due to the hunting nature of these hunted places.
Listener discretion is advised.
I'm your host Mark and today I want to tell you about one of the most hunted places in America.
Formerly known as the Western State Hospital, the Trans-Elegany Lunatic Asylum sits in Lewis
County, West Virginia. Today it has zero patients but you can still hear patients roaming the halls
of the asylum. When you arrive to the Trans-Elegany Lunatic Asylum you will be stunned by the size
and appearance of the building. It's the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America
and the second largest in the world. Thousands of patients, many of them severely mentally and
emotionally disturbed came and went in the century plus history of the asylum.
The Western State Hospital played a role in the treatments of the mentally ill but during
get-starker years, electroshock, water, and lobotomy treatments were conducted on patients there.
The asylum is now a hub for ghost hunters and history buffs. You can take tours of the asylum
and even stay the night. During the month of October they host multiple events throughout the month.
When you do a tour at the asylum you will hear stories about a few of the patients that never
left the halls and today I'm going to tell you two stories from the asylum that I heard when I did a
night tour in August. Lily is one of the most popular spirits in the asylum. Lily is said to
have haunted the fourth floor in Ward R before a fire gutted it. The original design was changed
in the 1930s yet her strong energy still remains. Always talking with ghost hunters that are
investigating the building there are two origin stories for Lily. The first says that she was a
former patient she spent her short life inside the asylum. The second says that she was born to a
female patient then she was kept safe in the hospital getting to walk around and play with the staff.
She is said to have died from pneumonia at only nine years old however she got into the asylum.
There is no denying that she is still around today. Ghost hunters and guests make contact
with the spirit on many occasions. They also leave toys for her to play with. When you walk
into the room there are toys everywhere. Lily has been known to move them around rolling them back
to the ghost hunters.
When you visit the kitchen you feel like you're being watched not only at night but in the day as
well. Imagine being a tour guide at night closing up the asylum and making your rounds to make sure
everyone is out. I know that I couldn't do that alone. A man named Jack is known to haunt the
kitchen. When he was a patient he would cook and prepare food for the day. Jack is very fond of women.
He is known to turn on a flashlight when asked if he thinks a woman is pretty. It's said that a
little person's spirit is with Jack. In life Jack looked out for his little friend and in the afterlife
he still does. Jack does not like anyone making fun of him. Jack is also very fond of children
offering them chocolate milk. My tour guide said that one night he was doing a tour in the kitchen
when he asked a question. Jack slammed hard on a metal sink and knocked things off. During the
tour you could feel a heaviness in the kitchen. I felt like I was being watched the entire time I
was in there. Tour guide asked a few questions and the flashlight would dim and get bright again.
I highly suggest if you love haunts and history to visit the Trans-Elegany Lunatic
Asylum. There's so many stories I didn't even know where to begin for this episode without
making it over an hour long. Don't worry this isn't the last time we will be talking about the asylum.
Thank you so much for joining me during Mountain State Mysteries State Haunts Month. I'm so excited
to be returning to the Mountain State Mystery Studio with Courtney bringing you new episodes
very soon. Don't forget to follow Mountain State Mysteries on Instagram at Mountain State Mysteries
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