Rolling Hills Asylum — Attraction in Town of Bethany

So as a spur-of-the-moment thing, we decided to go on a tour a self-guided tour at the Rolling Hills Asylum, and we thought it might be fun. Tracking my GPS from my records it shows the time we arrieved was at 1:02 pm so we were unfortunately late. When we first arrived, we were told we had a move our vehicle because we were blocking the fire exit. Now, I don't know if she couldn't see from her angle, but we really weren't blocking it. But we complied and moved anyway we didn't want to cause any issues, the owner told us to move in, make sure we pointed our nose in first, this was on the opposite side of where everyone was parked and we didn't know we were allowed to park there or we would have. As we got out, she started yelling that we were late and that she usually closes off the exhibit, and to hurry! We were thankful that she didn't and was allowing us to come in, but she kept shouting at us to hurry and kept yelling there was no time to think and she was making it so frantic we couldn't grab what we needed. I felt like I was being yelled at for a drill. I got my stuff and gathered it as I proclaimed that it was hard to find things when somebody was continuously yelling at me and rushing me the whole time, I go over to her, empty my pockets give my information, as I'm waiting for my poor husband who the owner was still yelling at to hurry up he ended up dropping and losing the keys in the chaos. I ran to help him find them ran back up the the owner who ordered him to empty his pockets. My husband without thinking grabbed a small snack and a bottle of water. The owner snatched them from his hands said they were garbage and threw them away and said it wasn't allowed. In shock but trying to still hold our composure we kept with it to see the tour. we felt bad enough as it was about being late, and the owner was rude the whole way rushing us into a hot room full of people. They told us to sit in the corner but I must not have seen where she pointed, I went to the wrong spot was told to move again and was told by a worker we were being put in the corner for being naughty.Not one person laughed at the comment. Because of the owner and her chaos by the time we got in the building it and sat in our designated naughty corner it was 1:08 yes I was checking the time. We live about 50 minutes away traffic happens, GPS systems don't always work correctly. Then after a ten-minute introduction about the place and what we may experience or feel and then a video. Once it was over we were allowed to walk around. Now the good part about this place is if you like history and you like to see old things, it's still interesting. Who isn't interested in going to an insane asylum. But this is more like, if you would go into a museum, but not and kind of cheesy. If you are a thrill seeker and are really looking for haunted places, this is not for you. It was not worth the money we spent to be treated the way we were and we were done about an hour or so and just kept walking around to see if we missed anything its not as big as it looks. Due to the uncomfortable experience as soon as we came in the owner ruined our whole mood and excitement we had about the place or were looking forward to it was the worst experience ever. As we were leaving, we weren't aware that we had to sign out. It did say that we could leave at any time, so we were a little confused and tried to leave with a group that was leaving. The person leading the group out, told us we had to check out first. For obvious reasons to make sure that nobody's left behind. So we went back into the room as we were walking back in the owner was talking about us as she was told we just left without signing out she sounded upset. I said no we're here. She asked for our names and I gave them to her. She asked if we had anything she had taken from us at the ramp. I replied No you took them from us and threw them out. I am sure there will be some response from the Owner but no matter what the response is there is no excuse for the way we were talked to or treated. We do...

4.5 is what I'd like to rate rolling hills asylum but google won't let me. We went on our annual columbus day weekend haunted trip to Rolling Hills Asylum this year.

