Athens Lunatic Asylum (The Ridges)

A Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that ran from 1874 to 1993 and held 1,800 patients at its peak, with a history that includes lobotomies and experimental treatments. Now owned by Ohio University, the campus houses the Kennedy Museum of Art — plus a lot of abandoned buildings.

The Ridges is considered one of the most haunted places in the world. The most chilling evidence is a permanent human stain on the floor of Ward N. 20, marking where patient Margaret Schilling's body lay undiscovered for over a month after her death in 1978. Despite attempts to remove it, her outline remains visible. Visitors report strange figures in empty wings, voices echoing from vacant rooms, squeaking gurneys, mysterious lights, and screams echoing through walls. The basement allegedly holds the spirits of patients who remain shackled even in death. Three cemeteries on the grounds hold 1,930 patients buried with only numbers on their graves. One circular arrangement of graves is thought to be a witches' meeting point. Athens itself has been called one of the world's most haunted cities, with the university's Wilson Hall reportedly sitting at the center of a pentagram formed by area cemeteries.