Pennhurst State School — Attraction in East Vincent Township

I went to Pennhurst for an overnight ghost hunt, having had previous experiences with the paranormal, in the hopes that we would see or hear something amazing. I left thinking "how could I have ever believed in this nonsense?" Our night started with a guided, large group tour of some of the grounds but, being such a large group, most of us couldn't hear anything that was being said by the guide. She would begin talking while people were still shuffling up through piles of leaves and most of what she was saying was drowned out. Also, while walking along she'd be facing forward, talking about buildings and history (I'm assuming) but no one more than a couple of rows back could hear anything. After that, we were turned over to Nick. Nick explained to us many times that he was an empath and clairvoyant. We began in one of the tunnels, headed over to meet Skippy. A couple of strange noises could be heard but other than Nick's serious overreaction, there was absolutely zero drama. After sitting in the tunnel for around an hour, two of the young ladies in the group mentioned that they felt cold air on their legs. Everyone confirmed this and I said "it was in the 50s outside when we came down here. The temp has dropped and cold air is rushing in to fill the tunnels." Nick quickly squashed my obvious science with a "nope, it's the ghosts. I can see them...." He would frequently make claims that things were touching him or that spirits were by him, enough so that it became apparent that he was attempting to manufacture excitement where there was none. These places are creepy enough without Nick's incessant fabrications and, it would have been a better night if he'd just stopped with that. People who came there to believe or to confirm their suspicions found themselves rolling their eyes and groaning each time he spoke. When he'd hear the groans or someone in the group breathe heavily, he'd claim (quite dramatically) that those noises were made by spirits. Even when we'd tell him it was us, he'd shoot that down in favor of his imagination. There was a specific incident where several reports from local fireworks could be heard. He screamed "What was that??!!" and when we told him it was the sound of fireworks coming from outside, he made claims that it was clearly a spirit inside the metal locker (that I was leaning on) banging. In another incident, a female mentioned that her mask was wet (it was 30 degrees out by now... Everyone's mask was wet from breath condensation). He told her a ghost was making out with her.... It was so utterly ridiculous that after telling us that some of the patients went months without food or water and claiming to have an email from 1979, we called it and left early. This was easily the worst experience I've ever had at an attempt to encounter the supernatural. So much so that I am now convinced that none of it is real. So...

I do not scare easily, but I like to keep an open mind when I go to places like this because I don't want to be that fuddy-duddy going through like oh, that wasn't scary. Pennhurst blew all that out of the water. I don't think I have been more genuinely afraid at a haunted attraction than this one and I thought Eastern State in Philadelphia was pretty good. I really don't want to give away everything that Pennhurst offers, but let me say that it was a full sensory experience, which made it a lot scarier. The actors are allowed to not only touch you, but they also are allowed to do other things, and having all of my senses engaged was unsettling, panicky, and completely out of my control, which was the scariest part. We went on a blackout, high-intensity night so the whole atmosphere was extremely disorienting between darkness, fog, and strobe lights along with the overall setting of an asylum that is slowly crumbling to the ground. I will tell you that I have a claustrophobia problem, so the tunnels were legitimately frightening to me especially because I was separated from my partner and had to do it all by myself so I was bugging out (haha). I kept hearing stories from other people in line about different things that they experienced, which made me want to do it again, as it is legitimately different for every person. I also appreciated the reliance on strictly actors and not so much animatronic stuff. It really made me feel like I was surrounded by insane people and not just a bunch of gimmicks that looked like they came from a Halloween store.

The only thing I would call a negative is the wait time. Each attraction has its own wait, and the first one was about an hour and a half and the second one was about another hour. I can't necessarily say I minded though, because they do keep group sizes small, which enhances the scare. So all in all, if you really don't like waiting, get a VIP pass, otherwise just plan on spending the evening and making...

I was told there was a museum last time i was in this part of the country and had an hour to kill. I always wanted to see a real Kirkbride-styled institute in person and I did a lot of research on Pennhurst before going. Should have probably researched when they were open because they were definitely closed when I got there (I assumed it was a regular 9-5 type thing, which was dumb on my part). All things considered, the grounds are immaculate and the current caretakers clearly go above and beyond to preserve as much as they can. Even decades after its closure, and the demolition of several facilities, it’s still an iconic sight to behold. The cherry blossoms really made the campus pop, and coupled with the bright green lawn really contrast the dull grays and browns you were greeted with on the way there. I was pretty star struck by all the hundreds of little details I witnessed - all very unique to this one place. From the waist-high stone walls with the little triangle points, to the ornate, yet imposing entrance. Taking it all in left me at a loss for words after only seeing photographs of it when it was open. Pretty memorable for only five minutes worth of a visit. There was a very polite employee there that I talked to for a second and it took immense restraint on my part not to bombard him with a million questions like a toddler....