The History
Long before it became one of Utah’s most notoriously haunted locations, the land beneath Asylum 49 held a much quieter history. In 1873, a man named Samuel F. Lee built a modest but sturdy home on this very spot in Tooele. It was never intended to be anything more than a family residence—but the land seemed to have other plans. After the Lee family moved on, the building took on a new identity in 1913 as a county-run poorhouse and care facility for the elderly. It was known then as the Tooele County Infirmary, or simply “the Poor House.” Residents here were often those with nowhere else to go—aging, forgotten, or mentally ill individuals who spent their final days tucked away behind its brick walls. It’s easy to imagine the heavy emotional imprint that might have settled into the foundation during those years. That original structure became the bones of what would later be transformed into Tooele Valley Hospital, and eventually, the infamous Asylum 49. Even then, the building carried the energy of everything that had come before—grief, isolation, and perhaps something much older than any of us can trace.
When Tooele Valley Hospital opened its doors in the early 1950s, it was considered a beacon of modern healthcare for the community. At the time, it was a state-of-the-art facility, a significant step forward for a rural area that had long been underserved when it came to medical resources. Local residents were genuinely excited—they no longer had to make the long drive into Salt Lake City or other neighboring towns for treatment, surgeries, or emergency care. For many families, having a hospital right in town was a point of pride and relief. But while the hospital brought with it the promise of healing, it also carried certain limitations. Notably, it never had a dedicated morgue. Instead, when patients passed away, their bodies were quietly placed in side rooms or left in beds until funeral homes could retrieve them. Over the years, many locals—especially former staff—have remarked on the eerie stillness that would settle over certain wings during those moments. It’s not hard to imagine how the emotional weight of those final goodbyes may have imprinted themselves on the building. Though the hospital eventually closed in the early 2000s to make way for a more modern facility, Tooele Valley Hospital’s legacy lives on—not just in memories, but in whispers down its long, dim hallways.
The Haunt
The hauntings of Asylum 49 are layered and deeply personal—these aren’t just nameless shadows or flickering lights. Many of the spirits believed to linger here are known by name, tied directly to the building’s history as both a hospital and a nursing home. One of the most frequently encountered entities is Maria, a spectral nurse who many investigators believe still tends to the souls in the afterlife. She’s often seen near what is referred to as a “spiritual portal” in one of the old hospital rooms, guiding spirits away from darker presences or perhaps helping the dying transition more peacefully. Another well-known spirit is Wes, a former patient who suffered from Alzheimer’s. He’s said to still wander the halls in confusion, often appearing in or near the room where he passed. Then there’s Jeremy, a burn victim whose presence is often accompanied by the sharp, acrid smell of smoke. Investigators have reported seeing him in the ER area or feeling waves of sadness when he’s near. The spirit of Richard, believed to be a former orderly or staff member, is associated with more aggressive activity—slamming doors or triggering equipment. But perhaps the most heartbreaking are the child spirits that seem to reside within the building. One in particular, Jessica, has been described by multiple visitors and investigators as playful, sometimes mischievous. She’s been known to move objects, tug at clothing, or respond during EVP sessions with giggles or faint, high-pitched replies. Her presence is often felt in the pediatric wing or near old patient rooms where children may have once stayed. While the building’s haunted house theatrics add a layer of theatrics and illusion, the real spirits of Asylum 49 seem to operate on their own terms—rooted in memory, tragedy, and a place they never truly left.
Paranormal activity at Asylum 49 isn’t limited to ghost stories whispered in the dark — the building has a long history of tangible, physical encounters. Visitors, investigators, and even staff members have reported being scratched, touched, or having their clothing tugged by unseen hands. Many of these experiences happen without warning, often in areas like the operating rooms, patient hallways, and near the spiritual portal, where the energy is especially charged. Numerous photographs have captured unexplained anomalies — including ghostly figures, orbs with structure, and even shadowy forms standing where no one living was present. Some of the most chilling reports involve full-body apparitions, which have been seen wandering the old hospital’s corridors, slipping into empty rooms, or standing silently in doorways before vanishing into thin air. These aren’t just flickers caught out of the corner of the eye — they are solid, defined figures that leave a lasting impression. Whether it’s a residual haunting or something far more interactive, Asylum 49 delivers a level of paranormal activity that’s difficult to dismiss.
