Old psychiatric hospitals can be terrifying places. In the past, society didn’t have the kindest methods of dealing with people suffering from mental illness — many treatments now considered outdated (like lobotomies and electroshock therapy) were everyday occurrences. As a result, it isn’t uncommon for mental hospitals to be the subject of rumors of ghosts and spirits. If you believe in the paranormal, places that institutionalized the mentally ill for decades seem likely to be haunted, and Connecticut is not immune to such rumors. In the 1900s, the Constitution State was home to the infamous Norwich State Hospital. While most of the buildings associated with the hospital are now demolished, the area is said to be incredibly haunted. In fact, it’s not hard to imagine that spirits could still linger around the old grounds of Connecticut’s Norwich State Hospital…
The Norwich State Hospital opened in 1904 and operated until 1996. At its peak in the 1950s, the hospital housed over 3,000 patients.
Don The UpNorth Memories Guy Harrison/Flickr The hospital treated a variety of patients on its large campus. There were wards for the mentally ill, violent, geriatric, adolescent, and epileptic, as well as a ward for patients with tuberculosis.
Over 40 buildings were housed on the 70-acre property. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its status as a prominent mental hospital.
CLK Hatcher/Wikimedia Commons So many people lived and died within these walls that even skeptics would admit there could be spirits here.
The hospital’s auditorium was a massive, beautiful structure.
Jonathan Haeber/Flickr
A surprising amount of equipment was left abandoned in the hospital after it closed.
Chris Riedinger/Flickr
Underground tunnels allowed patients to be transported from building to building.
Aimee Lindell/Flickr Paranormal investigators reported a great deal of ghostly activity throughout the facility, particularly in these tunnels. The television series “Ghost Hunters” visited in 2010. The show portrayed mysteriously moving objects and floating orbs.
Over the years, all of the hospital’s buildings have been demolished. Not much stands nowadays and there is little to commemorate the history of this important spot.
davedillonphoto/Flickr
As you can imagine, before the buildings were razed, the site attracted many illegal trespassers and ghost hunters. Visitors to the site reported feeling cold chills and sensing electromagnetic pulses. What are your thoughts? Do you believe the hospital could have been haunted? Share your theories in the comments!
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Old psychiatric hospitals can be terrifying places. In the past, society didn’t have the kindest methods of dealing with people suffering from mental illness — many treatments now considered outdated (like lobotomies and electroshock therapy) were everyday occurrences. As a result, it isn’t uncommon for mental hospitals to be the subject of rumors of ghosts and spirits. If you believe in the paranormal, places that institutionalized the mentally ill for decades seem likely to be haunted, and Connecticut is not immune to such rumors. In the 1900s, the Constitution State was home to the infamous Norwich State Hospital. While most of the buildings associated with the hospital are now demolished, the area is said to be incredibly haunted. In fact, it’s not hard to imagine that spirits could still linger around the old grounds of Connecticut’s Norwich State Hospital…
Don The UpNorth Memories Guy Harrison/Flickr
The hospital treated a variety of patients on its large campus. There were wards for the mentally ill, violent, geriatric, adolescent, and epileptic, as well as a ward for patients with tuberculosis.
CLK Hatcher/Wikimedia Commons
So many people lived and died within these walls that even skeptics would admit there could be spirits here.
Jonathan Haeber/Flickr
Chris Riedinger/Flickr
Aimee Lindell/Flickr
Paranormal investigators reported a great deal of ghostly activity throughout the facility, particularly in these tunnels. The television series “Ghost Hunters” visited in 2010. The show portrayed mysteriously moving objects and floating orbs.
davedillonphoto/Flickr
As you can imagine, before the buildings were razed, the site attracted many illegal trespassers and ghost hunters. Visitors to the site reported feeling cold chills and sensing electromagnetic pulses.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe the hospital could have been haunted? Share your theories in the comments!
