Exploring Letchworth Asylum - A Real Life Horror Story
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2023
- Letchworth Village, a psychiatric home in New York has been closed since 1996 but many of the original buildings still exist.
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Our math was a little off on that memorial. Probably more like 1,000 names on there.
yes darlinks
Regardless of how many names on it one name is too much. Very sad 😢
Thank you though for covering this very dark part of history and I hope it stays in the past.
There’s a graveyard @ the Former Byberry institution in Philly, I need to go see it!
@@k.m.5819sadly I agree 😢
Bro, you guys need to wear masks in these places. There's probably asbestos and lead paint like hell all through that place.
Amazing how cruel people can be to the ones who are unable to fend for themselves. So so sad!
But they're IN THERE because their FAMILY'S won't give them the care they need. SO WHO IS MORE CRUEL? The family that tossed their children to the State, or the State that just didn't give a fk?
Unfortunately, it's survival of the fittest mentality. And if the mentally challenged, physically challenged were out in nature, they would generally be left to die. Not saying anything about this is right.
No they're just fine 🤣 they're just living under a blue tarp. In your neighborhood. Under tons and tons of trash they collect. And you walk right by them every day..
I am going to give a very unpopular truth here. Forty years ago, I worked in one of the few private facilities that were available once these institutions closed. Back in the 1920s, even through the 1970s, there were polite societies where one simply did not have less than perfect children. Doctors encouraged mothers to leave children behind and not look back. Children were left behind for a deformed hand, a cleft, palate, dwarfism and a million other non intellectual issues. Even America's first family warehoused a child. Once a lobotomy did not restore Joe Kennedy's daughter Rosemary to normalcy, she was never pubically again mentioned. And those are only the young. These institutions held nightmares and secrets for decades, and filth, nudity, and being understaffed are just noise so folks don't look any deeper
My aunt and uncle raised three physically and mentally handicapped sons. They raised them but had been told to institutionalize them, which eventually they did out of necessity. Still they visited them and were amazed at all of the other patients whose families never looked back. This was in the 1990s or 2000s
@@cartwrightworm1317good for them! I raised two gifted girls. I'm sorry to say I don't have that kind of patience, but kudos for those who do!
Im glad she was never pubically mentioned
@@kingamity1985 racist
This begs the question, did we go to the other extreme? So many of our mentally ill seem to be homeless, living on the streets, or incarcerated. Not spending much more on helping them today, in my humble opinion!
You're 💯 correct.
Most. If not all are now homeless, prostitution, drug addicts, abusers/abusive, and 6' feet under.
Exactly!
Good point
That’s always how we handle things sadly
Well that's what thier plan was when Reagan emptied the asylum into the streets of local communities instead of insitutuionalization without first considering ....Should they?
It's so heartbreaking to see grave markers with just a number on it or in some cases in other cases just a date of death. No matter the mental capacity of these people, they were still human beings.. Yet they were buried in my opinion without any dignity of personal identification.
My thoughts exactly. So, so sad!
Cool videos just really chilling to me
So sad
The sad thing is, somewhere in our world today these places still exist..
You can feel the sadness through the screen 😢 how could a parent just abandon them.
At the same time - parents had little choice....they often couldn't afford care or to stay home and care of them themselves, had other children to care for, needed to work or had a spouse in the military.....there were a lot of reasons people had little choice but to institutionalize. A lot of really tearful, sad, heart-breaking decisions happened......The real shame is that the government failed so terribly to act humanely toward these people. They suffered in ways we wouldn't let inmates or animals suffer.
Doctors told them to. There was zero community or familial support to keep people at home back then. It was a different time. I don't think they were evil. I think it's hard for modern day eyes to understand historical thoughts/intentions/motives. I have autism and I think I'm really fortunate that I live nowadays and in the US. I could be living in a place that still houses people like me in places like this today. Or I could have lived in the 1950s and been a lab rat left to rot in a place where I'd like get hepatitis and gosh knows what else. They used to spoonfeed food to the dependent kids so quickly that they aspirated it, got aspiration pneumonia, and died. They'd tie people down for hours sedated until they just stopped breathing. The list goes on. I'm glad I live today.
Heartbreaking 😢 those poor souls! May they rest in peace in the arms of God.
When i see videos of asylums i immediately think of those poor Souls by themselves, abandoned and abused. RIP
I would like to say a few words. Not all mental hospitals were like this in the 70s. My friends mother was a charge nurse in a large hospital. My friend and I decided to volunteer as candy stripers age 14. We witnessed those nurses treating every child and adult with patience and care. We couldn’t handle the environment as young kids. We quit. Loud, upsetting and children who scared us. Those wise and loving nurses could handle it. I met them again at my friends mothers funeral. Still calm and angelic women. Bless them ❤️👍
Easy to condemn the institution. But the real blame goes to the families knowingly putting their family members into these places. Was a easy way out for the family that couldn’t or wouldn’t put up with a mentally I’ll child. Sad. I’ll bet 70% of families that did put their handicap children in these places never came back to check on them.
