I took some pictures and on one of the videos I spotted a weird light but I am not a believer in the supernatural. lol Too bad someone wouldnt buy this old place and turn it into apartments. One of the three burial grounds for the Athens Lunatic Asylum. What would the Athens PD doing you went into the building? George Eberts, long time Asylum employee and local expert on the Athens Asylum, will be leading an outdoor walking tour of the historic Asylum grounds and buildings. Indeed, neither they nor the others in those cemeteries had received more than a very austere burial - no personalized service whatsoever. 1 Athens Lunatic Asylum in Athens, Ohio. Of these veterans two fought in the Mexican War, sixty-eight fought in the Civil War, one was a member in the Confederate Army and another two veterans served with the United States Colored infantry. For example, you'll still be able to get an idea of the spooky things that took place at the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Though the facility would never be fully self-sustaining, over the years, the grounds would include livestock, farm fields and gardens, an orchard, greenhouses, a dairy, a receiving hospital, a Tubercular Ward, a physical plant to generate steam heat, and even a carriage shop in the earlier years. This place sounds really interesting I been there a few times and even help build a part of the ridges Can anyone post pictures u have of it if u caught anything and it truly sucks u cant walk through it.. thanks, Jim. The subject inevitably arose, however, at public talks organized around the exhibit. I know its illegal to go in but my husband and I are willing to take a chance, does anyone know the best place to get in? I will be visiting there soon and would like to explore I love paranormal. This Ohio University town is home to the Athens Lunatic Asylum, a mental institution open from 1874 until 1993 and known for its lobotomy practices. In 1977, Athens Asylum made news when it housed multiple personality rapist Billy Milligan. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. A suitable site was found in Athens, and Levi T. Scofield was chosen as the architect. Most disturbing is the documentation of hydrotherapy, electroshock, lobotomy, and early psychotropic drugs, many of which have been discredited today as extremely inhumane ways of treating a patient. The place is built like a fortress. By 1981 the hospital housed fewer than 300 patients, numerous buildings stood abandoned, and over 300 acres were transferred to Ohio University. I am so glad that I was able to get into the main buildings back in 2002-03 as well. Other former patients are also said to remain in residence, with reports from visitors seeing strange figures standing in the empty wings of the former hospital, hearing disembodied voices and squeaking gurneys, seeing strange lights, and hearing screams echoing through the walls. Many people were tortured and died there but I think all the storys are maid up. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). I never believed in anything paranormal until this happened, and it kind of shattered my reality. The Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in 1874 in Athens, Ohio. Tours are conducted on selected dates during the . The 150-year-old complex known as The Ridges is really coming to life. Stories of Medicine in Athens County, Ohio. Thanks a lot and I love reading what u guys have commented..:). The project commemorating the sesquicentennial encompasses all phases of treatment at the asylum. Throughout its years, the asylum provided services to a variety of patients that included Civil War veterans, children and violent criminals all suffering from various mental disabilities. It gives others who never had the opportunity to visit the TB Ward a glimpse back into a piece of history thats now forever gone. Beginning in 2000, the Athens, Ohio, chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) started the reclamation for the cemeteries, taking on the work that was once the responsibility of the Ohio Department of Mental Health. The Ridges, formerly called the Athens Lunatic Asylum, was a mental hospital operated in Athens, Ohio from 1874 until 1993. Ground was broken on November 5, 1868. , Ryan, You know these are public sites and The police can read this and close that off for everyone.That is not cool bro! Thanks for posting my YouTube video. Athens Lunatic Asylum (Athens, Ohio) Though it opened as a modest 500-patient facility in 1874, Athens Lunatic Asylum grew exponentially over its first several decades in operation, peaking in the 1950s with a patient population of nearly 2,000 on a 1,000-acre campus. Renovated and part of Ohio University these days, the former buildings of the Athens Lunatic Asylum have stories to share. When do people hang out there, and whats the best way to get in? More interesting are the causes listed for admission, including epilepsy, menopause, alcohol addiction, and tuberculosis. Kathy Weiser-Alexander/Legends of America, updated April 2021. It is called Ridges and lies on the Ohio University campus. I want to so bad.. I see many people wanna sneek in and go at night I strongly suggest u not because oupd and Athens pd will arrest u for trhsspassing. Today, the Ridges are a part of Ohio . I walked the outside of the building today, came across the door youre talking about, somewhere by the a/d corner. I stopped by today, and I didnt see an entrance that wasnt boarded up. The cemetery is also said to be haunted by shadowy people and strange lights. Though the hospital is no longer in use, its campus remains an important historical and cultural landmark. This is a two hour outdoor walking tour, so please plan accordingly. We live in the woods, so normal forest noises dont faze him Athens Ohio is BadAss. Added by cinapelayo. What was once the Athens Lunatic Asylum is now owned by Ohio University, but parts of the facility still hold shadows, stains and spirits of former mental patients who often suffered from violent treatments such as lobotomies. While it was a neat cultural experience, we didnt stay long. The Athens Lunatic Asylum first opened to patients in 1874 to meet a growing statewide demand for mental institutions. My email is messed up rite now. However, it was the patients who worked the grounds. Built in southeast Ohio after the Civil War, the asylum embodied the nineteenth-century "gold standard" specifications of moral treatment. And therapies that are now discredited, such as lobotomies, hydrotherapy . small buildings have been removed and the tbward sadly was tore down for more reasons then constant break in and vandalism. The farm provided therapy for patients to help them forget their problems, he said. Athens Asylum cemetery courtesy Encyclopedia of Forlorn Places. eat at restaurant down below front of building. Yes the story is true! the main building is huge the right wing is the only part that has remained in its original abandoned state. This museum used to be the administrative building for the Athens Lunatic Asylum, also known as The Ridges. Also, has anyone experienced any paranormal things while at the ridges? 