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Wide open door + stair case = hard to resist
Glenn Dale TB Sanatorium
and Isolation Hospital |
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my long weekend visit to Maryland and Virginia, the area in which I grew up. It was a whirlwind trip, but one stop along the way deserves an entire post in honor of the Halloween season...our side trip to explore the abandoned--some say haunted--Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Sanatorium and Isolation Hospital, an enormous, 216-acre campus of 23 buildings located in Glenn Dale, Maryland.
My sister works in a medical office building literally right down the street, so when I met her at work to begin our drive to a family wedding in Virginia, we decided to spend a few moments on a quick side trip, checking out the hospital. And it would have to be quick, because while driving through the campus is legal, entering the buildings is not. It's dangerous...rotting floors, old equipment, broken stairs, listing doors, shattered glass, rusted metal, asbestos...and possibly ghosts. Seriously, how could I resist?
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| This is one of the 23 buildings on the huge campus |
Glenn Dale Hospital was built in 1934, in response to the TB epidemic ravaging the Washington, D.C., area. Tuberculosis, also known as TB, the white plague, and consumption, is a contagious bacterial disease that affects the lungs. It was one of the leading causes of death in the United States in the twentieth century (source: WebMD). Containment of infected individuals, along with access to sunlight and fresh air, were considered the best treatment in the times before a vaccine was discovered. Patients were quarantined not only to reduce the threat of spreading the disease, but also because there was a social stigma attached to sufferers as well.
A diagnosis of TB at that time was often a death sentence, so hundreds would have passed away at the hospital between the 1930s and the 1960s, when the epidemic slowed. The hospital continued to take in patients with long-term illnesses until it was shuttered in 1981. It's been abandoned ever since, and for those who believe in the paranormal, it's easy to imagine the lingering spirits of those who suffered and eventually died here.
So, yeah, it was hard for me to resist sneaking in for a peek inside. Unlike my visit to the abandoned prison in Barnstable Village, I was not privy to a private tour by experts on the property, so I can't really caption the photos with exact locations or details. But the pictures speak for themselves in a lot of ways, so I hope you enjoy them! And for other posts on spooky places I've visited, check out my post on the above-mentioned abandoned prison in Barnstable, our trip to the Paris Catacombs, and some history on the Oldest Jail in the country, the inspiration for the ghost mystery in Haunted Souls. Happy Halloween!
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There was an emphasis on outdoor areas in the hospital
design because it was believed TB patients benefited from
fresh air and sunlight. |
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The water stain on the wall really freaked me out
when I first saw this pic...looks like a hunched over person...
it was too dark inside to see it when I took the photo! |
(If you'd like to use any of these photos, please message me!)
