Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals
This podcast examines the history of now-defunct or abandoned psychiatric hospitals. Listen every week to learn about the history of mental health care and the true stories of the people who lived and worked behind the walls.
Episodes
This week's episode focuses on the history of McLean Psychiatric Hospital around the turn of the 20th century. In particular, we examine the life of one patient, Stanley McCormick, and his journey to McLean, the time he spent there, and his life afterward.
My sources for this episode include the book Gracefully Insane by Alex Beam and annual reports from McLean Hospital.
Support the show on Beacons: https://beacons.ai...
This week's episode looks at the early years of McLean Psychiatric Hospital, originally called the Charlestown Asylum and Somerville Asylum. Find out what caused a delay in the funding and building of the asylum, as well as who was part of the original board of trustees. Learn about the man whose namesake has become synonymous with the history of the hospital. And discover how McLean Hospital became known as a treat...
IT'S MY 100th EPISODE!!! This week we wrap up the history of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and find out which treatment was used over a two-week period in an attempt to discharge patients quickly from the hospital. Discover how nine patients from the criminally insane ward escaped. And learn about how the asylum came back to life after it closed its doors in 1994.
My main source is The Haunted History of the Tra...
This week we look at the expansion of the asylum around the turn of the 20th century. Find out what types of treatment were used, learn what unusual (and sad) reasons got people committed to the asylum, and discover who was setting a series of dangerous fires. Learn more about influenza and tuberculosis treatment at the hospital, as well.
The main source for this episode is the book The Haunted History of the Trans-A...
This week we start a series on Sarah's "holy grail" asylum! Learn about why it took 23 years for the asylum to be built and who was involved in the labor. Find out how the hospital took on an additional role in the history of the American Civil War. And discover why there was such a high turnover of superintendents in the early days of asylum life.
Follow the show on Instagram at @behindthewallspod
Support the show on...
This week I interview historian Jacqui Sanders to discuss her study of the children and women of Aradale Mental Hospital in Australia and the release of her new book, Form of Insanity. Find out how Jacqui got drawn to Aradale and to the tragic stories she outlines in her book -- and find out what projects she has lined up next!
Follow the show on Instagram: @behindthewallspod
Support the show on Patreon: http://www.pa...
This week's episode examines the final decades of the Fernald State School. Find out about the pivotal moment in Ward 22 that forever changed the school. Learn about the fate of the Science Club members. And discover how the "research" of the past was unearthed.
Main sources for this episode include the annual reports from the Fernald School, as well as the book The State Boys Rebellion by Michael D'Antonio. All othe...
This week's episode discusses the years that Dr. Fernald, Dr. Greene, and Dr. Farrell were superintendents at the school. Learn about the legacy of one of the superintendents and how he single-handedly influenced New York and Massachusetts law. Learn about one boy who entered the Fernald State School at age 8 and who quickly became part of a group called "The Science Club."
Trigger warnings for this episode include t...
This week we discuss the first two decades of Dr. Walter E. Fernald's tenure at the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded. Find out how he was able to expand the school in order to quickly grow to over 1,000 residents! Learn about Dr. Fernald's role in the eugenics movement of the early 20th century and what scholars were trying to legalize in the state of Massachusetts.
My primary sources are the annual reports...
This week we discuss the many changes in the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth, which included a name change, three locations, and three different superintendents. Find out what an average day looked like at the school, what the guidelines were for teaching children with developmental disabilities, and why they kept moving the school to new locations.
The primary sources for this episode are th...
This week we look at the early beginnings of what would become the Fernald State School in Massachusetts. At its outset, it was known as the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic Children. Find out how developmental disorders were classified back in the mid-19th century and what the school hoped to teach their students.
Trigger warning for outdated and ableist language, strong overtones of discrimina...
This week we reminisce about Sarah's recent trip to Crete and her visit to the Spinalonga Leper Colony. Learn about the three different "eras" the island experienced as a Venetian stronghold, Ottoman outpost, and leper colony. Discover more about leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, and the stigma surrounding it that persisted for centuries.
Sources used in this episode include the Spinalonga website and Wikipedi...
This week we look at some of the paranormal activity and stories that have come from Camarillo State Hospital. Find out about the woman in white, the creepy goings-on in the former children's building, and the Scary Dairy. If&nbs...
In this week's episode, we discuss the history of the children and adolescent programs at Camarillo State Hospital. Find out where children lived when they were first introduced to the hospital and how long it took them to get their own separate program. Learn what types of units made up the Adolescent Treatment Program and what services were offered to them.
My primary source is the Images of America book on Camaril...
This week's episode explores the final decades of operation at Camarillo State Hospital. Learn about the introduction of the Developmental Center that separated patients with mental illness and those with developmental disorders. Find out how one patient attempted to escape from the hospital before being stopped. And discover when and why the hospital finally came to a close.
My main source for this episode is the Im...
This week's episode examines the early years of Camarillo State Hospital in Camarillo, California. Find out why it grew so quickly in its first decade, and learn how many patients it housed at its peak. Discover which movie patients said was true to life at the hospital and was one that the public needed to see.
My main source will be the Images of America book on Camarillo State Hospital by Evelyn S. Taylor and Mary...
This week's episode explores the life and hospitalizations of author and artist Zelda Fitzgerald. Discover where she was institutionalized throughout her life and how her life came to a tragic end. Learn about the Craig House in Beacon, NY, where she was hospitalized for a time and find out what amenities were available to patients who resided there.
My main source for this episode is an Atlas Obscura article written...
This week, Sarah interviews Rusty Tagliareni (photographer and co-author of the Images of America book on Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital) and Lisa Marie Blohm (President of Preservation Works advocacy group) to discuss what it was like to try and save the old Kirkbride building at Greystone Park and what Preservation Works is doing now to try and save other historical sites.
Follow the show on Instagram: @behind...
This week's episode tells the story of a patient, Harrison W. Noel, who was committed to Greystone Park for the rest of his life following the commission of a gruesome double murder and kidnapping. Learn about his symptoms prior to the crime spree and find out which infamous murder Noel hoped to copy.
All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.
Follow the show on Instagram: @behindthewallspod
Suppo...
This week's episode examines the life, music, activism, and eventual hospitalization of folk singer Woody Guthrie. Find out how he got started in music and who influenced him along the way. Learn why he was eventually committed to Greystone Park Psychiatric Center for five years on "Wardy Forty."
My main sources for this episode include the book Woody Guthrie's Wardy Forty: Greystone Park State Hospital Revisited by ...
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