1994 paperback reprint of 1984 hardcover. Because many of the patients were admitted at The Ridges by the court system, they had no remaining family and no persons to pay the funeral expenses. The Athens Center officially closed in 1993, and the remaining patients transferred to another facility. Ludwig was variously known as the Swan King, the Dream King, the Night King, the Moon King, and the Fairytale King. In 2016, Ohio author Mindy McGinnis won an Edgar Award for her young adult historical thrillerA Madness So Discreet, which is set at the asylum. In accordance with the Kirkbride Plan, the main building was to include a central administration building with a wing for men on one side and a wing for women on the other, each with their own separate dining halls. (Friends of Asylum, McCabe)It is unknown as to why the state switched from using only numbers to using names in order to verify who the deceased were, but this practice remained constant through the remainder of time that patients were buried up at the asylum. I remember taking the stairs down to, and walking the long tunnel area in the basement (each time I visited the site), that connected the main building with the hospital ward. Do you know of anything still open I can walk thru the cemetary or anything? Caught the sun just right over the admin building! They were left to the elements and "hundreds of stones were left uprooted and broken. Several well know paranormal investigation groups have tried and been denied. I was terrified I never connected it to the hospital. And is it illegal to go in there? we heard stomps on stars noises from rooms, evps and even having our lights that were on the floor turn off and on when asking ?s.and also had sat in a room with a camera recording sitting on a solid n firm concert floor and no one moving or even standing for close to a half hr. 39.0388, -80.4712 Notes Add/Edit Notes. Tours are offered by the Athens County Historical Society and Museum. After years of careful consideration, plans to fully repurpose the former "asylum on the hill" are coming together. A sad exhibit in Ridges now . For more information go you athenshistory.org. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. The hospital finally closed its doors in 1993, having donated much of its property to Ohio University, who had already begun to renovate some of the buildings. Of those, 700 women and 959 men lay under the headstones marked only with a number. Activity once described as meaningful occupation in the moral treatment model promoted by mental health advocate Thomas Story Kirkbride (18091883)lots of sun and air, kitchen work, milking cows, picking fruit, mending shirtswas considered key in training the mind all the way up to the middle of the twentieth century. hi my name is brian Osborn I had a great grandmother that was a patient way back when lol.. and I was wondering if I could get some information on this place please and also I took a trip to the asylum with my mother and I walked up a flight of stairs on the out side of the building and looked in when I seen one of the wheel chairs move and also heard some noises come from inside of the building so if you can I would like to talk to you and see If I can get some of the history on the place it has a lot of meaning to me and my family because of my great grandmother being in there thank you for your time.. Was in Athens in 1999 with husband checking out campus/ college for oldest son and stopped to The majority of the original patients were admitted there by court order or even by their own families. An imprint of her clothes and hair are perfectly visible on the floor. In the highly publicized court case, Milligan was found to have committed several felonies, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and three rapes on the Ohio State University campus. The facility officially opened on January 9, 1874. Weird US Growing up in Athens, as a rite of passage, one has to at least have explored the entire place at night by the age of 18. Over the years, other hospital buildings were modeled and used by the University, although many others still sit abandoned. See. Yea its eligal. If you are in College, take time in the evening to check the place out. Many mental institutions in the United States are said to be haunted and thus The Ridges from Athens, Ohio, is no exception to that. Athens pd are pricks to. Now a university-owned property . There are regal buildings overlooking town, and the sprawling grounds originally had a park-like setting, with gorgeous ponds, gardens, and fountains - the beauty in stark contrast to the history of what happened to some of those who were taken to the . It has the most dramatic vista in Athens: aVictorian-era, Gothic Revival building that once served as a mental hospital, made of red brick and overlooking the Hocking River Valley, with rolling grounds gorgeous enough for teenagers to stage their prom photos and architecture ominous enough to star in B-movie horror flicks. Id love to see this place! The accompanying cemetery is the burial site of many patients, and many people have reported ghost sightings and unidentifiable screams there. Buildings stood abandoned, and the tbward sadly was tore down for more reasons then constant break in and.... And strange lights right wing is the only part that has remained in original. 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