Pennhurst Asylum Haunted House

[~~Who,Me?~~]

There's a story going on in this area that I've paid minimal attention to. Basically, there is this now defunct asylum, and some group is turning it into a haunted house and charging money as a holiday attraction.

I saw on tv that several groups were protesting/petitioning this, as they did not feel it was good to 'make fun of' mentally ill or mentally challenged people.

When I initially saw the story, admittedly, I thought that those in opposition were being a bit too sensitive. After all, there's a haunted house in one of the old prisons, you know, why not?

Today on fb, my son's school posted this link:
Respect Pennhurst

I had no idea that my son's school was involved, or what the whole back story was. And now, reading the history, yeah, I'm kinda ticked off about it. And I will be writing to the sponsors that they've listed. I've always been brand loyal to Hatfield meats because we used to live in Hatfield.

The current owners of the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital have decided to host a “Pennhurst Asylum” Halloween attraction on the grounds and in the buildings where thousands of Pennsylvanians were locked away against their will and confined in deplorable conditions simply because they had intellectual disabilities.

Between 1908 and 1987, more than 10,500 Pennsylvanians with developmental disabilities live here. Public controversy over the inhumane treatment of residents and two decades of complex litigation, including three arguments before the US Supreme Court, led to the institution’s closure. Groundbreaking advocacy and new public policy, including transition to community-based living, made Pennhurst a milestone in the disabilities civil rights movement.

I don't if this is an appropriate analogy or not, but to me, it seems like it would be equal to opening a haunted house on the site of a former concentration camp, and having 'concentration camp' be the theme to the haunted house, like 'asylum' is the theme for this one. It's unacceptable.

[motherofmolly]

we have one here. the old peoria insane asylum. most of it has been turned into new businesses (the old housing units). they have done the haunted house before...but i see it more along the lines of the scarey movies that include a insane asylum.

it is an unfortunate history tidbit, that long ago if you were not right they put you away. didnt necessarily have to be for a mental illness, could of also been for a medical issue.

[kval07]

What are they doing to make fun of or mock people who were in this asylum?

[kval07]

I'm not getting it. The website doesn't say what exactly they are doing. Maybe it does, I just keep getting the same page to load, no matter what link I click. Nor does the thing your son's school posted. What exactly are these people doing, aside from hosting a "thing" inside the asylum?

[wrestlegirl]

Huh, I used to live in that area and never knew about Pennhurst.

I looked up some news stories about this and I couldn't figure out for sure if this is a standard haunted house sort of thing or if they're taking it further by stocking it with "actors" pretending to be mentally challenged.

The way I look at it, if they've got actors there portraying the poor people who were locked up in a negative way - that would be inappropriate and offensive IMO. A couple of the editorial sites hinted that the haunted house would be mocking those who suffered there, but in actual news stories I couldn't find anything indicating that.

If it's a haunted house with the normal stuff like ghosts, demented doctors, fake blood & guts, rats, monsters and stuff, what's the problem??

Bad juju happened in the building. There's no denying that. Treating mentally challenged people inhumanely, locking them away, is abhorrent.
But bad things happened in a lot of places, and for some haunted houses that's the lure of their site. Heck, look at those ghost hunting shows on TV - how many of those take place in old asylums and such?

I just don't see the outrage if the former "patients" at Pennhurst aren't being mocked with this haunted house.

[kval07]

Huh, I used to live in that area and never knew about Pennhurst.

I looked up some news stories about this and I couldn't figure out for sure if this is a standard haunted house sort of thing or if they're taking it further by stocking it with "actors" pretending to be mentally challenged.

The way I look at it, if they've got actors there portraying the poor people who were locked up in a negative way - that would be inappropriate and offensive IMO. A couple of the editorial sites hinted that the haunted house would be mocking those who suffered there, but in actual news stories I couldn't find anything indicating that.

If it's a haunted house with the normal stuff like ghosts, demented doctors, fake blood & guts, rats, monsters and stuff, what's the problem??

Bad juju happened in the building. There's no denying that. Treating mentally challenged people inhumanely, locking them away, is abhorrent.
But bad things happened in a lot of places, and for some haunted houses that's the lure of their site. Heck, look at those ghost hunting shows on TV - how many of those take place in old asylums and such?

I just don't see the outrage if the former "patients" at Pennhurst aren't being mocked with this haunted house.

^^What she said.

[~~Who,Me?~~]

Well, the name of the attraction "Pennhurst Asylum-The Fear is Real." Why not just name it Pennhurst Haunted House? And yes, the overall theme is that former residents/patients now haunt the building and it's grounds.

Yes, we did used to do horrible things to the disabled and mentally ill.

But when you know better, you do better. And we know better.

[kval07]

I don't see any real need to change the name. And I have yet to see on the website, or anywhere else, what the true premise of this thing is. So at this point, I see no issue.

If what you say is true:
Tacky? Maybe
Reason to boycott it? Perhaps
Reason to stop the whole thing? No

[CW&M Mom]

For those that want to read more

'Pennhurst Asylum' Halloween attraction draws strong opinions - The Mercury

[CW&M Mom]

Kval

if you had basically been "forced" to take your disabled child or adult to a assylum where they were locked up, forced to live in deplorable situations because "society" didn't want to actually have to look at them.....

would you then want decades later to have a haunted house in the same building??