West Mountain Sanitarium
The Scranton Society for the Prevention and Cure of Consumption as it was called, opened its doors in 1904. Consumption, now known as Tuberculosis, killed millions of people throughout it's history. This was the first state of the art facility of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania.
In 1913, the sanitarium housed 58 patients. According to the report from that year, 4 patients died and 30 were discharged. The year of 1937 saw the most patients to be treated at one time at 72.
West Mountain was deemed one of the best treatment facilities in not only the state, but also the nation. They pioneered a new "radical" treatment throughout the beginnings of the facility that was thought to cure and cleanse the body of TB and other impurities. This treatment required patients to spend a great deal of time outside regardless of the season. Patients were subject to freezing cold temperatures in winter.
Going through various expansions throughout the years, what is still standing today is merely a shell of what this facility was in its prime.
Dick Smith, a notable citizen from Honesdale, PA, was admitted into West Mountain in 1931. Mr. Smith died in 1935, but wrote a song while being treated here that many of us accept as a popular Christmas song. The song was "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."
West Mountain Sanitarium officially closed its doors for good in 1974.
Investigation
July 26th, 2010
Outside temp: 81F
During our investigation of West Mountain, only a few things happened to note. Our EMF frequently measured anomalies in random areas of the location, and investigators noted footstep-like noises coming from the floor above while no investigators were present on that floor.
The area has been off the electric grid since its closing in 1974, so EMF variations of this kind were strange. Some, we chalked up as human error as other battery powered equipment near the EMF would have set them off, but others were far from normal.
Immediately following hearing the footstep like noises, the team entered the floor where the noises were coming from and began walking through taking tons of pictures.
Below is four photos of the same window. The first two photos are from our initial walk-thru and the last two are photos we captured after hearing the footsteps.
Evidence
