Pretty Evil New England,  The life of a writer,  True Crime

Taunton State Hospital: Spooky Research Trip

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Taunton State Hospital
State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton, MA

Researching true crime is a journey in and of itself. Unlike fiction, where we conduct most of our research online, true crime requires us to leave the house on a regular basis. In the last month I’ve traveled to some amazing places. My research assistant and I first went to the Taunton State Hospital—formally known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton in the 1800’s and early 1900’s—and the hospital has a spooky history.

Built in April 1854, rumors soon spread about a Satanic cult roaming the halls, faithful followers of Satan disguised as the very people in charge of tending to the patients. Nurses and doctors would drag unwitting patients, screaming and fighting, to the basement to conduct dark rituals and even human sacrifices. Although no arrests were ever made, numbered graves fill the potter’s field in Mayflower cemetery, less than a mile away.

Think about it. How easy would it be to dispose of a mentally disturbed patient back then? Most families dropped off the troubled sibling, spouse, or child and drove away, never to visit them or even bother to collect their remains. When we roamed the cemetery searching for the grave marker for my particular subject an overwhelming sadness gripped us hard.

Check out the rows and rows of unnamed ghosts with nothing but a number to mark their existence.

Taunton State Hospital - Potter's Field
Photo credit: Sue Coletta

This is what those markers look like up close.

Grave marker for patient of Taunton State Hospital
Photo credit: Sue Coletta

But we needed to go back even farther to these ground markers, which were a lot more difficult to find.

Grave marker in Potter's field
Photo credit: Sue Coletta

After public outcry exposed the cult, the staff would attempt to go downstairs only to confront a powerful force stopping them from reaching the bottom tread. Some say Satan himself made an appearance there. Ghost hunters reported the basement to be the most haunted area of the hospital, but they also found paranormal activity upstairs where a stunning curved hallway once connected two nursing wings.Taunton State Hospital

Stories include people experiencing uneasy feelings of sickness to an unexplained sense of terror. The main building was abandoned in 1975. Then in 1999, the central dome running up the center of the administration building collapsed. And in 2006, a fire broke out. Shortly after the fire, with all the rumors and bad press, the governor of Massachusetts ordered all the buildings within the black-coated wire fence to be leveled. By the time I arrived at the historic site all that remained were buildings outside the fence but still on hospital grounds.

Taunton State Hospital
The central buildings as they appear today. – Photo credit: Sue Coletta

I strutted through the main entrance and slapped my business card on the reception desk. After inquiring about my female serial killer, the secretary told me, “We’re not even allowed to discuss her.”

Huh. Why would someone silence the staff?

She also informed me that no photographs were allowed anywhere on the grounds, but the way she said it seemed off, as if some higher-up didn’t want a crime writer poking around. I toured the grounds anyway, and couldn’t find one sign that read “photographs strictly prohibited.”

Homey don’t play that game. Either it’s a rule or a suggestion. If it’s a rule, then it should be posted for everyone who visits the Taunton State Hospital. I had a feeling this so-called “rule” was meant only for me. So, out came my camera. 😉 It soon became abundantly clear that my presence worried them for some reason, evident by the plain clothed guards(?) following us. At each turn stood another man—trying to act natural but doing a poor job of it—communicating with someone else via phone, no doubt reporting our exact location at all times.

It wasn’t a smart move, because their presence only made me more curious. What were they hiding?

Taunton State Hospital
Notice the lone beam that isn’t in any other photos? – Photo credit: Sue Coletta

My research assistant (who’s also one of my closest friends) steered through an opened metal gate that led to an unkept dirt road around the back of the black-wired-off area while I snapped one photograph after another. What we experienced only conjured up more questions—what sort of terror did the patients endure here? —questions I may never be able to answer, its rich history buried beneath a pile of rubble.

