HAUNTED HOSPITAL (COMPLETED)

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

               Henryton State Hospital, located in an isolated section of Patapsco Valley State Park, on Henryton Road, in a dis-remembered part of the Eldersburg region. Instituted in-the beginning of the early-1920s, Henryton was inaugurated for two diverse reasons: the nursing of black patients writhe with tuberculosis, and the instruction and treatment of mentally ill adults. Henryton then changed from taking care of those ill with tuberculosis in 1963, and shut their doors in 1985.

Finding information on the history of Henryton is difficult. This very dilemma is what adds to its mystique and declaration of haunting experiences. There are those who have tried in vain and have only been met with a stonewall. For instance, the Maryland Department of General Services, who today retains the building, and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene were contacted; but mysteriously have no information concerning the history of Henryton.

In addition, the Carroll Country Department of Mental Health was not capable of supplying any data on the hospital. Additionally, there are extremely minute amounts of printed documentation of Henryton. There is only one photograph and a few words mentioned about Henryton Hospital in any of the Carroll Country Public Library's and no accounts in any-of the Sykesville history manuscripts. In spite of the lack of documented on fact information, the haunting of Henryton Hospital is well known. Henryton is included on various websites, and labeled as a haunted locality in Maryland.

Various websites like theshadowlands.net and others allege that "observers had sightings of shadows in an aged theatre and a dress dangling at the bottom of a lengthy passageway." Apart from whether Henryton is really haunted, the fascination of the prospects of ghost and all sorts of paranormal activity going on inside the rooms and hallways is too much for some people to ignore. For example, a graduate from the Liberty High School, Scott Lowe, stated that "Henryton is a major part of the high school ethos. Many people go to Henryton during their spare time to get away from their parents." He went on to say that "Henryton was a go-around for those who want to be a bit revolutionary."

In fact, Lowe himself has ventured to Henryton on various junctures, and thinks that the belief that Henryton is haunted is unquestionably a captivating component and a motive for people to make a visit there. In order to get to Henryton Hospital, you have to park near the railroad tracks and enter from the rear. It is not advisable to go by way of the front gate, as some deem it to be too hazardous. Onlookers have claimed to have seen shadows and various items throughout the buildings, and upon returning to the same spot, those very items had disappeared.

There are literally hundreds of rooms with doors that give the impression that there are-many secrets to be discovered behind them. The corridors have all been abandoned leaving the impression that it was never occupied before, however, that though is dispelled by the eerie feeling that many unpleasant happenings took place there and at any moment those very incidents will be revealed. Another incident took place when a group of paranormal adventurer's walked curiously around the children's-building, and had several out of the ordinary experiences.

Whilst taking a look around the first floor, right after a metal-stairway that went up to the second-floor, someone felt like something tapped them on their back. Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of distinguishing footsteps pacing creakingly up the metal-stairs. When a sizeable room was entered there was a feeling of overpowering grief and sorrow. There was the sound of a woman weeping, searching for her child.

It was confirmed that that room had at one-time been the nursery. On the exterior of one-of the buildings positioned on a hill, observers noticed a rocking chair, moving back and forth on a porch as if someone-was sitting there. It kind of reminds one of the movie "Psycho" without the blood curdling killings and horrifying suspense. However, according to many who have visited Henryton, you will undergo nearly the same experience of a suspenseful, fear-provoking, and spellbinding encounter, if not in reality; then in the realms of the mind for sure.

THE END