Real-Life Arkham Asylum Now Houses Tenants in Apartments Built Into Its Remains

DANVERS, MASS. — The Massachusetts hospital said to have inspired the fictional Arkham Asylum was built for 450 patients and eventually crowded with more than 2,000, according to the show notes of a recent episode of the Weird Darkness podcast. The notes add that people now live in apartments built into what remains of the building.

The episode, titled "The Real Arkham Asylum: Danvers State Hospital," opens with a segment called "Arkhams' Dark Past," credited to the program's host, Darren Marlar. A later segment, "The Infamy of Danvers State Hospital," is credited to William DeLong of All That's Interesting. The notes state that after the hospital closed, the site became a popular destination for thrill-seeking kids in search of what the notes call the scare of a lifetime, and they ask why the institution ranks among the most infamous asylums in history.

The remainder of the programme, running about forty minutes, ranges widely. Listeners are promised an account of Mother Shipton, nicknamed the York Witch and the Devil's Daughter, whom some regard as a hoax. Another segment concerns a family heirloom that begins acting strangely after a woman moves into her late grandmother's house. A piece by Andreas Sommer for Aeon asks whether ghosts and visions might be good for mental health. The episode closes with a history of the word "Abracadabra."

The show notes state that no AI voices are used in the narration. The notes offer no account of what, if anything, residents of the converted building have experienced.