The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum first opened in October 1964 and remained open until May 1994. The asylum was a psychiatric hospital that had a very dark past. It was built in 1858-1881 and then was opened to patients in October 1964. The asylum was built in Weston, West Virginia, and is 160 years old as of today. It was built for only 250 people but ended up having 2,600 patients. The patients in the hospital were mentally ill children, people with disorders like asthma, and women who weren’t married. The reason unmarried women were there is because back then, not being married was uncommon, and women were also accused of being witches. Spouses who fought ended up in the asylum.
Many murders were committed within the asylum in various locations. For example, two other inmates attempted to hang him, but it didn’t work, so they put his head under the bed and jumped on the bed until the bed hit the floor. Many children were born in the hospital. For example, there was a girl named Lily who was born to an inmate.
When it came to rooms, housing was poorly done. The rooms were filled with multiple beds when the hospital started to overflow with patients. Hundreds of people died from the hospital being overcrowded. One woman died from having seizures because they couldn’t get to her on time. The sanitation, heating, lighting, and the furniture in the hospital was terrible. Some wings would have heating and light while others wouldn’t.
The treatments that were practiced are said to be helpful, but nowadays, it’s considered inhumane: shock therapy, solitary confinement, and lobotomies. Shock therapy was used for depressed patients, bipolar patients, and patients who didn’t respond to other treatments. Shock therapy sends a wave of electricity into the brain and other parts of the body to cause a small seizure. Solitary confinement is where an individual is put into a small room, locked away from other people and sometimes light, so they are practically in the dark. Solitary confinement can cause really high violence and health crises. Lobotomies are a surgical procedure that takes an icepick into the socket of the eye, into the flesh of the brain, and “helps” get rid of the pain and make patients calm down. Lobotomies can cause a reduction in spontaneity, responsiveness, self-awareness, and self-control. This procedure was done on children, too, because sometimes when lobotomies are performed, they can cause the individual to become emotionless, so it was easier to take care of the children.
Today, at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, you can take a Ghost tour for only $30. This place is believed to be haunted because of the energy stuck inside the building. If you go into the hospital and look at a few doors, you can see dents and scratch marks on them. If you ever want to go, get ready to be spooked.
