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 examines 40 years of the history of Taunton State Hospital. Find out what notorious true crime story may (or may not) have a connection to the hospital. Learn how treatment at Taunton was ahead of its time in so many ways.
My primary source for this week's episode is the book A Brief History of the Taunton Lunatic Hospital 1854 to 2016 by Joseph Langlois. All other sources wil be ...
This week's episode explores the history of the first three decades of Taunton State Hospital in Taunton, Massachusetts. Find out why people were sent to this hospital and what major world events led to a dramatic increase of patient admissions at asylums around the state. Learn what a "magic lantern show" was and why the asylum had to have a wall built around it to protect patients.
My main so...
In this week's episode, I interview photographer Christie Seyglinski. Listen to find out how she got started photographing abandoned Kirkbride hospitals and why she spent a night in an old asylum in 8th grade!
Add Abandoned: Echoes of the Past by Christie Seyglinski to your wishlist now! Available soon. Follow her work on Instagram @christieseyglinski or on Facebook at Abandoned: Echoes of the Past by Chr...
This week's episode features the story of the tragic murder of 5-year-old Edith Freeman in 1879. Learn why her parents did not mourn the loss of their daughter, whom they said they loved more than life itself, and find out why her father was sent to Danvers Lunatic Asylum in 1880.
Sources are mostly drawn from newspaper articles from the time period (thanks, newspapers.com!) and a blog article by the podc...
This week's episode outlines the history of Danvers State Hospital from 1912 until it closure in 1992. Find out what happens to the site after the hospital closed down and how it is being used today.
Most of my information is drawn from the Images of America book on Danvers State Hospital by Katherine Anderson and Robert Duffy. All other sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.
Visit ou...
This week's episode covers the first four decades of Danvers State Hospital (originally the State Lunatic Asylum at Danvers). Learn why people believed the land the asylum was built on was cursed. Find out what was later discovered in the abandoned hospital that had been preserved from the early days of the pathology lab. We'll also look at the ways in which Danvers was progressive for its time.
The ...
This week's episode focuses on the story of Mary Huestis Pengilly, who was sent to the Provincial Lunatic Asylum in St. John, New Brunswick, at age 61. Learn about Mary's history and what possibly led to her admission to the asylum. Hear Mary's own words from her diary about her experience in the asylum -- from endearing women she met on the wards to rough nurses who abused their patients.
The m...
In this episode, we discuss the last century of history at the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, now called the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Find out about the murder that led to the "trial of the century" and sparked public interest in learning about insanity and psychiatry. Learn what methods of treatment were used at the hospital before the advent of psychotropic medications. And disco...
This week's episode covers the history of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum over the course of 50 years (1857-1907). Find out what treatments were used during the superintendentship of Drs. Workman and Clark. Learn why one group was disproportionately represented in the asylum and in Toronto jails.
All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.
Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe w...
In this week's episode, we discuss the socio-political events that led to the construction of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum in Toronto, Canada. Find out why it took so long for the asylum to be constructed and why it was only half-built by the time it opened in 1850. Learn about the very turbulent first decade of the asylum's history and why the medical superintendent sued a local newspaper for libe...
Episode 46 discusses one of Napa State Hospital's most notorious patients, Richard Allen Davis. Find out why he was sent to Napa, why he only stayed eight days, and how his life of crime effected significant change in the criminal justice system around the U.S.
All sources are listed at the end of the episode transcript.
Check out our Beacons page: https://beacons.ai/behindthewallspodcast
Episode 45 covers the history of the new hospital buildings: how they were used during WWII and how they evolved to eventually house 4,991 patients. Find out why the Navy was using tree bark from the hospital grounds, learn why visitors are not allowed into state hospitals today, and discover how then-Governor Ronald Reagan kickstarted deinstitutionalization.
Much of the information in this episode is drawn fr...
Episode 44 discusses the history of Napa State Hospital from 1901 until the demolition of the Castle in 1950. Find out how the hospital was impacted by events, like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, WWI and WWII, and the Influenza epidemic of 1918. Learn about some of the treatments used during this time period and what finally led to the California Governor saying the Castle was unsafe.
Most of the informati...
Episode 43 covers the first three decades of "The Castle" at Napa Insane Asylum in Napa, California. Find out why tourists were drawn to the asylum and what they did while they were there. Learn what my connection is to Napa State Hospital and the rigorous process it took to get me there.
My primary source for this episode is Images of America: Napa State Hospital, by Patricia Prestinary. All other s...
In this week's episode, I talk to Nate Buchanan of Eerie Tours at Aradale Mental Hospital. Find out how he got started in the ghost tour industry, what drew him to Aradale, what stories get covered on the tou...
In this episode, we discuss the history of Kew Lunatic Asylum (1871-1988), near Melbourne. Find out why the hospital stayed open for so long, even when administration called for its closure several years after opening. Learn about the story of one patient who gained international notoriety for all the wrong reasons.
All sources are listed in the episode transcript.
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Episode 40 discusses the history and people of J Ward, a special unit of Ararat/Aradale Mental Hospital devoted to the treatment of the criminally insane. Learn about the early beginnings when it was built as a goldfields jail and how it became a part of the Lunacy Department. Learn about why two inmates from J Ward remain in the Guinness Book of World Records. Finally, learn about how you can visit J Ward to...
In this episode, we discuss what led to Ararat Mental Hospital finally closing in 1993, as well as what has become of the hospital in the years following its closure.
All sources listed at the end of the episode transcript. Special thanks to David Waldron for allowing me to use his book Aradale: The Making of a Haunted Asylum.
Check out my Beacons page for ways to support the show! https://beacons.ai/behindthe...
In this episode, we almost finish the history of Ararat/Aradale Mental Hospital. We begin by discussing deinstitutionalization around the world and in Victoria more specifically. Learn about the one man who changed legislation to keep him locked up.
All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript. Special shout out to David Waldron for allowing me to use his book Aradale: The Making of a Haunte...
Episode 37 discusses the history of Ararat Hospital for the Insane and how it later became Ararat Mental Hospital and, unofficially, Aradale Mental Hospital. Learn about daily life at the hospital, as well as the attempts to improve morale among staff.
All of my sources are cited at the end of the episode transcript.
Check out my Beacons page for ways to support the show and stay up-to-date: https://beacons.ai/...
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