Manteno Insane Asylum |
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Written by Alex | |||||||||||||
Sunday, 13 April 2008 05:12 | |||||||||||||
Manteno Insane Asylum The story: As healthcare nomenclature edged closer towards 'political correctness', names like 'Insane Asylum' became 'State Hospital'. A portion of this sprawling complex of buildings operates today as a veteran's home, while the rest of it quietly crumbles. Damp green and grey interiors seem to release an air of sadness captured during the buildings' occupation. As well as being subject to practices considered inhuman today, patients here suffered tragedy in 1939 when an outbreak of typhoid fever killed sixty. The culprit: a sewer line that ran too close to the water supply. Manteno State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located in rural Manteno Township in Kankakee County, Illinois. The facility was authorized in 1927 by the 55th Illinois General Assembly with its first patients arriving in December 1930. In 1954 the patient population peaked at 8,195. In 1983, the facility was authorized for closure by Governor James R. Thompson and closed on December 31, 1985. In October, 1986 the Illinois Veterans home at Manteno was dedicated and still operates on a portion of the grounds of the original psychiatric facility while numerous other building have been demolished. The site was redeveloped as a VA home, an industrial park and a portion is now the Manento Municipal golf course. A state hospital cemetery is to the east of the site. The grounds are the now the home of numerous housing developments including a residential treatment center called Indian Oaks Academy. Indian Oaks Academy, a member of the Nexus family of treatment programs, provides residential treatment for males and females ages 12 to 21. Location: Click here for directions Our Encounter: As we were on our way to Manteno there was a lot of build up to the trip. While on a previous investigation to Duey's House we ran into another paranormal group and they said their girlfriend was possessed while at the asylum. While hearing this we were skeptical, but intrigued. So as soon as we got home we did our research and found out what actually went on at the asylum. So on the way to the asylum we are driving about 30 mph on this tiny gravel road for roughly 10 miles. It seemed that we were continuing to drive into the abyss of nothing. The further we got the darker it got in front of us. By the time we found the prison it put fear in our spine and made us cringe just by its site. It actually scared Norshawn so much that he refused to go into the building. As we looked for an entrance to the building we heard a lot of 'spooky' noises and banging coming from inside the building. As we entered through a torn down door, it just put a shiver down my spine. We immediately snapped as many pictures as we could (maxing out our 2GB memory card). We slowly ventured through the decaying building carefully and without lights. We kept our eyes and ears peeled for anything that could be of paranormal essence. We walked through this massive complex and found nothing too 'spooky' other then a lot of graffiti and the electro shock therapy room. Make sure you contact the police department ahead time. There is a complex about 1 mile away that houses over 100 convicted sex offenders. When anyone messes with the buildings the police assume that you are one of them with a victim (at least thats what they told us). All in all, we would have to say the scare factor at this place is a 10 out of 10, but like other places, we have yet to see any paranormal activity in this complex. (MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE IMAGE GALLERY!) Interesting Pictures: Features:
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 May 2008 17:01 ) |