Insanity is Closer to Home Than You Think: Saint Albans Sanatorium
- etickle1
- Mar 17, 2021
- 6 min read
It is nothing new to long time paranormal investigators and enthusiasts that asylums are some of the most haunted places around the world. A lack of humane methods and treatments left patients dead, and now restless. While not all places have a local Sanatorium to explore, I have been fortunate enough (or unfortunate depending on your perspective) to have what has been deemed one of the most haunted places on the east coast close to my hometown. While it is an asylum with a history all its own, the site itself seems to have been cursed for centuries before construction even began.
Before the construction of the now abandoned asylum, the waters of the new river attracted both settlers in the new land and the natives that had already called this land their home. There was animosity from the start, however, in 1755 something snapped in the Shawnee Indian tribe and there was a brutal retaliation. They had attacked, looted and taken colonists in the nearby area. From what is known, 5 people were killed during the attack, and others taken as hostages by the Shawnee.
One survivor of this horrible attack was Mary Draper Ingles. Not only was she taken hostage, but she was forced to witness the horrific death of her mother and sister-in-laws infant child. The mother was beaten with a tomahawk and scalped, the infant had its head crushed (accounts vary depending on who you ask). Afterwards she was dragged from her home, 1000 miles northward. Eventually she was able to escape, making the trek all the way back home.
Not only was there a horrible indian attack on the land in which the sanatorium was built, but the site is home to one of the worst battles of the Civil War. The Battle of Cloyd's Mountain was fought on the ridge where Saint Alban’s now stands. In the battle, the Union soldiers overran the Central Depot, cutting off the supply line between Virginia and Tennessee. While initially it might have seemed like the confederates had the upper hand, they not only lost the battle, but a general as well. Some even say they smell smoke and gunpowder, and even hear rifle shots near the area.
After the Sanatorium was built, things were not much better for this cursed ground. It was not always an asylum. Though, I’m sure some of the kids who had attended felt that way. When the sanatorium was built in 1892 it was intended to be a school for boys. Creating fine southern gentlemen was their goal; however they were anything but gentlemen. According to accounts from this school, bullying wasn’t frowned upon. It was quite the opposite actually. The boys were encouraged to bully each other. Some of them even turned it into a competitive sport. These young boys were put into extremely harsh circumstances and some of them couldn’t handle the pressure. It was in this school that a few of these young men took the bullying too far and killed other students, some of them even killed themselves. Despite all of that, the school was not shut down until 1911, eight years after the death of the headmaster that allowed this ungentlemanly behavior.
And that brings us near the end of the life of this horrific site. After the school was shut down, 5 years later in 1916 a doctor with the vision of creating the greatest psychiatric hospital in the nation purchased the building. This doctor had been employed at another hospital before this and was less than pleased with the conditions. While his vision might have been a pure and good one, the execution was anything but. The staff that was hired was extremely limited. According to records from 1945, there was a grand ratio of staff to patients was 48 to 6509. That being said, this was not the fault of the doctor or his limited staff.
The infamous psychiatric treatments of the 1900’s were the norm regardless of where you ended up. Cutting a patient's skull open and removing parts of the brain, electroshock therapy, comas induced by insulin, and intense hydrotherapy were daily procedures that society didn’t bat an eye at. By today’s standards, these procedures are medieval and cruel. This could be the reason for so many restless spirits haunting the halls of Saint Albans. Being mistreated for so long, I can’t say I blame them for wanting vengeance (or at least closure). In all honesty, I believe the most shocking fact is that the asylum wasn’t shut down until 2003. The Carilion Health System had bought the building in 1990, so the horrific procedures had stopped. But some believe they were driven out by what remained in the building.
That brings us to today. Does Saint Alban’s still have a future, even as an abandoned building. Surprisingly, the answer is yes. For those not from this particular area, Saint Albans has become a halloween staple for the area. During that most spooky time of the year, Saint Albans transforms into one of, if not the most, popular haunted house in the area. Completely tricked out with horrifying decor and actors ready to jump out at you at any moment. When I had worked in the mall, it wasn’t uncommon to see multiple sweatshirts and hearing people talk about their experience. But any place can have its haunted houses. The best part about Saint Albans, in my humble opinion, is the ghost tours. After all the actors have gone home and the decor tucked away, Saint Albans re-opens for tours of the facility and its most active areas.
While I personally have not had the experience myself due to scheduling issues (I tend to stay very busy during that most joyous spooky season), my brother did actually go and he said it was quite a sight to behold. My brother is a man of science; he’s in the process of going for his doctorate in psychology. He went in as a skeptic and let’s just say he came out… a little spooked. He had gone in with a group of friends that are very much believers, so they had brought in some equipment, dowsing rods and, if memory serves, an EMF detector. While they didn’t get much with the EMF Detector, he did have an interesting experience with the rods. The usage of the rods is quite simple. If you believe there could be a ghost present, you hold them out in front of you and ask the spirit to define a yes and a no. This is typically done with the rods staying apart, or crossing into an x shape.
There is one room in particular that has been known to be quite active. This being the room where the hydrotherapy sessions were contained, and in this room was an empty bathtub. According to the guide, there was a lady that haunted this room and she enjoyed it when men sat in the bathtub. At this point, the group brought out the rods. They asked the spirit to define its yes and no. Open for no, crossed for yes was the result. Then they proceeded to ask who the spirit would like to have sitting in the bathtub. Sure enough, the two men of the party were asked to enter the tub by the spirit. My brother and his friend got in and all of a sudden he felt a cold chill run down his spine. The temperature surrounding this tub was significantly colder than it was just a few steps away. Scientifically speaking it didn’t make much sense. If there was a draft in this room, they would have felt it as soon as they walked in. So why in this spot was it so cold? And when they eventually exited the tub, he felt much warmer. Needless to say, the room was quickly left behind for the next spot on their tour.
Like I said, I have not been able to experience Saint Albans for myself (ghost tour or otherwise), but it is my goal to go at some point and when I do I’ll be sure to post my experience for you here. Until then, I’ll be stuck watching videos and reading about it. If you’d like to know more, there is a book written about Saint Albans up for purchase and a video about the ghost tours linked below.
Have you ever heard of this place and would you go for the ghost tour or the standard haunted house? Let me know down below. And until next time, pleasant nightmares.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpyoS0QFs8Y
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