Overview
Over a century, thousands of people have stayed at the Fergus Falls State Hospital located in Minnesota. Today, its hallways are empty and its rooms abandoned. However, local legend says the old hospital isn’t always quiet.
Opened in 1890, the hospital was designed by Warren B. Dunnell using the Kirkbride Plan, which emphasized natural light, fresh air, and spacious surroundings. Despite the hospital being fairly big, it became crowded quickly. Originally intended for about 1,000 patients, Fergus Falls eventually peaked at 2,078 patients in 1937. Treatments used during its long history included hydrotherapy, insulin shock treatment, psychosurgery, and eventually electroconvulsive therapy.
Courtesy of Mr. Moment on Flickr.
Beneath the colossal structure was a network of underground tunnels. While these passages served practical purposes, they became the focal point of the hospital’s darkest ghost stories. Tourists and paranormal enthusiasts have reported mysterious screams, footsteps, feelings of being watched, and shadowy figures moving through the darkness. One recurring legend describes a towering black figure that appears in the tunnels before suddenly vanishing before your eyes.
The abandoned upper floors have generated their own stories of unexplained noises, footsteps coming from empty rooms, and mysterious figures appearing in doorways. Some paranormal investigators have claimed to feel something touching or scratching them with no logical explanation.
Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Courtesy of Chad Davis on Wikimedia.
In addition to these rumors, the hospital is home to an immense eight-acre cemetery where former patients were buried.
The Fergus Falls State Hospital finally closed in 2005 after 115 years of operation. Portions of the campus have been reused or demolished, but the enormous Kirkbride building still stands. Its empty windows, deserted corridors, underground passages, and nearby cemetery remain haunting reminders of the thousands of people who once lived there. However, legend has it that not everyone who entered Fergus Falls State Hospital ever truly left.
