Camarillo State Mental Hospital Site

When it opened in 1936, Camarillo State Mental Hospital was the largest mental facility in the world. The hospital treated patients with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses for six decades, pioneering treatments for conditions like schizophrenia and autism. However, reports of suspicious patient deaths and unethical practices plagued the institution. Jazz legend Charlie Parker stayed for seven months in 1947, later recording "Relaxing at Camarillo." The hospital closed in 1997 and became California State University Channel Islands in 2002.

When it opened in October 1936, Camarillo State Mental Hospital was the largest psychiatric facility west of the Mississippi, housing over 7,000 patients at its peak in 1957. Built as a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression, the Mission Revival-style complex included the distinctive bell tower that still dominates the campus skyline. What began as a progressive facility pioneering treatments for schizophrenia and autism devolved into a chamber of horrors by the 1970s, when a Ventura County grand jury investigated 79 suspicious deaths including drug overdoses, strangulation, and drowning.

The hospital's dark legacy includes documented cases of brutal treatment: a psychiatric technician was arrested for beating a patient with a fly swatter and ice tray before choking her with a towel; a registered nurse confirmed that "choking out" patients was common practice. Incoming patients were routinely sedated with "Number 1"—a cocktail of Thorazine, Stelazine, and Hyoscine that killed several people before being discontinued in March 1976. Among the verified deaths were Jacob Honigsfeld, found hanged in bushes; Jack Moore, burned to death in the hospital incinerator; and Thomas Riddle, found shackled in isolation, dead from asphyxia and drug overdose.

Today, CSU Channel Islands students walk halls haunted by those who suffered and died here. The bell tower is a hotspot for paranormal activity—a beautiful woman in white, believed to be a nurse, roams the hallways before vanishing when confronted. Near the tower, an elderly woman repeatedly asks visitors for directions to the chapel, then disappears. In abandoned buildings, students encounter a woman in a hospital gown who silently screams before fading away.

Physical encounters are disturbingly common. A nurse named Debbie reported being roughly grabbed and shaken during a cigarette break by invisible hands. A 65-year-old nurse was yanked backward out of her chair by her hair while alone in a room. Ten-year employee Sheryl Downey saw a man "as plain as day" wearing an old-style tan patient jumpsuit—the uniform patients wore to help staff catch escapees. In November 1962, legend holds that hospital management fired the entire night shift, believing employees were overturning beds and slamming doors as pranks; the activity continued after they left.

Visitors report headaches, nausea, dizziness, and the overwhelming sensation of being watched. Objects disappear and reappear in different rooms. The phantom jingling of a janitor's keys echoes through hallways, and on quiet nights, the haunting notes of a saxophone drift across campus—perhaps the ghost of Charlie "Bird" Parker, who spent seven months here in 1947 after a breakdown and later recorded "Relaxing at Camarillo." The 2014 documentary "Hotel Camarillo" chronicles a decade of paranormal investigations at the site, with Unit 44 considered the most active location. The hospital may have inspired The Eagles' "Hotel California"—a place where, as the song says, "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."