Skip to main content

Unexplained Cases | Pennhurst Asylum

Written by: Rick Garner
Case Filed: 08/18/19 - Spring City, Pennsylvania
Executive Producer: Rick Garner



Pennhurst Asylum. Spring City, Pennsylvania. Officailly known as Pennhurst State School and Hospital, this property was originally named the Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic. For 79 years, its buildings housed thousands of mentally and physically disabled. It would seem many remain here. 

On November 23, 1908, the first patient was admitted. By 1912, the facility was overcrowded. At the time, the mentally ill were considered a blight on society - to be feared and not allowed to associated with the general population. A Pennhurst Chief Physician, Dr. Henry H. Goddard, even said, "Every feeble-minded person is a potential criminal."

Spciety's view on those “feeble minded” essentially excused unspeakable horrors to be exercised in the halls and rooms of Pennhurst. in 1968, reporter Bill Baldini exposed conditions at the facility in a five-part local broadcast news investigation which aired on WCAU NBC 10.

It would take indictments and a federal class action lawsuit to finally close the facility on December 9, 1987.

From that lawsuit, even more details were exposed about Pennhurst: urine and excrement on ward floors, infectious diseases, obnoxious odors, excessive noise. Commonplace were injuries to residents by other residents or self-abuse. Residents were seriously injured and sexually assaulted by staff members. Residents were physically restrained which often caused injury and at least one death. Restraint usage increased because there wasn’t enough staff for the amount of residents. Dangerous psychotropic drugs were used for behavior control and staff convenience.

During my few hours at Pennhurst, it was easy to feel a deep sadness in the air. Perhaps it was brought on by the decaying buildings...slowly being reclaimed by nature and weary of the evil they concealed for so many years. But these buildings are no comparison to the lives that decayed here. Neglected, abused, tortured for years. Thousands of lives.

During my brief visit, I captured several disembodied voices. This happened while filming b-roll. At one point in the basement of Mayflower Hall, I peer my camera down a narrow passageway. As I step away, a male whisper can be heard saying, "We’re coming with you.” I was physically alone and I know that I didn’t whisper anything.


An old cart in a hallway, similar to those used to transport luggage at hotels, was in a basement hallway of Mayflower. I tried to move it but the wheels were rusted. Again, my camera picks up a whisper - which sounds exactly like the previous male voice - saying, "Leave that here.”


While in what is known as the sound-proof room, it was difficult to be sound-proof walking around on the decades of debris that had built up on the floor. But my camera caught a breath. Like an exhale.


Also, while in one of the few underground tunnels accessible to the public. I invite anyone to speak into the mic, there is a sound that’s too weird to ignore. Listening closely and repeatedly, it's creepy. It resembled how one sounds when they have to use a device to speak. The phrase sounded like, "It's recording."

No other evidence was collected via photographs, video, or use of the SB7 spirit box. 

Today, the property is used for paranormal investigations and conventions and also a huge haunted attraction. Briana Walters, a volunteer for Paracon 2019, shared her experiences. “I was here on a ghost hunt on Friday the 13th and we were in the soundproof room. We asked someone to bang on the wall or door and one of the doors down (the hallway) slammed three times. Another time, we were at the Paracon, here, and I was back (in the janitor area) with my sister. She saw a light flash by and I heard a sound and I just ran out.”

Paranormal investigator Stephen Erkintalo and Giselle Andrews are first-timers to Pennhurst. I asked Stephen about his experiences with the paranormal. 

“Quite a bit of experiences...personally and documented on Amazon Prime, on YouTube, on my personal social media pages. I can go into all that...the shadow figures I’ve seen, the EVPs that I’ve documented. see what this type of lifestyle was about rather than being behind the camera entertaining but also documenting."

Giselle shared some of her experiences. “(Stephen)'s really extreme in everything he does. The few times that I’ve gone with him, I’ve definitely experienced a lot of things. Come home to experience more things. Katrina (Weidman) touched upon Bobby Mackey’s as being something that followed her home. I can attest to that and the “spiritual hangovers” you experience afterwards. I’ve seen some things. I’ve seen shadows. And I feel things.”

So, what’s unexplained about Pennhurst? it’s opening and closing is not. Even the horrors that went on here are not, especially considering the times and human nature. What’s unexplained...is if it is truly haunted...who still lingers here and why?

As for if Pennhurst is haunted, Brianna Walters thinks so. “Oh, yes. Definitely. Definitely.”

Reporting for Unexplained Cases, I’m Rick Garner.

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unexplained Cases | Baltimore Street Murder House

Written by:  Darren Dedo Case Filed:  06 /20/19 - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Executive Producer:  Rick Garner Battlefields, homes, pubs, and restaurants. Almost anywhere you go in Gettysburg you will come across a place that is supposedly haunted. It is very easy to understand why. Tens of thousands of men lost their lives here in this small Pennsylvania town in July of 1863. We visited one unassuming and haunted location that was here during the Battle of Gettysburg and was a casualty collection point just like many buildings were used for back then. It would make sense that the spirit who sets off ghost hunting gadgets in this Baltimore Street home fought and died in the Civil War. But, this resident spirit has no connection to the Battle of Gettysburg. Our guide for the evening, P aranormal Investigator Robert "Night Monkey" Simmons  with Gettysburg Paranormal Association / Gettysburg Ghost  Tours . He  shares with everyone the details.  “The morning of August 31, 198

Mystery of the Mothman | Unexplained Cases (2024)

Written by:  Rick Garner Case Filed: 2/19/24 Executive Producer:  Rick Garner   One of the cases we’ve always wanted to open is that of the Mothman. When it comes to urban legends, this guy takes the proverbial cake. He checks off all the boxes: cryptid, paranormal, interdimensional. And if not for this winged red-eyed creature, Point Pleasant, West Virginia might only be known for a tragic bridge collapse that occurred on December 15, 1967. The Silver Bridge collapsed during heavy rush-hour traffic, claiming 46 lives. Sightings of Mothman in 1966 and 67 linked the creature to the cause of the collapse, but an official investigation determined stress corrosion cracking in an eyebar led to the disaster. I had the chance to meet and speak with Steve Ward at the world famous Mothman Museum. On the subject of Mothman, Steve is an expert. Well, this is the world's only Mothman Museum. And it came about because of the sightings that took place back in the middle 60s. There were John

Willie Mae Brister Murder Case

Written by: Greg Fetzer Case Filed: 12/27/01 - Mount Olive, Mississippi Executive Producer: Rick Garner Willie Mae Brister and her husband had three daughters. He died in 1989. She continued to operate the store after his death. Her customers were her neighbors and she knew them well, giving many of them food and dry goods because they didn't have the money to pay. She was well respected by most everyone in the community. She stood about 5' feet 2 and was the typical southern lady. Her life was simple. She didn't drive. She grew her own vegetables and stayed around her home which was just a few feet from her grocery store. Family members say she saved just about every penny she earned. Those pennies grew into a small fortune: a fortune worth a little over a million dollars. That fortune is what two of her daughters say killed her.