St. Albans Sanatorium

Photo courtesy of St.Albans Sanatorium

Join Haunted Nights on an investigation of the infamous St. Albans Sanatorium in Radford, Virginia! This incredible location is notorious for being one of the most haunted locations in all of Virginia. Now is your chance to experience it for yourself alongside the experienced Haunted Nights staff! Guests will be asked to arrive between 6:10PM-6:30PM for sign in, meet & greet along with a history tour. The investigation will run from 8:00PM-4:00AM. Guests are encouraged to bring any paranormal equipment they have for the investigation. If you do not have your own equipment there will be plenty to borrow for the night!

History

St. Albans Sanatorium is a historical facility that began life in 1892 as a Lutheran boys' school. The school closed in 1911 and reopened in 1916 as an institution to treat the mentally ill. It was supposed to be a better alternative to the other asylums scattered throughout the United States, boasting a rooftop garden, bowling alley, and even a small farm.

But conditions were far from idyllic for the patients who were confined to the sanatorium. Vulnerable patients were subjected to cruel and inhumane experimental treatments, which often left them permanently disabled or resulted in death from lobotomies or insulin-induced comas. Others were shocked via electroconvulsive therapy. Still others were completely wrapped, mummy-style, in towels drenched with ice-cold water or left to soak in a tub for days at a time during routine hydrotherapy sessions. The sanatorium was ill-equipped to deal with the thousands of patients that entered for treatment. By 1945, its staff-to-patient ratio was 48 to 6,509. The desperately small staff and inhumane living conditions led the building to witness further suicides within its already grim walls. By the late 20th century, the sanatorium was on a steady decline.

Paranormal

Reports of paranormal activity are rampant throughout this shuttered facility. Guests have heard disembodied voices, screams & footsteps echoing down the long dark halls. Full bodied apparitions have been witnessed wandering near the bowling alley & roaming the entire building. 

History courtesy of Atlas Obscura