Pennhurst Asylum

For a lot of people, Pennhurst Asylum was Hell on Earth. It was once known as the 'Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic', and during its time saw 10,000 patients pass through the doors, many of which were children, abandoned by their parents. It was an awful place, known for abuse, mistreatment, and unimaginable suffering, and today is known as one of the most haunted places in the world.

Even though the hospital was built to care for the desperately at-need, the state of Pennsylvania only awarded PennHurst a very meager sum of money to function, and because of that, conditions were absolutely deplorable. 

Reports of mistreatment went back as far as 1912, and for the years that the building was functioning it was home to countless instances of rape, suffering, and death. By the late 60s, things were so bad at PennHurst Asylum that NBC did an exclusive story focused on the horrible patient mistreatment called “Suffer the Little Children”.  The story led to a lawsuit, but it wasn’t until the mid 80s that the school was finally ordered closed. 

Because of the unbelievable amount of suffering that occurred inside the walls of PennHurst Asylum, it’s no surprise that over the years people have reported having terrifying experiences with the souls who perished at the hospital.

There are so many locations at PennHurst that are said to be haunted, but the most noteworthy are the Quaker Building, where shadows stalk you from the darkness, and the ghost of a little girl has (on more than one occasion) scratched visitors with unseen hands. 

Often people will hear the sounds of children screaming or crying, and when they go to investigate there’s no one there. Over the years the ghosts of both ex-staff members and patients have been witnessed by visitors … and interaction are rarely harmless. People leave PennHurst emotionally distraught, scratched, touched, and bring home general feelings of hostility.

If you’re brave enough you can visit the asylum and not only take a self-guided tour, but also spend the night investigating the ghosts of what is considered to be the most terrifying building in North America. 

Pennhurst was added to the National Register of Historic Places and Pennsylvania's list of the most At-Risk Pennsylvania Properties as well as the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a worldwide network of historic sites specifically dedicated to remembering struggles for justice.

Pennhurst has been featured on the shows Ghost Adventures on Travel Channel, Ghost Hunters on SyFy, Celebrity Ghost Stories on BIO, The Haunting Of... 'Beverley Mitchell' on BIO, and the self-titled movie 'Pennhurst', featuring Beverley Mitchell and Haylie Duff.

Today it operates as a haunted and abandoned asylum and ghost tours. The ghost hunts and tours are usually conducted September and October. So plan ahead for your road trip to one of America's creepiest abandoned asylums!