Back to West Virginia. One of the places on Jim’s list was the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Yes, we all know Jim is a little warped. But in my defense Jamie likes these things, too. Maybe that’s why we’re compatible. This place was actually closer to Pittsburgh than Charleston, WV so we held off on going here while in WV.

This was another creepy, paranormal place that offered a nighttime tour and overnight to experience the paranormal but we only did the day tour. I will say, now that we’re 4 years removed from our “ghost” experience (those of you who aren’t familiar can read our posts from April 24 to May 20 of 2017) we’re becoming brave again and considering doing another paranormal tour. But not this time.

Anyway, the Asylum operated from 1864 to 1994, when it closed down (like the penitentiary) due to over crowding and poor conditions. It was originally designed to hold 250 people and at its peak held 2600 people. It was mostly self-sufficient with a farm of vegetables, a dairy herd, a coal mine, a reservoir for water, and a cemetery for their decesased. They had apartments to house most of the staff including the executive staff, doctors, nurses and janitorial staff. The walls were two and a half feet thick to muffle the screaming that took place. The windows all had bars on them. They also later built a building to contain the criminally insane and violent prisoners. It’s the 2nd hand cut stone building in the world, second only to the Kremlin.

There were some very cruel treatment techniques that took place over the years including beatings, chaining patients to the wall or bed, insulin shock (injecting large doses of insulin into a patient causing them to go into a coma which they believed helped their mental state if they came out of it), ice water baths (putting a patient in extreme cold baths), electroshock therapy, and lobotomies. It was all very cruel and over 2000 patients died here. Many went missing only for their bodies to be found months later in unoccupied areas of the asylum. Hence, the alleged hauntings. Our guide reported many sightings by himself. True or marketing, who knows.