Construction of the asylum, which is nearly quarter of a mile long, began in 1858. It was originally intended to house '240' souls, but at its peak in the 1950s 2,400 patients were crammed in together.
Although records show many people were admitted for sexual deviance or promiscuity, others were admitted for 'bad company' or even 'bad whiskey'.
Suspicions of crime or suicide are also alluded to. Among the admissions are entries for gun shot wounds, shooting a child and 'rumor of husband murder'.
The effects of the civil war, and even office work, also appeared to have had its toll on West Virginian residents, with possible early cases of post traumatic stress syndrome and nervous breakdowns appearing.
Entries for 'The War', 'exposure in army' and 'fell from a horse in the war' appear, alongside 'business nerves' and 'over taxing mental powers'.
Patients at the hospital would have been exposed to methods that were considered ground breaking in their day, but cruel by today's standards.
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Foreboding: The West Virginia asylum, with its long, stark corridors, has been empty since 1994
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Tours: The only people admitted to the hospital now are tourists wanting to hear grisly details about its past from the guides who dress as nurses
A nurse recalled being present as a doctor performed a lobotomy with an ice-pick type instrument, and other patients were subjected to cold bath treatments in an attempt to stop their hysteria.
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum finally closed in 1994, as attitudes and the treatment of patients with mental health issues changed.
Today the main building, which had separate wings for African American patients when it was first constructed, still takes admissions - for ghost tours and heritage seekers who want to explore the desolate wards and gruesome medical centers
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