Your “Damned Story” is offensive and insulting to every employee who devoted their working lives to the humane and dignified treatment of the mentally ill. Stop being so hyper-sensitive and crying about how offended you are over the “Damned Story.” The purpose of this post was certainly not to demonize mental health care workers, but to relay very true, yet very sick and sad events of the past that encircle this place of interest. norwich state hospital, Preston, CT. 3K likes. What are the odds of a severe accident at the hospital on the same misty rainy night that two teenagers decided to explore? Although it’s a bit late in the game, I want to point out that Steve DePolito is completely right. They drove off after a while and we scampered back the way we came. I personally never believed in supernatural/paranormal activity; but these visits to this abandoned historical landmark have certainly altered my views. Im planning a trip here for July email to join me. this hospital is absolutly amazing. The first patients were prisoners, although this expanded into the geriatric and drug users. So no matter if the events said to have happened here actally occured or not, they did somewhere. Insane women were also not allowed to keep their children. It would serve as their second such asylum, following Middletown State Hospital. I don’t think much is going on on that side. Wasn’t the autistic son of author Jacqueline Susann living there at one time? In fact the entire place was nearly 100% self sufficient. Offer subject to change without notice. Has anyone been recently? I just wanted to let you know the pictures that you did manage to take DONOT credit the pure evil creepiness of this huge sad place. Also, there is lead paint and asbestos in there. Weird things continued to occur on our third visit. It was at the end of Asylum Street towards the river and the where the old coal tipple use to be. It looks really strange. whats the worst thing that happends if you get caught? Connecticut and my opinion is bases upon my education and work experience. Thx. Unfortunately no one or organization probably didn’t take any pictures of the buildings before they started the demolition. They have a real budget to afford it rather then the town that didn’t prior. Norwich, CT 06360 Backus Hospital Standard Clinic 107 Lafayette St , Norwich, CT 06360 Legal. Christened as the Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, it originally was comprised of two buildings for patients and a cottage for doctors. My grandfather grew up there in the mid 30′s and 40′s and told me many great stories about the place. If you think the distruction of this hospital is bad, you should have seen the original mental hospital in Norwich. Over the decades, more building were added and the property was expanded; at its peak, the campus was over 470 acres and included over 30 buildings, many of which were connected by underground tunnels. Th… One of the hospital’s first superintendents believed that mechanical restraint of patients was preferable to medication and believed in hydrotherapy as a treatment measure. Our fifth and FINAL visit will be fully recorded. That back way is alarmed now and well lit, whereas it used to be pitch black and patroled rarely. How do I know…because I lived there for 23 years! I see the police department there alot and just recently i saw a fire happening in the hospital and I dont think it was even told in the news for connecticut. I know it’s state property but I’m wondering if it’s still heavily guarded. The most unfortunate result from the closing of most of the long term psychiatric facilities is there is no place for the people that are a danger to them selves and to others and now these people are ending up on the street, in the prisons, and now in the nursing homes like the one I work in. I drive past this every day to get home, and ive noticed that theyre putting new windows on the main building. i Was on a relapse from Drugs and alcohol after a 11 month clean time experience. It’s a shame because the state invested a lot of money in some of the buildings and a heating/cooling building that were all finished before they decided to shut down the hospital. Update March 2019: Almost all of the hospital’s buildings were demolished to clear out the property for construction. It’s sad to see the propertyIt’s sad to see the property the way it is. Paranormal investigators and urban explorers still seek access to these dark tunnels, which can still be used to reach the abandoned hospital. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is 0252512. The chainlink fence still surrounds the property but is easily climbed. There recentlyI was there recently – you pass this place from New London to Fox Woods. A free display of artistic lifesize dinosaur sculptures in a backyard garden. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Third, there has never been a fiesta by any of the security that has been there. It’s a sad place for many reasons, many of whom are still living homeless in Norwich. Steve DePolito, Not sure if the Norwich StateNot sure if the Norwich State Hospital is haunted but this was well written. My old Irish Grandmother, who was also Bi Polar, use to try to beat the devil out of me. The asbestos is rotting and falling off. Currently, the town seems to be leaning toward not developing the land and making it open space for everyone to enjoy. More experienced individuals had made advances in performance on site. I was driving by there lastI was driving by there last year 2014 at about 3:00 am when I seen something behind the fence it was in front of the building (on picture #7) but behind the fence it was a full figured man wearing dark colored clothes (dark blue and black) when I stopped to look back he was gone also there was about 2 – 3 security guards on site so I doubt that it was a living man, I realize someone hadI realize someone had commented prior to this being posted about sneaking onto the grounds, but if anyone has tips on how to get inside the buildings and anything to bring, given the state of the buildings, it would be greatly appreciated.