Pennhurst State School
Pennsylvania · USA · Asylum
Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Pennsylvania opened in November 1908 as an institution for the physically and mentally disabled — both children and adults. Originally called the Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic, it closed in 1987 after 79 years of controversy.
The institution had a deeply dark history. A local news exposé in 1968 revealed shocking conditions: inmates were malnourished, restrained and subjected to physical and mental abuse, in an environment marked by severe overcrowding and neglect.
The site is today counted among the most haunted in America. In the so-called Q Building, where children were held, groups have described a sudden gust of air extinguishing their lights before they heard a child's disembodied laughter. "The King", believed to be the spirit of a caretaker from the 1940s and 50s, is said to keep to the boiler room in the Mayflower Building and to appear as a shadow figure with power enough to touch — or even to throttle — visitors.
In 2010 the partly renovated administration building opened as the haunted attraction Pennhurst Asylum, which operates over Halloween. Historical tours are offered by day and paranormal investigations by night in the decaying buildings — a much-debated second act for a place with so much suffering in its walls.
Sources: English Wikipedia "Pennhurst State School and Hospital", phillyghosts.com, usghostadventures.com, allthatsinteresting.com
FAQ
Hvor ligger Pennhurst State School?
Pennhurst State School ligger i Pennsylvania, USA.
Opplysningene bygger på lokal folketro og vitneskildringer.
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