The green towers seem to pierce the night sky and shadows cast by a spotlight illuminate the sharp corners and imposing raised stone of the old Buffalo State Hospital. Its sheer size and gothic aesthetic brings to mind Shelly’s Frankenstein or bloodthirsty vampires—anything otherworldly. This place is not in Transylvania, is not an antique castle, nor is it a backdrop to any horror film. So, where is such a building, one that seems to seethe with mystery, and an essence of the supernatural?

The institution can be found at 400 Forest Avenue in Buffalo, New York. To be more precise, it borders Buffalo State College and can be clearly seen from Elmwood Avenue and Route 33. It is also known as “the creepy mental institute with the tower” by area students and residents. Many claim it is haunted. A local supernatural expert, Mason Winfield, said the building and the surrounding area has “layers of meaning” and is not just “a building with ghost stories.”

Though it is now commonly referred to as the H.H. Richardson Complex, the vacant Buffalo State Hospital stands as a monument to Buffalo’s past. The construction of architect Henry Hobson Richardson’s design was completed in 1895, nine years after Richardson’s death at the age of 48. His vision was surely realized, however, as the Buffalo State Hospital remains as both a stunning example of the distinct Richardson Romanesque style, and an authentic Kirkbridge psychiatric structure.

Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbridge, an influential psychiatrist in the mid-nineteenth century, created his institution design to improve circumstances for the insane. In the case of the Buffalo State Hospital, long infirmary wings extend off the towering administration building. Kirkbridge’s design involved segregating the patients by sex and degrees of illness—the worst, or most insane, were sent far away in the furthest quarters. The mentally ill were no longer kept like animals as they often were in the years before the Kirkbridge model, but how much more humane was this approach?

Many of the rumors of ghostly sightings and weird occurrences seemingly stem from the hospital’s less than moral practices, judging by today’s psychiatric standards. In the early years of psychiatric institutionalization, patients were subjected to bizarre practices and restraints that were said to function as “cures.”

Boston Globe journalist Robert Whitaker chronicles immoral psychiatric treatments in his book, Mad Medicine. A widely-used yet heinous practice was eugenics, or the systematic sterilization of the mentally ill to prevent their reproduction. If the insane could not have offspring, then their flawed genes could not be spread. Mad Medicine stated, “In the 1930s, patients in New York state hospitals died at five times the rate of the general population, and mortality rates were particularly high for young people twenty to twenty-four years old—the very group that eugenicists did not want to see breed.”

Injecting schizophrenic patients with insulin to induce supposedly brain-awakening comas was another common practice, wrote Whitaker. “They were in fact now close to death, their brains so depleted of sugar that only the most primitive regions, [like basic brain functions] were left intact.”

Because the Richardson Complex once housed thousands of patients with unsettled minds, perhaps their afterlife would be unsettled as well. Winfield said that there may be a distinct connection. “People who are mentally disturbed, or any type of alteration to the human psyche, have a higher tendency to have supernatural abilities. They have higher functions of the unconscious mind. So, there is a greater tendency [of hauntings] with a place related to those types of people.”

The Buffalo State Hospital was closed to the public and patients in 1974. Today, entering the hospital is forbidden to anyone aside from those responsible for what little upkeep the building receives. Because breaking in can lead to fines and possible jail time, there are few who have succeeded and even fewer who would admit to trying. Those who have entered the hospital’s walls since its closing have seen bizarre things, like strange medical devices and decaying hospital beds.

Jackie Constantine, a Buffalo State College graduate, managed to break into the hospital with friends four years ago. What started as a fun challenge, complete with Top Gun code names and walkie-talkies, ended up as a terrifying experience she will never forget.

“It looked like someone snapped their fingers and everyone disappeared,” said Constantine about the asylum’s appearance. “There was a huge salmon-pink and green dollhouse right when we got in, it was really freaky.” As the group made their way into the hospital, it became increasingly clear that their plan wasn’t a good one. Constantine said that when they went upstairs, the floor beneath them caved in, which prompted everyone to run back down—all the way to the basement. “The walls were thick stone, it was really dark. When we saw a sign for the morgue I said, ‘Fuck this! I need to get out!’”

Constantine said that fear overwhelmed her. “All I can remember were my emotions—I just wanted to get out. I felt like I wanted to die.”

Although Constantine’s account of her visit to the Buffalo State Hospital doesn’t include any ghostly sightings, there is some arguable evidence that may indicate that paranormal activity has taken place in the building. The Haunted Film on hauntedfilm.com, a project by Buffalo organization Friends of Endangered History, is a mysterious, first-hand account of the supernatural filmed inside the hospital. The short film on the website consists of a series of clips depicting several paranormal “anomalies.” The photographer was contacted, but due to the legal issues about breaking into private property, he wanted to remain anonymous and be referred to only as Dave.

The Haunted Film began as a personal project for Dave. He entered the building alone in 2003 and stayed overnight in order to capture images of the hospital’s rapidly deteriorating state. When going through the hours of footage his former wife noticed something strange. Dave said “I didn’t see anything strange when I was there. The camera picked everything up.”

Upon first viewing, the film seems like nothing more than an eerie peek behind the doors of the institution, complete with a soundtrack made up of subdued, ambient noise. You see a first-person view of a chair in the middle of a decaying, dark hall, tunnels flanked with rows of pipes, and a tall wooden ladder extending upwards. The camera work is jumpy and grainy, like The Blair Witch Project without the woods or the witch. But when viewed several times, there are, in fact, some strange occurrences. In one shot, a gate swings open by itself, prompting the cameraman to pause for a moment. In another, a shadowy figure passes by a darkened archway, and it moves too quickly and smoothly to be considered human. Dave said he doesn’t recall seeing anything strange, but that if he had actually seen what was in the film when he was in the hospital he would “have had a heart attack.”

His experience within the hospital was chilling but not terrifying like Constantine’s. “Before I went in, I had to convince myself there wasn’t anything wrong with the building,” he said. But while he was exploring he said he felt very welcome. “Maybe they [the deceased] wanted to say something so they would be remembered.”

Constantine didn’t see The Haunted Film, but said, “I one-hundred percent believe it could happen. There just has to be something else in there.”

Whether ghosts roam the halls of the Buffalo State Hospital or not, one thing is certain. The H.H. Richardson Complex is rich with a fascinating and tragic history. “There shouldn’t be a witch hunt [in the building],” Dave said. “It should be a place of remembrance for people who suffered there.”

Tara Sullivan is a senior English major and Editor in Chief of Generation.