History

History information is some background and history about the location. This is meant to be a basic summary. Below the history records you will find sources in which you can click on to find out more information. There may be multiple history records per location.

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The history of the land that St Albans was built on begins in 1775 with The Draper Meadow Massacre. This murder of five people, including an infant child, set the tone for the darkness that has become the legacy of the imposing complex. The St. Albans Lutheran Boys School was built in 1892, and quickly developed a reputation for being a rough and competitive school where bullying was not only condoned, it was encouraged. Many young men were "lost" during the years the school was active, with quite a few of those deaths ruled to be suicide.

By 1916, the St. Albans Lutheran Boys School had been converted into the St. Albans Sanitarium for the mentally ill. By many standards, St. Albans was a superior hospital for the time period, but that certainly didn't stop many of its patients from dying at the hands of their doctors, professionals who had become notorious for performing experimental treatments on the unstable.

Even though the hospital has been closed for many, many years, there's still evidence of the bizarre medical practices on every floor. The Hydrotherapy rooms are still intact with their giant, tiled bathtubs, and here and there, rusted gurneys and broken wheelchairs lay strewn about. Many of the offices still have patients' folders, images, personal effects, and some of the rooms still display hand-drawn artwork on the walls, evidence of the people who once unwilling resided there.

The roof garden, where patients might have gone to soak up some sunshine in the afternoon, is covered over with a thick mesh to stop anyone from jumping to their death. One room located at the far back of the women's ward, nicknamed the "suicide room," has witnessed at least four people take their own lives in the small, attached bathroom.

By 1945, the hospital had treated 6509 patients, but unfortunately the staff only numbered 48. By the 90s, St. Albans could no longer stay up-to-date, and closed its doors forever.

The stories of strange happenings at St. Albans have given the abandoned hospital the tittle of "most haunted location on the east coast," and today guests are invited to take tours as well as year-round paranormal investigations.

There are so many spirits who are rumored to haunt St. Albans that tour staff have lost count over the years. One of the most famous ghosts is that of a little girl who is said to haunt the underground bowling alley. Many believe she may have been the daughter of one of the patients who died while living at the hospital. Other unexplainable activity includes the sound of disembodied voices, strange shadows darting through the empty halls, and strange signs that investigators believe point to the spirits of the women still trapped in the "suicide room".

Added by: sdonley on 02/12/2015 DB#:241
Source(s):
https://roadtrippers.com/blog/visit-st-albans-sani...

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