Shadows of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic Media LLC

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 836 Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Constructed between 1858 and 1881, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was initially a symbol of progressive treatment for the mentally ill, based on the philosophy and designs of Thomas Story Kirkbride. With an emphasis on therapeutic sunlight, fresh air, and humane treatment, it promised a new dawn in psychiatric care; however, as decades passed, the asylum became a harrowing example of the system's failure. Overcrowding, poor living conditions, and the implementation of barbaric treatments, including lobotomies, marked its descent into a place of despair. This episode explores the stark contrast between the asylum's hopeful beginnings and its grim reality, culminating in its closure in 1994 and its enduring legacy as one of the most haunted places in the country. Key Highlights Dorothea Dix's reform movement and her crusade to improve mental health care. Dr. Kirkbride’s revolutionary approach and philosophy to create mental health facilities intended to provide a nurturing and therapeutic environment for patients. The history of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, from its construction to its decline into an overcrowded institution with poor living conditions and inadequate care. The horrific practices and inhumane treatments, including the use of lobotomies, that were believed to help patients. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum’s paranormal legacy is one of the most haunted locations in America. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? Patreon: Ad-Free Episodes, Premium Releases, Bonus Content & More Southern Gothic Premium on Spotify Southern Gothic Premium on Apple Podcasts Into History: History Without Interruption Additional Resources for This Episode: Lunatic: The Rise and Fall of An American Asylum by Edward Gleason The Haunted History of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum by Sherri Brake Portals to Hell (Season 1, Episode 6) Paranormal Lockdown (Season 1, Episode 1) Visit the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, Virginia Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia X: @SoGoPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by M&M.
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0:52.3	Change is in our power. Southern Gothic is a podcast that explores the history behind some of the American South's darkest days, greatest mysteries, Dorothea Dix visited the East Cambridge Jail in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
1:50.2	and discovered that to her horror, many of the people locked away in this facility were not
1:55.7	actually criminals.
1:57.7	Rather, they suffered from mental illness. The 40-year-old teacher and writer was there because she had been hired to teach Sunday school classes at prisons and almshouses, but to her surprise, these individuals who were not guilty of anything more than being sick or unwanted, were living in dingy, unhygienic
2:20.4	cells next to violent felons, often starving from a lack of food, and in some cases even beaten
2:28.4	and chained. Well, after seeing this, she began traveling across the state visiting a number of other jails,
2:37.0	and over and over again she discovered the same thing.
2:40.0	Folks in need of help locked away for no reason at all, forced to exist in a wretched environment.
2:47.0	So at each stop she chronicled what she saw and eventually reported back to the state legislature her findings,
2:55.6	hoping they would do something about the system that had failed these citizens.
3:01.6	In the jail, one lunatic woman furiously mad, a state pauper improperly situated both in regard to the prisoners, the keepers, and herself.
	...

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