WESTON, WV (WVNS) — A haunting history and spooky events at a lunatic asylum buried in the Appalachian Mountains.

These are always on the mind when thinking of one of West Virginia’s spookiest scenes.

For those who love and wish to visit spooky and haunted locations, look no further than the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV. It was opened to patients in 1864 and is the largest hand-cut masonry building in North America.

Designed by architect Richard Andrews and located on over 600 acres of land, the asylum’s layout was designed to be open and airy so that the patients would have plenty of access to sunlight and fresh air. However these original plans for the asylum did not last.

By the 1950s the asylum was very overcrowded with over 2,000 patients when it was originally only made to hold 250. As the asylum became more crowded and the staff were outnumbered, conditions worsened and more incidents occurred between the patients. A few of these incidents include setting fires, attempted hanging (which led to a murder with a bedframe), and one nurse even went missing only to later be found dead at the bottom of a set of unused stairs.

Over the years, patients were admitted for various reasons and not all were mental health related. In addition to patients who were admitted for mental health related issues, other admission reasons include asthma, women who would not listen to their husbands, tuberculosis, men could even drop off their wives for almost any reason, like wanting to keep a mistress but wanting to have the wife out of the way.

As the terrible conditions in the asylum became more well-known, it did not take long before the asylum closed in 1994. During the time it was open there were a variety of treatments that were used on the patients. Some of these treatments included shock therapy, solitary confinement, lobotomies, and more.

Due to the number of people who died at the asylum, the asylum and its grounds are believed to be haunted. Balls of light, ghostly figures, moving toys, and other spooky occurrences have been reported, and some of the ghosts have names and specific locations where they supposedly stay.

Even though it is closed, the history of this location does not stop there. It was later bought and repurposed for tours. Not only are heritage and history tours offered, ghost tours are also available for those who enjoy the paranormal.

The asylum will have a flea market from August 4-6 together with West Virginia’s largest yard sale, and starting towards the end of September and continuing through October and November, there will be other events including a haunted house, paranormal tours, ghost hunts, and special events including HearseMania and the Asylum Ball.

More information about the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and a schedule of their events including dates, details, and availability can be found on their website.