Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode examines 40 years of the history of Taunton State Hospital. Find out what notorious true crime story may (or may not) have a connection to the hospital. Learn how treatment at Taunton was ahead of its time in so many ways.My primary source for this week's episode is the book A Brief History of the Taunton Lunatic Hospital 1854 to

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode explores the history of the first three decades of Taunton State Hospital in Taunton, Massachusetts. Find out why people were sent to this hospital and what major world events led to a dramatic increase of patient admissions at asylums around the state. Learn what a "magic lantern show" was and why the asylum had to have a w

Send us a Text Message.In this week's episode, I interview photographer Christie Seyglinski. Listen to find out how she got started photographing abandoned Kirkbride hospitals and why she spent a night in an old asylum in 8th grade!Add Abandoned: Echoes of the Past by Christie Seyglinski to your wishlist now! Available soon. Follow her work on Instagram @christieseyglinski or

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode features the story of the tragic murder of 5-year-old Edith Freeman in 1879. Learn why her parents did not mourn the loss of their daughter, whom they said they loved more than life itself, and find out why her father was sent to Danvers Lunatic Asylum in 1880.Sources are mostly drawn from newspaper articles from the time period (than

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode outlines the history of Danvers State Hospital from 1912 until it closure in 1992. Find out what happens to the site after the hospital closed down and how it is being used today.Most of my information is drawn from the Images of America book on Danvers State Hospital by Katherine Anderson and Robert Duffy. All other sources will be l

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode covers the first four decades of Danvers State Hospital (originally the State Lunatic Asylum at Danvers). Learn why people believed the land the asylum was built on was cursed. Find out what was later discovered in the abandoned hospital that had been preserved from the early days of the pathology lab. We'll also look at the ways

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode focuses on the story of Mary Huestis Pengilly, who was sent to the Provincial Lunatic Asylum in St. John, New Brunswick, at age 61. Learn about Mary's history and what possibly led to her admission to the asylum. Hear Mary's own words from her diary about her experience in the asylum -- from endearing women she met on the wa

Send us a Text Message.In this episode, we discuss the last century of history at the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, now called the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Find out about the murder that led to the "trial of the century" and sparked public interest in learning about insanity and psychiatry. Learn what methods of treatment were used at the hospital befor

Send us a Text Message.This week's episode covers the history of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum over the course of 50 years (1857-1907). Find out what treatments were used during the superintendentship of Drs. Workman and Clark. Learn why one group was disproportionately represented in the asylum and in Toronto jails.All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcri

Send us a Text Message.In this week's episode, we discuss the socio-political events that led to the construction of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum in Toronto, Canada. Find out why it took so long for the asylum to be constructed and why it was only half-built by the time it opened in 1850. Learn about the very turbulent first decade of the asylum's history and why the med