Most Haunted Places in America: Peoria State Hospital

Peoria State Hospital, also known as Bartonville State Hospital, had a bit of a difficult start. Construction began in Bartonville Illinois in 1895 and didn’t finish until 1897, when the collapse of the mine shafts the building was erected over caused so much structural damage that the project had to be abandoned before it was even put into service. In 1902, a visionary named Dr. George Zeller brought Peoria State Hospital to life. Zeller’s vision of more humane treatment of the mentally ill was almost unheard of in a time of barbaric “treatments” such as lobotomies and electroshock therapy. Zeller’s vision materialized in a thirty-three building complex and ended as one of the most haunted places in America.

February 10th, 1902, Zeller’s hospital opened it’s doors to it’s first patients who were transferred from various facilities in Illinois. These “incurably insane” patients would be the first to experience Zeller’s unique brand of humane treatment. Peoria State Hospital was one of the first hospitals of it’s kind to work towards rehabilitation of it’s residents and give them a chance at living a meaningful life. From 1943 until 1969, Peoria State Hospital participated in the training of psychiatric nurses to further promote ethical treatment of the mentally ill. This revolutionary hospital continued to thrive until 1973, when the institution closed it’s doors for good.

Since it’s abandonment in 1973, Peoria State Mental Hospital has been the site of numerous reports of paranormal activity. Inside the main building, there have been reports of footsteps, whispering, sobbing, and shadows lurking in the hallways. Zeller himself, documented his paranormal experiences in a book called “The Bereft”. In one of the hospital’s four cemeteries, you can still hear the weeping of a former patient nicknamed “Old Book”.

The story of Old Book is a sad one, and it seems that his sorrow remains to this day. Zeller, as part of his treatment of the patients, enlisted mentally ill, yet capable of working, men to dig the graves of the patients who died daily at the hospital. Old Book was one of those men assigned to grave digging duty. He was a former bookbinder at a Chicago printing company who, due to progressive mental illness, grew to be mute and withdrawn. He was brought to Peoria Mental Hospital for treatment and remained there until he died. Those who were buried in Peoria State Hospital’s four cemeteries were all unclaimed by families and considered unwanted. These poor souls were buried under headstones bearing only a patient number.

Old Book wept in great sorrow at each patient he helped bury. His sleeves were always drenched in tears and he often leaned against the large Elm tree that stood in the center of the main cemetery and sobbed loudly. Old Book quickly became a favorite patient of Zeller’s and the other staff, as well as a good friend to many of the other patients. When Old Book passed away, Zeller personally attended the funeral along with several staff members and other patients. Four hundred people attended Old Book’s funeral and they were all witness to the events that occurred. As Old Book’s casket was being lowered into the grave, loud sobbing could be heard from the direction of Book’s favorite Elm tree. This disturbed the funeral audience, who swore they witnessed Old Book standing by the Elm tree when they looked to the direction of the sound. Zeller ordered that the casket be opened to prove that Book’s corpse was indeed inside.

Later on, in the hospital’s history, the Elm tree was set to be removed. The men hired to chop down the tree fled in fear when the sound of sobbing was loudly heard when the axe was swung into the tree. The Elm tree was then ordered to be burned down, but, along with the sobbing, the attempt to remove the tree was unsuccessful. The tree has since been removed, leaving only the stump. The tree may be long gone, but the reports of Old Book’s sobbing still lives on.

Related posts:

1. Ghosts at Northern State Mental Hospital
2. The Paranormal at Metropolitan State Hospital
3. Patients Haunting Fairfield Hills State Hospital
4. The Haunted Tunnels of Anoka State Hospital
5. The Haunted Elgin State Mental Hospital