Haunted Hospitals, Part 3

I see we haven't scared you away yet! Here's the latest in our "Haunted Hospitals" series!

*   *   *   *   *

Essex Mountain Sanatorium, Verona, New Jersey

History

The Essex Mountain Sanatorium originated as the Newark City Home for Girls, a reformatory and orphanage that opened in 1902, and was closed in 1906 due to decreasing enrolment. However, the next year, when cases of TB exploded in the area, the facility opened to TB patients, becoming the Newark City Home for Consumptives. But, it was too small to accommodate the growing TB scourge so, in 1922, construction of 11 new buildings, all part of the new Essex Mountain Sanatorium, were completed, with the old orphanage containing administrative offices. The facility was state-of-the-art, boasting a 50% recovery rate. However, after the cure for TB was discovered, the buildings slowly emptied. By 1977 the sanatorium had ceased all operation and was completely abandoned by 1982.

Hauntings

Since the sanatorium's closing, rumors of ghosts have circulated. Some reports include footsteps from empty upper floors, voices yelling "Get out!", a wheelchair moving on its own with no wind or even a slight breeze present, and faces in windows. You can get a glimpse of some creepy pictures taken at the "vacant" sanatorium at the official Essex Mountain site, which may be genuine ghosts – but only if you dare to believe.

See the previous installment, Haunted Hospitals, Part 2, or the next installment, Haunted Hospitals, Part 4.

Discuss This Article

Have something you'd like to say? Tell us what you think! Read and post comments for this article.

Find a Job

Choose your career:

MedHunters is the world's biggest healthcare job board. Our job directory has 17,003 jobs with 2,377 hospitals and other direct employers.

We want you to find your next job on MedHunters. Need Help? Call us at 1-888-884-8242, email us at info@medhunters.com or sign up now.