Taunton State Hospital

From a distance, the black dots grouped together and nestled on the green grounds of the Mayflower Hill Cemetery appear as a large flock of birds. Upon closer inspection, however, they are revealed to be small metal markers, each engraved with a number corresponding to an individual buried underneath. That’s the only evidence that remains of the 865 people who perished while patients at Taunton State Hospital. 

Established in 1854 as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton, it was the second mental health facility built in Massachusetts. While intended as a place of healing and recuperation, it didn’t take long before things at the hospital took a dark turn.

Medical professionals in the 19th century had a limited understanding of mental health. That’s why conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Tourette’s were all enough to qualify someone for admission in an institution like Taunton State Hospital. Psychiatric science at the time advocated for horrific procedures such as lobotomies, ice baths, solitary confinement, and electroshock therapy.

Gruesome treatments were not the only grisly aspects of the hospital’s history. At least two known serial killers were committed there in the early 20th century: Anthony Santo, who claimed “mad spells” compelled him to kill, and Jane Toppan, a nurse who would covertly murder her patients.

In 1975, the hospital was closed and gradually fell into disrepair. With such a dark history, it became a popular destination for urban explorers and ghost hunters who have reported hearing disembodied screams, sobbing, shadows, and cries for help. The supernatural phenomenon purportedly seeped into the surrounding forests, as well, with some calling the hospital “America’s most-haunted asylum.” In 2006, a fire broke out destroying much of the historic building, and the rest was finally demolished a few years later. However, many of the newer buildings still stand, and the hospital is still in operation today as a psychiatric and rehabilitation facility. 

Throughout its more than a century of operation, over 800 patients died while admitted there, buried in a pauper’s grave at the Mayflower Hill Cemetery, with their names, stories, and lives replaced by a number and lost to history. Although much of the old hospital complex has slowly faded away and memories forgotten, its legacy remains.