I have reviewed Waverly Hills as a haunted location previously, and wanted to share with you another location that is also on my ghost hunting list, The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, located in Weston, West Virginia, USA.
The Asylum was constructed between 1858 and 1881, and is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America, second in the world after the Kremlin. The building was originally designed to house 250 patients. In the 1950’s it reached its peak with 2,400 patients in overcrowded and generally poor conditions. The hospital was closed in 1994, and the local economy has yet to recover. Currently the Asylum is closed for tours, they plan to reopen again soon.
Is it haunted?
It’s always a matter of interpretation whether a location is haunted or not. Everyone could have a different experience in a location. The Asylum offers six different ghost hunting tours. Some daytime, some nighttime, most require reservations. It’s been reported that the Asylum has had apparitions, unexplained voices and sounds, and other activity.
When the Asylum had reached it’s patient peak in the 1950’s, patients were sleeping on the floors, and in freezing rooms with no furniture or heat. The physical building was falling into disrepair and being covered in grime and mold.
During this era, the asylum began experimental lobotomies. Over 4,000 lobotomies were performed using the “Ice Pick” method. This involved slipping a thin pointed rod into the patient’s eye socket and then using a hammer to sever the connective tissue in the frontal lobe of the brain. As you can assume, this resulted in a number of deaths.
Some of the experiences you may have in the asylum:
- Lilly, who was born at the asylum, and is still found to be playing in one of the rooms.
- Jesse, a man who died in the bathtub from a heart attack.
- Civil War soldiers
- A patient who was brutally murdered by his roommates.
- Jim James, unknown as to what happened to Jim, however he has been known to interact with hunters, by turning on flashlights, and with the incentive of a cigarette, turning them off.
It’s up to you to decide if the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is in fact haunted or not. Please refer to their website for tour information, prices, and hours. http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com
You are your own best investment
Amateur Connoisseur 