You may know Anoka as the Halloween Capital of the World. It’s a nickname earned by hosting one of the first ever Halloweens in the United States, way back in 1920. But what if I told you Anoka’s spooky past started two decades before that? In 1900, Anoka State Hospital – then called Anoka Asylum – opened its doors to mentally ill people from across the region. Over time, the story of the hospital – and the tunnel that ran beneath its buildings – became a creepy Minnesota legend.

The hospital first housed 100 mentally ill men from around the region. Of the first patients, 86 were buried in numbered graves on the hospital grounds.
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The hospital grew over the years. It began admitting female patients in 1915.
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Patients deemed a threat to themselves were often restrained by hospital staff.
Thomas/Flickr
By midcentury, some now controversial treatments were used at the hospital. Patients were sometimes given electroshock therapy or lobotomies.
Jarle Naustvik/Flickr

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Patients considered less dangerous were allowed to wander the hospital grounds, including its underground tunnels.
mookitty/Flickr
Some patients are said to have gotten so lost in the maze of tunnels that they felt their only option for escape was suicide.
Greg Clarke/Flickr
Over time, rumors spread of footsteps and low whispering - and sometimes bursts of laughter - in the dark tunnels. Many employees refused to travel through them.
M I T C H Ǝ L L/Flickr
Today, the hospital has a new campus and operates under a different name. The old buildings have been repurposed. But still, only maintenance staff are allowed into the tunnels.
crodriguesc/Flickr

What do you think: local legend, or a true-blue haunting? Let us know in the comments! And, if you’re looking for more reasons Anoka is just a little creepy, check out this article about the town’s insane paranormal activity.

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