Weston Hospital officially haunted, Ghost Hunters declares

The famed Sci Fi Channel "Ghost Hunters '' has declared West Virginia's most famous mental hospital haunted. via Charleston Daily Mail

[Ajb]

Of course she is offering ghost tours she does not want to preserve this place just make it a freak show for some cash.

[Agree]

I toured the hospital today and was very upset with the name and the ghost tours. It is very disrespectful to the suffering of the people who were committed there. So many people were abused and killed there.....now it seems to be a joke to the owners who are trying to make money from this. It should not have been named "lunatic asylum." That is moving the progress made in mental illness back 250 years, for what.....fun?

The owners could apply for historical grants to work on restoring the building. It may take longer, but would be respectful to the memory of the people who were there.

Don't buy a t-shirt advertising "lunatic asylum." How degrading.

[Jodie]

I was in Weston, went by the hospital and noticed it was opened. My family went in and we really didn't understand what was going on until we saw t-shirts with "lunatic asylum" printed on them for sale along with key chains, and other items. It was really in bad taste considering the hopital had many patients that were from all over WV and probably many family members were instituted there that were forgotten and not talked about at the supper table. It was really upsetting to see such a place used as a "joke" and very disrespectful to the public.

If I lived in Weston I would try to stop this "amusement park" in my community. It was horrific in the fact it set mental illness back generations.

[KELLY M]

Get, over it, I am from Weston, West Virginia born and raised. I visited the Weston State Hospitol on a school field trip as a child. I also used to walk by it everyday going to school, and that is when it housed and took care of patients. I think it is a great idea that someone is finally doing something with the Weston State Hospitol, than letting it just set there and rot away. This is a plus economic atraction for the town, and if anything it will be a benifit to the town, bringing in those of intrest to one of the oldest, and largest stone cut historical buildings around. Everything and everyone has a past,but we are in the present and going towards the future. If you go to visit you are soporting the area and your own intrest. If you don't like things like that, and you have a personal empathy or it is disturbing for you than you, just shouldent go.

[Jim Bob]

KELLY M wrote:

Get, over it, I am from Weston, West Virginia born and raised. I visited the Weston State Hospitol on a school field trip as a child. I also used to walk by it everyday going to school, and that is when it housed and took care of patients. I think it is a great idea that someone is finally doing something with the Weston State Hospitol, than letting it just set there and rot away. This is a plus economic atraction for the town, and if anything it will be a benifit to the town, bringing in those of intrest to one of the oldest, and largest stone cut historical buildings around. Everything and everyone has a past,but we are in the present and going towards the future. If you go to visit you are soporting the area and your own intrest. If you don't like things like that, and you have a personal empathy or it is disturbing for you than you, just shouldent go.

If you love it so much....go buy a t-shirt that says "Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum" and wear it....oh, and don't forget your key chain and mug. Be sure to wear this on your vacation.

There are historical grants that the owners could have applied for to restore the buildings.

Looks like this is giving West Virginia another smack in the face.

[Ajb]

I am from weston to and I think the name should stay the same because that is part of the buildings histroy. But to make it some type of freak show instead of a tourist attraction is disrespectful. The town should stop the grounds from being used for mud bogging because supposedly there are several unmarked graves there. I wonder what it is zoned and the only people making money are the owners because everyone associated with this project in town are volunteers.

[June]

The hospital never operated under the name of "Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum." When WV became a state on June 20, 1863, the first acts of legislature was to rename the hospital to "West VA Hospital for the Insane."

It finally opened in October of 1864.

The owners by using the name "Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum" are trying to make a spectacle out of the hospital for monetary gain.

The patients that were interned there, many as prisoners, put their by their families, husbands, many for monetary gain or selfish reasons, should have a decorum of respect. The suffering by many patients should be remembered and treated with high regard.

I can't believe the people of Weston would condone the actions of the owners. Unbelievable.

What does "lunatic asylum" mean to people in America.....jokes, laughter, crazy.....and this is in your back yard.

[Lisa]

I would like to know what people's problem is with calling it a lunatic asylum. That was the original name of it. People are acting like they just picked that name out of a hat or something. Why not just leave the Jordan's alone? They are trying to do something with the property and that was the chief complaint in this town - it sitting over there doing nothing, but falling down. I have lived in Weston my whole life and it seems that people here can not be satisfied. They don't know what they want !

[Viva]

Lunatic asylum?

[Mary Lu]

Lisa wrote:

I would like to know what people's problem is with calling it a lunatic asylum. That was the original name of it. People are acting like they just picked that name out of a hat or something. Why not just leave the Jordan's alone? They are trying to do something with the property and that was the chief complaint in this town - it sitting over there doing nothing, but falling down. I have lived in Weston my whole life and it seems that people here can not be satisfied. They don't know what they want !

Just change the name. Why don't you wear one of their t-shirts everyday.....it would become you.

[Mary Lu]

Viva wrote:

Lunatic asylum?

Yea, nuts isn't it. You can tell whoever thought to use that name is a lunatic.

