A plot consisting of haunted asylums is one that has been quite overused in horror films. Many movies worldwide have shown a scene where a woman with untangled, unruly hair sits on a bed, staring at the wall with hollow eyes, while something ominous lurks in a corner. All this is well and good in films to make the audience more scared and thus give them worth for their money, but in real life, cases of haunted asylums are anything but entertaining. They can make one feel more chills than any fictional story could, with their terrifying backstories and the strange occurrences that take place in these hospitals and prisons. Listed below are some of the most haunted asylums in the world.
Beechworth Lunatic Asylum
This mental hospital ranks first in our list of haunted asylums because of the fact that many people are known to linger there even after their deaths. In its 128 years of operations, about 9000 people are known to have died there due to improper care and illnesses. But death didn’t put an end to their misery because till now people can spot faces in the windows of former patients and can hear the laughter of children. One of the matrons who died long back still makes rounds there along with a woman who died after being thrown out of the window. Although the asylum is no more operational people can visit and take nightly ghost tours.
Also Read - The Most Haunted Churches in the World
Danvers Lunatic Asylum
This asylum in Massachusetts is known to be one of the most haunted in the world. It was constructed with great care in 1887, with a luxurious interior that included decorated halls and private rooms. Initially, the care and treatment provided in this hospital were commendable, but slowly its condition started deteriorating. When originally it had been made to hold at most 600 patients, soon it held almost 2000 mentally ill people with the staff remaining consistent, making the hospital drastically understaffed. It is said that many times, patients who were not cared for properly died in the asylum and their bodies were only found days later.
Also Read - Sell your Soul: The Demonic Contracts
People who have visited the place have seen many patients staring at the walls with hollow eyes or being extremely violent. Lobotomy, which is a process of treating mental illness by performing surgery in the brain, was first performed in this hospital. Although in many cases it was successful, it failed a lot of times and it is believed that the cemetery near the asylum was made for the patients who didn’t survive. These stories of dying painful and torturing deaths have led people to believe that the asylum is haunted.
Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital
This mental asylum is one of the most haunted places in Korea. In the late 1900s, the hospital was suddenly shut down because many of its patients were abruptly dying without any proper explanation given to the family and friends of the patients. People began to be curious and it soon became known that a mad doctor was going around killing the residents. Today, it is known to be the place where many paranormal activities take place. People can hear moans and cries from inside the empty building and whoever visits either does not return or only returns with fatal wounds.
Also Read - Japanese Urban Legends: Terrifying Tales
Eastern State Penitentiary
This prison in Pennsylvania was very harsh towards its residents and kept the prisoners in small, windowless rooms that were oftentimes suffocating. They were allowed to do nothing all day and no contact with another person was permitted, which at times made the prisoners insane. Due to all this, death was always imminent in this asylum, weather due to mistreatment or suicides. Since the time the prison closed down, it has been known to be haunted by the previous prisoners, whose pleas of help can still be heard, along with mysterious footsteps and sightings of apparitions.
Also Read - Scary numbers to Call in 2019
Ohio State Reformatory
This reformatory in Ohio was in the beginning well known for the way it treated offenders and reformed them, but soon the conditions here degraded to the point where prisoners were tortured and even murdered. It was ultimately shut down because many inmates complained that the prison wasn’t fit to be lived in anymore. But the ones who died in the prison brutally are still known to linger there, not being able to rest in peace due to the pitiful nature of their deaths. Their cries and footsteps can still be heard in the building. It is also believed that a woman died in one of the wings when a gun accidentally went off, and her presence can be felt by the smell of her perfume.
Your average college-going girl, living her life one day at a time.
