THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The imposing Old Main building of Utica State Hospital is associated with reports of pale faces watching from its windows and unexplained screams heard coming from inside.
Originally known as the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, the institution opened in 1843 as New York's first publicly funded hospital created specifically for the treatment of mental illness. It later became known as Utica State Hospital and Utica Psychiatric Center. The hospital was also associated with the Utica crib, a controversial covered restraint bed used during the nineteenth century. Patients were transferred from the old facility by 1977, but the monumental Greek Revival Old Main building remains standing and is now used for state records storage. Paranormal stories claim that faces appear in its windows and screams can be heard from within the largely inaccessible building.