On December 1, 1978, a mental patient named Margaret Schilling left a haunting stain when she disappeared from one of the wards in Athens Lunatic Asylum, Ohio, and was mysteriously found dead in an abandoned ward.
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But the most abnormal thing is that Schilling’s body left a permanent stain that can still be seen today. Despite many efforts to eliminate it, the stain would not come out.
The asylum was closed and the building where Margaret Schilling’s body was found became an interest of paranormal and thrill seekers. Soon there were reports of haunting tales in the abandoned asylum and few urban legends associated with that.
Ridges Asylum
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The Athens Mental Health and Development Center, also known as The Ridges, in Athens, Ohio first opened in 1874.
At that time, treatment of the mentally ill often meant separating the patients from society, and large asylums were very common. The facility spans over 1000 acres of land, featuring various farmlands and gardens.
It’s said that the hospital held close to 2000 patients at one point. Despite this there were several wings and entire floors that remained untouched over the years.
The first patient of the asylum was a 14 year old girl with epilepsy. Which was considered a major cause of insanity at the time.
But the patients would vary from people struggling with alcohol addiction, tuberculosis or even women going through menopause. Or women with postpartum depression.
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In fact, many patients were institutionalized for unnecessary or frankly ridiculous false reasons. And many of these patients were women.
The treatments that were conducted at this asylum were the kind of treatments that often appear in lists of inhumane treatments. Such as hydrotherapy, electroshock, lobotomy and early psychotropic drugs.
And the people working at these asylums ranged from having received full training and qualifications, to a complete lack thereof.
But today the asylum, or the Ridges, is perhaps best known as a site of various supposed paranormal sightings, as well as the tragic tales of the patients who were staying there. One such person being Margaret Schilling.
The Tragic Case of Margaret Schilling
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In the 1970s, Margaret Schilling was a patient at the Ridges. As patient records are sealed and inaccessible to non-family members, not much is known about her.
Supposedly, she was 53 years old, and some reports even say that she was married and had a child. It’s believed that she was a long-term patient of the hospital.
In the beginning of December 1978, Margaret did not arrive at dinner. The reasons for why are unclear. Some reports say that she was playing hide-and-seek with some other patients under the supervision of the nurses.
That she had gotten lost and then the nurses neglected to look for her. But according to a man named George Eberts, who worked at the asylum, they did search for her.
But they just couldn’t find her anywhere. For more than six weeks no one saw or heard anything from Margaret. Then they found her.
In early January 1979, which was one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record, they found Margaret deceased in an attic. She was lying naked in the middle of the floor with her clothes neatly folded and stacked on the window sill.
Maintenance had been going on in the area at the time, so the entire area was closed off. According to some reports, the attic had been searched at least twice without anyone finding Margaret there.
The Body Stain of Margaret Schilling
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After she was found authorities had to be called in to remove the body. Margaret’s body had left a stain on the floor, and workers were then tasked with cleaning the area.
They would scrub and scrub for days, but the stain would not go away. In fact, the stain can still be seen today, more than 40 years later.
A white chalky outline of a body that’s reportedly still visible on the concrete floor of the attic. That outline has led to many legends, rumors and stories of hauntings.
People walking past the asylum at night would sometimes report seeing the ghostly image of a woman staring down at them from the window where the body was found.
But the story doesn’t ends here, there’s an alleged incident where a college student broke into the asylum, which at the time was abandoned.
The student supposedly went up to the attic where margaret’s body was found and touched the stain. Afterwards, this student became plagued by a ghost.
Possibly Margaret herself. Which ultimately would lead to them ending their own life. But, of course, this is just one urban legend.
Other rumors speculate about what actually happened to Margaret. How did she end up where she was and how did no one find her, if they did search the area more than once?
Theories
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As I mentioned, one theory states that she simply got lost while playing hide and seek. Another theory say that she wanted to die, so she intentionally hid whenever the attic was searched.
Which is why no one would find her. Another theory, or rumor, say that she was deaf and mute, and thus unable to call for help or hear anyone calling for her.
Some of the newspapers that reported on this story at the time supposedly also claimed that Margaret had younger onset dementia. Which could explain how she had gotten lost and couldn’t figure out how to ask for help.
And, finally, the last theory say that considering that this was a mental asylum, with treatments that involved heavy medication, it might also be possible that Margaret had been under the influence of such heavy medication.
Which might have contributed to her getting lost and being unable to call for help. And as for her clothes being stacked and piled up, I honestly haven’t found anyone explaining that at all.
Some people have said it could be a case of paradoxical undressing, but I haven’t seen anyone talking about it, so that’s just a detail that adds to the legend. Unfortunately.
The Athens Lunatic Asylum itself closed in 1993 and the building where Margaret Schilling died and left a stain has been renovated. It’s now known as the Ridges, and is home to the Kennedy Museum of Art of Ohio University.
The Stigma of Mental Illness
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In November 2008, a forensic team would test the material on the stain, and they concluded that this stain was indeed caused by human decomposition.
While tales of hauntings might be the more thrilling ones for many, especially when it comes to abandoning asylums, I personally tend to lean more towards the stories of people that were treated or kept in these asylums.
Mental illnesses have been observed throughout history and have been present long before we even had names or diagnoses for them.
It’s a topic that’s still very stigmatized with many not receiving help, as people often avoid seeking treatment due to concerns about being treated differently.
Or in some cases fear that it will affect their livelihood. In addition to the stigmatization, people with mental illnesses weren’t given the best treatments in the past. And there are many horror stories involving mental asylums, and the treatments that patients suffered.
People who might have suffered a mental illness, or people who were simply misunderstood, and/or misdiagnosed. The stain of Margaret Schilling may be a lasting legacy at the Ridges.
But let’s not forget what it also represents. Margaret Schilling, a woman who was a patient in Athens Lunatic Asylum, left a haunting stain for reasons we probably will never know. A woman who died alone in a cold attic.
