Haunted Athens Asylum for the Insane, Ohio
The imposing brick structures that stand on the outskirts of Athens, Ohio, whisper tales of a bygone era. Now known as The Ridges and incorporated into the campus of Ohio University, these buildings were once the Athens Lunatic Asylum, an institution dedicated to the treatment of mental illness. But beyond its historical significance, the Haunted Athens Asylum is shrouded in whispers of lingering spirits and unexplained phenomena, drawing curious visitors and paranormal investigators alike.
The story of the Haunted Athens Asylum begins in 1867, when the Ohio Legislature recognized the need for an asylum in the southeastern part of the state. A commission was formed to select a suitable location, and the picturesque landscape near Athens was chosen. Architect Levi T. Scofield was tasked with designing the facility, drawing inspiration from the work of Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, a prominent 19th-century physician and advocate for humane mental hospital design.
Kirkbride’s influence is evident in the asylum’s distinctive architecture. His designs often featured a "batwing" floor plan, with long wings extending from a central administration building, intended to maximize sunlight and ventilation. The Haunted Athens Asylum followed this model, boasting an impressive 853-foot-long main building, constructed from red bricks made from clay sourced directly from the site. The building was 60 feet wide, and additional structures, including a laundry room, boiler house, and seven cottages, were added to accommodate the growing patient population.
The original design was intended to house 572 patients, a number that already exceeded Kirkbride’s recommendations. The main building was carefully planned, with the administrative section positioned between the male and female wings. The administrative area included offices, a reception room, and living quarters for the superintendent and other medical staff. The second and third floors housed a grand amusement hall with a high ceiling, providing a space for recreation and social activities. A chapel occupied the fourth floor, offering spiritual solace to the patients. Hidden behind and beneath these public and private spaces were the essential support systems: heating and mechanical equipment, kitchens, cellars, storerooms, and workspaces.
The sprawling grounds of the Haunted Athens Asylum were as thoughtfully designed as the buildings themselves. Initially spanning 141 acres, the property eventually expanded to encompass 1,019 acres of cultivated land, wooded areas, and pastures. Herman Haerlin, a landscape architect from Cincinnati, created a serene environment with rolling hills, mature trees, decorative lakes, a spring, and a creek with a cascading waterfall. These meticulously landscaped grounds were not only enjoyed by the patients but also served as a public park for the local community. Although the asylum never achieved complete self-sufficiency, the grounds supported various agricultural activities, including livestock farming, gardens, an orchard, greenhouses, a dairy, and even a carriage shop in its early years. Other buildings included a receiving hospital, a Tubercular Ward, and a physical plant for steam heat.
The Haunted Athens Asylum, initially named the Athens Lunatic Asylum, officially opened its doors on January 9, 1874. Over the years, its name evolved to reflect changing attitudes towards mental health care. It was renamed the Athens Hospital for the Insane, then the Athens State Hospital, followed by the Southeastern Ohio Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, and finally, the Athens Mental Health and Developmental Center.
Throughout its operational history, the Haunted Athens Asylum served a diverse population, including Civil War veterans, children, the elderly, the homeless, rebellious teenagers, and individuals with severe mental and physical disabilities. Patients were admitted with a wide range of diagnoses, from mild distress to severe mental illness. The treatments offered were often controversial and are now considered outdated or even harmful. The asylum gained notoriety for its use of lobotomies, a surgical procedure that involved severing connections in the brain. Other practices included hydrotherapy, electroshock therapy, restraint, and the administration of psychotropic drugs, many of which have since been found to have detrimental side effects.
The reasons for admission to the Haunted Athens Asylum also reveal a fascinating glimpse into the social attitudes of the time. Epilepsy, menopause, alcohol addiction, and tuberculosis were all considered valid grounds for institutionalization. Even vague complaints of "ill health" led to the admission of numerous patients. For women, "puerperal condition" (related to childbirth), "change of life," and "menstrual derangements" were among the leading causes of insanity. An 1876 report indicated that masturbation was the primary cause of insanity among male patients, followed by intemperance (alcohol abuse). Depending on their condition, patients experienced varying levels of care, ranging from complete supervision to relative freedom.
