A friend and I were there recently and after listening to the recordings we took we heard screams in the background that we only heard on the tapes and not when we were there.
I am a skeptic when it comes to ghosts or paranormal activity. I believe there is an explanation for everything. Well, I've been to that building a few times, going in only once in 2000.
I went into the building with a friend of mine who is a very big guy and is afraid of NOTHING. We saw writing on the walls, patient beds all over the place. We saw chairs that had devices on them that looked like shock therapy...I'm not an expert so I can't say for sure. We walked up about 4 flights of stairs and we began to hear what appeared to be scratching noises on the floor above us. We both thought it could have been rats or raccoons, but what happened next changed my thoughts on ghosts. We heard heavy breathing for a second or two followed by the loudest female scream I have ever heard. I kid you not, this wasn't something caught on an EVP or anything like that...this was a scream as if someone was getting murdered. I was terrified and looked at my buddy...he turned to me out of breath and said "Oh f*ck, RUN!". I jumped down every flight of stairs and ran out the building through the side window we entered. We met friends of ours outside who were waiting for us and they were like "WTF was that noise in there", so we knew we weren't the only ones who heard it.
A few months later another one of my friends wanted to see the building. I told him I would take him to see it but that I wasn't going anywhere close to it nor inside it. Well, we got about 75 yards away when we both heard a loud bang from the inside of the building. Sounded like someone hit the bass drum up there as loud as they could. We crouched down in fear and waiting 5 minutes before proceeding. As soon as we took another few steps, we heard the bang again. Needless to say we turned around and hightailed it out of there.
I grew up in that area and know first hand the rumors and stories associated with this place. I can also tell you first hand that I have heard things and felt things in there that are definitely not friendly. The Kings Park Insane Assylum is a terrifying place and is definitely a haunted spot. If you're crazy enough to go inside, I suggest you proceed with extreme caution.
I don't know if this site is still active or not but i am a student doing an internship at a mental health facility. I was just informed that many of our clients lived through Penhurst so i decided to do some research and came accross this site. My heart is breaking for all of the Penhurst clients who had negative experiences however i am so thankful for those who worked hard in keeping the clients happy and alive. Many of clients are doing very well and are now Happy. I of course am only speaking for the clients that i have worked with but they seem Happy!!
I was there last night for the 2nd time, definitely not a safe place to be but is creepy. Half the hospital is completely caved in on the inside and is pretty well boarded up. We found a window to crawl through that led to the basement near the front. I highly recommend that you do NOT go here, it is highly patrolled by cops. While we were there 2 kids we were with got chased by 2 cops but got out safely. Afterwards, the cops called backup and 2 more showed up with a dog. We layed low in the lowest possible spot we could find the hospital in the dead silence and darkness. Luckily when we crawled out the window, we creeped through bushes and managed to run from the cops as they shined their spotlights on us. I've never been so scared, not a good place to go if you don't want to get arrested. Cops take it very seriously.
I have worked for Letchworth for over 30 yrs and it's sad to see so many negative remarks here. We did the best we could with what he had years ago but that did not take away from the care and dedication we gave to those entrusted in our care. Many of them became a part of our extended family and the horror stories are usually created by someone with an overactive imagination. Willowbrook was your horror story. I started at LVDC in the 70's and saw many changes throughout my career and they have all been positive. What is sad though is that people in the communities lack compassion and more often than not they stare and shrink away from us. In LVDC the consukers were within their own comuunity and did not have to worry about being accepted. They already were. insteadof posting pictures of the Ghost Townn that LVDC is now I would like to see pictures posted of when it was open and the consumers there were happy. There are many of these pictures posted in what is now the Administrative offices. I have always felt Letchworth was a very rewarding career and I still do. I have to honestly admit I love my job even after all these years. My consumers are my family.
I am aware of the situation kim mentioned at Jackson prison. In mental health restraints are used to protect a patient from self harm. Some people in the Dept of Corrections use it ,as in this case, to be punitive and the officers refused the nurse adequate access to the 'prisoner'. The people fired over this were the nurse and a secretary who was off and failed to forward the psych referal because she wasn't there. DOC has no business restraining people.