When Ghost Adventures brought their cameras to Asylum 49, they quickly realized this wasn’t just another spooky location with a few ghost stories—it was a place with deeply rooted paranormal phenomena and a long line of credible witnesses to back it up. One of the most impactful parts of their investigation came through interviews with nurses and former staff who had worked in the nursing home side of the building. These weren’t sensationalized accounts from thrill-seekers—they were the calm, matter-of-fact testimonies of professionals who had witnessed things they couldn’t explain. They described call lights activating from empty rooms, shadowy figures lingering in doorways, and patients who held conversations with invisible visitors in the days or hours before their deaths. Some staff even admitted they had come to expect paranormal activity as a regular part of their job.
But the activity wasn’t limited to the nursing home. Once the Ghost Adventures crew moved into the Asylum 49 side of the building—the portion used for the haunted attraction—they were met with intense and immediate energy. Investigators reported cold spots that seemed to move with them, disembodied voices, and unexplained EMF spikes in areas with no electrical interference. One of the most chilling moments came when they attempted to communicate in what’s believed to be one of the hospital’s old surgical rooms; a spirit box session yielded direct responses, some of which seemed to reference team members by name. Cameras caught what appeared to be shadow figures darting just beyond the edges of visibility, and team members experienced physical sensations like sudden pressure on their chests and the feeling of being watched or followed. Despite the building being used as a haunted house, the fear that night didn’t come from props or actors—it came from something unseen, intelligent, and deeply embedded in the bones of the building itself.
In the A Haunting episode titled “Asylum 49” (Season 13, Episode 5, aired January 28, 2022), the show’s narrative explores both the historical context and the real-life unease surrounding the building in Tooele, Utah. The episode opens with the owner sharing how the facility began as a county poorhouse and mental care institution before transforming into a hospital in the 1950s. Viewers learn about severe overcrowding, underfunded operations, and disturbing remnants of past practices like electroshock therapy without anesthesia and patients being tied to beds for days without basic care.
Early in the episode, his daughter reports seeing a spectral figure in a hallway, setting off a series of encounters documented by a team of paranormal investigators. They set up cameras, recorders, and EVP devices throughout key zones—including old wards, corridors, and what would become Maria’s portal room. These devices pick up chilling recordings of footsteps, whispered voices, and eerie noises—even at moments when no one is visibly present. The team connects these phenomena to the oppressive history of the facility: former staff, patients, and even a nursing figure reportedly bound to the site; one staff ghost named Jack was said to have performed involuntary lobotomies, and some investigators believe his spirit still lingers in the cell-like rooms he once used.
To close out the episode, the investigators perform a cleansing ritual—using salt, sage, and spoken prayers—surrounding the property in an attempt to dispel residual trauma and negative energy. After the ritual, the team notes a marked shift in paranormal activity, though their conclusion remains cautious: this place is undeniably fed by sorrow and unresolved anguish, and it’s as haunted by history as it is by spirits.
In The Haunting of Asylum 49: Chilling Tales of Aggressive Spirits, Phantom Doctors, and the Secret of Room 666 (published August 22, 2016), paranormal investigator Richard Estep and Cami Andersen, an owner of Asylum 49, take readers on an immersive journey through one of the most active and unsettling haunted sites in the country. Estep, a seasoned investigator and director of the Boulder County Paranormal Research Society, spent a week on-site during Halloween week 2015, documenting encounters, conducting experiments, and telling the deeper story behind the haunt’s theatrical attractions. The narrative blends architectural layout with chilling character studies: spirit children who play tricks under beds, Jeremy—a burn victim whose presence is accompanied by the smell of smoke, Westley—the wandering Alzheimer’s patient tied to Room 666, and a violent entity known as “The Guardian,” reportedly a former hospital employee who now stalks the maze-like corridors and has been known to target females physically. Estep’s team applied a methodical mix of EVP sessions, EMF readings, Ovilus box prompts, flashlight-based spirit communication, photography, and a paramedic-led ER simulation experiment that unintentionally provoked a spirit responding to medical cues—a detail that earned the entity the title of “phantom doctor”. The book excels at balancing sensitivity and suspense: offering historical insight, respectful attention to each named spirit, and vivid recountings of the team’s own spine-tingling encounters.
