What is Scarier Than an Abandoned Mental Asylum in Concord Built in 1842?

Forget Haunted Houses and Pubs

Forget Haunted Houses and Pubs, if you really want to see some ghosts or hear a spine-tingling scream, try a walk around the old New Hampshire State Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire.  The New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane was built way back in 1842.  We didn’t know much about the treatment of mental illness back in the day and despite good intentions, conditions at the asylum were not great.

Old Mansions and Office Buildings

When the hospital was constructed, it was built like a friendly old mansion to make patients feel more at home according to DHHS.  The fresh air and trees surrounding the complex must have seemed ideal to families dropping off a troubled loved one.  Sadly, so little was known about treating the mentally ill, one day blended into the next with no art therapy or group meetings.  The demand for places to house what was referred to as the insane was growing.  The asylum was expanded on the outside the buildings looked charming.  In 1901, the hospital changed its name to the New Hampshire State Hospital.

Rumors of Hauntings

It is said that the troubled spirits still roam the grounds of the state institution that was built with such good intentions.  Without real treatment, people didn’t really get the help they needed. Today, many of the buildings that made up the New Hampshire State Hospital have been converted into office buildings.  Thrill-seekers don’t trespass, if you want a good look at the place there is a video on YouTube.  Truly terrifying to think of being locked up there for life.

Speaking of ghosts...