 |
| Photograph ©Aaron Zajac |
Address:
71 Asylum Drive
Weston, WV 26452
(304) 269-5070
Website
Officially unlocking its doors in 1864, the Kirkbride hospital known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum began admitting patients as early as 1861. Over the span of more than one-hundred and thirty years, this imposing institution engaged in crude, torturous, and inhumane "medical" procedures on those deemed "mentally ill."
Admission criteria were perplexing, ranging from Tuberculosis to "Brain Fever," Laziness, Superstitious Beliefs, Masturbation, Menstrual Derangement, Menopause, Seduction, or even the curious case of "Being Kicked in the Head by a Horse." The asylum's initial patient, an unfortunate housewife, bore the diagnosis of "Domestic Trouble."
Starting with a modest 250 patients in the 1800s, the asylum expanded over the years. By its closure in 1994, the monstrous 240,000 square-foot structure could accommodate up to 2,400 patients. From its Gothic-Tudor inception, the facility became synonymous with nightmares, hosting procedures like "Ice Pick" lobotomies, primitive electroshock therapy, hydrotherapy, and rampant violence among the patients—a perfect recipe for transforming it into one of America's most haunted sites.
The haunting tales abound: full-bodied apparitions, reports of being touched or having shirt tails and pant legs tugged by unseen hands, agonizing screams emanating from empty rooms and corridors, footsteps, knocking, banging, and objects mysteriously moving. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum stands as a ghost hunter's dream.
Today, the asylum welcomes all who seek to experience the paranormal within its walls, offering tours day and night.