Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
On our very short trip to Pennsylvania for our Grandmother's supposed special mass (which turned out to be a normal mass with the mention of her name long before we arrived, but that's another story for another day), we made a few stops along the way, one of the first of which was to the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. Granted, we didn't have enough time to do anything but walk around the outside and visit the gift shop (no time for tours), but I think it changed me a bit (more on that later).
The main building is extremely imposing, but not scary in the least:
Actually, the scariest buildings were the abandoned building across the street:
And the rather imposing building that was either the medical facility or the school (since we didn't take the tour, we're not really sure):
The architecture of the main building was absolutely stunning and I was surprised to find it made of blue sandstone versus the typical limestone:
They did have their Halloween colors out:
My Sister was obsessed with that little chair for some reason...I couldn't get her to even notice the body chute right next door (and dumb me was so busy trying to get her to notice it, I forgot to get a picture of it):
I love how the sandstone weathers:
At one point, my Sister went off to get the car (we parked across the street) and as I was waiting, I found myself literally almost hugging the building, something I would NEVER do at a supposed haunted location. But I think my recent foray into the mental health system has changed my views of things. There was an incredible sadness to the building. I could feel all the bad ju-ju vibes too, but the sadness was almost overwhelming and I felt like I just wanted to hug it all away. I stood here for the longest time. I tried not to look creepy by rubbing the building, but frankly, that was exactly what I was doing. I rested my head up against it too at one point. The pull was so strong to go inside and I don't just mean inside the doors, but almost like inside the stone...I know, sounds totally nutballs, but hey, guess we already know that to be a fact!
The entrance doors were beautiful as well (photos weren't allowed inside without paying a very hefty fee - not nice):
Although my Sister did take one pointing inside the door (so does that count?):
It took her forever to get the car and I was starting to worry (because there were some unsavory characters hanging about), but come to find out, she just found some neat things to take pictures of across the street:
I so wish I had her photographic eye!
I never even noticed the waterfall:
Like I said, we didn't get to stay very long, we both bought a T-shirt and a book and out the door we went although I almost felt like I had to be dragged...I wanted to stay, which is incredibly odd considering the trauma I just went through. We tried to drive around it, but surprisingly, the area surrounding it is heavily populated with houses! Who in the hell would want to live that close to an insane asylum, let alone a haunted abandoned one? But we did get some parting shots including a side shot of the "scary" building:
I have the feeling this is where the patients were brought in at...deja vu:
The old greenhouse:
Some of the other buildings we couldn't see from the front:
This tree has literally grown into the metal fence and they tried to cut it, but it's still there! I felt like it was very symbolic...nature disrupted by the sharp coldness of man's invasive, cutting, and brutal progress:
No ghosties in the windows, but I wouldn't rule it out!
Like I mentioned, I bought a shirt and it had writing on the back (which I normally hate), but this was rather pointant and I've been wearing it a lot lately. It's a quote from Thomas Kirkbride, who came up the "new" plan of asylums, “There is no reason why an individual, who has the misfortune to become insane, should, on that account, be deprived of any comfort or even luxury". I lived this horror 150 years afterwards because the practice still goes on today (although not nearly to the same degree).
We fully plan to go back one day and do the full tour...of all the places we stopped on this trip, I think my Sister enjoyed this one the best (as did I), so I think it should warrant a special solo trip. I'm extremely curious to get deep inside the place and see if my "feelings" change from positive (well, sort of positive) to scared/negative.
We did actually make a few more stops, some of which can be combined into one post (and most from the car window), so hopefully I'll those up in a couple of days).
The main building is extremely imposing, but not scary in the least:
Actually, the scariest buildings were the abandoned building across the street:
And the rather imposing building that was either the medical facility or the school (since we didn't take the tour, we're not really sure):
The architecture of the main building was absolutely stunning and I was surprised to find it made of blue sandstone versus the typical limestone:
They did have their Halloween colors out:
My Sister was obsessed with that little chair for some reason...I couldn't get her to even notice the body chute right next door (and dumb me was so busy trying to get her to notice it, I forgot to get a picture of it):
I love how the sandstone weathers:
At one point, my Sister went off to get the car (we parked across the street) and as I was waiting, I found myself literally almost hugging the building, something I would NEVER do at a supposed haunted location. But I think my recent foray into the mental health system has changed my views of things. There was an incredible sadness to the building. I could feel all the bad ju-ju vibes too, but the sadness was almost overwhelming and I felt like I just wanted to hug it all away. I stood here for the longest time. I tried not to look creepy by rubbing the building, but frankly, that was exactly what I was doing. I rested my head up against it too at one point. The pull was so strong to go inside and I don't just mean inside the doors, but almost like inside the stone...I know, sounds totally nutballs, but hey, guess we already know that to be a fact!
The entrance doors were beautiful as well (photos weren't allowed inside without paying a very hefty fee - not nice):
Although my Sister did take one pointing inside the door (so does that count?):
It took her forever to get the car and I was starting to worry (because there were some unsavory characters hanging about), but come to find out, she just found some neat things to take pictures of across the street:
I so wish I had her photographic eye!
I never even noticed the waterfall:
Like I said, we didn't get to stay very long, we both bought a T-shirt and a book and out the door we went although I almost felt like I had to be dragged...I wanted to stay, which is incredibly odd considering the trauma I just went through. We tried to drive around it, but surprisingly, the area surrounding it is heavily populated with houses! Who in the hell would want to live that close to an insane asylum, let alone a haunted abandoned one? But we did get some parting shots including a side shot of the "scary" building:
I have the feeling this is where the patients were brought in at...deja vu:
The old greenhouse:
Some of the other buildings we couldn't see from the front:
This tree has literally grown into the metal fence and they tried to cut it, but it's still there! I felt like it was very symbolic...nature disrupted by the sharp coldness of man's invasive, cutting, and brutal progress:
No ghosties in the windows, but I wouldn't rule it out!
Like I mentioned, I bought a shirt and it had writing on the back (which I normally hate), but this was rather pointant and I've been wearing it a lot lately. It's a quote from Thomas Kirkbride, who came up the "new" plan of asylums, “There is no reason why an individual, who has the misfortune to become insane, should, on that account, be deprived of any comfort or even luxury". I lived this horror 150 years afterwards because the practice still goes on today (although not nearly to the same degree).
We fully plan to go back one day and do the full tour...of all the places we stopped on this trip, I think my Sister enjoyed this one the best (as did I), so I think it should warrant a special solo trip. I'm extremely curious to get deep inside the place and see if my "feelings" change from positive (well, sort of positive) to scared/negative.
We did actually make a few more stops, some of which can be combined into one post (and most from the car window), so hopefully I'll those up in a couple of days).
Comments
The tree growing through the fence reminded me of your resilient wisteria plant! How is it doing now?
Linda
It would be interesting to see how you feel when you go again.