Abandoned ASYLUM in the Heart of Oklahoma

[@mosaicowlstudios]

That "grand" hall with the autitorium seating was an old movie theatre where they used to screen movies for the patients. The bigger, longer building with the different wings and the cages on the balcony was once referred to as Hope Hall. There is a fully functioning newer hospital standing not too far away on the same grounds. I work there, in Admin. If you came here on a weekday, I was sitting in an office a few hundred feet away during these moments. Oh, by the way, the buildings are still standing because it costs a lot of $$$ to reclassify them for demolition.

[@roamingbenji]

Thank you for the information!

[@cindebrown]

Hello! My Grandmother lived and died here. I remember visiting from California, as a child. I went on to work at Patton State Hospital for 34 years-my life’s work. My sister and I are going to be in OK City (half my family is from there, the rest from TX). We were hoping to see the old places like the canteen. Do you know if that’s possible?

[@marjorieanderson8626]

Worked in Hope Hall for about 14 years. The east wing of it was condemned even as we used the rest of the building. Our offices were right next to the condemned part. One time we heard a distinct scream coming from the abandoned part. There were three of us and we all heard it. The part you saw in the later part of the video was the old hospital infirmary in it's last incarnation. They took care of the mentally ill as well as the state prison system inmates who were sick or needed minor surgery.

[@EmerickMunoz33]

My parents lived across from the hospital in the 90s and during that time there was a violent inmate who escaped. That inmate ended up killing a homeless man and decapitating him, he was found walking around the area naked with the guys head. Very scary stuff.

[@SOONERSWEETPEA]

That homeless man was very known and loved in the community. Very sad indeed. That's why some need to be caged

[@mikemiller2633]

I know before lockdown times they had ghost tours there. I am not sure to what extent they let you explore the building, I had wanted to do the tour but usually found out about it after the fact. The facility has a very tragic history, with electroshock therapy, understaffing, fires, mass graves, and just treating people like garbage. I assume the modern history is a lot better

[@deborahdavis5810]

It was Griffin Memorial Hospital/Central State Hospital for people with chemical imbalances ..to assess, counsel and find the correct meds & sometimes no meds & therapy needed to help individuals gain skills for coping and to hopefully help their lives become easier less stressful. I never worked there but did have clients transitioning into or out of the hospital right up to 2003. I used to go visit people in the hospital just talk and pray with them. People need hope at all times. Precious people.

[@RonnaHarlow]

Very interesting! I'll bet lots of odd things happened here!

[@charlayned]

My uncle in law was a patient there from the 1930s until they closed it and moved patients to Venita Oklahoma. I've been working on trying to get medical records and death certificate for him and can't seem to find people who know where those records are stored. He passed away in 1970. My husband is now the oldest of the living relatives, his siblings and his dad (who was the uncle's brother) and mom are all passed away now. The Oklahoma Historical Society has the Griffin Memorial Hospital Collection, which has photographs from the hospital.

[@mosaicowlstudios]

That Psychiatrist you're talking about that they hired and worked there for decades, Dr. Donahue...the first thing he did when he arrived was he personally hand-chiseled OFF the words "criminally insane" from the hospital's front sign.

[@littlepaebigworld2856]

No that is Dr .Griffin the namesake of the hospital who did that

[@jonathanm4518]

I've been here. It's the campus of the old Central State Hospital. The whole place feels off and creepy. Just feels like the kind of place that no one has ever really wanted to be, not back then and not now.

[@jdwilmoth]

This place is not abandoned some of it is still in use and if they catch people messing around these buildings you will be arrested

[@DavidRoot-jp9gb]

I lived in Norman Oklahoma during the 1980s and Central State Hospital kept the city on edge 😢😢

[@jdwilmoth]

@@DavidRoot-jp9gb they need to open it back up to full capacity and get some of those weirdos off of the streets

[@ghostghost8040]

@@jdwilmoththey will be destroying it. They are uninhabitable it’s deadly

[@dakota2fallen1angle41]

I went there when I was younger it’s a mental hospital the people that worked there did not take care of the patients like they were supposed to. I got overdosed at this hospital and damn near died.

