THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The former Essex County Hospital Center is one of New Jersey's best-known abandoned haunted locations. Visitors have reported shadow figures, disembodied voices, unexplained screams, and apparitions inside the decaying hospital buildings. Many believe the spirits of former patients and staff remain on the abandoned grounds.
This 1800s former hospital, also called Overbrook, was turned into a psychiatric hospital in the 1920s. It was said to have been haunted by phantom nurses and patients. Also, the sound of rolling gurneys could be seen, and a demonic presence was felt by witnesses. According to reports, in 1917 many patients froze to death in their beds when a boiler failed. In fact, some reports say over 10,000 patients died here altogether before the hospital closed in 1975. Many ghost-hunting TV shows have featured the site in 2008 and 2009; some did not name the exact location. The building is said to have been demolished in 2009.