Inside Our Eerie Night at the Real-Life Asylum That Inspired ‘Stranger Things’

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We spent an eerie night inside the real-life Pennhurst asylum that was featured in Stranger ThingsIn season four of the hit series, Nancy and Robin go undercover at the fictional Pennhurst Mental Hospital to find patient Victor CreelThe infamous Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Pennsylvania closed in 1987

If you’re a fan of Stranger Things, then you’ve heard of Pennhurst.

In season four of the hit series, Nancy and Robin go undercover at the fictional Pennhurst Mental Hospital to find patient Victor Creel, who holds clues to Vecna and the Upside Down. While those episodes were actually shot on the campus of Berry College in Georgia, they were inspired by the infamous Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Pennsylvania, which closed in 1987.

Pennhurst Mental Hospital in ‘Stranger Things’.

Netflix

Now operated as a museum and haunted attraction along with preservation efforts by the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance, the former hospital has a dark and tragic history filled with horrific patient neglect and abuse, leading to a landmark civil rights lawsuit and its closure.

While the preservation of the buildings seeks to honor the past and prevent future neglect, there has been public criticism over the use of the facility (and its reference in Stranger Things) for entertainment purposes. Since it shut down, Pennhurst has also gained a reputation for being reportedly haunted.

Over the years, I’ve been intrigued with anything that could be deemed supernatural. My close friends (and sisters) Liz Beedle and Emily Penke, whom I met when our kids were in kindergarten, also share my fascination, and the three of us regularly visit locations around the country that are believed to be haunted.

Maya Hawke (Robin) and Natalia Dyer (Nancy) in Season 4 of ‘Stranger Things’.

Netflix

Known on social media as the Ghost Moms, we’ve explored The Queen Mary, the Lizzie Borden House and the Roosevelt Hotel to name a few and Pennhurst has been on our bucket list since we started doing this together in 2019.

When the last season of Stranger Things was announced, we knew we had to check off Pennhurst before the finale. Joined again by another close friend and fellow mom, Kelly Seibert, the four of us flew to Philadelphia from Kansas City and drove about an hour outside of the city to the abandoned complex.

It was extremely cold and windy when we arrived, and the buildings themselves are vast and decrepit. We met up with two docents who gave us a tour of the grounds including patient dorms, the museum, tunnels and the infirmary. Almost every building we entered had a heavy energy and it was impossible not to be overwhelmed with empathy for the patients and all they had to endure while there.

Jordan with (from left) Emily Penke, Liz Beedle and Kelly Seibert.

Courtesy Julie Jordan

We started our night in one of the dorms. Using various pieces of equipment including a bell that detects changes in an electromagnetic field and an app that scans radio frequencies at a fast rate (it is believed to possibly pick up voices other than radio in the static), we made our way through the darkness. Then we heard what sounded like footsteps on the floor above us and something seemed to mimic Kelly after she called out hello.

As we went upstairs to investigate, we were stopped in our tracks when we heard a voice ask, “Am I a ghost?” We always try to be brave in these scenarios, but it’s extremely hard when you’re in the dark and can’t see any source. I’m a big fan of debunking, and I’ve learned that 90% of anything we experience can usually be explained. It’s the other 10% that keep us coming back for more.

When we entered the building that houses the museum, we were silenced once again by the relics of the former asylum including adult cribs and medical instruments used on patients in the past. Liz put the bell that detects EMF changes on an old nearby table, and I placed a motion detector on the floor in front of it.

Courtesy Julie Jordan

As I went to pick it up, the motion detector was triggered by something we couldn’t detect, and I immediately felt what I can only describe as a breath of cold air in my face. Then the bell behind me rang.

Though we were spooked, we gathered ourselves and stood there quietly debating our next move. That’s when we heard a voice say, “on the table.” My immediate thought was that the bell was on the table and as we were discussing, the bell rang again.

The four of us have our own unique ways of dealing with fear: Liz will occasionally yell out; Kelly will grab onto Emily; Emily will start dancing nervously; and I try my best to sincerely thank out loud whatever might be trying to communicate with us. We’ve also learned that any moments of activity only happen in short bursts in between hours of nothing happening so we were glad to then have a reprieve.

Courtesy Julie Jordan

Later, in another one of the dorms, we heard what sounded like the swivel of a cart or bed above us and a dragging sound even though we were the only ones in the building. Walking into one of the upstairs bedrooms, we caught an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), which is when a digital recorder picks up a voice that isn’t heard with human ears at the time.

When we were watching the footage back, a woman’s voice clearly said “crib” and we had to wonder if she was talking about the sad history of the room and what all might have happened within its walls.

We left Pennhurst in the early morning hours with a solemn understanding of its tragic history and a hope that no other patients will ever suffer that way in the future. Do their spirits still reside in the buildings? We’ll never tell anyone that ghosts are real. We can only share what we experience and things we can’t explain and leave it to others to decide for themselves.

The final installment of Stranger Things premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET. Volumes 1 and 2 of season 5 are now available to stream on Netflix.