Once intended to heal and provide comfort from afflictions, these hospitals have suffered from the persistent disease of time when they were left abandoned. Some of these abandoned hospitals have scary tales surrounding them involving ghosts and other paranormal entities.
Their empty hallways and decrepit rooms carry with them the painful memories of the dying and incurable as the impossible stench of death permeates through the dilapidated buildings.
Do you think you could spend a night in these 10 horrifying abandoned hospitals?
10. Kings Park Psychiatric Center, New York
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This 18th-century Kings Park Psychiatric hospital has a story to tell through its rundown maze of halls and the eerily quiet rooms that once housed the mentally ill population of New York City.
At its peak, the hospital cared for over 9,000 patients and became predictably overcrowded before closing after 111 years in operation.
Maybe the most unsettling legend about the hospital is that many of the more disturbed patients were forced to seek shelter in the overgrowth surrounding the hospital grounds after being discharged.
9. Denbigh Insane Asylum, Wales
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Trying to stroll through this abandoned asylum comes with great risk – the asbestos used to insulate it still remains.
If you plan on trekking through the historic halls of this over 160-year-old building, bring a dust mask to avoid inhaling the harmful substance.
Before closing in 1995, the asylum grew from being able to hold 200 patients to over 1,500, and conditions never reportedly worsened.
Still, the abandoned site was featured on an episode of Most Haunted, apparently following the trope that all abandoned hospitals are haunted.
A fire that broke out in 2008 damaged much of the decaying structure, leading to as-of-yet unrealized plans to demolish the historic structure.
8. Forest Haven, Laurel, Maryland
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Opened in 1925 and closed in 1991, Forest Haven once housed children and adults living with Intellectual Disability.
While it could have been a facility that championed proper treatment, like many others of its time, Forest Haven became a site of abuse of every degree.
As patients died en masse from aspiration pneumonia, allegations of improper feeding were brought up against Forest Haven.
Many who passed at the facility were buried in a mass grave which remained unmarked until families of former patients purchased a headstone to honor their loved ones.
If you can bypass United States Park Police, a world frozen in time awaits as much of the facility’s equipment still remains.
7. St. John’s Hospital, Lincolnshire, England
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The stories that filtered out of the once active asylum in Lincolnshire reeked of patient abuse and abundant suicides. Halls echoed with the insane chatter of patients as doctors implemented crude experiments in an effort to “cure” their ailments.
The 19th-century building has sat unoccupied for over 20 years, its interior falling victim to the elements and crumbling over time.
The hospital started as an asylum but, after a change in administration, it was converted to St. John’s Hospital, which it operated until 1990.
6. Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane, New York
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Though the Five Points Correctional Facility that owns the abandoned Willard Asylum cut off the notion of public tours, the tragic memories embedded within the old Victorian buildings are impossible to stifle.
Opened in 1869, Willard introduced its first patient, a woman abandoned in an almshouse. Those that followed arrived in worse condition, having survived destructive lives as literal prisoners of their parents.
Many patients were delivered in unhinged states, eventually turning Willard into a wayward home for the insane. In 1972, Geraldo Rivera visited Willard to expose its appalling conditions, and, by 1995, the asylum was closed.
After its closing, hundreds of patient’s suitcases were discovered in the attic containing heirlooms and mementos.
5. Beelitz-Heilstatten, Germany
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With World War II over, the Soviets occupied much of the country including the district town of Beelitz-Heilstatten.
Within the small town sits a large complex of 60 buildings, all once used as part of a military hospital for the Imperial German Army during World War I.
Over the years, much of the hospital complex closed and was left to fall victim to the years that passed. In 1989, the hospital was used by Wolfgang Schmidt, a serial killer who was active until 1991.
These murders tack onto the eerie emptiness of the abandoned buildings, which were used by Hollywood for movies like The Pianist and A Cure for Wellness.
4. Utica Psychiatric Center, New York
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One of the northeastern United States’ most well-known psychiatric centers, Utica opened its doors to patients in 1843 as New York’s first state-run facility for the mentally ill.
Within three years, the hospital was at capacity, resulting in the addition of new wings in 1846 and 1850.
Beyond the tragic deaths of a doctor and firefighter during the 1852 fire in Old Main, the center’s first completed building, Utica operated with little negative attention and press.
It’s still difficult not to look at the abandoned structure and feel a shiver down your spine as it stares back at you with empty windows, enticing you to find a way inside to explore its abandoned halls.
3. Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, South Korea
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Despite warnings from locals and plenty of signs that visitors are unwelcome, it’s said that thousands of people break into this South Korean abandoned hospital annually.
Do you plan on being one of them? Gonjiam was forced to close its doors due to the conditions of the facility, including an inadequate sewage disposal system.
Still, the old asylum has earned its place as one of the most haunted places in South Korea and, according to CNN, the freakiest place in the world.
We’re not sure what’s so freaky about it, maybe it’s the remnants of the hospital’s operations that were left behind, as if the building were abandoned with haste?
2. Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Louisville, Kentucky
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Any paranormal fanatic within the United States knows of Waverly Hills, the self-proclaimed “most haunted location on Earth.”
The sanatorium is known for being glorified on shows like Ghost Hunters, Ghost Asylum, and Paranormal Lockdown, but Waverly Hills’ history is nothing to earn ratings over.
For years, the hospital acted as a haven for those stricken with tuberculosis. The deadly disease claimed many lives, both within the sanatorium and throughout the United States, leading to the many claims of haunted halls and restless spirits.
The history of the hospital is the focus of the annual haunted attraction, which is used to fund the restoration of the decayed interior.
1. Linda Vista Community Hospital, Los Angeles, California
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Once recognized as a hospital built for railroad employees in the early 20th century, the Linda Vista Community Hospital, formally the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital and Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital – has become a popular filming location for horror productions.
You may recognize the abandoned building from films like Outbreak, Deadgirl, Insidious Chapter 2, True Blood, and Charmed. It also gained notoriety when the Ghost Adventures team took their “paranormal entertainment” to its allegedly haunted halls.
In its later years, the hospital treated more and more violent and fatal crimes, which helped build upon the hospital’s ghostly lore.
Know of any abandoned hospitals in your area you’d like to recognize? Let everyone know in the comments.