-A. The women deemed insane to avoid family shame. I always thought the joint was a little creepy, but this one was a little far fetched. #1 Norwich State Hospital National Register of Historic Places Updated: 2020-04-23 The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as Norwich State Hospital for the Insane and later shortened to Norwich Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital that is located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut. Aw, this was a really nice post. I am amazed that they don’t allow investigators in at some time of the year. The window never came down; it just shot straight into the air and vanished. i want to go inside and get a little taste of what they went through when the “insane” were there. She was only going through menopause, but was institutionalized. I often wished I could figure out a way to buy pieces of the property and restore some of those buildings. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Treatments like being “packed in Ice” “sheet restraints” etc were all in the earlier years of mental health. It doesn’t seem logical to say that torture of any kind could be succeeded with no documentation and no repercussions to the individuals involved. Ridiculous!! First, I was driving from Norwich to Groton, very late at late-early morning. It’s extremely moving, especially the children’s building during the summer when the floors are various flora. They just wanted to inconvenience us for a while sitting on the cold ground. But theres one side of the street that is much less guarded. Unfortunately there are still a few people I knew that were released onto the streets,which they frequented the old soup kitchen downtown, many of which have died not so much from natural causes but because of drinking drugging and especially cold winters because they lived under the bridges in Norwich. STATE of CT renegeed on its promise to provide for the immates they released into the communities? is (my grandfather estimates, the geography has changed a little bit since the days before the bridge). If you are interested in learning more about this story, why don’t you take the author’s book recommendation and read Connecticut’s Seaside Ghosts? I know many people who have broken in there on numerous occasions to steal copper and other metal for scraps, but I sure as hell would never step foot on that property, I would not want to see it in the state it is in nor would I like to meet its co-inhabitants. I recommend scholastic journals you can look up at the library. I had regularly snuck into this facility in 2008, explored almost every part of the many buildings, including the Doctors houses. It is pretty heavily watched not too many people able to get in. its a piece of history. I continued in Mental Health after the close of NSH, and retired at the beginning of this year. If anyone has taken photos of those buildings or is interested in the perspective of a patient for genuine research purposes, feel free to email me at aipb.freeman@gmail.com. I am an MSW that has worked in the field since 1997 in S.E. Accept Read More, Tolland Man Faces Charges for Shooting Ghost, UFO Sightings Continue to Skyrocket in Connecticut. The first trip we just walked around the campus, nothing weird happened then. I knew they knew I was there. But I had heard it was necessary because of the shape of the property, to keep people from getting hurt. Me and a friend went to a semi abandoned hospital in New York almost 2 years ago. At each birth the State of Ct took us and put us up for adoption. The administration building has been saved with plans for future development, and a few other buildings remain. Its located on the property of the former Norwich State Hospital for the Insane in Preston. The Hospital had over 3,000 patients by 1955 and was a huge complex of over twenty buildings linked by underground tunnels. We crawled over eachother to get back in the car and that was in the security guard- a rather fat man in a white Feista- showed up and told us that we would have to leave. There was still working lights in some of the buildings and you could see furniture and papers everywere in some of the windows. My oldest half sister worked there as a nurse back in the late 1950’s, and her dad worked there his whole life and lived on the grounds there as well. How a Blacksmith in Jordan Created His Own Sign Language, In Naples, Praying With Skulls Is an Ancient Tradition, Inside a Domed Pyramid With Astounding Acoustics and a History of Miracles, See the Mysterious Horned Helmet of Henry VIII, Searching for Home and Connection Through Typewritten Poetry. I don’t think you realize how offensive this article is to the residents of the area. If anyone could help me obtain permission or point me in the right direction to this place I would greatly appreciate it. Got chills while walking through a shadowy hallway but I think you can chalk that up to the creepy nature of the site. Over time it was expanded and ended up with 20 buildings and some 2000 patients. Before I could scream, the steering wheel was jerked from my hands and my car swerved towards the main building. I couldn’t see anything at all, everything was in a white fog on what was before a clear night. Today, this place is a rotting hulk of toxic waste. PRESTON – The Preston Redevelopment Agency is just about set to begin brownfield remediation at the old Norwich State Hospital site as negotiations around the sale of the property to the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority continue. Went late at night and then the next day. After World War II, my dad went to work there for about the next 35 years as an emergency maintenance mechanic. He died in the Seymour building in 1944 at the young age of 28. It’s possible. Do you just pass kettle at the 2a light ? Seemed like it got damaged after the stupid vh1 celebrity paranormal show was faked there. (I have chills and shakes just from typing about it) I was sobbing and jerked the car back the other direction, and ended up