4,537 Comments for Pennhurst State School

There are actually several people I know that worked here before it was closed in '85. The hospital was in fact closed down because of all the abuse that went on there. I have heard some pretty gruesome stories from the former workers so I know for a fact that they are true. Pennhurst was mainly a residential facility for people with Mental Retardation, but there were also people there with psychiatric illnesses. As for the families not being able to see where their children lived, 1.) the parents didn't pay for their kids to be there, it was all court ordered and paid for by the government and insurance companies, and 2.) it was mostly for the safety of the visitors that they weren't allowed to go to where theiir children lived. Even today, if you go to a state hospital that is funcitoning you aren't allowed to go see where the people live, you have to stay on a completely separate part of the ward. This is, however, maily for the privacy of the other patients. I know all this because I used to work at a state hospital in PA.

Wow....strange :) but awesome looking I wanna go there so badd.....

Both of my parents were sent to Pennhurst insane asylum. I never knew much about the place and just started researching on it to kind of learn more about what my parents went through... They both had developmental disabilities and during those days they were looked down upon as an abomination the the community and it sadens me to know this. My parents have 4th and 2nd grade educations they dont have many book smarts but are the most compassionate people you would ever meet they get help with day to day life because they cant always do for themselves they are 70 and 62 now. but a lifetime of being looked down on is hard to overcome but they are great people. Its so sad how people were treated back then but in learning more about where they came from im beginning to find myself.

Everyone says Pennhurst is owned by the National Guard. But they are turning the building into a haunted house.

Who the eff cares about governent officials. That is the best part, sneaking around without getting caught. It is exhilerating.

Wow Amy!! you can re-word what another website says. good job. maybe you should have stayed at Pennhurst.

It looks like this is a rehabilitation room. But it is only a guess.

they are turning this place into a haunted house attraction for halloween, i think its kind of disrespectful but thats just me.

Asbestos, anyone?

i'm watching a show on the travel channel right now. they're working on turning it into a haunted attraction

uhhh katie, did it occur to you that your comment is about 2 years too late? Just sayin...

They are pic! And beautiful ones at that!! Mott I believe you could put these in a book and sell them! I would buy it! I love the way they make me feel when I look at them. It has nothing to do with exploiting tragedy. Its art buddy!

That's not a monster painted on the back wall. If you look carefully, you'll see that it's the side of a gingerbread house. The walls are brown and those "eyes" are actually peppermints made to look like shingles. The room was painted like a candy-land. It actually probably wasn't such a bad place to play (besides the hard floors and walls).

And there was a lot of terrible things that happened at Pennhurst as well as a lot of other homes for the infirm, as they called them. Things that are awful by any account - sexual and physical abuse - , no matter the time or place. But many of the things that happened - the neglect, the experimental surgeries and treatments were what was in common practice at the time. Not because they were all sadists, but because that's where they were along the timeline of medicine. You all should remember that psychiatry and psychology are fairly young sciences and that resources for mentally and physically handicapped individuals didn't exist until more recently.

I'm not making a case for what they did or defending them in anyway. I think that the time that those people spent there was terrible and my heart aches for each and every one of them because no one deserves to be abandoned and stripped of who they are. Everyone should have an advocate and should feel loved and valued throughout their lives. But the majority of the people that worked there had good intentions. They were doing what was considered to be the helpful thing at the time.

What a beautiful building. What a terrible waste. I would like to see it restored and put to good use. Wouldn't it be nice to see the building preserved? It's a piece of history sitting there rotting.

this is really freaky