Yes these places were definitely used as a place to abandon unwanted children.
That's the way it was back then
This is so sad.
We humans are our own worst enemy.
The mental illness is on the streets now.
So sad and so horrific, I can't even imagine what these poor people had to endure. SMH
Very heart breaking to see how children lived, if you can call that "living". Thanks Chris and Jay!
Darn I wish I knew you were going to be there! I’ve been exploring there for many years. I even did my college photography final on Letchworth. I could have been your tour guide, haha. The first time I went to the morgue, almost everything was still there- the freezer doors, the tables, instruments, patient files, etc. but so many kids have come through and taken stuff, it’s practically down to its bare bones at this point. Thank you for shining light on it.
Did you ever encounter any paranormal activity? Hear or see anything creepy and unexplainable?
@@AbandonedExplorationUrbex1979 honestly, no. I am a total ghost believer but I have never had any paranormal experiences inside any of the buildings. I always go in and say “I’m not here to take or leave anything, just to document” and I never have issues.
Always fascinating,yet very sad to see these old asylums😿💔
Jesus is coming. Gai is sin
These places reeek of sorrow and tears of blood.
Poor souls are lost and still there.
@@myreasonforlife.9511 Yes, they sure do
Very sad. Unfortunately, many people today are just left on the street with no care at all.
As a parent of, 2 adult children with physical and mental disabilities in their mid 30's, I want to thank you for doing this explore showing respect and dignity to these individuals. So many, make remarks that are rude and degrading to the people that lived here. Geraldo's report was the beginning of the end for facilities like this. Home and Community Based Services began to assist us parents with keeping our loved ones at home. Modern medicine is not what turned it around for individuals with special needs but for those with mental illness. They are two different categories not to be compiled together. Home and Community Based Services is what reduced the numbers in those being placed in these institutions.
How do you get help? We have been begging for a year. Nothing. Not SS, not police, not EMTs, we have been told when he stops eating to call them. In other words he had to be dying before he gets help. Oh, if we had tons of money, sure there are places that can help. We don’t.
The issue was not the sanitarium themselves. It has everything to do with money and the privatization of Healthcare. To this day there are mentally unwell patients dropped off at your local hospital where they stay for months and months because their families don't have the money or the parents aren't fit enough themselves to go through processes that could get the patients into private facilities.
I have heard of patients being refused by 40 facilities and in the meantime they are attacking staff and taking time and manpower to manage wial staying at a small local hospital not intended or equipped to deal with these situations. Not uncommon for a 20 something yr old female nurse or cna to be expected to deal with a mentally unwell male or multiples and regularly being attacked and hit. Large institutions like this certainly had/have their place if run in a ethical manner. Just my opinion.
If only there were more nurse Ratched's today to deal with them.
is it bad to say that I think we need more people in institutions like this? obviously better conditions…I’m a nurse, and it is impossible to get patients committed, even when they really need to be. Our current mental health crisis is insane rn. we need better facilities, that are easy for all the have access to, in order to receive the care they desperately need😅 what are everybody else’s thoughts
Also a nurse and I agree. Seems like only those of us who see how these people suffer without proper controlled care are the ones who advocate for it. (Notice I said PROPER, don’t jump all over me if you didn’t bother to actually read my comment)
Yes. And all those zombie street people hooked on powerful drugs could be placed there and go through withdrawal there. They have cities looking horrible with needles and trash and tents. At least they'd be off the streets!
Most asylums are shitholes though and until something is done about the treatment of people in these asylums I don't want anyone near one
I agree. When we die , our poor son will have no place to go. He just sits and stares. No talking, no phone, no TV, no computer. He has all these things but stays in world of his own. Who will look after him? No one.
No I agree.
Thanks for sharing. The whole thing was absolutely horrible and a disgrace . Govt still doing the same things cutting things to benefit themselves.
Chris, both you and Jay need to commended for your reporting and compassion whilst processing your own personal feelings about the horror and tragic story of this place. Thank You!
Oh, those original pictures and the video from Geraldo! How awful it would have been there as both one of those institutionalized or a staff member. So many graves with nothing but a number. Very, very sad. Thank you for documenting this old asylum. It's just one of many all over the world back in those days.
