Come Visit West Virginia's "New" Lunatic Asylum

In Weston, West Virginia, a town one hour south of Morgantown, there stands one of the world’s largest hand-cut stone structures. The Weston Hospital, a castle dating back to the 19^th century, is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

For most of her history the 307-acre complex was used as a mental health hospital, once housing more than 2,000 patients. It has been largely vacant since 1994.

The state put the grounds up for auction, and they were purchased by Joe Jordan of Morgantown for $1.5 million.

With prices ranging from $10 to $30, one can take a tour of the hospital, learning about issues ranging from the “evolution of mental health care, the Civil War, the Great Depression, even architecture.”

Disability advocates in West Virginia, however, take great umbrage with the operation at the Weston. Their unease takes many forms, starting with the “new” name of the hospital. For marketing purposes, the owners reverted the Weston Hospital back to one of its previous names: The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

That’s offensive enough. Now add in some of the planned activities for the next year:

• “Psycho Path” dirt bike races
• “Mud bog” races, where trucks see how far they can go in the mud before getting stuck.
• “Hospital of Horrors” Halloween Tours
• “Nightmare Before Christmas” tours before Christmas.

The reaction of disability advocates:

"It's like turning back the clock to a time we don't want to go back to," said Ann McDaniel, executive director of the Statewide Independent Living Council, one of several mental health advocacy groups to object. "I think they could still do what they want to do without being offensive."

Scott Miller, director of Mountain State Direct Action Center, said one former patient burst into tears after seeing the name on a sign.

"It's not just that I'm a liberal and I think it's not a good idea; it's seeing people physically hurt," he said. "That's about all I needed to know."