There are a number of places in the Mountain State primed for spotting a ghost (here are 11 of them). However, none is more prominent, accessible, and known for its notoriously trapped spirits of past residents than the building most West Virginians grew up calling the Weston State Hospital.
During a period of 130 years, from 1864 to 1994, it's likely that hundreds of thousands of patients passed through these doors, many of whom didn't make it out alive.
Whether they spent their entire lives trapped inside a locked room on one of the halls that contained a patient ward, or died elsewhere in this psychiatric hospital, it's believed that many souls remain trapped here for eternity.
In spite of the best efforts of many of the employees and caregivers at Weston State Hospital (now officially called the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum since it has opened for tours), the conditions here are said to have been deplorable.
Additionally, the facility was one of the first places in the country to experiment with lobotomies. Other regularly practiced treatments included giving patients high doses of insulin to induce a short coma, and electroshock therapies.
The hospital closed in 1994, and in 2007 it was purchased at auction by a West Virginian who hasn't torn it down to redevelop the land. Instead, it's preserved as much as possible in the very state in which it was purchased. Community events happen here throughout the year, and so do tours. You can take a tour during the day, or — if you're brave enough — there are hair-raising paranormal tours after dark.
A sign at the facility puts the death toll at Weston State Hospital (a.k.a. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) at 50,000. Thousands of the dead had no family of record, and their bodies were buried in unmarked graves in the hills behind the hospital. Perhaps these souls are among those that haunt this facility...
The paranormal tours at Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (formerly Weston State Hospital) vary greatly in length, rooms and buildings visited, and the time of day for the tour, but one thing that remains constant in all of them is seeing the former psychiatric facility in the creepiest light possible. (A portion of the morgue is shown in the photo below.)
Will you be among the lucky (unlucky?) who have spotted apparitions, sensed cold spots, and perhaps felt a desperate hand grasping your should as if asking for help? Will you hear the disembodied voices of the former residents of this lunatic asylum first hand?? There's only one way to find out...
The ghost tours at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum are not for the faint of heart. But if you have what it takes to explore this creepy, haunted facility after dark, then there are several tour options available (all require advance reservations). If the darkness is just too overwhelming, there are daytime paranormal tours too. Ghost hunters travel from the world over to explore this building. Tours range from 30 minutes to overnight ghost hunts that last up to 8 hours and even let you explore the facility unguided after a short introductory tour. New buildings have recently been added to the Main building tours. They include the Medical Center, Forensics building and Geriatrics building. Tour pricing varies. See the official website for more information.
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (formerly the Weston State Hospital) is located at 71 Asylum Dr., Weston, WV 26452.
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