I will never understand why people think painting their names in eligible bubble letters on other people's property is cool. Who's just walking around with a can of paint on them lol. Great video!!
I totally agree
Ya agreed.. all that graffiti looks terrible almost ruins the experience
Hard to believe this place was open in the 90s. That's not that long ago. So so sad.
Great job on the video though. Oh, and thanks for making me cry. (I did cry, but I needed to see this. Thank you for real).
Terrible conditions for the disabled and mental patients to live in and also staff having to work in this environment day and night knowing that it was not going to get better either. Thanks for sharing!
Visited this place like 7 years ago. Crazy true story attached to it. It’s sad how many places around America were like this but that’s how it was back then.
Wow this is incredible interesting but so sad. Thank you for the video.
Awesome editing as well as the video and the history.
Thanks!
This is so sad. Horrible living conditions. Not enough help, not enough money. The name of this place sounds like a prison.😢
I find it hard to understand how conditions could have been allowed to get so totally out of control here, Chris, but we are talking about New York and also the mental heath situation nationwide has been a shambles for decades. Than you for showing us the revolting travesty. God Bless and stay safe.
Thank you for showing us Chris! It's crazy that this place was still in operation in the 90's.
It is hard to believe! But I guess it was. 😮
This place is so sad and humiliating towards those poor children and adults that was there over those years. You can see by the size of them, that a lot was not fed enough food, as their showing bones. sure it didnt look as bad inside as it does today in its abandonment, but it was no pleasure place either. I truly hope there are no more places this bad in todays society
The minute I see some old footage that goes with the story I’m sold
I'm no Geraldo fan, but the work he did on this report I truly admire him for.
For years I was Residence Manager for Group homes for the developmentally disabled. After Heraldo’s expose, these places began to treat these individuals so much better and deinstitutionalized these people so they could live in homes in the community. Now over 50 years later they are living in 4,5, or 6 bed homes, go to work or day hab programs, go to a huge variety of recreational activities every nite and on the weekends, have decent clothes and decent and nutritious food, have spending money, go on beautiful vacations etc. This is what they should have had all along. My most cherished memories are the hugs I would get everyday. Also myself and 3 staff took 10 individuals to Orlando to Disneyworld/Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom and MGM studios for a week’s vacation. We stayed in a huge house with a screened in pool and jacuzzi. It was probably my most memorable trip in my life, to see the looks of amazement and wonder on their faces. For years afterward, I would occasionally see these individuals and that’s all they could talk about! I could keep writing of my 25+ yrs in the field of Special Education, maybe one day I’ll write a book of all my experiences! PS- I had a young woman who came from Willowbrook and many from Letchworth Village. They were permanently scarred from their years of abuse. I hope I was able to have made a more positive impact on their lives. The hilarious stories I could tell you! And a shout out to all the hard working underpaid staff- thank you for your love and dedication to these individuals. ❤❤
How do you get help like that? Our son has developed PS and just sits and stares at nothing all day. We cannot get help at all.
Well done Chris and Jay. So sad the way people were treated when people just didn’t understand mental health. So sad for the employees that tried their best with what little they had.
It was disabled children at this place. And the answer is always the same....people dislike what they don't understand and things they're not frequently exposed to. All it took was some education and different perspectives and society eventually came around to where we are now. I don't think most people had evil intentions. I think they just lacked the perspectives and knowledge that the generations after them have since developed. They thought differently. There were different societal standards. The fear of difference hasn't changed. That's part of humanity. Be open to learning before you judge too harshly. Come to conclusions with caution.
One of the few things Geraldo did to actually help people.
Now they need to move the homeless people here and let them set up a city government and see if they can make a go of to of course give them support until they get on there feet we may be surprised.!
Awe, c’mon now … Let’s not forget Al Capone’s vaults … 😂
It didn’t help people. The government… Regan… closed the hospitals down and now those are the homeless people you see living in tents and attacking people on the streets. They are not all just druggies, they are mentally ill.
@@kayelise1499.
After all this time?
If yould would forget Al Capone 's vault, you might be able to concentrate more of the horror of this place.
That's a very stylish approach to include the inverview audio on top of your own footage. It really adds a haunting layer to all of what was.
I can't even watch this. 😡 It angers me and hurts my soul to know these precious children were mistreated, unwanted, abused and tortured. My first job was working with disabled adults who came from institutions such as this and i formed loving bonds with so many. I became a psych RN, because i wanted to care for the "misfits" of society. I consider it a blessing.
Thank you for caring. Reading that made me cry. As someone with mental illnesses I still feel we are treated negativity. God bless you ❤
It took 20 years to close the place down after Geraldo reported on it. 🥺😩
This is very well done. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of what life was like for the patients.
