EPISODE · Jun 15, 2026 · 44 MIN
Trans-Allegheny Asylum
from Haunted Podcast · host stipto
We review the history of West Virginia's Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston State Hospital). Opened in 1864 under the Kirkbride Plan, it aimed to cure mental illness using a restorative environment. Built for 250 patients, it overcrowded to over 2,400 by the 1950s, leading to neglect and treatments like lobotomies. Closed in 1994, it operates today as a "dark tourism" site offering history and ghost tours.
What this episode covers
We review the history of West Virginia's Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Weston State Hospital). Opened in 1864 under the Kirkbride Plan, it aimed to cure mental illness using a restorative environment. Built for 250 patients, it overcrowded to over 2,400 by the 1950s, leading to neglect and treatments like lobotomies. Closed in 1994, it operates today as a "dark tourism" site offering history and ghost tours.
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Trans-Allegheny Asylum
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