The most frightening paranormal tales told of moving shadows that came from nowhere and slithered in and out of the patients’ rooms and basement, leaving strange shapes, symbols, and illegible text on horsehair plastered walls. Workmen washed away the ghostly images only to have them reappear, and sometimes as different images. While the historic hospital was still in operation disembodied knocks echoed against the inside door of empty rooms, footsteps clambered down empty hallways, and a shadowy spider-like apparition manifested wherever it liked.

Known as the “shadow man,” reports surfaced of a short male, sometimes even stretched out of proportion, who crept into patients’ rooms and clung to the walls or ceiling, glaring at terrified patients. If it weren’t for the workmen reports, I might be more apt to write off these accounts to tall tales from trouble minds, but the guys saw the same thing.

How can throngs of people all have an identical experience without some nugget of truth?

A few accounts say Lizzie Borden called Taunton State Hospital home at one point, but my research shows that may not be true. From what I can tell, she stayed in the Taunton jail, not the hospital, while awaiting trial.

Taunton State Hospital
Photo credit: Sue Coletta

Next, we drove to Cape Cod (total distance from home: 6 hours roundtrip). You’ll have to wait for the book to read about what happened there. 😉 And this past Tuesday we drove two hours (each way) to Harvard Medical School in Boston. If you’ve ever tried to envision the inside of Harvard, I guarantee what you imagine doesn’t even come close to the real thing. It’s an amazing place steeped in history. I needed to go there because a Harvard alum kept a scrapbook and a file on one of my female serial killers.

Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School – Photo credit: Sue Coletta

When I swung open the door of the reading room in Countway Library, four rich mahogany desks sat in the center of an open room, two desks on each side, facing each other. Inlayed into the mahogany were padded black-leather desk blotters, with plush leather executive chairs pulled underneath. The type of chair that when you slide into it, “wow” slips out your mouth.

“Classy” doesn’t even begin to describe this room. I’m so glad I dressed for the occasion! Had I thrown on my usual ripped shorts and a tanktop I would have felt even more out of place. As it was, we were surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds in history. Photographs lined the walls, depicting surgical procedures before the invention of electricity. Most looked like pure torture. Eight to ten men gathered around the patient, a few whose only job was to hold a candle, others administering some sort of anesthesia while the head surgeon operated. Imagine? I wish I snapped photos, but I didn’t even think about it at the time. In the moment, I was too awestruck.

When you request archival material in advance, the—I’m not sure of her official title—sweet girl at the desk brings out these special stands that raise the documents six-to-eight inches off the desk, which cradles the book and helps to minimize the researcher’s neck strain. Only one person at a time is allowed to view historic documents. Luckily, I’d requested two sets of material, so my research assistant copied the file while I photographed everything in the scrap book.

Special care is required to peruse historic documents. With each turn of the page they asked that we use this special weighted string to secure each page while reading. No pens allowed, no pocketbooks, either. Only cell phones and leaded pencils which they supplied. All other personal belongings went into keyed lockers outside the reading room. We were allowed to speak in a whisper and glance at each other’s documents from time to time, but the room was so quiet we kept the chitchat to a minimum.

After gathering the evidence I needed, she asked that we leave the documents on the desks for her to rewrap in breathable cotton and then re-shelve. Fun fact: my mother went to Harvard (back in the day, Radcliffe was the female section of Harvard), which made the trip all that more exciting.

So, that’s a few of my adventures so far. I can hardly wait to find out where my next female serial killer might take me.

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.

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29 Comments

  • AS

    August 23, 2019 at 7:56 PM

    This is awesome! And this post couldn’t have been more timely, I have been watching the TV series “Mindhunter” these past few days and it feels like deja vu! Much as the Taunton State Hospital looks majestic, I think it would be spooky to be inside the premises as well. I so hope you go there again (and soon!), I can’t wait to hear more about it, there’s especially something about that picture of the curved hallway. I wish my job were as exciting as yours, I have to make do with reading books and watching crime thrillers 🙁
    AS recently posted…Taunton State Hospital: Spooky Research TripMy Profile

  • Mae Clair

    August 23, 2019 at 3:08 PM

    Wow! How cool that you’re getting to do all of this historical research as well as visiting these places. It sounds like a dream job. At least for me. It’s the kind of thing I would love to do. I was riveted to every word of this post, Sue. Amazing!