This is the way to help the suffering kids ....and adults. Show them up.!!.. Theres so much stuff we dont know. Thank you a million times.
There are still places like this but way nicer. Some are slowly being phased out. I had two relatives that were in institutions. It is more common than you think.
Seems like its not as common as it should be by looking at what is going on in the US at the moment
So sad. But thanks for doing the video. So these people are not forgotten. Great job both of you.❤
Thanks
This story reminds me of Byberry State Hospital, in Philly. Absolutely horrible living and working conditions for those involved.
You're videos are so well done. Your notifications always make me happy. Even on such a sad subject. Thank you for this type of documentaries. If we forget the past then we are likely to repeat it.
Very well done. The news clips worked great, and your attention to detail is impeccable. Sad one to watch.
So hard to fathom how a place that was imagined and realized in the spirit of human kindness and good will could devolve into a proverbial house of horrors, and ultimately the sad decay that is left today. Perhaps even sadder is how common this is in our society.
Thanks for sharing this tough story.
It makes me sad to hear these stories. I’m only here because I find psychology and the paranormal interesting. My hearts go out to my fellow autistic people who suffered in insane asylums. May they rest in peace.
Such a sad history 😢all those helpless souls.❤would love to explore here kinda has a beautiful feeling now with nature taking over .🌱🌿
Been watching you since you had like 200 subs and i hadnt doscovered Lamont yet. Keep at it man. The entertainment, video quality and the accuracy of information is commendable and has only gotten better, and better. Thanks Chris for another great video.
Guess you've missed a lot of videos then.
I was hiking the Long Path in Harriman today and came upon the memorial. It’s very sad indeed. We drove by the abandoned village and then I found your video. Dark history for sure. Thank you.
Letchworth Village was featured on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures in 2011.
Explored this over 20 times, It never gets old, it's a favorite place for me. The amount of sadness I feel everything I step foot into that place. I've done so much paranormal there and the amount of activity and energy is unbelievable. If you ever get time, head over to the Letchworth cemetery it's incredible. The cops at Letchworth are chill as shit and they never bothered us once! On my first trip here, I was greeted by a loud bang in one of the buildings, that building still haunts me to this day, I can't step foot in it! Oh yea, Great video! There is another great building back by the school/highway area it's the Morge where children were taken, amazing!
Too sad. You must feel it when you’re there. Poor souls 🙏🏻
Chris, I really wish you would wear rubber gloves to protect your hands when you handle stuff like you and the young man with you was doing with that rusty tin toy. You don't want to take the chance of picking up something like germs, bacteria, and etc... just please be safe 🙏
You really do fine documentaries.
😂
I changed my post to something more positive. 😅
This whole video is chilling, I can feel it I don't know if you can understand that it feels sad feels cold you can still hear the voices in the graveyard and in the hallways. I think you did an awesome job with this video thank you very well then
As a genealogist, thank you so much for pointing out that the terms used in the 1920's do not have the same connotation that they do now. That those were normal terms and we should not condemn the people who used them in their own time period. There are words that we use now that in 30 years people are going to be aghast at the use, but it is all about context.
And that nurse that spoke in the interview. You could hear in her voice that she was not happy about what was going on but that she was trying to do her best, for herself and the patients that she was responsible for. That the nakedness was the least of her concerns.
These places, when properly staffed and properly funded could be great places. But when the help and the money stop they can be come society's un-thought of nightmare.
At least they had a place to go. My Grandmother worked as an aide in a
Mental Hospital for many years. She was a good soul.
A big part of our history. Thanks for covering. 18:16 JFK pushed to close many of these places, but true funding for home and outpatient care was never approved. The home and outpatient supports were part of the care plan.
It was Regan who closed these places not Kennedy. The people you see homeless on the street, walking around with no money and gesturing and talking to themselves are those people who now have no place to go.
I believe you knocked it out of the park with this one. Wow! I'm pretty shocking. Thanks for sharing😢
This is the image of "institution" that is seared in the collective memory of this country, which is why we have so many people on the streets who cannot care for themselves. The country/states will not open/run facilities to house/help them because of laws, policies, and stigma. So we leave them on the streets to live the same way, only without food and shelter. There have been and are legit institutions (in-patient residences) where people do get the help they need when their families don't have the ability or means to do it themselves. I'm sure a majority of people who were institutionalize back in the day were put there because there was no other way to care for them, and it was the best known way to "help" them. Pressured by society and the doctors, many mothers turned over their children to the state to "help" them, with visitation being limited because of the false belief it would make the patient's "progress" fall back. We can't judge the ways of 1911 with 2023 knowledge. Yes, the conditions deteriorated and were horrible, and many people shouldn't ever have been put there, like women with post-partum depression or someone with mild disabilities, but what do we do today with our elders ... and how many people visit them? We warehouse them in much the same way, with conditions in many of those places being less than ideal. Things will change when families are intact and step up to the best of their abilities, even if it's just regular visits and caring. - Great job on the video! Thanks for the visit! - Muddypaw 🐾
This video was a real eye opener, but also felt like a slap in the face, awakening me to the CRUEL Reality of years gone by, that I never knew existed in such a way as to treat human beings like Garbage!!!
