It’s October, and it’s time to gear up for spooky season. There’s the Halloween Block Party that happens every year and tons more frightful fun to have. If you’ve ever wondered what The Ridges—formerly the Athens Lunatic Asylum—was like back in its heyday, walking tours are taking place in October. On October 11th, from 2-4pm, you’ll get a comprehensive history on the asylum from a local expert as you walk along the grounds.
What’s the Big Deal with the Asylum?
If you’re not from Athens or don’t have a ton of knowledge on local history, you might be forgiven for not knowing about the former asylum. What is now The Ridges was once home to an insane asylum about 150 years ago—in fact, it only ceased being an asylum in the 1980s. In the early 90s, Ohio University bought the grounds and buildings. But what makes the former asylum a staple of Athens culture?
For starters, the building design is incredibly famous. The hospital building was designed with the Kirkbride Plan, which refers to the architectural design. Coined by the psychiatrist Thomas Kirkbride, these buildings’ design allows for copious amounts of natural sunlight and airflow to pour in, as that was once thought to be a crucial element in healing mental suffering. The expansive grounds allowed for activities like gardening and exercise amount the asylum’s patients.
As with tons of mental health hospitals of old, there are plenty of reports of The Ridges being haunted by ghosts of former asylum patients. The asylum had its own cemetery to bury unclaimed patients, and parts of the property were built directly on top of a Native American burial ground. Need we say more? With dozens of reported hauntings and ghosts, The Ridges is a paranormal hotspot in Athens
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of the asylum and its patients, tickets for the tour are live and available at $10 for students and $20 for everyone else.