On our four hour journey to RHA, i was pulled over for going 83 in a rental that had and the officer was so nice and let me go....i wasnt used to the car yet as the speedometer was in a weird location ...and then we stopped briefly at Split Rock Quarry's rock crusher... apparently the grounds are said to be haunted due to a TNT explosion which killed at least 50 people in the early 1900s. (no results of supernatural activity.) We continued on for the rest of the trip to RHA. Upon arrival the building looked very small compared to several locations i have been to. But i was not disappointed at all. After parking we all walked up to the ramp where everyone is supposed to meet..after a few minutes Sharon came out and asked us to all go to our cars as there was a smell of smoke in the building and the fire company had to come and check it out before we could enter the facility. It was around 6:30 when we entered the building now this is why i could not give it a solid 5, it was a bit chaotic in the beginning getting in and completing forms and after a brief speech from Sharon involving the history of the facility we were off in two separate groups touring some of the rooms in the building. However i did not like how we all had to gather with a large group in some very small rooms..the other aspects which gave this a 4.5...going back to the chaos part..it had continued throughout the guided tour..groups were in rooms that i guess we were supposed to stop at...which caused confusion along the tour i still chalk these things up to the smoke issue...as having a delayed start of the tour to begin with throws everything off. I also felt like the tour was a bit long especially for a three hour long ghost hunt....short and brief is probably the best way to go with a ghost hunt tour. Our tour guides were great...even the staff in the green room and throughout the halls and rooms were great! ( i was nervous after reading some negative reviews) Now as i have my own equipment that i like to use...i will admit that i never received any validated responses from EMF any timei had used it. We had wandered the halls and various rooms for a bit...used my IR camcorder along with my digital camera, cell phone camera, and digital camcorder and did not catch any visible evidence. FYI i am a skeptic, but would like to have proof to verify belief. If a door creaked or a window slammed id say it was a draft..if my personal items were misplaced id figue that i did it without realizing it. If a glass flew across the room..i can't say that i could explain that. Now back to the asylum. We had decided to go to George's room. I certainly was not expecting for my EMF reader to peak like crazy. When we walked in it was almost instantly that we decided to set up our gear and see what happens. RHA encourages you to sit on his bed as George does not like that. After scanning the room for activity and finding nothing i set the EMF reader on the bed and sat next to it. We set the IR camera up to watch the EMF spikes...then we set the EVP reader to record. Suddenly a spike and then another and then it went crazy. We were communicating with George! I had asked if he was happy..the beeps on the EMF respoded like a knock (the one that sounds like knock-knock-knocknockknock-knock-knock) it was so awesome. Now i didn't check under the bed to see if there was any instruments that could cause my EMF reader to respond like that but it like to assume there wasn't. also note that the EMF reader was responding to my questions for a little over three minutes and briefly after. Remember im a skeptic...but i didn't feel scared or at peace or anything. ..i guess i was neutral the whole time i was there. But if this was indeed real...i have the recording and witnesses to prove it. On the way home we hit up 13 curves on Cedarvale road in Syracuse....

I went to Rolling Hills Asylum about a month ago. I have been debating on whether or not to share my experience or to let it go; I have decided that it would be an injustice to history to remain silent about such a sensitive topic. Rolling Hills Asylum's history is not unique, nor is it exceptionally remarkable. While the owner paints with large, imaginative strokes, she has little credence to nineteenth-century American history, nor does she have background in asylum or institutional history. Perhaps this was my mistake in going, thinking that the owner would care enough to provide facts instead of fictitious details about residents that are deceased--and may or may not have existed. For instance, she provides a very detailed history of a man named Roy that supposedly had gigantism. I can confirm that Roy did not have gigantism, nor did he come from a wealthy family--if he had--would they really have sent him to a poor farm when their family could provide private institutional care? His brother was also a resident of the poor house--and I found their father at a local boarding house after the death of their mother (I found this information at the county archives and using ancestry census materials). Nevertheless, the site has profound potential to actually teach visitors about the true experience of the poorhouse/infirmary/asylum. Alas, it sits and is displayed as a seasonal haunted house. The jacket in the morgue has a weight in the coat pocket for those willing and daring enough to feel around as the ghostly suit twirls with the slightest disruption in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the factual history of such a superb learning tool/prop is misused--painted as a dark place--filled with death, ghost stories, fear, ill-intent, etc. In actuality, poorhouses were often second chances--or asylums, meaning safe places for those with no one else: helpless, infirm, affected by economic or social oppression, etc. I am frustrated and disappointed that we do not care enough about the real history of this place and others like it to have the decency to tell the true story, because in truth, the real story of society and those marginalized in the nineteenth century is horrifying enough without the "ghosts." There are no ghosts here. I walked around for four hours in the dark, brooding about the "tour" and "facts" or "stories" I received. Do better; be honest, and may I make one suggestion? Contact a historian, or do the research.

This aside, the owner was rude from the beginning. She checks bags--great! All fine and dandy--sunshine in the neighborhood--except she got mad at me about MINTS. Yes, mints. wouldn't let me go back to my car to leave them because I was okay with parting--but sent my friend to put my mints in MY car? Logic? None present at this moment. I was baffled. I stood there waiting next to this woman like a small child, or a dog with its tail between its legs by the way she scolded me. Customer service was apparently not a merit in her value system. She barked demands and orders from her paying guests for the entire tour/hunt. So, for forty-five dollars I was lied to--very blatantly I might add if you read my above section--and I was degraded verbally. I see that my rating mirrors others who have also gone--so I see I wasn't given "special treatment." Will I return? Absolutely not. Would I recommend? No, I think you could get more from such an experience reading a David Rothman or Michael Katz book, especially if you are going for history. As far as the ghosts, watch a horror flick. Combined with the poor historical representation and negligible customer service, I would say this is a money scam. There is little care in customer service and honesty--what else could that mean when combined? I am sad for those who actually lived or passed through the county poorhouse--such...