11 Haunted Asylums That Will Give You Chills

5. Ararat Lunatic Asylum, Australia

This sprawling complex once contained some of the most dangerous and misunderstood patients on earth. Located in rural Victoria, Australia the asylum was built in 1864 to accommodate an apparent increase of mentally ill citizens in the Victorian colonies.  Due to its isolated location, people at the time turned a blind eye to the barbaric practices taking place at the asylum. Often patients were left in tiny wooden boxes, restrained and abandoned until they were deemed calm.

Over ten thousand people died in the asylum, and many ghostly apparitions have been spotted there over the years. Some visitors have reported unusual pains as they walk by the men’s surgery wing. Cold winds often blow out of the old facility director’s office. Disembodied moans can be heard down dark hallways, there’s a sense of always being watched by figures in the periphery, it’s as though a deep sadness has been permanently pressed upon this property.

4. Taunton State Hospital, Massachusetts

Taunton State Hospital was built in 1854 to relieve a burgeoning demand for psychiatric treatment in Massachusetts. At one stage it was the home of the infamous female serial killer Jane Toppan, who killed over thirty people. While working as a nurse, Toppan would administer a lethal mixture of drugs to her patients. She’d then hop into bed with them and hold them close as they died. When finally arrested she gave this chilling statement saying that she wanted: ‘to have killed more people — helpless people — than any other man or woman who ever lived…’.

Toppan is just one reason why Taunton State Hospital is so chilling. It is said that some of the hospital staff would force the patients into the basement and perform bizarre rituals on them, invoking demons and spirits into the halls of the asylum itself. There are reports of a shadow demon who can travel through walls to terrorize visitors. Many have said the demon watches patients sleeping at night from the corner of the room.

3. Athens Mental Hospital, Ohio

Also known as the Athens Hospital for the Insane, this creepy building rests on the burial ground of two thousand people. The hospital is said to be haunted by the ghost of Margaret Shilling, a patient who died in Ward 20. On December 1st, Shilling went missing. For 42 days no one knew where she went. Then deep in an abandoned wing of the hospital her naked, decomposing body was found locked in an empty room – her clothes folded neatly in one corner. Shilling’s body was so badly deteriorated that it left a stain on the floor. Despite the hospital staff’s every effort to clean the floor, a body shaped mark was permanently etched into the ground. Some urban explorers say they’ve heard scratching at the door of ward 20, perhaps it’s the spirit of Margaret Shilling trying to escape her awful fate.

2. Old Changi Hospital, Singapore

Built in 1935, the Old Changi Hospital in Singapore was used as a torture chamber and a prison camp by Japanese secret police during World War 2. Regarded as the most haunted location in Singapore, the hospital is famous for having a spirit that follows visitors around, even after the visitors have exited the building.

An indie horror movie called Haunted Changi was filmed on location in the Old Changi Hospital. It’s a ‘found footage’ amateur style movie that follows several students who investigate the abandoned building. While filming, the crew reported numerous paranormal happenings. They experienced unexplained noises, whispers from dark rooms and even spotted on several occasions an old woman with, what they describe as, a ‘dark aura’ who vanished into nothing. The crew even captured a shadow figure on film, which they kept in the final cut of the movie.

1. Beechworth Lunatic Asylum, Australia

Also known as Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, this rural Victorian hospital was famous for its lax rules regarding institutionalization. With only two signatures, a person could be committed to the institution. Almost ten thousand people died in the building, the patients often restrained and treated with electroshock therapy.

Beechworth is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a young, Jewish woman who was mysteriously thrown to her death from a window. Because of strict religious beliefs, her body lay decomposing on the ground for two days while a rabbi came from Melbourne to officially move the body. Several visitors claim they’ve seen a young girl under the window where the incident happened.

This photo shows the window where the young girl fell to her death. You can clearly see a white orb floating in the air above the balcony.

Another traumatic tale is that of a missing patient who couldn’t be found for weeks. Finally his body was discovered because a local dog named Max was found chewing a human leg near the gatehouse at the edge of the property. A search party investigated the area only to discover the patient’s body badly decomposed up a tree. The body was in such a bad state that one of the legs had actually fallen to the ground. Since then, people have reported seeing a man wandering around the gatehouse at night.

The above photo was taken in the Grevillia Wing of the asylum. Ghost hunters Rayleen Kable and Allen Tiller took this photo while investigating the grounds at Beechworth. They believe it’s the spirit of a young girl kneeling on the floor.

Countless other paranormal sightings have taken place at Beechworth Lunatic Asylum. Visions of doctors walking down dark hallways, screams, nurses kneeling by bedsides, one ghost hunter says a demonic voice told him to ‘get out’ and leave the asylum.

Is it possible that the dark history of this property is so traumatic that the souls of employees and those committed are forced to wander the grounds forever?

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Well there’s our list of 11 haunted asylums that will give you chills. Did this listicle demand fresh pants of you? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.