In 1954, a 15-year-old named Victor Chin gets on a train alone from New York City, where he lives, to Louisiana.

Because just a few days before that train ride, Victor had officially been diagnosed with Hanson's disease, which used to be known as leprosy.

It started with a small legion on his chest than the more sores.

Doctor said he needed aggressive drug treatment and surgery on his nerves.

So Victor got on that train heading to a place called the Carville National

Leprosarium. It didn't look like a traditional sanatorium. It was an abandoned sugar plantation.

300 acres, manicured lawns lined with flowering bushes and moss-covered oaks. There was a lake, a golf course, Victorian-style dorms.

Inside, patients learned to play music, had Mardi Gras parties, published their newspaper, and supported

each other. All of this is the plot of Wendy Chin Tanner's novel, King of the Armadillos.

Armadillos are one of the few animals besides humans that can carry Hanson's disease. And while Victor is a fictional character,

his story is based on the life of Wendy's father, Walter. And that place where Victor spends years of his

life quarantined, Carville, is very much real.

Wendy's father was at Carville for nine years.

But aside from his sickness, Wendy says his memories of the place were overwhelmingly positive.

She once wrote, to me, Carville was like Narnia, her Oz, a world unto itself, where despite his illness, he finished high school and received lessons in piano, voice, and musical composition.

Wendy's dad is still alive, and he helped her tell his story.

I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the event. tell his story.

I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange,

incredible, and wondrous places.

And today I am talking with Wendy Chin-Tanner about the real story behind this remarkable institution and the people who called it home.

Hey, Wendy, thanks so much for coming on the show. Hi, Kelly. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

To get started, I feel like people have a certain idea about Hanson's or leprosy. The disease, of course,

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