It literally brought tears to my eyes!!!
Thank you young men for posting this, it Needed to be brought to people's attention!!!
Well done Chris, and Jay, perhaps one of your best yet, revealing tragic Americana of the past. They were all once someone's child, and now children of God.
Thanks for this.
I watched some documentaries about mental institutions and some of them do start with noble and good intentions to genuinely help the people, but unfortunately underfunding and\or overcrowding happens, then abuse or neglect happens. Very sad that the outcome is the closing down of some of these places. Very good video btw. Just stumbled upon it and now I'm glad that I did!! Gonna subscribe right away!
I remember seeing the Geraldo Rivera story on Willowbrook from 1971-72
I've seen this place before on an investigation charm city paranormal did. It's got a lot of tormented souls left behind. Did you encounter anything Chris?
Creepy that the bear pencil box says " let's make it bearable ". So sad.
Thanks so much for the video. I lived not too far from there and used to go there and explore at night in various buildings with my friends about 20 years ago. It looks much better in the daytime thanks.
Thank you, Chris!❤
Every time you explore the darkside it’s fascinating
I grew up VERY NEAR Letchworth Village Developmental Center. it took 5 or 6 minutes to get to it from our house. There was 7 children in our family and all but one worked in Letchworth for some period of time in the late 1970's. We used to walk down to that cemetery all the time. Some of us have worked with the 'developmentally disabled' for many years. FIRST of all: there were good people that worked there and there were the f-wads who were there for the PAYCHECK.
Do you think anything is haunted there? thanks in advance
No. that Ghost Adventure kind of shit was all BS. The people that worked there were scarier than the people that LIVED there,@@TheLobsterBurger
I remember watching this in the 50 year anniversary of this asylum the reporter name was Geraldo Rivera cover this report with a employee who worked there. One of the patience of the asylum became friends with him the stories of these victims made me sad but glad it was shut down for good
We know this barrow
Great video, I can see you work on the thumbnail! It's also great that you're reminding people of the history they wish they can forget. It makes me wonder if some schools in the USA are making a similar mistake.
The Marlboro psychic hospital when it was opened had a cemetery across the street was exactly the same. Just graves with numbers. So sad! They also had a memorial built that added the names of some of the individuals.
So sad and painful, great video!
Very well done, voice over/cut scenes was special touch...Thank you much. Keep safe and all🎉
Great explore! Thanks for bringing us along!!
Sad history there but looks like an awesome place to explore
RIP you beautiful poor souls.. none of this was your fault nor doing.😿🕊️💔
How tragic. The suffering of the poor people. This is so sad.
Great channel ,appreciate what you’re doing 👍
When a place is abandoned unfortunately people will destroy places because they have no respect for anything but themselves
Another great video, but so sad for the children and the workers.
Looking around today I think we need to restore these places. People aren’t well and it’s alarming.
Dude, I've been following your videos for a while now, and I think that this is probably the most disturbing one you have done.
Really great video. So interesting. ❤
Great 👍 VIDEO . Always looking forward to watching your UA-cam videos
I’ve been there multiple times at night with my friends. We all heard strange noises and conversations between people, sounded like young kids. Very sad story and the place is extremely paranormally active
Thank you another fantastic, informative video.
Thank you for a sympathetic educational explore.
Very sad story truly. Thank you for this documentary . Didn’t know about this place
Great video !
i lived in Haverstraw NY from91 to 08 thanks for the info looking for more on this subject
Just found your channel. Loving the content.
Respect from 🏴
Exceptional coverage.
Attitude toward the disabled have changed too. They now encouraged to live with family and are considered to be human. I remember hearing about the doctor who design ABA therapy considering his therapy as creating a person and that they only way the autistic child could learn was by inflecting pain. They were considered to be a burden on society. I remember being told that they do not belong here and that was 1990.
Awesome video keep it up!
One of the strangest things about this place is the temperature change when you walk in to these buildings it’s so cold
I have found mountains of paperwork in this place with staff members literally pleading for more help funding and food. Every single one of them was denied😢
I won't get into what else was found while going through days of paperwork