Over the decades, the Haunted Athens Asylum expanded significantly, with numerous buildings added to the complex. These included a farm office, a new amusement hall, additional wards and residences, a laundry building, a power plant, garages, stables, mechanics shops, a firehouse, and therapy rooms. By the 1950s, the hospital encompassed 78 buildings and housed approximately 1,800 patients.
The patient population peaked in the 1960s, reaching nearly 2,000 individuals, far exceeding the asylum’s original capacity. However, as de-institutionalization gained momentum, the number of patients began to decline. As the population dwindled, buildings and wards were gradually abandoned, left to decay and become breeding grounds for urban legends.
The Haunted Athens Asylum has three cemeteries on its property, and burials began shortly after the institution opened, necessitated by the deaths of patients who were unclaimed by their families. Until 1943, the graves were marked only with numbered stones, with the names of the deceased recorded in ledgers. Only one register exists today, containing the names of approximately 1,700 of the more than 2,000 individuals buried there. The last burials took place in 1972. Today, the Ohio Department of Mental Health continues to maintain the cemeteries.
In 1977, the Haunted Athens Asylum gained national attention when it housed Billy Milligan, a man diagnosed with multiple personality disorder who was acquitted of several felonies, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape, due to his mental condition. Milligan was sent to a series of state-run mental hospitals, including Athens, where he reportedly exhibited ten distinct personalities. He was eventually discharged after a decade and died of cancer in 2014.
The following year, in 1978, the Haunted Athens Asylum was once again thrust into the spotlight when a patient named Margaret Schilling disappeared on December 1st. Her body was discovered 42 days later, on January 12, 1979, by a maintenance worker in a locked, abandoned ward once used for patients with infectious diseases. Although the official cause of death was heart failure, Schilling was found completely naked, with her clothing neatly folded beside her. The most unsettling aspect of the discovery was the permanent stain left by her body on the floor, an imprint that has resisted all attempts at removal.
By 1981, the Haunted Athens Asylum housed fewer than 300 patients, and large portions of the facility stood vacant. Over 300 acres of land were transferred to Ohio University. In 1988, the remaining facilities and grounds (excluding the cemeteries) were deeded to the university.
The Athens Center officially closed in 1993, and the remaining patients were transferred to other facilities. The property remained vacant for several years before undergoing restoration. Renamed "The Ridges," the main building, now known as Lin Hall, was renovated in 2001 and currently houses offices for music, geology, and biotechnology departments, storage facilities, and the Kennedy Museum of Art. Other hospital buildings have been remodeled and repurposed by the university, while many others remain abandoned, silent reminders of the asylum’s past.
The numerous stories of the Haunted Athens Asylum is not surprising. One of the most persistent legends is that of Margaret Shilling, whose spectral presence is said to haunt the ward where her body was found. Visitors have reported seeing her face in the window of the room, witnessing her attempting to escape, and encountering her wandering through the building at night. She is not alone. Other former patients are also said to linger, with reports of strange figures appearing in the empty wings, disembodied voices and squeaking gurneys echoing through the halls, unexplained lights flickering, and screams piercing the silence. Some even claim to have encountered the spirits of patients who remain shackled in the basement, victims of abuse and mistreatment during their time at the asylum.
Even the cemeteries of the Haunted Athens Asylum are said to be haunted, with reports of shadowy figures and strange lights appearing among the gravestones. One particular area of the cemetery is rumored to be a witches’ meeting point, marked by a circular arrangement of graves.
Today, the exterior grounds of the former asylum are open for tours on the third Sunday of each month, offering a glimpse into the history and the lingering mysteries of this historic institution.