America's 10 Scariest Abandoned Asylums & Hospitals

There is something about the sight of an abandoned hospital or asylum that sets off an icy frisson of unease in the deepest recesses of our mind. Perhaps it's because of what they represent. They are the places we go to at our most vulnerable, and where we really don't want something going wrong. But in an underfunded, aged and deteriorated building with a seriously over-stretched staff, anything could happen.

It could be patients murdering their fellow inmates, sadistic staff or head doctors gone mad. Or, at the other end of the scale, it may be that the hospital institution is so large, it's all the staff can do just to keep the calmer patients staring at the walls, whilst the less controllable have to be restrained. Failing that, the treatment could be so archaic that it'll send you to the grim reaper before your illness does.

You name it, these American institutions have seen it. They represent a history which most may prefer to forget, yet some just can't resist the pull of these old buildings. In their crumbling shells the ghosts of both patients and staff are said to walk. Some former asylums and hospitals now operate as tourist attractions, and just about all of them swarm with paranormal investigation teams on a near daily basis.

Here are the hospitals and asylums where you won't rest peacefully.