Featured Experience
During our visit in April of 2024, the energy throughout Asylum 49 felt sharply divided between its two halves. The Labor and Delivery wing, despite being draped in Halloween gore and theatrical horror elements, carried a surprisingly light and approachable energy. It was in this wing that we encountered the spirit of a playful and shy little girl, who we came to know as Sara. She’s a well-known entity in this part of the building and is said to frequent the former NICU rooms, where her presence has even been photographed by past investigators. During our visit, after warming up to us, she spent time communicating and interacting, offering a sense of childlike wonder that stood in stark contrast to the haunted house décor. Sara is also known to touch visitors, especially during the October haunt season—she’s become locally infamous for grabbing at people’s ankles from under gurneys or other props. Guests have often remarked how realistic “the girl under the bed” was, only to later discover there were no child actors working in the haunt that night. No living ones, anyway. Despite the presence of Wes, a known grumpy spirit whose room sits at the end of the same hallway, the wing as a whole felt safe enough to remain in for extended periods. On the other side of the building, however, the atmosphere was far darker and more intense. This is the side that contains the spiritual portal, along with the operating rooms—spaces that are widely reported to be heavy and malevolent. The shift in energy was so overwhelming in that section that I couldn’t stay for long. It was a visceral, bone-deep discomfort—goosebumps, pressure, and that unshakable sense of being watched too closely. The darkness there feels like it watches you back.
When we returned to Asylum 49 in August of 2025, we were shocked by how much the building’s energy had shifted since our last visit. What had once felt like the more peaceful half—the Labor and Delivery wing—was now supercharged with darkness. The entire space felt heavier, darker, and far less welcoming than before. We even began to suspect that a few of the gory mannequins left over from the haunt were inhabited by entities, watching us from hollow eyes. Derrick, who is intuitive, still sensed the presence of child spirits there, but whatever was lingering had a much more intense edge. I couldn’t stay in that wing for very long—it felt like something unseen was pressing in around me.
Instead, we found ourselves spending more time in the wing that houses the operating rooms and the spiritual portal—the very spaces I had struggled to be in during our last visit. To our surprise, the atmosphere here was notably calmer this time around. It was in this section that we made contact with the gentle spirit of a young girl, around six years old. Her name came through as something like Emily or Amelia—soft, sweet, and a little shy. She told us that she had died in the hospital and now plays with other child spirits who remain on the other side of the veil. What stood out most was her sense of humor—she laughed when people got scared during the haunt and seemed to genuinely enjoy the theatrical chaos of it all. That said, she did share that she avoided one of the two operating rooms, saying she didn’t like how it felt in there. Even from the other side, she knew when a space wasn’t safe.
References:
Web
https://ahauntedplace.com/utah/old-tooele-hospital
https://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/the-old-tooele-hospital/
https://backpackerverse.com/asylum-49-ghosts/
https://paranormal.fandom.com/wiki/Old_Tooele_Hospital
https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/interviews-features/haunting-living-dead-asylum-49/
Books
We Are The Children of Asylum 49 by Tory Westhoff, Lulu.com 2022
The Haunting of Asylum 49: Chilling Tales of Aggressive Spirits, Phantom Doctors, and the Secret of Room 666 by Richard Estep and Cami Andersen, Weiser 2016
Television
A Haunting Season 13, Episode 5 “Asylum 49”
Ghost Adventures Season 14, Episode 11 “Asylum 49”