Pennhurst Asylum

I'm not sure if many of you were watching last October, but the Travel Channel had a show called America Haunts that ran in multiple segments and showed off some of the best haunted attractions in the country. One that caught my interest was a new haunt located not too far from my house, in Spring City, Pennsylvania. Many of you are probably familiar with Pennhurst and its depressing history, and most notably, its ghosts- made famous by TAPS, the Ghost Adventures Crew, etc. and quietly revered as the epitome of abandoned places by "urban explorers" alike. Ever since I had seen Pennhurst on T.V. I have wanted to explore it, but the hefty fines in place to keep trespassers out has made me think twice about doing so...

Thankfully, Randy Bates (owner of The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Gradyville, PA) has purchased the crippling Pennhurst, and decided to turn it into one of the newest and most terrifying haunts in the country. In the Pennhurst segment of America Haunts, not much info was given- just a name, "Pennhurst Institute of Fear," which has seemingly since been changed, a vague opening date of October, 2010, and a brief walk through with some teenage girls who were in tears by the end of their short venture.

After this segment aired, all information about this haunt seemed to disappear off the face of the earth... I never heard about it again, never saw an online ad, never saw that segment of America Haunts ever again, and all Google searches lead me to forums where people were searching for the answer to the same question I had, "WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS HAUNT??!!!"

Well, after long endless searches to the farthest ends of the internet, I found my answer. Apparently, the name of the haunt was changed to "Pennhurst Asylum" (which sounds a lot more ominous in my opinion). I found this out through facebook (of all places) after I came across their page here. This lead me then to their official site, which can be found here. Not much info is given, as their website is still under development and their wall postings on facebook consist mostly of ads to hire actors...

I will be sure to keep a close eye on all developments with "Pennhurst Asylum," so stick with us to learn more about this amazing haunt and many of the others as we get closer to this Halloween season.