We conducted an overnight investigation at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. This enormous hospital from the mid-1800’s had has numerous reports of paranormal activity with its history of inhumane treatment, overcrowding, and murder.
Date: December 8th, 2019
Location: Weston, WV
Investigators: Chris, Matt, Ana, Brian, El, Kate, Lindsay, Matt K., Ryan, Semaj
History
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was a home for the mentally ill of West Virginia and opened its doors in 1864. It is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America, with long wings and plenty of windows for the therapeutic benefits of sunlight and air.
The hospital was designed to house 250 patients, but by the 1950’s had 2,400 patients living in poor conditions. It finally closed in 1994 after changes in the treatment of mental health and the overall deterioration of the building.
Investigation
We had reserved the building for a full overnight investigation, from 9pm to 5am. Our group arrived right before 9pm with our gear in tow. Most of the building was completely dark, upping the creep factor, and we were eager to start exploring.
Two guides were there to give us a brief tour and told us about the various reports of paranormal activity. There were stories about suicides, a stabbing, and a murder using a bed post. John likes women, but Sarge doesn’t, and Ruth brings a phantom smell of perfume and scratches men. We took a lot of notes so we could try to reach out to the ghosts by name.
Most of the facility was freezing cold except for one room with some propane heaters where we were able to setup home base for our gear and warm up as needed throughout the night. We had access to all four floors plus the basement area.
We brought some new equipment – walkie talkies, and a wireless security camera system. It includes 4 bluetooth cameras with night vision, and a 10″ monitor where you can view all the live feeds at once. It was difficult finding areas with electricity that were also close enough to connect, but we were able to get 3 running. (This is the system we bought if you are curious)
Long hallways dominated our search. The hospital was designed to allow the maximum amount of light and air flowing through the rooms, and had very few living areas without windows. It was eerie walking down the long dark hallways, trying to decide if we should turn around to see if anything was following us.
All of the inner stairwells had heavy metal doors that creaked and banged loudly. One of the doors separating wards seemed to open and close by itself, but it might have just been the weight of the door after we moved it. We found one creepy large sliding door that cut off a wing.
Scenes were set up in rooms that were supposed to depict life in the hospital. There were operating tables, fake ice baths, and information about lobotomies.
One room scared the crap out of us as we walked by. There was a woman sitting in a chair and I had to timidly make my way over to her to ensure she wasn’t real. I was happy to discover that it was just a mannequin.
Other ghost investigative groups had left items in rooms. There were many toys and dolls in the children’s ward and in what is known as Lily’s room.
I also found a room with a deck of cards spilled on the floor but didn’t know the background.
A creepy 4th floor
The 4th floor was said to have the most activity, with shadows, dragging and rolling sounds, and doors shutting unexpectedly. The Paranormal Lockdown team had caught a creature crawling across the floor on video. It has been dubbed the “creeper.”
The staff had also told us that if we whistled the “shave and a haircut” tune, we would hear the return whistle. We conducted EVP sessions, used the Spirit Box, and kept the laser grid on to try to catch activity.
In the middle of the night, 5 members of the group were investigating the creeper area. They heard a loud boom at the far end of the hall. Matt immediately radioed on the walkie talkie to see where the other team members were located. No one else was in the area.
There was a quieter double boom from the same area so we split the team to cover both ends of the hallway. We started hearing some quieter noises around the middle of the hall, so both teams moved in. Near the middle, there was a large HVAC ducting system and when we looked inside we came face to face with a raccoon! So it’s likely all of the noises had been from the raccoon. The first loud boom was the most suspect, but it might have been the raccoon jumping down into the duct work from the end of the hallway before he made his way to the middle.
Did we capture paranormal evidence?
No, we don’t think so. There were only minor EMF spikes and one blip on the REM pod. The raccoon startled us but probably we are assuming it made all of the noises we heard in that area.
Overall it was a great experience and definitely a creepy old building. The architecture and history was definitely worth the trip there. Highly recommended for any ghost hunting groups.
To learn more and reserve your own ghost hunt, visit the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum official site.
