Pennhurst State School

Abandonment. Neglect. Abuse. Death.

These are just some of the atrocities that happened at Pennhurst State School.

In 1908 Pennhurst State school was built to house the children that society had dubbed as “demented’. Back then, if you were any sort of menace to society (like a pyromaniac for example) you ended up at Pennhurst. The school itself was built to house 500 patients but by 1913 it was already overcrowded and in need of more housing facilities. So in 1916, the Board of Trustees planned to build additional cottages to expand the capacity of the school.

Built on over 600 acres, the site itself contains more than 30 buildings which included a hospital, a morgue, barbers and a firehouse. This impressive site became self-sustaining as it had its own power plant and the residents were sent to work on the farm that was located on site. The site also had a rail track passing through the grounds so any supplies they needed could be brought in by train. It also had an underground tunnel system, which made it easier for staff to go from building to building especially in the winter. The patients at Pennhurst were categorised depending on the severity of their disability. Under mental prowess, you were either labelled an “imbecile” or “insane”. While physically, you could be labelled “epileptic” or “healthy”. Depending on what your label was, determined which ward you went to.

Some of the patients didn’t speak. That might be because they couldn’t, other times it was because they could but had become so withdrawn into themselves because of what they saw, they wouldn’t talk about it. If a patient showed any signs of aggression, the staff would drug them to keep them calm. Staff would tie patients to their beds and leave them for hours, even days, before an orderly would come and find them covered in faeces. The so-called beds for the patients were essentially large cots for the adults and cages for the children. There were children there that were as young as 5 and couldn’t walk.

If a patient was a biter and did it on more than one occasion they were put on the “toothbrush” program, meaning if they bit anyone again their teeth were pulled. A lot of ex-patients have been found with no teeth left and teeth were found in the tunnels linking all the buildings together.

Many of the children that acted out were victims of bullying. There are even cases of residents being attacked with broom handles. There is speculation that some of the deaths at Pennhurst that have been labelled as “suicide” or “accidental” could possibly be the result of extreme bullying. There was also speculation that there were cases of sexual abuse but none were confirmed.

Ghost Activity

With all the horrors that happened within the walls of Pennhurst, it’s no surprise that there is a lot of paranormal activity. There seems to be a lot of documented ghost activity from different buildings, particularly in Quaker and Mayflower. There have been EVPs (Electric Voice Phenomenon) recorded throughout the building saying “go away”, “I’ll kill you” and “I’m scared”. Disembodied voices and unexplained bangs. There have been sightings of a little girl with long hair, who has also been heard giggling. Doors opening and slamming shut. Investigators have had scratches on their backs and arms when they leave that wasn’t there before. Some women have felt something tug on their hair.