“Escape from the Asylum: Daring Attempts by Patients to Break Free from Inhumane Conditions”

Asylum escape attempts have been a fascinating subject for many urban explorers. These facilities were designed to house and care for individuals with mental health issues, but they were also notorious for their inhumane practices. As such, it is no surprise that some patients attempted to escape from these institutions.

One of the most famous asylum escapes occurred at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia in 1913. A group of female patients managed to create a makeshift rope out of bed sheets and climb down from the fourth floor window. While one patient was injured during the attempt, all five women successfully escaped into nearby woods.

Another notable case involves Nellie Bly, an investigative journalist who went undercover as a patient at Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York City in 1887. After ten days inside the facility, Bly was able to convince authorities that she was sane and should be released.

Not all attempts ended as successfully though. In 1946, Edith Thompson attempted to escape from St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington D.C., but was caught by hospital staff before making it out of the building.

Today, many former asylum buildings stand abandoned or repurposed for other uses. Urban explorers can still find evidence of these daring escape attempts through graffiti on walls or remnants of broken windows near high ledges where patients may have climbed down.

While the conditions within these institutions were often horrific, it is interesting to learn about those who tried to break free from them and explore how they did so despite being under constant surveillance by staff members dedicated to keeping them locked up inside.