[@Risteard156]

Very interesting video on these buildings a lot of history behind them 😮

[@nightvisiongoggle4100]

That door at the beginning look like one to a dungeon in transylvania

[@richardbrady2818]

I just passed by here 2 days ago wondering what this must have been, now we all know

[@shawnhainline5749]

I have explored this hospital several times at night and have captured apparitions. One night as a friend and I were there the car radio turned on by itself, I always turn it off when exploring. Pretty cool place.

[@elizabethjohnston7156]

Anyone remember Glove Man? He wandered campus in the 80s. He was definitely a patient from there

[@tflick41]

I went to Central mid high 85-86 we would see him walking down the sidewalk all the time!

[@davidcampbell351]

I was a Paramedic there late ‘80’s, remember him well.

[@jaaremynicewander]

I think gloveman's name was Jimmy. He was said to be intelligent until he went skitzo . Remember the "hatman" (Billy )used to hang around campus or downtown , wore many hats , rode a bike and would flash his light at you while honking his clown horn. That old Asian man who wore several oversized coats year around. I heard he was a patient at this hospital, and he's been on the streets every since.

[@aboyandhisdog]

Pretty cool! What takes you to Okla? An epic road trip? Too far for a day trip from Az.

[@roamingbenji]

I was in Oklahoma for work

[@bhg123ful]

What kind of work do you when you're not making videos? @@roamingbenji

[@nobeoddy1664]

@@bhg123ful he builds nuthouses

[@kswag5759]

​@@bhg123fulnosey rosey

[@desolategrey]

As a child it was always threatened that if we didn't behave we would be sent to the Norman looney bin AKA Griffin memorial

[@Skulingz]

I’ve driven passed it as long as I can remember and I never knew what it was

[@bonniehall578]

This was a mistake. Mental health institutions sre definitely needed in Oklahoma.

[@joc9549]

Yes, I work in a hospital that has a psych floor. We get calls everyday to see if we have beds.

[@nobeoddy1664]

@@joc9549 i'd like a king size

[@michaelmaher4328]

@@nobeoddy1664 🤣

[@noaboa.]

Went here once and got lost inside and had to break a different window to get out

[@gothsport8814]

Where'd u park (to not get caught)

[@tylerpantera8023]

You didn’t drop bread crumbs behind you to find your way out? 😂

[@nobeoddy1664]

you owe the state $78.24

[@natalieford3238]

"Looks insane..." pun intended? 😂

[@josephhansard7469]

I remember when I went to OU in 1978-82 and part of this was still being used for patients I believe, as would see people on Main Street who definitely were non violent and would return to the facility in time for supper. It was bizarre having that in college town Norman. Interesting buildings and I remember hearing they moved the function of the facility to Vinita.

[@ChristopherDwiggins]

Hey, you might need to bring this back! I'd love to own that beauty 😮

[@kimberlymigliorato8755]

Ahhh...the old Griffin Memorial Hospital

[@thehapagirl92]

It doesn’t look spooky during the day but I bet it is at night

[@roamingbenji]

Right

[@nobeoddy1664]

are you spooky at night?

[@kristipalmer6803]

My great great great uncle, half brother to my great great grandpa, was an 'inmate' at this hospital from 1916, thru the 1920 census (there were 1,100 inmates), and possibly until his death. I have a news article from when he was taken there that says he battled depression. He was marked as insane on his WWI Draft Card. There's a grave in a cemetery 2 miles away that I believe is his, but there's a possible transcription error and I haven't been able to find records to confirm if he died in 1929. Makes me sad to think of him living there for 13 years and dying there. Sorry Uncle George. 😞

[@Slyguy96]

My dad was a patient here briefly in the 1960's. He said it was definitely a place he didn't want to stay very long.

[@tammyjohnson5230]

My great grandfather was also an “inmate” here, and he did die there, (a very slow & painful death) however he was buried with family in Lindsay Oklahoma.. There was a fire there in 1918 that 40 died & was buried in a mass grave at Norman 100F cemetery. So im assuming this is where they buried those who died there.

[@tomfuller5585]

1:35 "I bet the inside of this looks...insane." Well, of course. I mean, it's not a sane asylum!

