A Tour of a Haunted Asylum

Nestled in the beautiful mountains of Weston, West Virginia, is a tranquil setting rich with history which begs the visitor to sit and stay a while. Beside a quiet fountain, one can sit and enjoy the architecture, the shade trees, and the filtered sounds of the nearby town as the sun beams on the clock tower which stopped keeping accurate time many years ago. It is a place rich with history of society and science, medicine and madness, and colorful stories of ghosts and growth. It is the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

In operation for over a century and only closing in 1994, the Asylum housed the insane, the unwanted, and anyone who generally went against the grain of acceptable social behavior of their times. Now, it is open to guided tours that share with the general public the changes in the treatment of those considered mentally ill and the stories of former patients who continue to reside at the Asylum in ghostly form.

My tour of the Asylum occurred on a warm afternoon as sunlight poured in through the windows. With a small group of other tourists and a knowledgeable guide we explored four floors of the Asylum, the medical building, and viewed various parts of the grounds. But, instead of finding the Asylum entirely frightening, I found parts of it quite eerie and uncomfortable and other parts rather inviting.

Although many photographs were taken of both the inside and outside of the facilities, sadly I saw no signs of apparitions in the images….prior to my memory card becoming damaged and erasing them all. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and I look forward to visiting the Asylum again in the future for another photographic opportunity.

Well worth the time and the reasonable ticket price, the Asylum will educate, enlighten, and entertain all visitors with both eerie tales of ghosts, haunting stories of activities that occurred, and truth about the tortures formally used in the name of medical treatment. But, with the sense of serenity that resides in various parts of the building and along the grounds, will you really want to leave?