    • Sue Coletta

      August 23, 2019 at 4:53 PM

      Yay!!! Thanks, Mae! Writing true crime requires a ton of research, which as you know, I’ve always been passionate about. Finding information on historic female serial killers is a bit tricky at times, but digging is half the fun. I love piecing together events that happened so long ago. For the next book I might try my hand at writing more contemporary true crime, so I can sit in on trials and interview witnesses. 😀

  • CS Boyack

    August 23, 2019 at 1:29 PM

    I wondered where you’d been. Sounds like you’re having a great time. I hate it when old buildings fall into ruin. It amazes me that some lawyer is making sure people don’t talk about someone who is long since gone. Maybe you can find a former employee who isn’t so tethered. I know this is true crime, but there are some great fictional stories in a place like that. I want to be your research assistant.

    • Sue Coletta

      August 23, 2019 at 1:12 PM

      Thanks, Emily! Writing true crime is a lot of work, but I’m really lovin’ the process so far. The research IS a blast! We have so much fun on our research trips.

  • Garry Rodgers

    August 23, 2019 at 11:52 AM

    Sue – You have an amazing writing ability that takes your reader right with you on your adventures. I felt like I was beside you at Taunton and Harvard. Now you’ve got me hooked as to what went on at Cape Cod…

    BTW, this research assistant of yours – does she/he have a name? 🙂 Great job on this piece and keep us in the loop!

    • Sue Coletta

      August 23, 2019 at 11:45 AM

      Thanks, Priscilla! Yes, I agree about tricks of light. But strange symbols appearing is a whole other ballgame, IMO. The entire campus of the hospital had a creepy feel to it, and I went before I found out what happened with the cult. After I read all the paranormal accounts, the creepiness sort of made sense.

      I loved Harvard! I half expected her to hand us white cotton gloves so our hand oils wouldn’t stain the pages.
      Sue Coletta recently posted…Taunton State Hospital: Spooky Research TripMy Profile

  • Denise Hendrickson

    August 23, 2019 at 11:28 AM

    Wow! The Taunton Hospital is especially intriguing and I know my curiosity would get the better of me to explore as deep as I could. Really strange that you were monitored so closely. What in the world were they afraid you would see or uncover?! Especially after all this time? To imagine the horrors that took place within those walls just gives me the shivers. Harvard would have me drooling, lol. Just to imagine the brilliant minds and all the history, I would be awestruck as well. Exciting research trips, thanks for sharing your experiences.

  • Staci Troilo

    August 23, 2019 at 11:19 AM

    Wow. Just… wow. Those grave markers are tragic. And why are the people there still keeping secrets all these years later? Makes me think they’re still up to something.

    I bet you felt a connection to your Mom when you were at Harvard. I went to an elite college, but we didn’t have a plush library like that. I’m kind of jealous.

    This is all so fascinating. I look forward to more posts. And the book, of course!
    Staci Troilo recently posted…Friday FindsMy Profile

    • Sue Coletta

      August 23, 2019 at 11:38 AM

      I thought the same thing, Staci. Why are they not allowed to even discuss this particular patient? Something’s up.

      I sure did feel a connection while in Harvard. I wish I knew what field she was studying there. Although, recently I found out she wanted to be a writer, which I found very cool.

      Thank you!!!
      Sue Coletta recently posted…Taunton State Hospital: Spooky Research TripMy Profile

  • Margot Kinberg

    August 23, 2019 at 11:09 AM

    OK, so now I’m even more curious about Taunton – wow!!! There’s got to be something going on there, or why would they take so much trouble to monitor you… Hmm….. I wonder if we’ll ever find out. At any rate, Sue, I’m really excited to read about your research trips. That’s one of the great parts of writing, isn’t it? You learn so much about things.