These 7 Creepy Asylums In Missouri Are Still Standing…And Still Disturbing
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Stephanie Butler
Author
Missouri insane asylums are a little disturbing, to say the least. If the residents are criminally insane, it’s all the more scary. Add to that the possibility of a haunting, or it being an abandoned old building, and the horror story writes itself. Here are a few abandoned hospitals in Missouri, some still in use, others long abandoned…all a little creepy.
5300 Arsenal St, St. Louis, MO 63139, USA
St. Louis State Hospital opened in 1869 as the St. Louis County Insane Asylum and admitted the first 150 patients. The site also housed two poor houses, a "Hospital for Social Evils", an orphanage, St. Louis Chronic Hospital, and the later added Isolation Hospital for people with contagious diseases. What remains of the complex is only the St. Louis State Hospital, now named St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Truman Restorative Center, which is a combination of what were once the Isolation and Chronic hospitals.
600 E 5th St, Fulton, MO 65251, USA
The oldest public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River also holds some of the most dangerous and criminally insane patients. The Fulton State Hospital opened in 1851 with its first 67 patients. The 1930’s era Biggs Forensic Center, which houses the maximum security level patients, is in a state of disrepair with the cost of renovation at over $200 million dollars. Besides the Bigg’s Center, the hospital also has an intermediate security unit, a developmentally disabled unit, and a Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Service Program. The hospital is the only one in the state providing maximum and intermediate security psychiatric units.
The majority of the hospital's patients are male (85%). Take a look inside…
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2690 US-67, Farmington, MO 63640, USA
Farmington State Hospital has also gone by the name of State Hospital #4 and now serves as The Farmington Correctional Center. It accepted its first patients in 1903.
The campus eventually included five cottages for patients, a dining room, kitchen, powerhouse, barns, laundry, ice plant, the folk building for nurses, attendants, and recreation, an administration building, the Hall building, the superintendents' residences and the Harrison Building, a receiving building and acute care hospital.
Farmington State Hospital was once called State Hospital #4. It now serves as the Farmington Correctional Center. It first opened in 1903 and grew to include five cottages for patients, a dining room, a kitchen, an administration building, the Hall Building, The Harrison Building, and residences for the superintendents. Over 200 lobotomies were performed in the hospital between 1940-1943. Electroshock therapy was also practiced. The hospital was most populated in 1954, with 1,879 patients. By 1982, the population had fallen to 320 patients and the hospital became part of the Missouri Department of Corrections.
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Marshall, MO 65340, USA
The Missouri State School was established in 1899 and opened in 1901 with its first 60 male patients. The campus included three buildings, 288 acres of land, and until 1925 was known as the Missouri State Colony for Feeble-minded and Epileptic. Over the years, it expanded into three separate units - the Marshall State School and Hospital, the Carrollton State School and Hospital, and the Higginsville State School and Hospital, all operating under one superintendent.
Nevada, MO 64772, USA
Former employees of this hospital are assembling a cookbook with history and stories from the facility. Although many of the buildings are now gone at the former Lunatic Asylum No. 3 (also known as Nevada State Hospital), the facility, when opened in 1887, was the largest single building in the state of Missouri.
200 S Iron St, Ironton, MO 63650, USA
The building was constructed in the mid-1920s and opened as the first hospital in Iron County in 1926. Over the years, it has experienced many renovations and changes, and it officially closed in 1999. Although it’s been on the real estate market, it is mostly abandoned and dilapidated, with previous owners blocking off the more dangerous spots. Watch one investigative endeavor…
1600 Castle Park Dr apt 228, St. Louis, MO 63133, USA
St. Vincent’s Sanitarium for those with nervous and mental diseases was opened in 1858 by the Sisters of Charity with four patients and fifteen sisters. The hospital’s original location was on St. Vincent's Lane north of St. Charles Rock Road and was moved to its current address on 1600 Castle Park Drive, St. Louis, in 1895. It remained operational through the 1980s. It is the current home of the Castle Park Apartments, and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The subject of the infamous 1949 St. Louis Exorcism once resided there. Now it is an apartment building called Castle Park Apartments.
Do you know any great stories about any of these abandoned hospitals in Missouri? Have you ever visited or seen these places? Share your experiences in the comments. If you want to check out some other places like this, take a road trip to these abandoned ghost towns in Missouri.
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More to Explore
Abandoned Places in Missouri
What are the most abandoned places in Missouri?
The most abandoned places in Missouri include:
- Old St. Mary’s Hospital in Ironton. This hospital opened in 1926 and closed down in 1975 and is now crumbling and people hear strange noises there.
- Lemp Brewery in St. Louis. This place has been around since 1940 and the underground area is said to be terrifying.
- Railroad Building in Irondale. This railroad depot opened in 1886 and is now becoming overgrown as are the abandoned train tracks.
- Celebration City. Two attempts have been made to run an amusement park here but both failed and the rides sit unused.
Find out more about the most abandoned places in Missouri.
What are the most haunted hotels in Missouri?
The most haunted hotels in Missouri include:
- The Elms Hotel in Excelsior Springs. Built in 1912, this hotel has a pool where a basement used to be, and many claim to see ghosts there, including that of a man who was killed by the mob and a woman frantically looking for her child.
- Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia. This Jazz-era hotel has many reported ghost sightings with people hearing voices and feeling scratches on the back of their necks. The crank elevator is said to operate on its own.
- Hotel Savoy in Kanas City. This hotel was built in 1888 and guests of Room 505 report that a ghost named Betsy Ward haunts this place. People also believe the ghost of a restaurant manager who was stabbed to death by dishwashers haunts this place.
- Drury Inn & Suites in Creve Coeur. The fifth floor of this hotel is said to be haunted by footsteps, voices, and ghastly figures that walk the halls and, once you get closer, they vanish.
Learn more about the most haunted hotels in Missouri.
What are the creepiest ghost towns in Missouri?
The creepiest ghost towns in Missouri include:
- Goldman. This tiny abandoned town had a thriving blacksmith from 1878 until 1946 but is now a collection of empty buildings.
- Mineola. This town was founded in 1879 and was a roadside stop until Highway 40 was built and everything here dried up.
- Hematite. This town was founded in 1861 and was an iron mining town. Later, a hematite fuel-cycle facility was built here but has since shut down.
- Oscar. This is an Amish farming area that, for a while, had a massive store that drew people from all over the area.
Discover more about the creepiest ghost towns in Missouri.