Pennhurst State School and Hospital

Construction of Pennhurst State School and Hospital began in 1903[1] when it was known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic.[2] In 1908 construction was completed and the institution opened its doors to its first patient in November of that year.[3] It was in 1912 that Pennhurst stopped treating the epileptic and began to specialize in the care of those with intellectual disabilities. These individuals were considered “unfit for citizenship” and a “menace to the peace.”[4] At Pennhurst they could be removed from society and placed into custodial care. This ensured, that in line with the eugenics movement of the time, that they could “break the endless reproductive chain.”[5] In other words, the mentally ill were isolated from society and unable to have children, lest it taint the population and lead to the birth of more “defective” children. Eugenics had a strong following in the mid to late 1800s through the early 1900s and was the driving factor in the construction of many institutions similar to Pennhurst.[6]
Pennhurst State School & Hospital Campus, 1934

From the very beginning, Pennhurst was overcrowded and underfunded which led to the neglectful, abusive, and demoralized atmosphere of the institution.[7] Over 10,000 patients passed through Pennhurst’s doors while it was in operation,[8] and 3,500 of those were living there in 1955 when the population peaked.[9] Pennhurst’s capacity was around 2,000.[10] It wasn’t until an investigative report done by journalist Bill Balindi of NBC that aired in 1968 that the conditions at Pennhurst began to come to the public’s attention.[11] The average zoo spent more money per day on each animal than Pennhurst did per a patient in 1968, and out of each patient’s daily upkeep cost 80% was dedicated to administrative fees, leaving a mere $0.75 a day per patient for all other costs.[12] The buildings at Pennhurst were not much better, as they likely would have been condemned had a building inspector came to look at them.[13]

Staff at Pennhurst was vastly overwhelmed and their resources stretched thin. It is believed that the lack of staffing led to some of the abuses that went on in the institution. Patients were often restrained both physically and chemically (drugged) to make them easier to manage due to the short staffing. Physical restraints usually meant being strapped, tied, or otherwise secured to a bed or chair. In one case a patient had been physically restrained for over 30 days straight. In another, a blind woman had been strapped to a wheelchair so that staff could keep track of her more easily.[14]Psychotropic drugs were also abused for aid in controlling patients, rather than treating them. Patients who were not restrained in some way often harmed themselves or other patients, sometimes just desperate for attention. In some cases, patient violence led to their own deaths.[15] Doctors, of which there were only nine or one per every 310+ patients, were unable to keep up with the treatment of residents.[16]

Staff frequently lashed out at patients, leading to rapes, beatings, improper use of force, and even a situation in which a patient was given the most painful injection possible that would not cause physical harm, for a punishment.[17] Sometimes patients were intentionally degraded for discipline purposes, like Johnny, a young boy who had been having behavioral problems. Johnny was placed in a ward with non-verbal mentally ill patients that suffered from higher levels of “mental retardation.” This was meant to isolate him and humiliate him.[18] The living conditions were also dismal. The hallways and floors were frequently covered in fecal matter and bodily fluids and patients wandered around in various states of undress. There was a lack of space that led to the crowding of beds in the halls and little to no privacy for many of the patients.[19]

All of these issues and more led to multiple lawsuits against Pennhurst, the most famous of which was Halderman v. Pennhurst State School and Hospital, in 1974.[20] The case was tried in 1977 and Pennhurst was found guilty of violating the constitutional rights of its patients. Slowly residents moved out and into better care in various locations around the state until Pennhurst’s official closure in 1987.[21] In 2008 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 2010 it became home to a seasonal haunted house attraction called Pennhurst Haunted Asylum, which was met with some criticism for being insensitive to the troubled past of the facility.[22]

THE PARANORMAL AT PENNHURST

Pennhurst State School and Hospital has also become a destination for those who seek out the paranormal. Paranormal occurrences have been reported in nearly every building on the grounds and many investigations have turned up evidence of the unexplained. Shore Paranormal Research Society found a wealth of interesting phenomena at Pennhurst. While investigating they recorded multiple EVPs of voices urging and threatening them to leave, unexplained noises, and EMF spikes throughout the campus. One of the most active areas during their investigation was the Quaker Building. In the Quaker building many shadowy figures are said to manifest including that of a little girl, a hunched man, and many upper portions of bodies floating around. Doors and rocking chairs have been said to move on their own and objects have been thrown by unknown forces. While there an S.P.R.S. investigator was pushed hard enough that a bruise was left on their back while another investigator was scratched on the arms by something unknown.

The up-and-coming paranormal research team, Buzzfeed Unsolved, has also had their share of strange experiences while investigating at Pennhurst. Throughout the night they heard frequent whispering noises, and the sounds of footsteps echoing down the empty halls. They tried to make contact with multiple spirits during their time there with a spirit box session. During the spirit box session, an investigator asked for an entity to repeat his name back to him and got a successful response. They also recorded voices saying strange things about a man called Jeff, including a female voice who said “Jeff?”, “Please, Jeff”, and when asked for a name the voice responded with “Bri.” During the same session, investigators asked who was in the room with them and a distinctly male voice responded “Jeff.”

Other paranormal investigation teams have too had successful EVP and spirit box sessions as well as feeling as if they were being touched or choked while Pennhurst. Many have caught shadows darting across halls and experienced feelings of profound sadness and agony and utter helplessness. One lucky individual was able to make contact during an EVP session with what is believed to be her uncle, who passed at the facility. The sounds of dragging metal chains and vomiting coming from empty rooms is not at all uncommon, either. It truly seems to those who visit Pennhurst that the paranormal is reality. Whatever the case is, many unexplained and intriguing phenomena have occurred at Pennhurst and though the facility has been investigated thoroughly many times, much unexplained evidence still remains.

SOURCES

1. “Pennhurst Timeline,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance, https://www.preservepennhurst.org/default.aspx?pg=93 (accessed 21 June 2018).
2. “About Pennhurst State School and Hospital,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance, https://www.preservepennhurst.org/default.aspx?pg=36 (accessed 21 June 2018).
3. “Pennhurst Timeline,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. “About Pennhurst State School and Hospital,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
7. Ibid.
8. “Pennhurst State’s Haunted History,” Travel Channel. https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/articles/pennhurst-states-haunted-history (accessed 21 June 2018).
9. “Pennhurst Timeline,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
10. NBC10, Suffer the Little Children, NBC10 Philadelphia, 1968.
11. “Pennhurst State’s Haunted History,” Travel Channel.
12. NBC10, Suffer the Little Children
13. Ibid.
14. “About Pennhurst State School and Hospital,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
15. Ibid.
16. NBC10, Suffer the Little Children
17. “About Pennhurst State School and Hospital,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
18. NBC10, Suffer the Little Children
19. “About Pennhurst State School and Hospital,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
20. “Pennhurst Timeline,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance
21. “Pennhurst State’s Haunted History,” Travel Channel.
22. “Pennhurst Timeline,” Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance