Mysterious Manteno State Hospital

The image of the abandoned insane asylum is one that haunts the imaginations of all who dare to risk fines or arrest to explore their forbidden interiors. Few who do so, however, are aware of the fascinating history of those institutions. Manteno State Hospital in Kankakee County has had a long history of tragedy and disgrace that reached the highest echelons of Illinois' medical community. It began with what Time magazine called the "Manteno Madness," a typhoid epidemic that killed more than 50 and brought down Archibald Leonard Bowen, the state director of public welfare. It ended in scandal, with charges of illicit sex and medical malpractice involving patients and staff. This sorted history almost guaranteed that ghost stories would begin to spread among those adventurous enough to peer inside.