[Doug]

I agree with Kelly. Anything is better than seeing the place sit empty. I think that going back to the original name is great. Seems like the people from Weston like it and they are the ones that count. Thanks, Doug

[June]

Lisa wrote:

I would like to know what people's problem is with calling it a lunatic asylum. That was the original name of it. People are acting like they just picked that name out of a hat or something. Why not just leave the Jordan's alone? They are trying to do something with the property and that was the chief complaint in this town - it sitting over there doing nothing, but falling down. I have lived in Weston my whole life and it seems that people here can not be satisfied. They don't know what they want !

CAN YOU READ?

The hospital NEVER OPERATED under the name of "Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum." When WV became a state on June 20, 1863, the first acts of legislature was to rename the hospital to "West VA Hospital for the Insane."

It finally opened in October of 1864.

[kara]

I understsand having t-shirts which say lunatic asylum may be ofensive to many however, by having the old hospital open to the public more people will be aware of the unequal treatment of those who were housed there years ago. The fact is however, unethical the hospital may have been years ago, its different now and the purpose of the old hospital is no longer to care for the mentally disabled but a haunted tour, which highlights how people were treated back in the day, lunatics, not as people who have a disability and need care.

[Lisa]

Seriously people that is the original name. Should we change history to make it politically correct on terms of today? I live merely 12 miles from the building and found it a shame that it was just sitting there. Local kids were breaking in just out of curiosity and causing trouble. Now yours are available and the building is open to public to view and creating a bit of a profit for a poor state like WV.

[hmmmm]

June wrote:

<quoted text>
CAN YOU READ?
The hospital NEVER OPERATED under the name of "Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum." When WV became a state on June 20, 1863, the first acts of legislature was to rename the hospital to "West VA Hospital for the Insane."
It finally opened in October of 1864.

For one thing you're not even putting the right word. It's Allegheny...not Atlantic.

[MrsStoneking]

hmmmm wrote:

<quoted text>
For one thing you're not even putting the right word. It's Allegheny...not Atlantic.

Thank you. I was reading all these posts thinking Alantic wasn't right. I'm also wondering if this person seriously thinks "insane" is more politcally correct. To me it kind of means the same thing. I think any use for these historical old buildings is much better than just letting them sit and go to waste. I can't wait to be able to tour this place in the spring when we visit my inlaws.

[BubbleShot]

hmmmm wrote:

<quoted text>
For one thing you're not even putting the right word. It's Allegheny...not Atlantic.

Just wanted to say a couple of things...I'm not from there, as you can see from my IP...However, it was called the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the early 1850's before W.V. seperated from Va. to become a state, the hospital was renamed in 1863, after W.V. became a state, to The W.V. Hospital for the Insane. Originally it was built to hold 250 patients but was holding 2,400 by 1850, yet it still stayed opened, conditions were deplurable...By 1980 the hospital HAD to reduced it's population because of the changes made for the treatment of mental illness. That being said, It is part of history, just not W.V. but Va. also. My brother had to spend some time up there back in early 1990 in which my mother and Father said they had to do some major string pulling to get him out, to this day he will not talk about his experience there and my mother nor father would never say, god rest their soles...I'm not happy with the conditions that I know existed but I am going up this weekend for a night time tour after hearing that it was haunted from taps just out of curiosity, I won't be buying any souveniers, I can guarantee that and I agree about the Mudbogging, I didn't even know that they would allow that on property that was declared a U.S. National Histoic Landmark??? It has 666 acres, I think that's weird, but it was built to be a self-sufficient Asylum. I don't like hearing that word and some of the things that I have heard about the conditions are awful and I can't fathom it because I'm the mother of a severly Handiapped Child, who back in those days would have become, no doubt, a patient there because of the fact that alot of ppl didn't understand mental disabilities back then and thought that it was the work of the devil. Thank god We live in a society like today, although sometimes when I take my child out the treatment from some ppl is despicable, the stares, comments, letting a door go in your face and god forbid someone open a door for someone in a wheelchair or for a person who has a child in one. One things for sure, the dates of operation was from 1864-1994, the first patient being admitted in Ocotober of 1864. With all that being said, I wish all that reads a good evening and I hope to be at the festival that's going on up that way this weekend. You all have a good evening and may I invite you to visit our topix forum at Pineville, W.V. 24874...:0)...hope I haven't upset anyone with my post, no ill will intended, just informative.

[Nosy Rosy]

I will be coming there this weekend for the overnight ghost hunt. I believe it is haunted and I think I will see a few ghost. If there are unmarked graves there, you know there's ghost.

[Shelly]

I was at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum this weekend and I came across a lot of paranormal activity there. I also found that the staff who served as our tour guides had great respect for the preservation of the building and for the spirits who may still reside there. They were very informative in giving us the history and did not appear to beef anything up for shock value. Not once did I feel they were disrespectful against those with mental illness. I, myself work as a counselor for individuals with severe mental illness and I feel I am sensitive to mistreatment of individuals such as these. I felt that they were supportive of the cause for better treatment of patients with mental illness. It was a great experienced and one I will not soon forget.