The Pest House

Indiana · USA · House

This house at Knightstown, Indiana was used as a quarantine building during a smallpox outbreak in the early twentieth century, and the death rate among those put in it was very high.

A local historian visiting the house was greeted at the front door by a figure, and the description he gave is the account.

Pest houses were the standard response to contagious disease before vaccination made it unnecessary. A town would designate a building away from everybody, put the sick in it, and leave food at the door. Smallpox in particular killed around a third of those who caught it and disfigured most of the rest.

Being sent to the pest house was understood by everyone as a sentence rather than a treatment.

Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980, the only human disease ever eliminated.

The house is private property.

FAQ

Hvor ligger The Pest House?

The Pest House ligger i Indiana, USA.

Opplysningene bygger på lokal folketro og vitneskildringer.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons