I have had several people land on my blog while searching for Western Mental Health Institute so I figured I would add some information.
The grounds of WMHI were once populated by flying squirrels but they have disappeared in recent years. The main entrance leads to the Administration building. This building once had two large wings. They were condemned and removed in the 1980’s. Some of the locals said the wings were haunted but it really doesn’t matter since they no longer exist.
Some of the things I have read on the internet are simply untrue. One person stated that when lightening struck nearby you could see a man who hung himself swinging from the top of the Administration building. None of the employees, security guards or locals have ever seen this. It was also said that there were places in Luton Hall where there are no cameras and the patients use this spot to kill other patients. My mother works in Luton Hall now and did many years ago as well. First of all, there are cameras everywhere. Secondly, this unit is all men. The majority of these men will remain there for their entire lives. They have had patients murder other patients but they really don’t care if they are caught or not. Honestly, what are they going to do to them? Many years ago, one of the men strangled his room mate with a tube sock because his snoring kept him awake. It happens.
One rumor that swirled around at WMHI for awhile revolved around the tunnels beneath the buildings. It was said that patients had become lost in the maze of tunnels and died down there. Some have even went so far as to say that the tunnels are haunted by these patients who are still looking for a way out.
Let me say this now: It is illegal to trespass on state property. All employees have hangers on their rear view mirrors so anyone who isn’t supposed to be there is spotted very easily. Even if you did manage to gain illegal entry to the grounds, the tunnels can only be accessed via the units. If you attempt to enter a unit, you will be captured on camera and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. DO NOT trespass!
The reason I know all of this is because my mother, three aunts, two uncles, and several friends work or have worked at WMHI. Several of them have retired from there and others have worked there for several decades. My mother has worked in Luton Hall, the Clement Building and occasionally works the Timber Springs Unit. My aunt and uncle worked in Dietary. One uncle is a Security Guard. Two aunts worked in the Administration Building. One friend is a Security Guard, another retired from Dietary.
Most of what you are saying is True…But WMHI is very haunted. and they still have flying squirrels….they even have albino squirrels out there. I use to work there. I worked at Nat’T Winston, in dietary….all the trays were broght from the Admin. My mother worked there in Dietary sometimes in the Admin. but mostly at the Clemet building. My Step-dad still works there. He works in Housekeeping as a Supervisor. I have family there too. My step-dad has been there for 25 yrsor almost 25 yrs.Back in the day Luton Hall did not have cameras…..there are tunnels but you are right Don’t Tresspass…….the admin did have 2 wings that are not there now, but the upstairs is very haunted……I would LOVE for TAPPS to visit there.
About The facility located in Bolivar, TN. I have been trying to contact anyone that worked at this facility from
1980’s . My mother was a patient there at that time. I grew up in Fostercare. I found out about my mother after her death in May 2006 at a Nursing Home in Milan, TN. I would like to piece together her life from that time.
Any info. or assist. would be appreciated.
For all others there are spirits or haints that remain after death. For what ever reason they do not accept or understand they have died. It is said that spirits reside in their homes after death until they cross over. In mental illness that home could be the facility where they lived prior to death or maybe the last home they knew before the placement facility. I believe my mother’s spirit resides at the home that she shared with my father. He still lives there today. I visited there in 2007 and I never went back. Just a feeling of being watched. My father has complained about things happening around there. I try to tell him. That’s just the card he has been dealt. He will never be rid of her until his death.
I have not heard the word “haint” since my grandmother passed away in 2001. She always talked about haints. 🙂
What was your mother’s name?
I was a patient at Western State in 2004. I saw a woman standing over me when I awoke and she disappeared around the corner. I felt a ‘spirit’ go through me the next day. I would say it is indeed haunted.
You’re a TAPS fan? I love TAPS! I watch Ghost Hunters every week. I would like to see them investigate it as well, especially the area around the Administration building and the tunnels.
My grandmother worked in Nat T many, many years ago.
I didn’t know that about the upstairs of the Admin building. I had always heard the wings were so creepy that no one wanted to go in those parts of the building. Some said you could hear footsteps in the hallways there. Is that the same type of thing that goes on in the upstairs?
My mother said the squirrels were all gone. I’m guessing she just hasn’t seen any since she does the night shift. When I was a child we occasionally visited my grandmother over there while she was working and I always enjoyed watching the squirrels soar through the air from tree to tree. It’s nice to know they are still there.
Did you know that Luton Hall has a door on the third floor with a face in the wood grain? I have not seen it…I’ve only been told about it.
Hello,
I am from Bolivar, Tennessee. I was in the marching band in high school, and we were required to do a spring concert for the patients at Western. Because I did not play an instrument (I was a flag girl.), I sat in the audience with the patients. It was quite an experience. There were a lot of patients in the room, some wearing helmets banging their heads against the wall. There didn’t seem to be a lot of control by the staff. It was an odd experience at that age.
Could you send me the photos and information you have on the place? I would love to check it out!
Thanks!
last time i was there, nothing unusual happened (nor did i see any flying squarrels)
I was a patient at western state in Bolivar, there were deffinately some odd things going on there.I Wittnessed a girl try to hang herself with her bra! I saw a few other things there , like faces in the tower for instance. The whole time I was there it was like being at a funeral.
I have seen a naked woman beating on the door of the isolation room. Of course, I was in there too a few times. But, never naked.
I cannot forget that image of her….
Lol.. i was a patient too. it is very much like being at a funeral but i really dont think the part i stayed at was haunted at all.
i am doing a little research on the hospital hauntings, if any? does any one have any stories? i also heared they filmed a horror movie there. are there any famous patients? are the under ground tunnels still in use?
I was a patient there in 2002 definately haunted and definately heard and womens screams and doors being banged on
These stories are very intriging. I really appreciate the information. Its really caught my intention. I’d love to buy a book on all of it.
The tunnels have not been used in many, many years. There has never been any filming there, although they are supposed to place a webcam over the current construction area. New buildings are being built, which means that other buildings will no longer be used once the work is completed.
I do know of one patient who was in a film many years ago (not a leading role) and there is also a patient who was a famous madame several decades ago. There were some people who thought Mary Winkler would be sent to WMHI, but she was not.
As far as the “atmosphere” of Western, odd things happen simply because of what it is. While some of the patients do not have major mental illnesses, there are many who do and you can expect some odd behavior.
Does anybody want to spend a night in the place? Im willing to go to the most haunted wing in the place. I am not scared of the other side and what it brings. We just have to remember that they are not ghost just people who dont know to go home to the love of the Lord. We can help them go home. If you ever see a “ghost” tell it to go home and wish them the love that GOD gives us all.
These are not just ghosts or lonely spirits, these are torturesd souls sho have had terrible experiments done on them in the name of pre-medicine. There were no manuscripts to go by, no medicine books, this was one of the first mental hospitals in the south. My family has lived there forever, did you know there was a lot of patients that broke out in the early 70’s, I think, not sure of the years, I will check with my father not rumors, he remembers the entire sheriffs dept and city police telling everyone to stay inside. So if you think a soul who had been lobotamized with ancient medical tools will just give into the lord, think again.
I have lived in Bolivar all of my life and have many relatives who have worked at Western for decades (some still do). My uncle has worked as a security guard at Western for ages. I had a great aunt who was a patient at Western for the majority of her adult life. While the “ghost stories” and patient treatments at Western are rumors we enjoy discussing, these are the facts:
Patients were allowed to roam free on the grounds until the late 80’s. In fact, there used to be what looked like a bus stop right across the street from the gate and it was very common to drive by and see patients sitting there. They didn’t “break out”, they simply walked off. This happened quite a bit. Some were found wandering on the roadways and often people picked them up and drove them back without involving local law enforcement. Many were found inside empty trailers at Joe’s trailer park, which was less than two miles from Western.
People in the area always knew when a patient was missing for more than a few hours because local law enforcement searched for them and asked people in the area to keep an eye out for them, but it wasn’t like they placed the surrounding areas on lockdown. Law enforcement may have suggested that they stay inside but they weren’t ordered to. Don’t get me wrong. There were patients that people felt threatened by for good reason, but it wasn’t many, and those patients rarely had grounds privileges so they were not the ones walking off.
We will never know how the patients were treated decades ago. It’s a state facility and state secrets tend to stay that way. We know what typical treatment of psychiatric patients were in those days and we can only speculate about the horrors they endured. I am not trying to say that they didn’t endure terrible things because they most certainly did, but we can only guess at what they may have had done to them.
The majority of the patients at Western during the 70’s and into the 80’s were simply abandoned by their families who didn’t wish to take care of them. A great deal of them were cases of mental retardation who were dumped into state custody. My great aunt was locked up for postpartum depression and was there for nearly three decades–for postpartum depression, a temporary condition rarely requiring hospitalization today. Women were labeled “sex-crazed” and locked up for life when today they would simply be considered “promiscuous”. If you don’t believe that most of these patients were simply discarded by their families out of shame, take a look in Potter’s Field. There are many patients whose bodies are buried there because their families didn’t even bother to claim them when they passed away. Only a small percentage of them were violent. Most were simply the “unwanted” who were relinquished into state custody.
“Rumors” are discussed because we know so little about what goes on or has occurred at Western and people are fascinated with it because of its age, what it is, and its place in the history of Hardeman County.
I think it is important to accurately discuss the history of Western and how things really were if we’re now separating fact and fiction. I only know of one patient who “broke out” of Western and that was in the early 90’s. The rest simply walked off the property with no plans of a great escape. Western has been the home to many who didn’t deserve to be there. They were more victims than patients. In the past few years, the state has tried to correct this and has sent many of them to assisted living facilities. And that….is the rest of the story.
MR WILL YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT SPIRITS. I THINK YOU HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND TOO MANY. I HAVE EXPERIENCED GOOD AND VERY BAD. IF YOU WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN BOLIVAR, I ANTICIPATE THE EVENT. LET ME KNOW WHEN. YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED AND I DOUBT YOU CAN DISPELL A SPIRIT BY TELLING IT TO GO HOME. PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG. BUT I WARN YOU IT MIGHT BE TERRIFYING.
Hello,
I work at Western as well as some of my family (presently and retired) I have spoken to many older employees and they do report “odd”
things.Some include hearing voices and seeing people on units that are not in use. Murders have occurred on the grounds,on units, and inside the tunnels. Patients use to roam freely on the grounds and one young man was found hung in a tree. There are lots of things that have happen at Western that the public is not and will not ever know. Remember, this is a STATE run facility. What happens at Western STAYS at Western. You just have to ask the right people and most are reluctant to say too much. Not to mention it opened in the late 1890’s. Lots of History!!!!!!!!! I would love to know it all!!!!!!!!
Everyone that comes on the property MUST sign in with security. Not even the patient’s family can just walk in. So, don’t think you can just go snooping around. You will be arrested and it’s a federal offense.
We do house the criminally insane.Murderers etc. And yes they are truly mentally ill. And most will live out the rest of their lives there.
As far as the squirrels …….. I see a few every once in a while. They have probably moved out to less populated areas.
My aunt was a charge nurse at Western for decades. My grandmother was a nurse there. My sister worked in the Pharmacy and my BIL worked in procurement. Back in the 50’s and 60’s my aunt had a house right on the grounds. And by the way, way back then “the grounds” meant about 1600 acres! Dairy farm. Row crops. Truck crops. All raised by the patients. It was when the state told them that couldnt make the patients work that the wandering of the patients began. Talking of horror stories. My aunts house was right across the road from where they would “treat” TB patients. I would sit on my aunts porch and see patients strapped to chairs writhing in agony. As for the tunnels. Yes they were there and my cousin and I spent many an afternoon playing and exploring in them. Never once were we ever accosted or scared of a patient.
Thank you, AF. I have been noticing a lot of deer in front of the old Timber Springs building. During the summer, they were there a lot at night eating some sort of fruit from the trees. I can remember back when the grounds were covered in wildlife.
I also remember when patients roamed free and it was nothing unusual to have a patient wander off. More often than not, they were found hiding in an empty trailer in Joe’s Trailer Park off Lucy Black Road.
I think why so much of Western is kept secret is because the employees fear the trouble they would get into if they said anything. Regardless of the mental condition of the patients, they are still entitled to the same confidentiality in treatment as someone who is sane. There are also all sorts of rules that they must follow. For example, I would love to have a photo of the wooden door on the third floor of Luton. There is a face in the grain of the wood. However, cameras are forbidden on the units.
Dear ATorturedSoul,
I too grew up in Bolivar with my dad living on Stevens Rd.–directly across the street to the Western State Cemetary. Thank you for putting the record straight. I remember it exactly like you do. I’d know a patient was loose when I’d see a helicopter circling the country club area but nobody really worried about it. It was just a part of our everyday life in Bolivar, TN . . . kinda like smelling the tannery – it stunk but it meant you were home!
It’s odd to drive down Highway 18 North without smelling the tannery – even after all these years. My grandfather worked there for a long time before her retired. You’re right. It was just part of home. My mom worked at Western back then and nobody ever worried about the patients. I can never remember any being a big problem when they wandered off. They usually turned up within three miles of Western. My uncle worked as security and I knew a patient was out when I saw him driving through the country club area. It was pretty normal around here. The patients at Western are the last people I worry about “escaping”. Now the prisoners at Whiteville….that’s a different story. lol
I used to work at Western a few years back and there are creepy and spirits that are there on the grounds!!! My mom and step-dad still work there!! And My mom told me some of the things that she has experienced!! But as for me myself YES I CAN SAY IT IS HAUNTED!!!! Back behind Luton hall were the employes park in the field that is fenced off is a cemetery!!! Of people that died there! I have seen a person around the old building behind clement!! And even if the place is old there have been unexplained voices, I remember doing rounds on third shift and the patients were sleep and there was an empty bed there and the first time that I passed it, it was empty but before I left the room I saw something sitting on that empty bed looking at me, scared me half to death!!!! So there are spirits and things that are not at rest! Western was all that they knew! So that is there home. And I hope that they did something about the deer population!
I worked at WMHI 14yrs ago and one evening I was on my lunch break and I heard some footsteps thenthe phone went dead.I was in the admin. building after closing I even said goodnight to the guard.Every night you can see the lights come on in the 4th floor which has been stutdown for close to 30yrs. Now i spottedghosts of a patient,nurse and of a doctors each in the admin and the building slightly to the left.And strange noises can be heard in the building to the far left that used to be the Timber Springs school house.And if you stand in the field in the back you can see and hear so strange things coming from the houses.Oh its on record for the albino squirrels.
Just ask the kitchen staff and the older employes + the towns people.Its raining on the hospital grounds and sunny across the street.Plus a cloud around the 4th floor.
I am trying to find anything on my ancestors and all I have on one gg-grandfather is that he was in a mental hospital in Bolivar Tennessee where he died and is buried nearby. Where do I look for records of his hospitalization and his death? I don’t even know his real name, he went by “Babe” Stonem.
My Great Aunt lived most later part of life there. I found her info listed on a 1930 Census or maybe it was 1940. You can try to access it through ancestry.com and maybe see his name listed. Of course, there were many women’s names there.
Hope this will be helpful in your search of a beloved family lost with in the confined decade’s in the history of WMHI, WMH, WESTERN STATE, WESTERN STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL, yes the name has been altered many times but most locals just call it WESTERN STATE. The institute had their own morgue and yes it still remains to this day.Medical records over time went from charts(paper) to micro-fish(film) and over time lack of space as well as deceased patient’s they were stored in the basement of the morgue.The tunnel’s were damp, poor plumbing (2-6)inchs water rats, bottom line—-records do exist..and you can request in writting for those records.Please do not give in or give up,for you will be met with thick walls–we will call you–not sure if we have records from that time,and they could have been grossly damaged due to environmental reasons,but with new software retrevial technology you could offer to secure the record regardless of the condition and pay to have someone to restore as much as possible. Please call medical records dept.and/or human resources do not give up you are family you have the right to see or obtain those records;731-228-2000 enjoy the quest embrace the journey and celebrate your victory!!!
My Mama was in western mental institution. I was little when she was there. I think she was there in the early 1960’s. My dad divorced her and I lived with my dad. Both of my parents are dead now. I am Bipolar, PTSD, and have personality disorder. I really like to know exactly what my Mama was diagnosed. I would like to learn how much I am like or not alike my Mama. Are the recorders available? If so what would I have to do to get a copy? As for the hauntings, I have only heard about them online. I tried to get my Mama’s records but was told that anything that is 20 years old they destroyed. I sure would love to
Receive a copy.
Try looking up Virgil Stonem…Sry thats all i can say, I hope this helps you…
The only mental hospital in Bolivar that housed patients was indeed Western Mental Health Institute. The records will not be accessible, as patient records are confidential and not public information.
There are several cemeteries nearby that are “state cemeteries”. These were where patients were buried when the family did not claim the body for private burial. Two of these cemeteries are at the corners of Nuckolls and Tate Road in Bolivar. I think there is also a third cemetery somewhere on state grounds, but I am not sure. Perhaps one of my readers could tell you for sure.
The only way I know to find any information would be to check the cemeteries. Maybe one of the genealogy sites has cemetery records for these places, although I could not tell you the name of any of them.
There is a small cemetary that was located on the other side of Hwy 64 thru a patch of trees. I lived in the 2nd house on Stevens Rd.(Country Club) as a teenager & a few of headstones could be seen from my front yard. They were located closer to Stevens Rd. than the hwy(this would be before they 4-laned 64 – even before the Armory was built out that way.) My step-mother worked there & said it was where patients were buried at one time. Dates could barely be read but they were early 1900’s from what I can remember.
I think a lot of “outsiders” know nothing of these cemeteries. There are several around here. There are two or three on the grounds, the one off Stevens Road and one over on Knuckolls and Tate. I’m sure there are more, but those are the ones I know of. In order to have that many cemeteries for state purposes, they had to have a lot of patients just abandoned by families. It’s sad really. So many of them were just society’s outcasts. They’ve had people locked up for all of their adult life for far less than some of the shenanigans I pulled when I was a teen. If you lived on Stevens, I’m betting I know you. (Small town, everybody knows everybody anyway.) Simply guessing by the last name – Do you have a twin brother?
No brothers at all – just 2 older sisters–LOL–but my maiden name is Avent if that helps at all.
Why will they not giving the records to family? My Mama died in 1979. Her Mama (my grandma) is deceased also. My dad passed away in 1982. My mama can’t give permission to get a hold of her records. I barely knew my mama. I just would like to have a connection with my mama. I am not wanting her records for a reason to sue. I have no need for something like that. I just need to know something that was a part of my mama’s life. Shoot I have been trying to get a hold of copies of my own mental illness, apparently it is just as hard to get copies from different hospitals of my own records.
Records more than 20 years old are destroyed. Even if they were not destroyed and still exist somewhere on the grounds, they’re going to tell you those records were destroyed. I’m sorry, but you will not be able to obtain records of that age.
I just wanted to say that all of your post are interesting to read. they let me know that my son is right. He was a yooung patient at Timber Springs at a young age of 12 years and all because he had a seizure but his teacher thought he was throughing a fit? He tells of just how bad it was there and I know for at fact that some of the staff have a Mental Illness as well. I really think that they need to close the doors; but that’s just coming from the mother of an young X-patient who was drove to be crazy due to this place.
I was a patient @ Timber Springs multiple times through out my childhood. In total, I spent about five years of my teen-age life there, on and off. There were staff that were totally crappy at their jobs…they would be slow at breaking up fights, they were too lazy to let us go outside when it was cold so it would be weeks or longer before we got a chance to see the outdoors…there were some staff who would come onto their shift and automatically put every one on “quiet time” where we couldn’t talk without getting in trouble for hours every day. There were also staff who were GREAT! That said – I spent a lot of time in the system due to a mother who didn’t want to deal with me. I went through youth villages and spent time in their systems as well, and their group homes were FAR worse. They looked a lot nicer. Pretty little cottages and lakes. No staff ever hit me at TImber Springs. I can’t say the same of Youth Villages. Those group homes need to be shut down. Yes, Timber Springs looks creepy – and they did, even in the 90s, have adult mental patients wandering around, but it was the ones who were judged not to be a harm to others, who were long term patients. I’m sorry about your kid – it’s rough growing up in those types of places. I hope the best for you and your family.
Was you in there around 2002?
Do you have an email Newsletter?
I was visiting my parents lat weekend and went to Boliver to a gun store my husband wanted to see. We came across the Westerrn Mental Health Institute while looking for the store. I was fascinated by the ol building. I would lov to learn about the history and see pics of the place from years go. Can anyone suggest how to learn more about the place?
Hi, tamtation. I emailed you some information and photos.
I saw where you had sent someone some info and photos of western institute. I have always heard stories of this place growing up and have wanted to visit it but knew it was not open to public. I had a friend who was there for awhile and he said it was scarry and some of the workers looked scared to death when you asked them of the stories and refused to discuss it. I would love to know some of the history of this place and see photos as well if you could link me to any.
Hi, Kim! I sent you an email that details the history of Western State and includes photos of what the buildings looked like years ago–inside and out.
Hi There
Could you forward me the history info. and pic.’s of Western MHI that you have others?
Thanks,
J.Shearon
I’m sorry but I lost that email when I reformatted in November. (It was in an account in Outlook.) Hopefully, someone will forward it back to me.
Hi!
Can you send me, please, these material? It’s very important to me!
Thank you!
Teresa
Hi, Teresa. I would love to, but…as stated above: “I’m sorry but I lost that email when I reformatted in November. (It was in an account in Outlook.) Hopefully, someone will forward it back to me.” That was November 2009. No one ever sent it back to me. 😦
If you check the various posts on this site related to Western, you will find lots of information and links in the comments section. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi!
Thank you very much for your quick answer!
I was hopping than someone could sent to you than mail again…
I already check all posts but I need to get more information and photos from that place and as soon as possible. I am doing a very (very, very…) important work.
Maybe, if you have availability, you could e-mail me on private. (Sorry if the sentences are not very correct, I’m not american)
Thank you again!
Teresa
I emailed you.
Western State Mental Hospital, located near Bolivar, was the last state mental hospital to be constructed and habitually the one least funded. In December 1885 the site commissioners chose the farm of Paul T. Jones as the location for the proposed facility.
The institution’s patient population grew from a few hundred in the 1890s to over 2,000 in the 1960s as patients remained hospitalized for decades. Many were crowded into large dormitories and had little privacy. With a limited number of doctors and attendants and a large patient population, many were simply “warehoused.”
Patients at Western received the treatments available in their period of institutionalization. These treatments ranged from hydrotherapy and insulin shock therapy to lobotomies and electric shock therapy. With the severe staff limitations, however, patients were fortunate to receive ten minutes per week with a psychiatrist.
The system for securing financing for patient care limited the operating budget. In Tennessee, there were three classes of patients: the state-pay patients, the county-pay patients, and the private-pay patients. State agencies agreed to pay for one patient out of a population of one thousand. Once this portion of the payment had been satisfied, the county was responsible for additional costs. The county payments consistently lagged behind, and superintendents had to engage in deficit spending to keep the hospital operating. The two most influential superintendents, Dr. Edwin Cocke and Dr. Edwin Levy, often faced political pressure from state officials, but both managed to make some improvements in the care offered at Western.
In modern times, “deinstitutionalization” produced a marked decrease in the patient population as mental health experts called for treatment of the mentally ill in local mental health clinics. Although there have been indications that this treatment has not been successful, it continues to the present time, and the indigent mentally ill continue to pose a major problem for society.
Hello. I came across your comment while trying to do some research on Western State. Growing up I remember hearing storiest about my grandmother’s sister who was committed in her early twenties. That would have roughly been in the early 30’s. She was kept there until her death several decades later…possibly the 80’s or 90’s. I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning visiting her or even writing to her. I am trying to find out more about this lost soul and the place she spent her entire life. I saw where you had sent some information on the institution and some photos. Do you still have that info and could you please send it to me. Thank you so much!
Searching for answers
I’m sorry. The only info I have at this point is already posted in the comments. There are links to old photos and information on the history of WMHI sprinkled throughout the comments on the posts concerning the institution.
Dear searching for answers, If you have an email i can send you plenty of pictures of Western state,Inside and out…
I would love some info and Photo’s wil you please send me some?
Thanks
Dave Johnston
Hi, I read all your post on Western and find it all so interesting. I saw the buildings for the first time last year and again this last weekend. Sat night it was raining and i saw a light on . There was 3 of us that saw it on the bottem floor. A friend said many time he has saw a light and all been different floors at different times, but always only when it was raining. Is there anything to that . Please could you also send me more info and pics . From the first time I saw the place it has just drove me crazy (no fun intended) wanting to see the inside of it. I truely would love to learn more. I to am a nurse and have worked with mental patients. I have saw first hand the way they get treated , even these days not good, but nothing like it was years ago. I even quit my job because of the way they were beening done. Yes even reported the abuse yet nothing beening done about it, I quit and feel guilt every day for leaving them in the abusers hand. I feel like I abandened them even if I couldn’t stop the things from happening to them. At least I was there to try to protect them and now there is no one. So very sad.I am so hopeful to think I can see pics. Thankyou
I would love to get the info you have sent to others if at all possible. We had a boy sent there from my hometown. He came back severely damaged~~now has a dual personality~~one male, one female???? What happened there?? Thanks!
All the information was on another hard drive. It crashed, and all was lost. Sorry. Most of the information can be found on this site.
Can the hospital give any information about patients that were committed if they have passed away? My great grandmother, Lillian Dollahite, was committed to the hospital around 1940. She apparently had some sort of mental breakdown and couldn’t even remember her own name. She was there for about 16 years until one day she finally regained her memory and was released. If the hospital can’t give out any information to family members, could someone please direct me to a website where I can learn more about the facility-history, photos, etc. I’ve been doing some family history research and would really appreciate any info offered!
sommer….were you able to find any help with your research on your family at western?i had two relatives there in 1947 thru 1949. i have not been able to get the hospital to give me any info. pleas email me if you are successful. thanks
They will not release any information, even if they have it. The records from the 40’s would have likely been destroyed years ago.
Has anyone thought about contacting Ghost Adventures to do a lockdown on Western State? Are the buildings abandoned or are patients still there?
This facility is still a working mental institution and there are several hundred patients at this time. They are currently constructing a new building on the property which will house patients. While some of the older buildings are abandoned, this is state owned property and they would never allow a film crew at Western–ever.
My company did some pipe insulation work down in the tunnels about 4 years ago. I am the delivery driver for my company here in Memphis. I made several deliveries to the property and even went down in the tunnels. It was very creepy to say the least. We went into a room where it was said was for performing surgury of some sort. The insulator on site lives nearby and told me the doctors would rape the female patients and sell the babies on the black market. Has anyone ever heard this ? As for deer, I drove around to the back of the property and counted 11 on one morning. They were around the baseball field area. This place has some history that I am sure is very interesting and incriminating as well. Joe
Living in the area, I have heard many stories about what goes on at Western. It’s really hard to say what is true and what is not, but I have also heard that. I think there have probably been a lot of babies born at Western over the decades. I know twenty years ago there was a female patient who would “sell” herself for cigarettes. It wasn’t unheard of for staff members to catch patients in the act. If you ask someone who has worked there for many years about the doctors, you would probably be met with silence. Employees don’t really talk about what goes on there. Their jobs depend on it.
I do enjoy seeing the deer there.
OMG! Me and my wife walked up to the old abandoned building today, the one with two wings and a crumbling porch. One of the windows was open and I stuck my head through. I didn’t know that we could have been arrested. It looked like a lot of furniture and even some old pool tables in one room, just a lot of old junk really, and the smell of a 100+ yr old building decaying, paint peeling off of the walls and ceilings. It was during the day, and I could have just crawled in if I wanted, but it was pretty scary.
There are a lot of buildings on the grounds but only one had two wings and the porch isn’t crumbling. Unfortunately, the wings were torn down sometime during the 80’s. THAT building is the administration building and you certainly wouldn’t be able to approach it as it is in use and there is always someone there.
The only building that is abandoned and has a porch would be the old Timber Springs unit, but I wouldn’t say it has wings. I would love to know where you parked and how you approached this building. It’s very likely that there are windows up on that building. Tell me where the building you are talking about is located and I will tell you which building it is and what is was used for.
Gosh, I don’t know. It was named after a man, it has some plastic netting around the porch, it’s very old, it has a courtyard with a basketball goal in the center, it is just north of the main building, it’s closer to 64, it also has a wonderful red ceramic roof. It’s been abandoned for some time, and it you were to look at aerialy, it looks like the letter H. One side of it is an obvious addon. It may be an old admin building? There are some old chairs on the front porch.
It’s the Polk building I think. Do you know what it was used as?
Polk building– Originally patients were housed in the wings of the administration building but eventually they needed more space. Polk and Winston Hall were both constructed and opened in 1932. Polk was one of the first two buildings used to house patients.
**For those interested in other buildings, Luton Hall was built in 1948, Clement Building in 1957 and Dunn Building in 1962. WMHI opened to patients on November 22, 1889.
hello – I just found this coorespondence and wonder if you could send me any pictures, inside and out of Bolivar. I was a patient there in 1969 and would love to refresh my memory
of what was a nightmare at the time. Thank you. – stu
I love reading this stuff…I am very interested in the history and photos of this place I live about 45mins away from it and have hurd alot about it…and have been trying to find a website with old photos and more to read on it could someone please tell me more or send me some more info on it…thanks would appreciate it
Hi, Tammy! I have a good bit of information (and links to photos) on my laptop that I will send to you as soon as I can get to it.
hello – An alumni of what we called Bolivar I would like to see any pictures of Western State that you have to share.
Could you let me know if I can access them somehow? Thank you, stu
does it show you my email address or do I need to give it to you? thanks so much…
I have it. I wouldn’t dare post your email in a comment here. My email address posted on this site gets spammed like crazy and that address is only posted here. lol
Hopefully I will be able to get it sent once I get the kids off to church. That should be about another hour.
ok thanks! bless you for sending your children to church thats awesome! Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he wont depart from it! hope to talk to ya soon!
I emailed you the info! 🙂
Hi! My grandmother stayed at the Polk building and I would love someone to send me any info or pictures of the whole facility,
Email me tomorrow at tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com and remind me to send you the info. I tend to get busy and forget. 🙂
thanks I got it!
I went up to Bolivar one morning early, early , about 2 1/2 years ago..wanting to get sunrise pics. I wasn’t familiar with the area since that was my first trip up. Now I know it would be easier to get sunSET pics. In any case, I know what building the “kelly” girl was referring to. It is to the left of the main building and is facing the main building not the hwy although it is closer to the highway. I took some really good shots of it. VERY creepy building and I WOULD NOT stick my head in. I came right in the entrance and parked right in front of that building, got out and walked all around taking pics. There were plenty of cars coming and going but no one told me to leave although there were signs posted everywhere. What did you say that building was used for? I would love to see archive pics of the main building before the wings were removed. The main building looks like the Greystone Park Psychiatric hospital that they used in the season premiere of House MD. So do you know how to get old pics of Western Mental Health?
It is indeed the Polk Building. According to an employee (I inquired about the building over the weekend.), this building is now being used to store the personal belongings of patients. Anyone attempting entry can be charged with attempted burglary so I would avoid leaning into the windows.
You can see some of how the inside used to look on this page:
http://tnsos.org/tsla/imagesearch/index.php?resultpage=5&find=bolivar%20asylum
Ahh yes…the Polk Building. I cannot tell you when or why, but I was recently granted complete access to this and other buildings onsite. It is indeed one of the creapiest buildings that I have ever been in…and I have been in a lot. I saw every area from top to bottom, including the basement and steam tunnels.
A word to the wise, do not try to be an “urban adventurer” and illegally enter. I have never “seen” a ghost, but some sights and sounds were encountered inside the Polk Building that could not be readily explained.
I am curious, though, about the history of that building. It appeared that it housed children, at least in one wing, and the building contained questionable facilities.
Drove from North MS today just to see mental hospital. A friend saw it several years ago on a route with a previous job. We drove around but we were uneasy. If it is off limits why isn’t there a gate or something? Also there was a series of gravel roads (not too well traveled) what are these? I would love any info including pix you could give me about the institute. We found the whole thing fascinating!! Do they ever let any one in the abandoned buildings? Will these be torn down when the new one is complete? Thanks!!
1. Installing a gate would cost money and the state isn’t willing to do that.
2. There are so many employees that it would be a hassle.
If you enter the property, you are trespassing and you are taking a chance. At this time, they have someone wandering around the grounds that they are trying to catch. A former patient has been seen masturbating on the grounds after making obscene phone calls to the office. Now there’s a tourist attraction that I really don’t want to see.
The property at Western is very large. It was once self contained. They had a farm and grew and raised all of their own food. They had their own post office for a while. The roads wind through what is now unused portions of the property.
The abandoned buildings are off limits. Some are unstable and unsafe and some are used for storage. I do not think there are any plans to tear down the buildings at this time.
I do have some pictures and info. Email me at tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com and I will try to send it to you tomorrow.
Wow, this looks like a gorgeous facility. It’s a little bit unsettling to hear that a Kirkbride building is still being in use though. Honestly if I had mental issues and were brought to a place with that style of architecture, I could only see my problems being exacerbated by my surroundings! I would love to see the pictures you have though, feel free to e-mail me the history and those photos!
I worked at WMHI in the early 90’s. My boss had a key to the top floor of Timber Springs. The area hadnt been used in years and years. We ventured up there and it was creepy. There were old suitcases with old clothes, very old. There were doctor’s books and logs where they kept up with treatments and other stuff. This was in the 1905 range. It was interesting. The only thing that bothered me was the room with chains and cuffs on the walls. Didnt like this much. They had so very few options or treatments and didnt know what to do or how to treat mental illness. There were notes in the log books about hydrotherapy and salt wasting therapy and laxitive therapy.
You can go there and see the museum in the Administration Building. I think it is okay for public to visit if it still exists like it did in the 1990’s. I do not know why anyone would have any allure to see such a place as it is mental and one cannot “see” but would have to be the mentally ill person.
It is not knowing how to handle life with respect to emotion. This comes from appropriate experience and when a person doesn’t have a good foundation or someone to pattern by that is healthy and normal in this repspect, deviant psychology takes place.
I had a couple months there as when I was 19. I was in the Adult Part that was for short term. I was with them all, the criminally insane group, all the women who were not declared permanently insane. One lady was an arsonist. I did not commit any crime and was lucky to be in there for treatment, for they did not wish to take me and I truly needed it at the time.
I only saw one very strong woman who was extremely violent be locked up in the straps. It is not a terrible place to be, even though state operated.
Still, the most vivid memory was my family coming to see me. I filled up an entire room full of them. They just wanted to see the place too, I guess. They all came once. I did not get the impression they really cared back then, but then I was out of touch and the reason I was there. My Mother stood by me all the time though.
hi, my name is maryjane and i work at westerns now and i would like to correspond with you to learn about western and some of the stories.
Hi, Maryjane. Email me at tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com.
Mine is tennesseebutterflyblue@gmail.com, is cool with me too.
When I was a graduate student, I was given permission to film part of my student film on the grounds, just outside the Admin building. Since there are no patients in the admin building, we were allowed to keep our equipment in the foyer.
We looked around the building in the hallways, upstairs and down. There was definitely a creepy feeling throughout. Upstairs particularly, several people seperately reported feeling like they were being followed, even though there was nobody there.
Also, the building has a very strange smell. I’m not sure what it is. It’s not really offensive, but it also isn’t a normal old-building smell. That’s probably got more to do with it being a hospital than whether or not it is haunted. But it certainly adds to the atmosphere.
As we were leaving, the security guard was telling us some about the building. He said there were shackles on the wall in the basement where patients used to be kept. He assured us that this was no longer the practice (I hope not!). Back in those days, tehre were no drugs to calm people down. If someone was having an episode, they were shackled to a wall.
I felt this place was quite haunted. THe admin building is accessible to the public, but you want to call first. It’s really a great old building. It’s worth seeing.
It is a very interesting place and now that I am fine, I think of my experience as a treasure. It made my humanity, I think. Really, it is not so different from the film, “Girl Interrupted.” And, quite similar to Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Of course, there are those that never recover. And, I believe seeing some of them made me have a desire to do better. I had just moved from my smalltown and did not adjust to college and completely stopped sleeping, like I do when I am upset. Anyone would be fit for there when it has been more than a week or two for sleep.
My grandfather was a patient at Western State in 1939. I have a letter he wrote to my aunt in June of that year. I have no clue as to why he was admitted or how long he was there except I know he was living with my family in the late 40s and early 50s until his death at 93. I was born in 1939 and knew nothing of his illness for some years. No one talked about mental illness in those days. I would really like to know why he was there. Is there no possibility of finding out. Everyone in my family is deceased.
Hi Sylvia, I do have some Banks related to me, by marriage. Does the names Dewey Banks or Mary Alice Welch Banks mean anything to you? If they do, please reply.
My grandfather was put in Western State, as I remember it being called, about 30 years ago. He was only there for a month or so. He had been diagnosed with “hardening of the arteries” which is now considered alzheimers. He died there. I remember getting a call that he would not live much longer. My mother loaded us children up and took us to visit our grandfather. The 6 ft., 225 lb man that I grew up thinking was the biggest, tallest man ever, was a shriveled up, boney skeleton. He had marks around his wrists and ankles as he lay in his bed with no cover and a hospital gown on. He was drawn up in a fetal position. It broke and still breaks my heart. I will NEVER get that image out of my mind, NEVER. I would like to see pictures and get more info. if possible on this facility.
My grandmother was at Bolivar. I remember as a very little girl until around age 12 we would come visit her. My mom would bring her 3 muskateers. My memories are very vivid and real. It was such a scary place for a little girl. I remember passing by a shower room with a bunch of naked people waiting to get showers and they would yell out to me. I saw people strapped down tight and looking back they had to be young. My grandmother was moved from several buildings. My grandmother was at times violent. She said she did not know who we were but she would eat the picnic stuff we brought her. She later got well enough to be moved to a nursing home, but she never went back home.
I would like to get copies of her medical records to see what her diagnosis was. I know she was there probably 20 years. I would have visited her in the 1960’s and 70’s. My mom says she does not know why she was there and my Aunt thought it started out post partum depression probably. My sister and I would just like to know. Can anyone tell me how I can get her medical records.
Thank you so much.
Hi, Sheila. My great aunt was admitted into Western decades ago for postpartum depression. She remained at Western until just a few years before her death, when she was released to a group home. My mother was a nurse on her unit for a few years and she knew who my mother was because she saw her regularly. Others…I’m not so sure she knew. This was probably the result of medications, which is what I suspect for your grandmother. Remember, Prozac was invented around two decades ago and that was a breakthrough in mental health treatment. Before that time, sedative-type medications were the norm.
About diagnosis…they were very vague back then and may or may not have been correct. If a patient is now deceased, I don’t see how it would be a violation of their privacy but the state is funny about things. Try contacting the administration office and inquiring about her records.
Oh and for anyone interested, it appears that all patients will be moved into the new building sometime in March and the old buildings will likely sit and rot down.
Hello,
I’m looking for any info about my grandmother who was a patient there many, many years ago. Could you please email me: laura_soeur@hotmail.com ?
Thank you,
Laura
I cannot help anyone find patient information and the best thing I can do is point you to the administrations office at Western Mental Health Institute. Aside from that, I cannot offer any advice or assistance. Sorry. 😦
I just want to say I have really enjoyed reading all the information about Western having lived in this area of West TN for so long and having passed the institution many times but never knowing the true history of it. I would love to see some of the photos you have mentioned and possibly see what you know or anyone possibly, especially any current employees if they would ever allow a group to come in to investigate the old buildings that are no long occupied by patients. I am with a group who has done investigations in the area and would love to possibly prove some of these claims and stories. Regardless, very interesting history.
I think it would be very interesting, but the state would never allow a paranormal investigation on its grounds.
Unfortunately, my computer crashed a while ago and had to be reformatted. All of the pictures I had of Western are somewhere on a disc…one of hundreds I have in my home. Eventually, I will hunt them up. I got the photos from a website dealing with historical images, but that bookmark was also lost. Try searching historical photos in Tennessee.
you can go to this web site http://www.tn.gov/tsl it for
Tennessee State Library and Archives and type in Bolivar asylum and it will take you to some of the pictures.
TSLA
This is a direct link. There are many photos from Bolivar–not just the asylum. You will have to search through the pages to find the pictures of WMHI.
Western State Mental Hospital history
This is the history of WMHI.
I had more information about Western, but I had to reformat some time ago and I lost it all. This is the basics, folks. If anyone still has a copy of the email I sent to them concerning WMHI, please forward it back to me because I have lots of people asking for it.
WMHI Photos
Here are some more photos of WMHI.
oops you have to scroll over the digital collections tab and click on the TSLA photograph Database tab them type in Bolivar Asylum to get pics sorry.
I am looking for my mother. I think I may have a case of mistaken identity. I think she has been there since the early 70’s. The name-Glenda Carol Hollowell. She was married to “GERALD HOLLOWELL”. They had a daughter-Kelley Elizabeth Hollowell. She was born in 1975. Well-what happened? It’s me. Kelley-so how do I locate my mom? She has red hair. She is in her 50’s. Her maiden name is Kelley. I think she is in Western under another name. How do I find her. I am here in Nashville,TN. It has been a long time. I want to know what I need to do to get her out of there. Let me know something.
Kelley Hollowell
Call and speak to administrations.
Just go and ask to visit her, assume she is there during visitation times. And, then decide for sure. She’d either be in the longterm part of hosp., or residential if it is still there the same as 1990. Could be that she went to some group home across the state. Best of luck. I would want to do the same :).
There is only one building now. Just a few weeks ago they moved into the new building and all patients are located there. They are all housed together now.
Do you have any information such as ss#? Depending on her diagnosis she may have a record with Dept. Intellectual Disability Services with the state…you may possibly be able to find someone nice enough to do a search on their computer. Try a intake coordinator…its just a thought & may end you up nowhere at all….Hope you find her
For the past decade I have worked with individuals with MR & MI, most of which at some point in their life stayed for short & some for long periods of time at WHMI, Arlington, Cloverbottom, etc. The stories they can tell and memories they can recall are ones that break my heart. Their minds cannot process what all they have gone through, their stories are jumbled although their is much information you are able to piece together. Much verbal, physical and sexual abuse occurred between the residents and the staff. It is very unfortunate. I have been to WMHI and unfortunately despite my own personal objections have had to play part in having someone in crisis stay their temporarily until they stabilized as there was no other way to ensure their own safety from themselves. I am curious to know more, this information you have sent others, could you forward it to me as well? It may help me piece together some of the puzzle that has been shared.
Please do not misunderstand my interest, it is solely for the purpose of understanding their past enables me to understand how to work with them today. So much of what occurred in their past has effected them on a long term basis. Many still have fear, anger, trust and incredible sensory issues due to these experiences.
Yes, Cezanne, you are so correct. It took me until a couple years ago to see the abuse in my family’s history. I think my focus was too narrow for so many years.
I read a figure, 25% of emergency mental services due to domestic abuse. If you could somehow…teach people to recognize emotional and then a more correct, then you could help most everybody you are working with. 🙂
I was wondering if anyone knew of a Korean doctor or psychiatrist at WHMI? This would have been many years ago 20, 30 ? I have an individual that I work with now that tells me about this Korean doctor. The clarity of the explanations of the treatments she is telling me is too realistic for her to have made up completely so once again I am putting together pieces of the puzzle.
My mother was a patient at Western State Mental Institution in Bolivar twice. Both times was in the 1960s. She loved it there. She found freedom that she didn’t have. My father was an abusive alcoholic and wouldn’t even allow her to go out shopping for groceries. So when she got admitted to the hospital she got to have friends, play games, roam the hospital grounds, go to bed at a time she wanted to go to bed, even could eat foods she liked. She passed away in 1979. I wanted to know what the diagnosis was for her. So this year I wrote to the hospital for information. They stated that after 20 years a patients records are destroyed. I was hoping to have a little knowledge about my momma but was unable to get any. I was only 6 years old when she was put into the hospital. I sure wish that I could have found out information on her mental illness.
Oh well, I will never know. I do know she loved the hospital and she would tell you how people claimed it was haunted but then she would say that it wasn’t.
hi I love hearing about Western State in Bolivar. I am from Crockett Co, TN and my grandfather was
a patient there in the 20’s for a couple of months.
He had high blood pressure and one morning when
he went to feed the animals he didn’t come back
when my grandmother thought he should so she went to see about him. He had cut his throat. She
put him in the wagon and rushed him to the dr.
He sewed him up and he lived. He thought he need-ed extra care so they took him there. The dr. said
if he had not cut his throat he would have stroked
out. He lived several years until he died of a heart
attack. I went to the hospital a few years ago and
ask about getting records and was told they would
not be available even if they still had them which
they did not. I ask to tour the building and was told
absolutely not. I would love to have the pics of the
inside of the buildings from that time. One of the
high school classes form my school went there on a
field trip once and they all came back sick to their
stomachs. thanks for anything you can give me and
I believe that it would have to be haunted by all the
tortured souls left there by experiments and families
who didn’t care.
Check out the links above. There are a lot of pictures and a good bit of history. The state does not share any of the information they have and records are destroyed after so many years. All of the old buildings are closed and unused now. The new building opened several months ago.
My great grandmother was committed there sometime between 1930 and 1933. She lived there until 1980 when she died. My grandfather was 15 when she was committed. I think she was one of the people you mentioned being neglected and left alone there. I called Western State a few years ago. The lady I spoke to was helpful but said I’d need a court order to obtain her records. She said the records were probably still there because the old buildings are filled with old records. Do you think records are still there from 1980? Do you know someone who worked there during that time period that might have known my great grandmother? I really want to know why she was committed and more information about her. I have a letter she wrote from Bolivar in 1933 and she doesn’t sound “crazy” in the letter. But, I actually hope she was. I’d hate to learn she spent 50 years of her life sane in a place for the insane.
Laura, it is unlikely that they would be able to locate the records if by some chance they are still there. No one from WMHI will give you information without a court order. It is illegal and could cost them much more than their job. And, with the sheer volume of patients there over the years, it is not likely that anyone would remember her diagnosis. I’m sorry.
I need a contact phone # for this facility. Our son was transported there around 8:pm on sept. 6. we have head nothing from anyone as to his whereabouts of condition. Please help. His name is William (Trey) Wyssbrod III
11100 U.S. 64
Bolivar, TN 38008
(731) 228-2000
Hope everything turns out well.
Mr. Wyssbrod,
When you enter there, it is 48 hours or 3 days, I believe, until you can phone anyone or have visitors. I think it would be today before normal business would take place. Best luck to you and your son.
I have a relative being transported there tonight. She is 60 years old and manic depressive. How long can a patient be held against their will? She is heavily medicated but when she “comes to” she’s going to be wild and insist they let her go. Should we worry that she will be attacked b other patients or abused by staff??
There is really no way to say. If she puts up a fight, it will likely be longer. Sorry. 😦
I can assure you that the people I know that work at WMHI now do not abuse the patients and work very hard to prevent abuse by other patients.
I hope it all turns out well.
When you go in, either one is committed or signs the papers to stay. It is not a question of will. It is better if she signs. And, no, Western is safe and not any different from private, expensive hospitals. 28 days is pretty normal.
atorturedsoul,
Thanks for the information. I pretty much got the same answer from them. I feel like the records are there, but they can’t or won’t look for them. I wonder if a court order would require them to find the old records? Her doctor was Aden Barlow according to the death certificate. Does this name ring a bell? I know a lot of patients were in and out, but because she was there for 50 years, I figure there has to be someone still alive that remembers her. They might not be able to give me facts about her medical condition, but maybe they could at least tell me something about her. I’d think that a person there for 50 years would have to be-friend some of the staff if they were half-way sane at least. I know no one working there now will talk, but maybe someone retired. I’ll keep digging. 🙂
This is the way I think about my Harriet, Great Aunt who lived there. She did not get married to the person she was planning to and became depressed. When I found her name on the 1930 census, there were sooo many women’s names there. I would have to guess that many women were not technically insane, but just not able to marry, etc. and maybe not able to therefore function normally with someone else caring for their living.
My great aunt spent almost her entire adult life there after suffering from postpartum depression. Today, she would have been treated with antidepressants but at that time they sent them to the asylum. I knew a woman who told me that in the late 40’s or early 50’s her father tried to commit her because she started seeing another man after her husband left her but before her divorce was final. Women who were simply considered disobedient were often labeled as insane and hospitalized by family. The majority of these women were perfectly sane. I can say that some of these women were adored by staff because they were kind and gentle souls.
ATORTUREDSOUL, YOUR SOUL SHOULD NOT BE TORTURED AND YOUR DAYS SHOULD NOT BE CONSUMED BY TRAGIC EVENTS OF THE PAST. BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER FIND RESOLUTION. THE PAST IS THE PAST. THOUGH IT IS GOOD TO REMEMBER AND REVERE WE HAVE NO POWER TO ALTER IT. YOUR LIFE LIES IN THE FUTURE NOT THE PAST. FREE YOURSELF AND SEEK YOUR DESTINY.
I appreciate your kind words, JBO. Actually, the moniker serves as a reminder to keep me on the right path. If I clung to the past, I’d never be able to function. At this time, my destiny is fairly simple–and somewhat fulfilled. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a severe mental illness that almost got the best of me. Since that time, I have worked hard to find stability and overcome it. With treatment, I am stable and fairly accomplished. The name, atorturedsoul, is to remind me of what lurks under the surface and how important it is to keep pushing forward and continue treatment to maintain stability. It works, and it has actually helped me achieve many of my lifelong dreams. Because of my experience with mental illness, I have been published in magazines, published in a book and have an award-winning blog related to the disorder. Not in spite of, but because of. The name simply reminds me of where I have been, what I have overcome, and why I must continue to do exactly as you have said.
So now all of you know the story behind my name. 🙂 Before it is asked, the answer is no. I have never been a patient at WMHI.
My friend was committed many times to Western and medicated to almost a non-existence. Between all the doctors and medications that was given to her, it made her paraniod….I went thru many nights on the phone with her to get her thru the night…..I begged her to get another doctor that was not politically involved with her husbands family, for a second unbiased opinion….I want everyone to know that she divorced her husband of 32 years and learned how to live again. She is the same sweet person I knew since graduating high school..I was a friend of her husband, before she married him….She is back living in the small town where I graduated and I see her quite abit. She smiles this big smile and is enjoying life to the fullest. She is not on all the medication and has a doctor that has winged her off…She has kept diary’s of everything from the beginning. I told her that she has the perfect Book!
I HAVE BEEN INSIDE THE TOWER STAIRWAY AT BOLIVAR MENTAL HOSPITAL AND I ASSURE YOU IT IS VERY HAUNTED. GOING BACK SOON LAST TIME I BACKED MY WAY OUT BECAUSE VOICES WERE TELLING ME TO LEAVE AND FOOTSTEPS WERE COMING DOWN THE STAIRS TO MEET ME EVEN THOUGH IT IS AN ABANDONED BUILDING. STAIRWAY IS CURVED SO YOU COULD ONLY MEET SOMEONE ON THE STAIRWAY BY COMING FACE TO FACE WITH THEM AS YOU TURN THE CORNER. I COULDNT DO IT LAST TIME BECAUSE I FELT THE SPIRITS THERE WERE NOT FRIENDLY.
my great grandmother was sent there and that is where she died. she was sent there because she would have hour long conversations with “dead” people. that is where she dies becuz of that place
It’s interesting to read all of these comments, as I too had a relative at Bolivar many years ago. I’ve always wanted more information, but it wasn’t talked about too much. I see you can’t just call or e-mail and get the person’s files. Too bad, as I have so many unanswered questions.
i went in to the tower a couple years ago with my nephew. there wre dead birds everywhere. the tower has obviously been abandoned for many many years. we ascended a spiral staircase and suddenly both of us heard two womens voices. they were kind of whispering, kind of hush hush. they stopped and we heard footsteps coming down the staircase. since it was a spiral staircase we wouldnt have seen who or what they were until we were face to face with them. so needless to say we got the hell out of there. it was scarey as it gets. i would be willing however to go back inside if a group from this site wanted to set up a date and time to meet and go in.
Sure..I am game for a visit there. Count me in. I remember an old museum there in my time. And..I have a lot of insight with respect to my family that I would be more than willing to share…and my experiences. I have come to place it in my mind amongst the plantation experience of mental illness/social rejection. The only ill thing was the way I was turned…
i have worked at western, been is all the bldgs. including the infamous tower & have yet 2 meet any1 or anything of the spiritual relm. although the prospect is welcome.
I was a pateint at western state in 2006. I was sent there due to a nervous breakdown due to an override of stressful events in my life at the time. I have to say, I am a skeptic as far as “spirits” and entities goes. But I can honestly say, I slept with a Gideon’s bible under my pillow every night. There was an overwhelming feeling of despair and pain as soon as I entered the one building to “get processed”. That feeling only prove to become worse as I spent my days out there. I was in a suicide watch room and I can remember going to bed and being warm and waking up to the feeling of a cold person sitting right next to me. I would begin to pray and it tellgo away. I do not and have never had a mental illness. I know the difference between illusion and reality. This was reality on all means. To keep hush, we were encouraged, if one was to speak up about feeling an aparition, that we were hallucinating. Some orderlies on the other hand, didn’t disagree with what some of us encountered…actually, they have felt the present of “cold people” as well. When I was released from the hospital after a month’s stay, I can honestly say, I probably came out with more “mental issues” then before I came there. Western State has forever been burnt into my memory. I will never forget waking up to the “cold aparitions” that would come over to my bed.
My name is Mike Shipman, I am a Police Captain in Corinth, MS. I was adopted in 1960 in Gary, IN. I was told several years ago that a guard that worked at WMHI looked just like me. His last name was Brown. On my papers when I was adopted list me as baby boy Brown. Thats about all I know about my birth. I did contact the guard at WMHI and talked with him. I did find out his mom and dad did live in Gary, IN back in the 1960’s. He didnt seem to want to talk to me very much. I was not trying to start any problems but I have no ideal about any of my blood kin and would just like to know. Then today when I got of work at the Police Dept my wife wanted to take a ride on our Harley motorcycle. I dont know why but we rode up to the WMHI. I have been by there in years past but never drove on the grounds. So today while riding around at WMHI I saw a building with the name CLEMENT on it. CLEMENT was my adopted mothers madin name. after we rode back home I asked my mother about the CLEMENT name and she informed me that she had several relatives that had worked at WMHI for many many years and their last name was CLEMENT and we still have some relatives that live in Bolivar, TN
Mr. Brown was my neighbor about 15 years ago. We went to the same church when I was growing up and I went to school with his children.
those buildings are haunted. i have been inside and walked those halls. there are a host of spirits there. if you are all so inquisitive we should meet there and go inside. take action this is what you need to answer your questions
I have my own experiences with spirits almost on a daily basis. My husbands grandmother has been deceased for a very long time, and loves to turn my lamp on and off, and when I’m downstairs, you can hears footsteps walking all the time right above us. I would love to go through these old buildings at Western. I too had a family member work there, and have heard so many things. But the thing is, this dosent scare me. I believe these are souls that are waiting to be told its ok to go on.If anyone gets a group up e-mail me , my e-mail address is dragonfly4679@yahoo.com. I would love to go!!! I have a terminal illness, and not many days left and I would love to have this experience. My husband and I rode all around the old buildings the other day and they are beautiful, but definitely look haunted!!!
Does Mr. Brown still work there? Do you know where the Clement building got it name and what that building was used for? My e-mail is lawmanshipman@yahoo.com. I so want to go and look inside the old buildings!
CAPT SHIPMAN, I THINK IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE MAIN BUILDINGS AND EXPLORE. I WOULD WANT TO DO THIS LEGALLY OF COURSE AND IF WE HAD A GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM THIS SITE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. ANY HELP FROM ANYONE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
Has Ghost Adventures ever been there to investigate the Hauntings?
I am a freelance writer working on a story about what it used to be like at WMHI. Some of you have been patients there, some had relatives there. I would like to talk to you to get a good picture of what life for patients was like decades ago. Please contact me at lcnoeth@aol.com. thanks.
OH MY! Y’all I was abandoned by my dad, a police officer, and a social worker in this same WESTERN MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTION (Bolivar, Tn. now named Western Mental Health Institution), for almost 6-months at 15 yrs. old. I saw a lot of unethical behavior BUT I NEVER SAW A GHOST~~Or did I???? The staff there told me that ALL of those people walking around in there was patients of Western Mental Health Institution………..Wow!!
I don’t know if the “ghost hunters” have been there but they have been to Magnolia Manor (418 N. Main St., Bolivar, TN) & claim that it’s haunted. Well, I lived there from the age of 2 til I was almost 14 & never saw or heard any ghosts! They’ll say anything for $$$!!!
Ok ,,maybe it will post this time.My name is Clifford..I was a patient in Western once & can vouch for the spirit activity there.In fact that was where i was when my life began the change Iv lived with ever sense. Let me explain.Nov.26th 1996.A day that will be etched in my memory for the rest of my life..I had been slipped a mickie in a glass of tea about a month earlier & let me say,,that was a month to remember..I started hearing voices & seeing things that frankly,,put me in that mental hospital.By the time I got sent there ,,what ever they slipped me wasnt even in my blood anymore but the D.R. told me that whatever it was had left a chemical reaction in my brain.It had opened a part of my brain that was once closed..In fact,, that part of it is still opened.I still see spirits & hear voices.Iv had to learn how to live with it & its not easy ,,even now.But i can tell you,,if those D.R.s knew what was roaming those halls that they cant see,,They would be patients there themselves.I know what some of the patients there are going through.I know what they see & deal with..I still deal with it today..In fact,,I have fought with them & know what they are.You see,,1 thing iv come to realize is that the spirits are not people who died there or anyone that we ever knew in the flesh.They are spirits that were never born..They refused to be born of woman..You guessed it..they,r demons or fallen angels ,,some would call them.Oh they are good at makeing people think they are someone who passed on but never the less,,they,r not.See its taken me a long time to come to gripps with what i know now.& what i see & hear now..What they call hilusinations or figments of imagination are not at all what they want to think them to be..
I remember one time when I was in a group session there,,The d.r. was looking at everyones charts as he went around the room & when he got to me,,he said,,I see you hear voices & asked,,What are the voices saying now? I sat there a minute,,listened & told him,,You need to call home..He said why? I told him that something had happened to 1 of his kids & he needed to call his wife.Well he laughed it off untill about 5 minutes later when a nurse came in & told him to call his wife,,There was an emergency & his son had fallen down the stairs & broken his arm..He looked at mt,,turned white as a sheet & ran out of the room..Funny thing was,, He would not do another group session with me there.
Now some would call it a gift,,I call it a curse.What people dont realize is that they can tell things that are true,,but they can also lie ,The thing i had to come to understand is that they arent God. & its hell to try & shut them out ,,just to be able to listen to the true voice.Thats what iv had to learn over the past 15 years. The spirit world is just as real as this world we know.In fact,,its probably even more real than this one.But the truth is,,they are here.& just as real as you & I..& they do have places that they hang out or live ,,like Western.It was the first place I personaly started my walk with them.Not saying I hang out with them but I do know who & what they are now..& no D.R. got me to this point..Only God has kept me out of they,r grip.& only God can controle them..Iv seen that first hand & no one can tell me they are not real.I still live with it every day.
Hello. my name is Susana and i have lived in Bolivar all my life. I understand that you would say it is a curse. I cant imagine how hard it is to see the things that you have seen. As for Western State, i use to live on old hwy 64. I would like to see for myself how the spiritual world really is, no matter how terrifying it is. I want the truth about this world, the things that we cant see. im the type of person who loves the supernatural and would like to investigate it. Its way of order fascinates me. I dont know if this relates but for some reason i have always felt like there was someone watching me at all times. Not long from today, i was asleep and idk what kind of experience i had but let me say that it felt like i was dying. I was shaking and tried as hard as i could to open my eyes and when i did, i saw a man standing beside my bed. Before that, i do recall i felt a hand on my jaw, turning it slowly. As far as i can remember ive always felt someones or somethings presence.
I THANK MOST OF THE PEOPL E WERE MEDICATED TO THE HILT.
BEEN THERE VALUM MAKES YOU SE THINGS & HEAR THINGS AND MEDICATED PEOPLE ARE QUIET AND DON’T BOTHER NURSE. JUST WHERE HOUSE
Have been there a few times. The old buildings look like something out of the old movies, the grounds seem to be well kept. I had a Aunt that worked there for many years. Her last name was Clements. That’s my mothers madin name. I enjoyed sitting looking at the buildings and thought of all the people that passed thru over the years and wondered what kind of true stories the buildings could tell if they could talk to us?
I was a patient at Western State in 2004. I awoke one night to find a young black woman standing over me. She then went to the door and I followed her and she disappeared. The next day I felt a ‘spirit’ go through me. I would say from my experience that it is indeed haunted. I don’t ever want to go back there.
My 4th great grandmother is listed as “insane” in some paperwork from 1901. She was from McNairy County. I cannot find her in any censuses after 1880. In the same records she is mentioned as having a guardian, but she didn’t live with that person, who was also not a relative as far as I could tell. Can anyone tell me how to find the section in the census that has the Bolivar patients? I would like to read through them from 1900 and 1910 to see if she is in there maybe with her name misspelled, which would prevent her from coming up when I search her by name. Thanks!
I can tell you how to get to 1930 Census..look up Harriet Booth in Hardeman County. I think it is 1930 if I remember correctly. There are many, many women’s names. It makes me so sad to see. You might catch someone on it and look them up before on earlier one. My Harriet was a great Aunt depressed who liked to wander around outdoors. I tend to think many women landed there back in the day…Just give a lot of ways…on the name and maybe you can see her. It is possible she lived there. My Harriet went and stayed.
It’s been so long since this post that you probably aren’t interested anymore, but here is the 1900 census: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1900usfedcen&indiv=try&h=54138435
I ran across it when looking for an ancestor, although the ancestor I was looking for never went there. I do have an ancestor that was there in the 1940’s though.
would like to know if anyone worked at WESTERN in 1941- 45.just found out my STEP grandmom was there at that time.Her name was Fannie Hazel.She is buried there.
My uncle drowned in Stones river while living there. Trying to get info on that it was 1982.
Hello all! I currently work at Western State (the new building). I initially worked there back in 2005-2006 in the Clement Building. Growing up in Crockett Co. I always heard horror stories about Western State. I have come to learn that I have had two relatives hospitalized there, a great aunt and my paternal great grandmother. My great grandmother was there in the early 1920’s and she was actually murdered there by other patients. My grandfather had gone to visit her and brought her a coke (those were her favorite drinks). Back then they were in glass bottles. My grandfather told me he hid the bottle in his coat because he knew the staff would not allow the bottle inside and he wanted to be able to give his mom the coke. He was contacted later on that day after he left and informed that his mother had been cut to death by pieces of a glass coke bottle that some of the other patients had gotten hold of. He blamed himself for her death.
I say all of this because when I worked in the Clement building there were several times I would be walking the halls alone to get from my assigned unit to my office (off the units) and I felt that someone was behind me, I would turn around and there was no one. I was always vigilant because those patients who were on a high level for privilages could walk those halls to get a drink or snack from the machines. Maybe it was just my paranoia but I don’t think so. During orientation we were informed of some of the history of the hospital. It is so fascinating to me. I definitely think that there could be some lost souls there in the old buildings.
Hello I am so happy to have come across your comment! This may sound weird but since learning about this hospital when I was in 7th grade back in 2001, I knew this was a place I was one day going to work. I have been so facinated with this hospital and have read up on all the history the internet provides along with everyone’s comments. I am in college now obtaining my psychology degree and would love to meet with someone who works there to know what specific degrees I need to work there. I do not want to be a nurse or psychiatrist specifically, this is why I need to speak with someone who is in this field and explain what I am wanting to do so I know the college route I need to go. This is my first attempt to contact someone who works there and I hope you can help me in either answering questions for me or leading me to someone who can. Thank you for your time, look forward to hearing back from you.
hi my mother was a patient at western state between 1947 – 1960 she had a frontal lobotomy while there. has any one seen the surgical rooms? she told me horror stories when I was a kid. I was born in 1961 after she came home. she also had insulin shock treatments and ect too. she said they would hose her down and stuff like that. also, my aunt had to take care of her after the lobotomy while in the hospital because my family told me she had to be taught how to eat walk and talk all over again. I think her doctor was oriental korean or something. we believe now she was actually suffering from post partum depression or bipolar disease. she was diagnoses as being paranoid schizophrenic and she took mellaril while i was growing up. I know that when she didn’t take her pill she would get mean.
Both my maternal great great and great grandmothers died there though only my great grandmother is in a family cemetery. When I talk to my family members about this, nobody can answer as to why this is. My GGg’ma died after her daughter – outliving her for a few years it seems. I live in Louisiana but can try to check with records to see what can be found out. Deaths would have happened in the 1920’s.
My questions are: 1) what building/s would they have been inmates of and 2) where of the above 3 cemeteries would she have been buried in during this time period are you aware of?
I was a patient in Timber Springs in 2005 and had heard of a girl killing herself in the room that was always locked. Do you know why that room was locked and not even staff were permitted in there…
Can you look up records of patients in the early 1900’s era?
I wrote a letter to see if I could find out about my Mama who was there for a long time in the 1960’s. They wrote back to me saying that they destroyed everything that is twenty years old or older. That is a shame. I have a lot of mental problems and my mama has been dead (1979). I would like to have found out what her diagnosis was. It would have been interesting to know if had the same thing that I have. I guess I will never know. It is a shame, but it is what it is. My mama is dead and I never found out from her what she had wrong with her mentally.
Hey I’ve been trying to find some interior pictures of the place. Do you mind sharing?
I have a brother that is mentally ill. I has had several stints in Western State. It has been one long journey. He was diagnosed Schizophrenia with Paranoid Delusions. He was 16 when he was diagnosed. He is now 40. I am his legal conservator. I have went many rounds with the system on trying to put him in a safe place. I have had many meetings there. My brother has been on Luten Hall, Clement Hall. Upon visiting I could feel the coldness in the air. It was very creepy. I got very upset when they discharged him into the community. They take the taxpayers money and build that new facility and discharge these mentally ill people to the community. Why do they need a new multi million dollar building to triage and send them home in 3 days. They have there nice furniture, walking around in their business suits, watching their flat screen tv’s and not one patient living there long term. They say it is a budget cut and they are saving millions. They always seem to cut the budgets that we really need. I would of wanted the % of my taxes to go toward more suitable housing for him. He has not physically hurt anyone but he sure talks about what he will do in a very aggresive tone. I hope and pray daily that this does not happen but i am on pins and needles that it could. I have argued with the nurses, dr, counselor, and even the vice president. I have heard all the tales about the ghost, squirrels, tunnels, etc. It is spooky…
I actually lived on the grounds with my mother in the 80’s. She worked there as a nurse and they had a place for employees to live there. It was separated from the hospital but you could still see the hospital looming in the distance everywhere you looked. My mother and I lived there for about a year or two while she worked there. She eventually left and always told me it was a sad, sad, and dangerous place to work.
I was only 2-3 years old at the time but I remember the presence of the place was very weird. My Mom and I lived in a white building, it looked as if it had two stories but I don’t know because I only remember one. My mom used to lay out in the beach chair on weekends… haha strange times the 80’s..
How do I find true facts about WMHI?
This site contains a good bit of historical information that is accurate. Aside from that, research the facility on the Internet.
I have been told that they no longer house long term patients there anymore. Do you know if this is true, now that a lot of the older buildings are not being used I can see where this would be true but at the same time what would they have done with all the patients that were already there and going to be staying there probably the rest of their lives. I drove by this past Friday and like most comments have stated, I was able to drive around all the older buildings that are not in use and was even able to take some pictures. I looked in a few windows and seen old furniture, most of the windows had what looked like sheets covering them. Being fascinated with Western State since moving to FT. Campbell in 2001, I have now moved closer to Bolivar and in college obtaining my Psychology degree. I have told myself since first learning about this hospital that I would one day work there. Speaking to a few people in the field I am wanting to work, they have told me that Western State is no longer a true Mental Hospital as it was many years ago. They do not do long term inpatient housing nor do they house the real mentally insane as they did several years ago. I was just trying to find out if this is true and if so where do they house people with those mental issues?
I also want to thank you for making this site, I have read all of the comments and learned a lot just from different peoples experiences and you agreeing or correcting others on what they have heard. Place like this can over time accumulate a lot of stories whether they are true or not takes someone such as yourself to clarify. Again thank you for all your educational information you have provide thus far. I will be writing a research paper on Western State starting in Feb. 2014 and I will need a lot of information as this will be a very in depth 50 page paper I will be writing.
Look forward to hearing back from you. 🙂
This site has been very interesting reading for me tonight. I was born and lived in Memphis until the 3rd grade. My father was in the Navy so it was back and forth for us. I had heard of Bolivar and the stories. It is sad because back along time ago, people were diagnosed incorrectly. They were experimented on and suffered for conditions that were not as bad as the Dr.s assumed. Patients actually developed conditions and problems due to their treatment and confinement. Very sad. Thank you for all the info. Interesting.
My mother was a patient at WMHI. They diagnosed her as being Schizophrenic. When she finally got release she was never the same loving mother she was before she went in. After she got out she talked about seeing ghost of inmates that killed themselves. She became frightened to go anywhere. She never had a life after her stay there. Eventually she just sat on her couch smoking one cigeratte after another one. That is how she ended up dying from heart disease. I hope and pray that she is in peace in heaven. She was always afraid that those ghost was going to come get her. So even if it wasn’t haunte my mama believed that it was haunted and it ruined her life.
The old bolivar mental health hospital is still standing it’s just condemned. You can drive by and see people in the windows the only reason I know is because I live in bolivar and drive past it to work every night. Yes some of those stories may not be true but there are still souls there. I guess you just have to believe in that sort of thing. My grandad was a janitor there before it closed and he has seen the crazy stuff that has happened there.
I would like to know if this facility will ever open its doors to Paranormal Investigating groups? This would be a great place to investigate.
I have stayed at the magnolia Manor in bolivar, tn as well. It has a lot of paranormal Activity.
But, it would be Awesome to Investigate an asylum that is alittle bit closer than the Waverly Hills one.
Sigried
Sigried, as a person who has had 2 relatives (great grandmother and great great grandmother) that were patients at this facility and then later died there, I would respectfully hope that they decline your offer. This would feel like disrespect to the families who have lost loved ones who stayed at these facilities. I’m sorry if this offends you but I hope when you look from my shoes, you understand.
I agree, Danielle.
I think if we could get a group together and ask the hospital, they may be willing to let us take a tour. Although I have been in one of the towers and it is full of dead pigeons and cobwebs. I did encounter two female spirits there.
I am looking for my mother Elizabeth Ann Myrick ! My sister and I grew up in Foster Care and I finally got information on where to find her and my sister and I met her , shortly after she had been removed from the apt complex she lived in and the people that work there will not give info on her new location ! She is severely ill with mental illness and I would like to know if she is in your care now please reply I’m desperate ! Thank you kindly
I am afraid I can’t help, but I do hope you are able to find her.
My father was there i remember the white squrels in the trees out ftont i want a book on the place,also my uncle henery worked thete
Hello, my name is Ruth. I was housed at Western State for a while in the 1980’s.DO you know where I can find my records?
Hi, Ruth. Contact the administration office at Western Mental Health Institute.
I tried to get my deceased mom. I called the hospital and was told that they only keep records for 20 years. I was disappointed.
With the amount of storage space they have available to them, I am really surprised.
I just came across this thread, not sure it’s still active. My uncle was in Bolivar for at least the last 20 years of his life. They experimented on him by doing one side of a lobotomy, and later the other side. Also shock treatments and the baths.
My Mom and I visited him in the early 70’s, and it was so sad to see him as a shell of his former self. As someone who has suffered from life long depression and suicidal ideation, I would really like to view his records, and also find out where he was buried. I’m assuming he is buried in one of the cemeteries on the hospital grounds.
There are several cemeteries there. I’m not sure if you could get his records. I don’t think anyone has been able to get records.
I don’t know if you’ve seen these films of several people going through the Polk Building. They find boxes of records from the 1990’s. Here’s the link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oacKLwU8K4E&t=1274s
They were trespassing. They’re not showing their faces so they don’t go to jail for it.
I also don’t understand how they could get away with not keeping burial records.
I found them to be very disrespectful. And they were going to take old Apple computers out of there, which is stealing.