The Ghosts of Central State Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana

While the majority of buildings at the Central State Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, have been demolished, the ghosts that once dwelled within refuse to die.

Central State Hospital began in as the Indiana Hospital for the Insane. The need for a state funded mental institution, or asylum, was a source of contention; there was an obvious need, but debate ranged over where the funds would come from, and where the hospital would be place. This debate raged from 1827, until the doors opened in 1848. The Indiana Hospital for the Insane had five patients when it first opened, and consisted of only one building. In 1889 the name was changed to the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane, and changed again in 1928 to Central State Hospital.

The Hospital slowly grew to over 5,000 patients, and several buildings on over 100 acres of land in Indianapolis. There were two nearly identical buildings to keep the male and female patients separated, a medical building for non-mental illnesses, and a chapel. They even had a bowling alley for patients. The Hospital also offered occupational therapies that included jobs for the patients such as working in a bakery, and tending to the grounds.

When the Hospital was first built, it treated the mentally ill from around the country, but as other institutions were built, the needs of Central State changed. Eventually they treated only patients in the areas surrounding Indianapolis, but this still included 38 separate counties. The state chose to demolish the majority of the Hospital's buildings in the 1970s, replacing them with newer buildings. The Hospital closed its doors for good in 1994. One original building that still stands is the Pathology Department, where the Indiana Medical History Museum is located.