this is completely gone now...some dumb kids set this room on fire and other people stole the pieces of the fireplace

fun fact, the material of the side of the stairs that looks like marble as well, is just thick wooden panels painted to look that way. got a tour today

This picture makes me want to stand under the sky where this building once stood and imagine it around me, the clank of machinery and the echoing voices crashing like thunder. For a few seconds I'd feel these people's lives and become the ghost instead.

And when I open my eyes again, all that'll be left is the gentle rustling of the grass.

It is astounding how one piece of land can go through so many changes in so few years.

i know this might sound sorta weird,but i'm 9.my dad told me about this place.i'm way too young to go exploring here, but once my family drove past the enchanted forest.one time,my family was up in bedford(yes,it's near gravity hill!),and we stopped at a place and it had a small wooded area but it was closed off.it had the 7 dwarfs mine,a huge pumpkin,etc. two words for everywhere on this site:LEAD PAINT.

People who say stupid things and make comments about this place do not realize what went on behind closed doors. You are sick and disgusting people if you can look at these photos and laugh or think this place is "sweet" Take it from someone who knows a survivor of Pennhurst who can live to tell you the horror they went through. It is far from sweet. In no way should any person be treated the way these individuals were, and there is no excuse what so ever for our society to justify the living hell these people went through!

So before you go and talk your smart comments and make your jokes read the stories, do the research and put yourself in their shoes. Not so funny anymore is it???

Yet another perfect hallway shot.

That playground is part of a building owned by Cardinal Hayes Home for Children. It was once a nursery school, then part of the Cardinal Hayes School, and now belongs to the work program for Cardinal Hayes. The college is interesting to look at while we work, and it's impossible to go in there now to explore because some kids were caught trying to set it on fire. Now we see patrol cars there constantly.

danzamiami, please research before you make accusations such as this. that is a severe and extreme statement, and it is not true. or at least not wholly true. i have done extensive unbiased reseach on the history of pennhurst and have concluded that the nurses were doing the best they could with the situation presented. their dedication and love for the residents was evident. yes, their was abuse. but it was because of how many residents there were to how few nurses and staff. the most accurate ratio ive obtained was 48 residents to 3 staff. now imagine trying to teach, love, and form relationships with 48 residents that had severe disabilities. this is unreasonable and an unobtainable goal. it was a matter of controlling the residents and trying to prevent injuries/ harm. oftentimes when a resident became violent, muffs were necessary, to prevent them from hurting themselves, the nurses and the other clients on the ward. please understand that the nurses and staff were dealing with something that the public refused to acknowledge was there. who are we to judge these courageous, dedicated people?

Such a sad place with such a sad history.
This was a diaster from begining to end.
Too bad for the souls who are still trapped there.

It's not the volts that "light you up" it's the amps.

Yey, Silent Hill 3 Reference!

I thought I saw an arm in the right window -- creepy!

The colors are amazing. I love how the red and pink sort of blend together.

Valtiel would love to get his hands on those.

Wonder what they'd do if you tried turning them.

A friend and I were there recently and after listening to the recordings we took we heard screams in the background that we only heard on the tapes and not when we were there.

TRUE STORY!!!!!

I am a skeptic when it comes to ghosts or paranormal activity. I believe there is an explanation for everything. Well, I've been to that building a few times, going in only once in 2000.

I went into the building with a friend of mine who is a very big guy and is afraid of NOTHING. We saw writing on the walls, patient beds all over the place. We saw chairs that had devices on them that looked like shock therapy...I'm not an expert so I can't say for sure. We walked up about 4 flights of stairs and we began to hear what appeared to be scratching noises on the floor above us. We both thought it could have been rats or raccoons, but what happened next changed my thoughts on ghosts. We heard heavy breathing for a second or two followed by the loudest female scream I have ever heard. I kid you not, this wasn't something caught on an EVP or anything like that...this was a scream as if someone was getting murdered. I was terrified and looked at my buddy...he turned to me out of breath and said "Oh f*ck, RUN!". I jumped down every flight of stairs and ran out the building through the side window we entered. We met friends of ours outside who were waiting for us and they were like "WTF was that noise in there", so we knew we weren't the only ones who heard it.

A few months later another one of my friends wanted to see the building. I told him I would take him to see it but that I wasn't going anywhere close to it nor inside it. Well, we got about 75 yards away when we both heard a loud bang from the inside of the building. Sounded like someone hit the bass drum up there as loud as they could. We crouched down in fear and waiting 5 minutes before proceeding. As soon as we took another few steps, we heard the bang again. Needless to say we turned around and hightailed it out of there.

I grew up in that area and know first hand the rumors and stories associated with this place. I can also tell you first hand that I have heard things and felt things in there that are definitely not friendly. The Kings Park Insane Assylum is a terrifying place and is definitely a haunted spot. If you're crazy enough to go inside, I suggest you proceed with extreme caution.

I don't know if this site is still active or not but i am a student doing an internship at a mental health facility. I was just informed that many of our clients lived through Penhurst so i decided to do some research and came accross this site. My heart is breaking for all of the Penhurst clients who had negative experiences however i am so thankful for those who worked hard in keeping the clients happy and alive. Many of clients are doing very well and are now Happy. I of course am only speaking for the clients that i have worked with but they seem Happy!!

why did it exist?

I was there last night for the 2nd time, definitely not a safe place to be but is creepy. Half the hospital is completely caved in on the inside and is pretty well boarded up. We found a window to crawl through that led to the basement near the front. I highly recommend that you do NOT go here, it is highly patrolled by cops. While we were there 2 kids we were with got chased by 2 cops but got out safely. Afterwards, the cops called backup and 2 more showed up with a dog. We layed low in the lowest possible spot we could find the hospital in the dead silence and darkness. Luckily when we crawled out the window, we creeped through bushes and managed to run from the cops as they shined their spotlights on us. I've never been so scared, not a good place to go if you don't want to get arrested. Cops take it very seriously.

I have worked for Letchworth for over 30 yrs and it's sad to see so many negative remarks here. We did the best we could with what he had years ago but that did not take away from the care and dedication we gave to those entrusted in our care. Many of them became a part of our extended family and the horror stories are usually created by someone with an overactive imagination. Willowbrook was your horror story. I started at LVDC in the 70's and saw many changes throughout my career and they have all been positive. What is sad though is that people in the communities lack compassion and more often than not they stare and shrink away from us. In LVDC the consukers were within their own comuunity and did not have to worry about being accepted. They already were. insteadof posting pictures of the Ghost Townn that LVDC is now I would like to see pictures posted of when it was open and the consumers there were happy. There are many of these pictures posted in what is now the Administrative offices. I have always felt Letchworth was a very rewarding career and I still do. I have to honestly admit I love my job even after all these years. My consumers are my family.

I am aware of the situation kim mentioned at Jackson prison. In mental health restraints are used to protect a patient from self harm. Some people in the Dept of Corrections use it ,as in this case, to be punitive and the officers refused the nurse adequate access to the 'prisoner'. The people fired over this were the nurse and a secretary who was off and failed to forward the psych referal because she wasn't there. DOC has no business restraining people.

IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZER!!!

I feel like I've heard this before......kinda like a memory....strange...

it is still there, I was there last night

it is still there, I was there last night