DETROIT – You can now take a tour of one of Michigan's most notoriously haunted locations.
The former Traverse City State Hospital, or the Northern Michigan Asylum, is offering guided tours of the former hospital grounds.
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For the bravest souls, the "Twilight Tour" is the perfect evening of ghost hunting. Here's the description:
For those seeking an otherworldly experience, the evening sky- line of building 50 is magical and unique. The tour begins on the front lawn with a formal toast to honor history’s advocates for moral treatment. Then, on to observe the fascinating shadow play, and listen for the creeks and groans of the asylum “cottages” settling at night. This tour also includes an excursion into the 1885 underground steam tunnel. $35 per person, must be 18 & over, ID required.
Background on the old hospital:
Built in 1885, the hospital, also known as Northern Michigan Asylum, opened due to overcrowding issues at the Kalamazoo and Pontiac hospitals.
It was run by Dr. James Decker Munson. The facility housed as many as 3,000 patients in its several buildings.
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Munson believed in a now outdated medical theory, which believed that "beauty" could be used as a form of therapy. He felt that if mentally troubled patients could come to a place and be surrounded by tranquility, that their problems would simply vanish.
The use of straitjackets was not allowed.
By the 1930s, the hospital was the city's largest employer.
While it was originally established to care for mentally ill patients, its use expanded during outbreaks of polio, influenza and tuberculosis.
The mental institution closed in 1989.
Find out more about the hospital and its strange stories here.
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