NORMAN - THE STORIES AND MYSTERIES OF GRIFFIN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
NORMAN — We’ve been spiraling down rabbit holes lately, y’all. Between local legends, forgotten places, and all the cool history our state has tucked away, we've found ourselves like Alice when she first set foot in Wonderland. Except no mushrooms, no Cheshire Cats, and a whole lot more Oklahoma.
This place we're about to talk about sounds like the kind of thing you'd see in a scary movie and not something you'd expect to find right here in our own backyard. Something about abandoned asylums just does it for us. They're the kind of places that really make you wonder what stories those walls could tell if they could talk.
Griffin Memorial Hospital is located in Norman, and before y’all decide to run over there to see what the fuss is all about, we strongly advise against that. This place is heavily patrolled and monitored, as it is still state-owned property, and while we know some of y'all might be tempted to go exploring inside, don't.
Attempting to enter could possibly land you in the Cleveland County Jail with a trespassing charge, and that's not the kind of adventure we're recommending. We don't want to have to report on y'all next.
So now that we've got that out of the way, grab your tea and hold onto your hats, because we're about to follow the white rabbit.
According to what we could find online, this place originally began as High Gate College, an all-girls school that was established by the United Methodist Church in the early 1890s. The school later closed due to some financial struggles. Around 1910, that's when the Oklahoma Sanitarium Company purchased it, converted it into a psych facility, and what would later become known as Central State Hospital. Once its doors opened, the hospital could accommodate up to 120 patients at a time.
As reported by OU Nightly on YouTube, during the very early 1900s, the facility used those very old-school-style treatments on its patients, including electroshock therapy, padded rooms, insulin shock therapy, restraints, hydrotherapy, and lobotomies.
And for those of y’all who aren’t familiar with lobotomies, it was a procedure where doctors would actually cut connections in parts of a person's brain. At that point in time, it was believed that this would actually help treat certain mental illnesses. Looking back on it today, it sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, but this was common practice then. Wild, right?
By 1952, it has been said that Central State Hospital was caring for thousands of patients with a very small staff of doctors and nurses on hand, approximately 13 doctors and 7 nurses according to reports. Some people online have alleged that because of the small staff, conditions inside the facility started to take a turn for the worse. Stories that have circulated over the years include claims of patients being locked in rooms, patients wandering the halls unclothed, and even reports of a fire that claimed several lives.
Keep in mind, this is all according to reports we found online, and we have not independently verified these claims ourselves.
According to OU Nightly, before the hospital was abandoned, things had changed quite a bit when it came to treatment. As the years passed and technology progressed, patient care evolved big time and shifted toward a more modern approach that relied on medications, psychotherapy, and talk therapy. By that point, the old-school treatments that were once common way back in the early 1900's in psych hospitals had been phased out.
Anyways, this place is now abandoned and boarded up, but that hasn't stopped some folks from trying to sneak inside every now and then. We don't know about y'all, but we're perfectly fine with admiring places like this from the safety of our computer screens. Y'all can keep the dark hallways and creepy shadows.
Many people now believe this place is haunted.
Some folks have claimed they spoke directly with security guards who worked on the property. According to those stories, guards have reported seeing lights turn on and off by themselves inside Hope Hall, which shouldn't be possible because the place is supposedly completely empty. Others claim they've heard humming coming from empty rooms late at night, while some say doors have mysteriously shut on their own.
According to a YouTube user named Laraw77, she and her mother shared their experiences while walking around the hospital and described an encounter they claimed happened to them. In the video, they allege that shortly before leaving, they noticed what appeared to be crosses drawn in the dirt-covered windows. According to their account, those were not there when they first entered the building. As with many stories connected to Griffin Memorial, these claims are based on personal experiences and have not been independently verified.
Whether any of that is true or not, we really couldn't tell you. But what we can tell you is that if someone handed us the keys and said, "Go explore Griffin Memorial," we'd respectfully decline that invitation and proceed to get back in our car.
So, have y'all heard of this place before?
If so, what have you heard about it?
Do you know someone who worked there, was treated there, or maybe even explored the property back in the day?
We'd love to hear your stories in the comments.
