For decades, the old Bryce Hospital property has remained a mystery to the people of the Tuscaloosa area. If you were to ask any one of the various people in this city about the old hospital, you would receive a wide variety of answers. The responses would range from outlandish tales of late night visits to the site and close calls with the ghosts of the mentally ill, to skeptical complaints of vandalism and disruptions. No matter how convincing some of these tales may be, it is still just hearsay, not proof. What is the real truth behind the old hospital? Is it haunted by spirits of the dead, or is it just an old creepy building?
To find the answer to these questions you must first look at the facts of history. In 1859, Bryce Hospital was established as the Alabama Insane Hospital. The majority of the patients there suffered from severe mental health problems. For over a century, Bryce Hospital held a high reputation for its dedication to the scientific treatment of its patients. Unfortunately, when patient numbers increased and budgets were cut, the standards of treatment began to decrease significantly. In 1970, the court case Wyatt v. Stickney, was conducted on the topic of “questionable treatment” performed on patients at the hospital. It was not until thirty three years later that the case finally ended with the establishment of minimum standard requirements for all mental health institutions to enforce.
Whatever may or may not have been done to Bryce Hospital patients after budget cuts remains a mystery to this day. This could be what leads so many Tuscaloosa residents to believe that the property is haunted. The history contains no information about the many haunting events reported by many, both on the internet and all over the University of Alabama campus. I decided that the best way to uncover the truth would be to gain first-hand experience and make a trip to the hospital myself. However, if I wanted to see supernatural activity in its prime, I would have to go at night.
The actual experience of visiting the property of the original Bryce Hospital was not at all as I imagined. After the ten minute drive off campus, I had arrived at the location at which my journey would begin. In order to get to the hospital, I first had to walk through a heavily wooded area surrounded by a deserted church with a pink glowing heart in the steeple and a large factory groaning with the sounds of the night shift. This alone set an eerie mood over the place. As I traveled deeper into the woods, I encountered an old abandoned shed that seemed to have become part of the woods as tree had grown up through the floor, and vines of ivy had painted the walls in shades of green. I began to wonder if these woods would overtake all that entered. What was going to save me if the hospital really was haunted by ghosts? Pondering on my fears, I traveled a bit further. I finally stood before two large smoke stacks atop an overgrown building with distinct nineteenth century architecture that is present in so many old southern ghost stories. Darkness covered everything impairing my vision until it was almost impossible for me to view my surroundings. I could barely make out the scattered graffiti imprinted upon the walls. For he first time, I truly understood the term “eerie.” Though I never experienced anything supernatural, something about that place seemed not of this world.
Today, Bryce Hospital serves as a historical landmark being one of the first mental health institutions in Alabama. The property’s interesting history has provoked many questions and tales concerning whether or not it is haunted by its past inhabitants. Whether these tales are true stories of ghostly encounters or simply used as a scare tactic to frighten Tuscaloosa residents, we may never know.
No comments:
Post a Comment