The abandoned hospital has left people spooked out

An abandoned mental hospital is slowly falling into disrepair and is now visited only by horror seekers and urban explorers. Found in the south of England, the institution opened its doors over a century ago in 1903 – although spookily little is known about its patients, as their files remain sealed. 

Known officially as Hellingly Hospital, and originally called the County Lunatic Asylum, the Sussex-based facility seems to have had “kindness and care” in its rehabilitation approach, explains SussexLive. 

Photographs below show what appears to be a clean and calm environment with well-trained staff. Nevertheless, the hospital wasn’t always free of controversy – there was once a pair of padded cells where “confused” patients were locked up, although these were closed in the 1950s. 

Striking patients was not tolerated though, and staff agreed to a strict working pattern to ensure the safeguarding of the people they were looking after. Dance therapy was a much-used technique there to help patients calm down – with a range of styles being taught like modern jive, ballet and ballroom. 

There were regular escapes as the owners refused to build a wall. One woman fled all the way to Easbourne during the chaos of the annual fancy dress ball, but was soon caught.

The overall grounds stretched for a huge 400 acres and at its peak held just under 2,000 patients. Men and women were separated, and there was also an acute hospital on site too. 

By 2003 the site had become popular with urban explorers. Nowadays, little remains of the original complex as it has largely been cleared to accommodate new housing, although this hasn’t arrived yet. Only a few of the original buildings remain. 

Doctors were said to have treated their patients with kindness

The hospital’s grounds were vast – 400 acres in total.

A room has been stripped of everything and left bare. This one spooked out our reporters.

• Support fearless journalism
• Read The Daily Express online, advert free
• Get super-fast page loading

Patients were treated well – including having a private barber to make them feel comfortable

Source: Read Full Article