Healthcare workers are a brave bunch, but for those who like a little scare off the clock, these hospitals could provide an exciting night out.
A large part of the allure of travel nurse positions is the ability to, well, travel. The opportunity to see and experience things outside your area is a nourishing part of the job and one we hope all our travelers engage in. This brings us to this, the spooky season— perfect for travelers looking to indulge in a bit of ghostly fun. Healthcare workers are a brave bunch, but for those who like a little scare off the clock, these hospitals could provide an exciting night out.
Linda Vista (fka Boyle Heights)
– Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is home to one of America’s most notorious haunted hospitals: The Boyle Heights hospital, known today as Linda Vista, opened in 1905 as the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital, created to care for Santa Fe Railroad Company workers.
The original building was completely redesigned and rebuilt in the ‘20s, and in 1937 was renamed the Linda Vista Community Hospital. A managed healthcare company purchased the hospital in 1980, but the facility struggled through the ‘80s, overwhelmed with rising healthcare costs. The aftermath of local gang wars overtaxed the hospital’s emergency department, and the facility’s death rate began to climb. There were rumors of negligent care, although the large numbers of gunshot wounds and stabbings likely affected the mortality statistics. By the early ‘90s, many of the hospital’s nurses and doctors were leaving for other hospitals, and replacement staff became tougher and tougher to find. Linda Vista finally closed its doors in 1991.
After Linda Vista ceased operating as a hospital, it began a second career as a popular location for movie shoots, including 1995’s Outbreak and multiple chapters of the Insidious franchise. During these productions, the hospital’s haunted reputation grew. Reports of unexplained phenomena came from overnight security and production crews. Darting shadows, cries in the night, and unexplained humming were all experienced by those working on the Linda Vista grounds. Many also claim to have been touched and pushed by these unseen forces.
Three spirits have been sighted on multiple occasions: a little girl lurks in the surgical room; a young woman paces the hallways of the third floor, and the spirit of an orderly still makes his daily rounds.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
– Louisville, Kentucky
Opened in 1910 as a tuberculosis hospital, research suggests that as many as 64,000 deaths occurred at Waverly Hills throughout its 50-year operation. While many patients died from the fatal disease, tales of human experimentation loom over the hospital’s past. So frequent were deaths that one of Waverly Hills’ most infamous features is the “death tunnel,” the underground body chute used to transport the bodies of deceased patients. However, Room 502 is said to be the most haunted locale in the facility, where legend says a wayward nurse remains.
Need more convincing? As fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved will know, the Ghoul Boys visited this location and may have probably met the infamous Timmy. Honestly, we can’t think of a better trailer to hype you up before visiting.
Rolling Hills Asylum
– East Bethany, New York
Another internet fan favorite, Rolling Hills Asylum, was initially known as the Genesee County Poor Farm— housing orphaned children, families, impoverished elderly, physically handicapped, mentally unstable, criminals, and others deemed “morally corrupt.” The facility was a self-sufficient working farm and woods, spanning over 200 acres, providing food and fuel. Thus, the actual cost to care for each person was low, about $1.08 per week per resident, back in 1871.
That said, residents were referred to as inmates (regardless of why they were housed there), and those physically able would work the farm, and many built and made wares to sell to help offset some of the living expenses. Over 1,700 documented deaths and hundreds of more are not accounted for.
Rolling Hills is known for class “A” EVPs, shadow people, doors slamming, and much more! It’s also the second most haunted location in North America and number four worldwide.
Royal Hope Hospital
– St. Augustine, Florida
Also known as the Spanish Military Hospital, the Royal Hope Hospital operated as a medical establishment from 1784 to 1821. During its years of operation, patients and staff often reported that something “evil” and “frightening” seemed to linger in the air and haunt the ward. However, this was usually brushed off as merely the aura of death that naturally comes from patient fatalities within a hospital. Years later, when the grounds were dug up to construct new water lines, thousands of bones were discovered, buried in the exact place the hospital once stood. Researchers determined the original hospital had been built on top of a Native American burial ground.
The most active rooms within the hospital include the Mourning Room, where disembodied voices are heard praying, sobbing, and moaning. An unbearable feeling of despair is also reported, and the ward where beds are said to have rearranged themselves.
Athens Ridge Asylum
– Athens, Ohio
There’s a high concentration of paranormal activity in The Buckeye State, putting Ohio nursing jobs close to the scariest places on earth. One notable pitstop is the Athens Ridge Asylum. Active from 1874 to 1993, many early patients were veterans of the American Civil war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Others consisted of farm women and men in the area with “questionable morals.” Later, Athens was known to house violent criminals in addition to the mentally ill. Common treatments performed on patients included lobotomies, shock therapy, and water treatment, where patients were submerged in ice-cold water for extended periods.
When visitors peruse the cemetery, they will find headstones unsettlingly marked not by a name but by a number. The most known apparition of the asylum is that of a female patient named Margaret Schilling, who mysteriously went missing within the massive facility in 1978. A year later, her naked body was found in an abandoned wing of the hospital; her clothes folded neatly by her side. The stain left by her decaying body marks the building to this day, a dark reminder of the hospital’s disturbing past.
Marshall House
– Savannah, Georgia
The Bloody battles, deadly diseases, and fearsome fires of Savannah’s past have left many restless spirits in their wake, so you will have no shortage of spooky sites to see in Georgia, but the Marshall House isn’t one to skip since you can spend the night! Although it’s now a hotel, it originally housed countless patients as a Civil War hospital and was used later as a hospital during the yellow fever epidemics.
After checking in to Marshall House, guests have reported seeing the ghosts of patients who died in the former hospital from wounds on the battlefield or during the epidemic. On the fourth floor, in the hallway, loud noises occur during the early morning hours, like the thundering a heavy object crashing to the ground. Doorknobs to the rooms also tend to wiggle as if someone is attempting to enter the room.
One guest recalled, “I’ve lived in many haunted houses, but Marshall House creeped me out completely. I loved it there, but I could not rest. Yes, it is old and noisy, but there’s way more going on there than meets the eye. I know others have experienced things too.”
Let Blu Med find your next haunt
Are you interested in checking out these horror-filled hospitals but aren’t in the right location? Let Blu Medstaff connect you to the right places. Contact our team today!
