15 Haunting Abandoned Hospitals That Offer a Glimpse into History
Hospitals are places of healing and hope for the sick and injured. However, some hospitals have been abandoned and left to decay, leaving behind haunting reminders of their past. These abandoned hospitals have become popular destinations for urban explorers who seek adventure in discovering the forgotten history of these institutions.
Here are 15 fascinating abandoned hospitals that you should consider exploring:
1. Waverly Hills Sanatorium – Louisville, Kentucky
This former tuberculosis hospital is known as one of the most haunted places in America. It has been featured on numerous TV shows and documentaries about ghost hunting.
2. Central State Hospital – Milledgeville, Georgia
Once a mental institution with over 12,000 patients, this hospital was notorious for its harsh treatment of patients.
3. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital – Morris Plains, New Jersey
This psychiatric hospital opened in 1876 but closed in 2008 due to budget cuts. Its decaying buildings offer a glimpse into the lives of those who were treated here.
4. Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane – Buffalo, New York
Designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in the late 1800s, this asylum’s stunning architecture earned it recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.
5. Traverse City State Hospital – Traverse City, Michigan
Opened in 1885 as Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, this hospital was designed to be self-sufficient with its own farm and power plant.
6. Danvers State Hospital – Danvers, Massachusetts
Built in 1874 as an insane asylum with a focus on moral treatment rather than punishment or confinement; it was later closed due to overcrowding issues
7. Kings Park Psychiatric Center – Kings Park, New York
Once home to thousands of mentally ill patients at any given time until it became unmanageable leading up to its abandonment
8. Lincoln Heights Jail Ward – Los Angeles,
A jail ward that was attached to a former hospital, it housed mentally ill prisoners from the 1930s until its closure in the 1960s.
9. St. Elizabeth’s Hospital – Washington D.C.
This psychiatric facility once treated high-profile patients such as John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.
10. Lier Mental Hospital – Oslo, Norway
This hospital operated from 1926 to 1985 and is notorious for its brutal treatments of patients, including lobotomies and electroshock therapy.
11. Topeka State Hospital -Topeka Kansas
Opened in 1872 as The Osawatomie Insane Asylum, this mental institution features beautiful Romanesque architecture
12. Camden County Health Services Center – Lakeland, New Jersey
Previously known as Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, this facility has been abandoned for years but still stands with rooms filled with equipment and personal items left behind.
13. Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane – Ovid, New York
The Willard asylum opened in 1869 and was one of the first state-run institutions specifically created to house “chronic insane” individuals who were deemed incurable.
14. Athens Mental Hospital – Athens Ohio
Constructed between 1868-1874 on top of land that used to be an old poor farm; this hospital closed down due to budget cuts
15.Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – Weston West Virginia
One of the largest hand-cut stone masonry buildings in North America, Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was opened in 1864 and officially closed its doors on July1st ,1994 after over one hundred years of operation.
These hospitals offer a glimpse into history while also being eerie reminders of what can happen when medical practices are misused or misunderstood.
If you decide to explore any of these locations, be sure to do so safely and with permission if necessary. Remember that these abandoned hospitals were once places of healing and care for those in need, and they deserve respect even in their abandonment.