[@LadonnaBarnard]

It was a mental hospital my grandmother, mother , brother and I all use to work there my mother in law and brother in law worked there also my husband also worked there when I started working there is when I met my husband

[@watcherman65]

The entire complex use to be fenced off back in the 80s..

[@dylanlawson9097]

you’re walking over tunnels, all of the buildings are connected by them

[@CmattD]

No they're not lol

[@dylanlawson9097]

@@CmattD i grew up here, ive walked through them. i have photos in my phone i can send to you

[@dylanlawson9097]

@@CmattD thats what i thought. now delete your comment

[@longzhang5737]

Benji can you find any crazy stories associated with this ASYLUM place?

[@roamingbenji]

I'm still digging for the juicy stories!

[@annjarboe9269]

I can tell you stories. I can tell you about things that happened as late as 2003/2004. It will make your blood curdle.

[@annjarboe9269]

@@roamingbenjihe chapel at 11:40, they used to threaten kids (patients ages 5-17) in early 2000s that they would be buried behind it if they did not cow toe to their abuses. Across the street is the only state mental hospital for children remaining in Oklahoma.

[@Mindlesstransferal]

Louis West. Research that guy. It will blow your mind what went on at this place.

[@morrisshepherd1637]

@@annjarboe9269

[@nightflyer914]

We've always called that other building the blood room

[@petergorshe7307]

I'm having trouble following this. I always thought the first building was an abandoned church because of the stained glass windows. Then you show the cornerstone and the thing over the door that designates it as an American Legion building. Then you ignore all of that and declare it a mental asylum. I can't see how it could be used for that. Your narrative doesn't make much sense. BTW, I think the cages above the entry on the second building were for inmates to be able to enjoy fresh air without hurting themselves.

[@davidcampbell351]

It was a church, they had services there as late as 1988.

[@marlamadden6554]

Norman is having all sorts of problems with the homeless. Business people the university and the downtown are all saying something needs to be done, to send them somewhere. Why not use Giffin Memorial and make it into a shelter. For people that need immediate help. Then take another part make small apartments out of it for income to help people and families get back on there feet. That rent (small as it will be) can help run the shelter. I know I have no idea what it would take but its better than Norman just scratching their heads.

[@K._Oss]

My girlfriend lives in Norman and I passed this place On my way to the smoke shop all the time Lol.

[@jeannesullivan6154]

I grew up here and it’s probably central state mental asylum.

[@DavidRoot-jp9gb]

Dr Delbert G Willard was a great figure at this hospital.

[@SimplySweetSharon]

is this for sale

[@dianadelahaye7660]

Just to be clear, people who had depression or mental illness were not insane. Experts did not understand sever bipolar ,scizophrenia and violent disordered.

[@dianadelahaye7660]

They did not have proper care or medication. Mental health is very misunderstood.

[@nightflyer914]

It's a mental hospital

[@RichardWatts-wm5xx]

IS IT FOR SALE, ADOPTION HOME.

[@nightflyer914]

It was an is a church I live here

[@undertheyarrowbear]

It's a old world building/ruins from prior reset that was mudflooded. The majority of the structure is buried underground...we just repurpose the top part which is why you see old world structures in the downtown areas that have windows half in the ground and brick buildings that look like they are slanted instead of level. Half the building in underneath so they added ramps or steps that were not original to the building so that we could use them. Look closely at the old town buildings casting aside the narrative of all these buildings being built in a short period of time in the 1800's using only a horse and buggy to haul all the materials and without power tools....recalibrate and use your eyes and critical thinking skills...ask God to reveal the truth.

[@RoyWilliams-t9s]

Insane Asylum? Where are you from the 1800's. The place is still open. The old buildings are not used and havent been for many years

[@trumanlewis8237]

You need to real homework, half your story is wrong.

[@trumanlewis8237]

Also, the use of the word crazy so many is very offensive

[@jesseserna8424]

My dad took my mom there at the mental hospital twice when was growing up,she lived out a long healthy normal life passing in 2008.I made delivery out there to the main complex recently.. They should open it back up and put the homeless in there that lives under the bridges around south okc 🫢..They keep the grass nice and trimmed..thanks for your videos