care and | | | | facility would be granted. |
| the medical community on the whole, there are a | | | | The following is a quote that Ms. Dix issued about who |
| number of true ghost stories circulating about this | | | | she was, and what she wanted to see: "I come as the |
| establishment. Here, I will share with you some of the | | | | advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane men and |
| exciting information about the most haunted hospital in | | | | women; of beings sunk to a condition from which the |
| America, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. | | | | unconcerned world would start with real horror" |
| The History of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum | | | | (Taken from the website for the Trans-Allegheny |
| The history of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is | | | | Lunatic Asylum as quoted by Dorothea Dix). |
| actually quite long and extensive. This history seems to | | | | The Hauntings of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum |
| be quite relevant to the unexplained phenomenon and | | | | Many unexplained events have been witnessed in this |
| real ghost stories that circulate today about the facility. | | | | hospital. These events are the things that led individuals |
| The original construction of the building that would | | | | to develop the theory that it was a haunted hospital. |
| serve as a home to several individuals suffering from | | | | Now, based on all of the encounters that various |
| psychiatric conditions began in the year of 1858. By the | | | | guests and employees have experienced, this has |
| year of 1881, construction had been completed. | | | | been deemed as one of the scariest places on Earth! |
| However, despite continuing efforts to construct the | | | | The following details some of the paranormal events |
| building, in the year of 1864, this hospital allowed the | | | | and unexplained phenomenon experienced in the most |
| first patients to enter. | | | | haunted hospital of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum: |
| The hospital was suitable for a number of about two | | | | 1. There have been several hundred individuals who |
| hundred and fifty patients. Unfortunately, as the facility | | | | passed away in this haunted hospital. Many people |
| gained popularity, more and more individuals were | | | | who have visited the asylum believe that the majority |
| pushed to reside there. By the 1950's, the hospital had | | | | of the souls of these people have been left behind. |
| become severely overcrowded with an astonishing | | | | Conversations, noises of people moving about, and |
| number of patients - reaching nearly two thousand, | | | | other sounds have been heard throughout this facility in |
| five hundred! Naturally, due to the crowding that was | | | | order to confirm this. |
| being experienced the care of the patients quickly | | | | 2. Many people have claimed that they have seen full |
| began to decline. In the year of 1994, it was established | | | | and partial body apparitions within the walls of this |
| that the hospital could not operate any longer. The | | | | particular most haunted hospital. |
| closure wrecked havoc on the economy of the | | | | 3. People who have visited this hospital have captured |
| community in which it resided. To date, the financial | | | | ghost pictures and ghost videos that indicate that there |
| loss still burdens the community. | | | | is a strong presence in the facility - possibly numerous |
| When Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum first opened, it | | | | presences. |
| was a direct result of the efforts of a lady by the | | | | If you are seeking to uncover the truth behind the |
| name of Dorothea Dix. She saw the need for an area | | | | Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, there are several |
| where individuals who were considered to be "insane" | | | | tours offered. Bring some friends, a camera, and even |
| could be placed so that they were not locked away in | | | | a video recorder and capture spooks of your own! |
| prisons with dangerous convicts, and treated with a | | | | |