flooring it past the main building to the over flow. We offer our heartfelt thanks to the doctors who practice at Windham Hospital and Backus Hospital. Makes for a great story, but that’s all it is. Be aware too there are houses closer to the commuter lot down the long driveway on the highway side that people do live in. I visited the kettle building in 1996 just before the hospital closed. I’ve been there a few times. Dont go to be a voyeur or to be a thrillseeker, go to pay your respects to the past and try to take a lesson back, even if it’s just that you wish the beautiful marble lobby of the admin building had been preserved. Apparently, the cost to clean up the property is a fairly significant stumbling block to eventual development. Yet to find any documentation of any of the characters they had on their episode. Millions of dollars were spent on environmental cleanup associated with the demolition, including the removal of lead-based paint, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). It was the first time I had been in since I was sixteen (when we used to go all the time) and the difference in the state of the buildings and tunnels was astounding. People in Norwich used to talk about how horrible it was when they closed the hospital. We have 4,000 great reasons to celebrate Doctors' Day. We drove on to the grounds, got out of our car and started taking pictures but within five minutes, two security guards appeared. Good luck! There were monsters and saints there. Across the street from the main campus is doctors and staff housing. You forgot to mention what the patients themselves did to the staff! As of summer 2013, is the area still heavily secured? Tree rivers community college was trying to move to the hospital site but politics interfered with that happening and it resulted in the process of the redevelopment to be dragged out. Don’t judge a book by its cover, I knew all the families throughout the years that lived on the grounds and though some were “not cool”, most were caring people who treated others with respect and enjoyed their jobs and their lives. The place is now privately owned and they are slapping people with everything they can to discourage the trespassing. Unfortunately, you can’t get in there anymore by faking crazy and being interred (a la Nellie Bly), which is probably not a bad thing. Do I believe in ghosts? Also, unwed mothers that were abandoned by their families were housed there. That is why they do not let anyone go inside. I looked in the review mirror- and I don’t really care if you believe me or not, I know what I saw and what I experienced- I saw in the mirror a darkm shadowy figure, darker than the night, darker than any shadow I have ever seen shutting the door. They have removed all the old entrance points…they can google search just like the rest of us so they know how people were filtering in and they have squashed all those spots. Yes the State of Connecticut was supposed to take care of these people but did they, No. I new something wasnt right when nothing wasnt falling thru for this property, i agree with further investigations about this property people should be able to ask for permission and be able to go inside and check around, the whole property up further there are more buildings abandone I remember asking about the small church and I was never given a correct response to the property. If the population at Norwich State Hospital wasn’t troubled enough already, over the years there were numerous published reports and investigations into cruelties inflicted by the staff, including beatings, starvings, sexual abuses, overly harsh restraints, prolonged confinements and even the occasional patient being packed in ice! Before we had the chance to do anything our insurance was cut for the project and we were not allowed to build. I have been in most of these buildings. Medicine and therapy has evolved in time as well. (late 2012/early 2013) I want to go when the snow melts, and would like an efficient, mature tour guide. Today's COVID-19 update in Connecticut: ️41,001 tests were administered and 2,672 came back positive (6.52% rate) ️1,202 patients are currently hospitalized (increase of 50) Each time we passed thru, I felt like weeping. Opened in 1904, The Norwich Hospital for the Insane was constructed to house the mentally ill on the scenic Thames River in the state of Connecticut. i have no ideaaa…i was heading up there and messed up my ankle and got ankle surgery so my visit was postponed. You can think stupid ass “urbex” websites for ruining all abandoned fun. In the same building just a few floors above extremely dangerous predators and killers. Haunted?Hello, I have spent many hours at the Norwich State Hospital both as a child and then again in my 30’s. It was the times. Powerhouse had a panel box but nothing to the extent of what she said. It’s a very cool place……. History of the Asylum at Norwich. I can’t remember the name but if you search for it it’s something like government doctors and experiments. Thanks so much Emily that will be very helpful! The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as Norwich State Hospital for the Insane and later shortened to Norwich Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital that is located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut.It opened its doors in October 1904 and it remained operational until October 10, 1996. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. He reminisces about riding his bicycle through the tunnels that connected the buildings and he would get meat from the butcher shop that was on the property. Heard someone shout “Get out of here!” very loud and close by, but when I looked around no one was there. The property is large. The first time I went I walked right up and asked if I could look around, the guard said just to stay in his sight. The hospital first opened its doors back in 1904, taking in 95 patients. In front of it only one on the banks of the Hospital closed its doors in 1996 and its Number... 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